Bass Lessons - Page 30
Bass Transcription: Dee Murray’s Bass Line on Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas”
Dee Murray is a giant of the bass guitar many people do not rate as being among the best of all time, but I certainly do. His playing on the holiday single “Step Into Christmas” by Elton John is nothing short of impressive as he finds many inventive ways to make very simple chord changes sound exciting and new. After...
Bass Transcription: Walter Becker’s Bass Line on Steely Dan’s “Gaucho”
This month I chose the self-titled track from Steely Dan’s 1981 record, as a focus of study. I had never heard this group before, though my friends told me all the time there are a lot of good studio musicians on the band’s records. I never was interested in their music until recently when I found this record at a...
Talking Technique: The One-Finger-Per-Fret Controversy
Some people are afraid for their fingers, while others swear by it: the one-finger-per-fret position. Is there is a reason to fret “one-finger-per-fret”? Not if done right. Is it worth getting it down? Yes! [Read to the end for “Practice-with-me” videos.] I definitely recommend having a solid grip (so to speak) on the one-finger-per-fret method. Practicing this way has numerous...
Talking Style: Quartet Time/Feel
Sometimes a simple shift in accent or change in the length of a note can really mark a particular style or genre. In this episode, I’m taking a very recognizable Dominant 7 line and shifting accents and note length to demonstrate how the exact same harmonic material sounds different in Blues, R&B and Quartet music. Follow along with the transcription...
Bass Transcription: Mick Taylor’s Bass Line on The Rolling Stones’ “Tumbling Dice”
Every bassist has been in situations where they have had to hold down a one-chord or repeating bass line ostinato for long periods of time or an entire song. It can be challenging to approach these mind-numbing repetitive songs and keep it interesting while not overplaying. Many Rolling Stones’ songs feature verse sections, such as this, that consist of only...
Talking Technique: Pull Off Pentatonics
Pentatonics using hammer-ons and pull-offs sounds great, but maybe you have noticed that if you stay within the same pentatonic pattern, you can only hammer on certain notes. In an effort to go beyond that, we are stringing two pentatonic patterns together so that we can pull off pull offs from every single note. I’ll show you two major pentatonic...
Advanced Bass: Displacing Walking Bass Lines
Rhythmic Displacement is a concept based on being able to hear and perform rhythmic patterns starting on different subdivisions of the beat. The new superimposed rhythm creates an interesting illusion with the lines you are playing, which in turn creates tension. This lesson is aimed at giving you usable ideas for improvising walking bass lines using the concept of Rhythmic...
Talking Style: I’ve Got To Use My Imagination
One of the things that I love about doing this column is that I sometimes find unlikely pairings – like this one. I didn’t know that Bon Jovi’s Hugh McDonald played bass on this extremely funky joint, “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination” as performed by Gladys Knight and the Pips. The song was written and originally performed by Barry...
Creative Bass Lines: Funking with the Dorian Mode and the Blues Scale
Welcome back to the third installment of Creative Bass Lines. Before we start, I’d like to take a moment to say a fond farewell to the amazing Victor Bailey who sadly left us way too soon a few days ago. Victor was an enormous influence on me, and his highly melodic yet super funky playing made an indelible impression on...
Talking Technique: The Power of Slow
A little while ago, I finished the creation of a 20-week course which includes an extensive technique practice section. Students had requested videos similar to what you see in fitness videos – a way to just follow along with the video. And this became one consistent part of each week’s program: I recorded “Practice With Me” videos featuring a variety...
Bass Transcription: Dominique di Piazza’s Bass Solo on John McLaughlin’s “Belo Horizonte”
This month, the transcription is dedicated to French bass virtuoso Dominique di Piazza. I think Dominique deserves more recognition in the bass world. Ask any bassist today – Hadrien Feraud, Matthew Garrison, Adam Nitti, and many more – and they will swear that di Piazza has had a profound influence on their bass playing. His solo piece “Marie,” has opened...
Talking Technique: Octaves on Overdrive
Today we’re going to go over a few tips on how to spice up a groove using octaves. Of course, we’ll focus on good fingering practices to make the notes sound smooth and connected. You can use this technique when practicing rudiments and scales, but check out this PDF to work up an example using one- and two-chord grooves.