Bass Lessons

Episode 61 of Talking Technique is all about using chromatic approaches to liven up a bass line. Ari also covers how to use different fingerings to come up with these sorts of situations in your playing.

Tim Fletcher’s fourth entry of the “Unsung US Bassists” bass transcription series focuses on Jean Millington's Bass Line on “Ain’t That Peculiar” by Fanny.

In episode #60 of Talking Technique, Ariane Cap breaks down how Geddy Lee uses power chords in Rush’s “Dreamline,” with a quick harmonic run down, tips for fingering, technical execution, and practice.

Phil Upchurch has played on over two hundred albums, and is highly regarded for his guitar work. He is less well-known as a bass player, but he’s contributed some excellent work as well. Check out Tim Fletcher’s transcription and analysis of Upchurch’s line on Donny Hathaway’s “Misty”

In this lesson, Lorin Cohen illustrates how to use one minor pentatonic scale over five chord types. In this case, using the B minor pentatonic scale to play over a progression. This illustrates what Lorin calls a “vertical” approach to soloing, where we create lines that move swiftly up and across the fingerboard.

This is the second entry of the Tim Fletcher's “Unsung US Bassists” series, with his transcription and analysis for Dave Hope’s bass line on “Carry on Wayward Son” by Kansas.

We’re thrilled to welcome back Tim Fletcher, who is starting a new bass transcription series on the “Unsung US Bassists.” Tim is kicking things off with his transcription and analysis of Doug Haywood’s bass line on “Late for the Sky” by Jackson Browne.

In this new bass lick lesson, we’re going to combine harmonics and double stops with a Mixolydian scale fill. First, I’ll play it at full tempo, then around the 1-minute mark, I cover it slowly for you to follow along. Be sure to grab the backing drum track for playing along at full speed.

With producer and mentor Chas Chandler in control, and holed up in Olympic Studios in London, the early sessions for the album had been relatively straightforward, and the band had recorded basic versions of “Crosstown Traffic” and “All Along the Watchtower” before setting off on their early ’68 North American tour. On a break from their schedule, a short recording...

Welcome back to another column, and today we’re diving further into jazz-related harmony with a look at starting to get inside two of the most useful modes from the melodic minor scale. The full line is demonstrated right after the opening title credits, with a little backing groove, and then during the video, I dissect and explain it for you....