Bass Lessons - Page 31

Time to get funky. Here’s another quick bass lick lesson for you, centered around a pentatonic fill. Follow along with the video and this transcription (PDF download). If you want some background, there are a few lessons here covering pentatonic scales and patterns: Breaking Down the Pentatonic Scale: The Five Positions on Bass Improvising and Groove: Substituting Pentatonic Scales on...

I’m working on a new concept in double thumb slap bass, which basically is an “in reverse” technique. This means the “down” thumb is on the offbeat, and the “up” thumb is on the downbeat. This creates a whole new feeling worth exploring. You can follow along with the notation (PDF) and the video below. Let me know how it...

Among the great tunes on Jaco Pastorius’ self-titled solo debut was “(Used to Be A) Cha-Cha”. His solo is a tricky one, at an upbeat tempo and with Jaco’s trademark melodic and syncopated lines. Here is Jukka Haavisto’s take on his wonderful solo on this track.

Here are some cool patterns for you to try out, using open strings for creating fast passages and note doubling. In the video demonstration, I first play it at full speed, followed by a reduced speed. Follow along with the notation/TAB (PDF). For the gear heads: I’m playing my 1966 Fender Precision bass (I don’t use the Jazz bass bridge...

Tal Wilkenfeld’s fantastic solo on the Jeff Beck classic “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” has been watched countless times. There are several live recordings of this track, but the one transcribed here is from the Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2007.

Editor’s note: No Treble readers submitted questions to us for the next series of lessons by Thomas “MarloweDK” Risell. Several readers submitted questions about learning scales, intervals and patterns, as well as asking how I approach practicing them. In this installment, I try to cover all the basics. If you have questions or something you’d like to share about these...

In this new lesson, we’ll cover some tips on soloing over changes. In the video below, you’ll see that I’m playing chords through a looper, to create the pattern to play against. We start with a D Major scale, over an E minor chord, which is the Dorian mode. The scale: D E F# G A B C# Then, the...

This month’s transcription is “Boomerang”, a funk-filled slap-fest from Hungarian bassist Viktor Lörincz we originally featured back in 2011. This chops-heavy piece is a great workout for anyone looking to take their slapping and tapping skills to the next level. Download the transcription (PDF) and follow along: Viktor opens the piece with a Latin-flavored tapping part which outlines a series...

Last time, we took a look at some basic exercises aimed at expanding fretboard knowledge through the use of the pentatonic scale. For this lesson, we’ll cover more advanced patterns and build on what we’ve started in the first part. Be sure to download the PDF for these exercises (standard notation and TAB included) so you can follow along and...

Here’s a great exercise aimed at expanding your fretboard knowledge. For this lesson, we’re going to use the five positions of the A minor / C Major pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale contains five notes, of course, and you can play this from different positions. Learning these patterns will significantly increase your fretboard knowledge. Here’s how it breaks down, taking...

Here’s a new bass lick lesson for you. This time around, we’ll work up a fill in E minor, using the B minor pentatonic to start, then adding the E minor Dorian scale with some chromatic notes thrown in. This is handy for those one bar fills you’ll want to incorporate in your playing, including your solos. The first part...

Bass transcriptions are cool. They're even cooler when they're written by the bassist who played on the track. Adam “Nolly” Getgood shares this transcription and breakdown of his work on Periphery’s “Make Total Destroy.”