Song Tutorial Archives

Learn how to play the iconic bass line from Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” inspired by the legendary Duck Dunn. This lesson breaks down the groove and shows you how to transpose it to any key, helping you add classic soul flavor to your playing.

Let’s dig into one of the truly great James Jamerson bass lines, the Motown classic “How Sweet It Is” by Marvin Gaye. This lesson will string together descending arpeggios, the blues box pattern, and root-fifth movement.

In this new “Keep It Groovy” bass lesson, Ryan Madora digs into one of Nirvana’s biggest hits, “Come As You Are.” Learn some of the theory behind Krist Novoselic’s bass line, which is perfect for working on your pick technique.

In this episode of “Keep It Groovy,” Ryan Madora digs into the bass line to “Pusherman” by Curtis Mayfield. From the supremely funky “Superfly” record, Joseph “Lucky” Scott’s groove is absolute perfection.

In this “Keep It Groovy” bass lesson, Ryan Madora walks us through perfecting the bass line to “Come Together” by The Beatles. To do so, we need to understand the theory behind the line and how to play with note duration and articulation.

Let’s add to your repertoire of country blues bass lines and practice the Johnny Cash classic, “Folsom Prison Blues.” Ryan Madora breaks it down in this “Keep It Groovy” bass lesson.

In this lesson, we’ll learn how to keep it groovy by palm muting and using our thumb — a slightly different technique compared to standard finger-style playing. To practice this, we’ll play the distinctive intro part to “My Girl” by The Temptations.

Today, Ryan Madora keeps it groovy by learning triads, following a chord progression, and applying a walking bass line by taking a page from Paul McCartney’s book and “Eight Days A Week.”

In this “Keep It Groovy” lesson, Ryan Madora dissects the fantastic melodic bass line to “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac. John McVie’s line perfectly outlines the chord progression and provides a nice contrast to the verses.

In this Keep It Groovy lesson, Ryan Madora discusses one of the coolest (and easiest) Paul McCartney bass lines: “Taxman.” This groove integrates a bit of theory and a touch of technique, and it’s a great technical workout.

In this new “Keep It Groovy” bass lesson, Ryan Madora covers a quick and easy bass line to add to your repertoire – Steve Miller Band’s classic tune, “The Joker.” This line perfectly outlines a 1-4-5 chord progression in the context of a rock song.

Today we feature another blues bass lesson with the classic Muddy Waters tune, “Got My Mojo Working.” We’ll follow a classic 12-bar blues progression and use a quintessential descending line for the turnaround at the end of the progression. This is definitely a must-know tune if you want to get into the blues.