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“Cee-Tee-Eye” is from Marcus Miller’s 2012 album Renaissance, recorded to feature the new band Marcus assembled for the Tutu Revisited tour, which was a celebration of the Miles Davis album from the mid-80’s Miller contributed heavily to. The title for “Cee-Tee-Eye” is a nod to the various albums released on the CTI Records label, which were influential not only to...

Here’s a lesson I’d classify as beginner/intermediate level, but the truth is, it is something I think can benefit all of us. The goal of this lesson is to become comfortable with the entire fretboard, through learning the notes on every fret. Using a simple Rolling Stones-style rock groove backing track, this lesson focuses in on working our way through...

Here’s a simple slap pattern based on open strings and octaves. As I demonstrate in the video, I’m playing a pattern, first in A, and then switching to E (same line). Before switching back to the A, there’s an octave line to bring us back. The line uses hammer-ons and pull-offs. Around the 3 minute mark of the video, I...

Just as I was wondering which piece to select for this month’s transcription, along comes this killer track from super-talented bassist Fernando Lamadrid and drummer Rick Arencibia. This one has it all: harmonic-laden odd-time grooves, funky slap lines, chordal work and several jaw-dropping solos. Perfect! Download the transcription (PDF) and follow along: “Mollete Express” opens with a fingerstyle groove over...

Here’s another quick lesson for you, this time focusing on a disco-style bass groove. As with any excercise, it is important to keep playing it without stopping until you find that groove. Follow along with the video and this transcription (PDF). The tempo on this one is 105 bpm. For the gear heads: I’m playing a 1966 Fender Precision bass...

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.

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...

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.”

This month’s transcription ties in nicely with the recent feature on underrated bassist Colin Hodgkinson. Colin is a superb bass player, and very unique. During the late sixties and early seventies, he played some truly astonishing bass parts with his trio Back Door, and was even said to have been a big influence on Stanley Clarke when Back Door opened...

This month’s transcription is Stu Hamm’s live performance of the Led Zeppelin classic “Going to California”, which can be heard (and seen) here: You’ll need to detune your E-string to D in order to play this piece. This performance of the song opens with a chord consisting of an open low D-string and A and D harmonics played at the...

This time around, I have two lessons in one for you to try out. The first part touches on the concept of practicing with a metronome. In this example, the metronome is counting on beats two and four. To make this fun, the other part focuses around a sort of offbeat, Larry Graham-style rhythm. We tie it all together –...

“Orion”, the classic Metallica track that features bassist Cliff Burton in a lead role, was an obvious choice for this month’s transcription. To this day – nearly thirty years after it was recorded – it’s a track that is studied and dissected by metal-loving bass players all over the world.