Talking Technique - Page 2

Here’s another “Chromatic Acrobatic Phantasy” for you to shed your technique. Chromatic approaches sound exciting and driving. How can you use them in your grooves? Can you pull off the fast version while staying relaxed? Have a go at it, it’s worth it.

That riff from Chick Corea’s “Spain,” played between the solos and as part of the head, is as catchy as it is tricky. Ari gets frequent requests for help on that section, so she breaks it down, step by step, in this new episode of “Talking Technique”

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.

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.

Here is a cool modern retro disco funk riff that will help you optimize your octaves. A cool slide in the middle inspires more ideas for creative explorations and technique shedding. The transcription will help you out, but follow the step-by-step way to break it down and make it manageable. Practicing technique the groovy way!

Short-scale basses have recently enjoyed a bit of a resurgence – be it as an alternate tool in a pro’s kit or as a main axe chosen for its sound, lightweight, easy playability and hip factor. In this episode, we’ll explore some right-hand, left-hand, and coordination drills that will help you wrap your mind around the shorter scale. I’m using...

Do you know what the Byzantine Scale is? How about Double Harmonic Major? Gypsy Major? Well, after this episode of Talking Technique, you will. But this episode is about so much more than just a scale – in it, we’ll cover 11 strategies to get a new scale under your fingers. The goal here is to embed the scale so...

Do you know what an “Alberti Bass” is? If you play electric bass (rather than cembalo in the 1700’s), you are excused if you don’t. That does not mean that we cannot use this keyboard figure to inspire some heavy duty technique shedding: string crossing, right-hand shedding, and coordination. In this lesson, we’ll go over these Alberti-inspired figures over the...

Today’s episode is all about thinking inside the box. Pentatonic box shapes only on the G and D string are easy to finger and make for quite the pizzazz when you lay them over a variety of chords. Check out the PDF to guide you along the easy shape and what colors you introduce using them with various chords.

I ran a survey a few weeks back asking bass players what they struggled with the most. With an overwhelming majority, the response had to do with practicing. Specifically, how to: Practice effectively so as to see improvement. Not be distracted. Know what to work on next or where to even start. Some people formulated it perfectly, asking for very...

The whole tone scale is a really interesting scale. Unlike our major and pentatonic scales, it’s built out of all whole steps making it sound a little bit eerie and bright. Because the scale is symmetrical, it does not sound like it has a beginning or an end. Another neat fact is that there are only two whole tone scales:...

Switch much? If you find yourself switching between four-, five- and six-string basses a lot, or even just between different bass models, here’s a lesson for getting comfortable with whatever bass, fast. Playing different instruments is like driving a different brand new car. It takes time to get comfortable and settle in. If you find yourself switching around, try these...