Relative Minor

For those who have been grooving around might have come across this term 'relative minor'.

How I remember or recognise the relative minor of each key? Simple!!

For me, I know that the vi is the relative minor.

e.g. The relative minor for A is F#m,also because both keys have 3 #

So what do we do with this relative minor? Let's use Key of C to explain.

The notes in the Am scale are A B C D E F G A. Hmmm isn't that the same notes in the C major scale? Correct. Am scale in key of C is also called A Aeolian scale.

So when someone play a C chord, you can solo within the Am scale or C major scale.

Have fun!

1 3 5

Hi,

After you have memorize the fretboard on the bass guitar, it's time to create some simple bass lines.

If you have a song with chord progression like G Em C D, you should have no problem playing the root note (i.e G E C D )

You will sound right just playing the root note but now you also want to start playing a bit more. You can use 1 3 5 (notes inside a chord) to create something more interesting.

Let's write out the 135 in each chord:

G - G B D
Em - E G B
C - C E G
D - D F# A

Say I start with G and want to link to the next chord Em, I can play G B D E.
Next from Em I can play G B B C then E G G D

This is just the basic idea of creating bass line using 135. You can take it from here and explore which note sound better and try to get a nice line.

Cheers

4,5,6 String Tuning

For those who are new to bass playing, you might want to know what are the common tuning for the 4,5 6 string bass. There are 7,8 12 string bass as well.
Anyway let's not stress ourselves.

4 string bass - E A D G ( E is the thickest string)
5 string bass - B E A D G ( B is the thickest string)
6 string bass - B E A D G C ( Same as 5 string but with additional high C)

Some people said that for beginner it is better to start with the 4 string bass as it is more easy to handle.
I think it is up to individual.
There are many people who started out playing 5 or 6 string too.

With the additional strings, you will have a wider range of voicing. A person who played 5 or 6 string bass does not mean that he or she is more superior than a 4 string bass player.
You can decide which bass to start with and put in effort to control it.

Here are a few famous bass players that you can listen and learn from.

4 string - Victor Wooten(He plays a tenor bass too A D G C), Marcus Miller, Jaco Pastorius.
5 string - Nathan East, Abraham Laboriel, Richard Bona
6 string - John Patitucci, Gerald Veasley, Jimmy Haslip

Victor Wooten plays in a band called Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. He has his own solo album as well.
Marcus Miller is more of a solo artist. For Jaco, you can find his solo album or some of the old Weather Report album. Jaco Pastorius Big Band is a tribute to him.

You can find Nathan East playing in some of Eric Clapton's album and the Fourplay.
Abraham Laboriel Sr has his own solo album and he played for many artists including Lee Ritenour, Stan Turrentine, George Benson and etc.
Richard bona was featured in Jaco Pastorius Big Band and has his own solo album.

John Patitucci has his own solo album. He played for Chick Corea in the akoustic and elektric band.
Gerald Veasley was featured in Jaco Pastorius Big Band and has his own solo album.
Jimmy Haslip is in a band called Yellowjackets. He was featured in Jaco Pastorius Big Band as well.

There are too many good bass players like Chuck Rainey, Stanley Clarke, Louis Johnson, John Myung, Stu hamm and etc. Take your time to listen to their music.