Approach Notes

Hi,

This exercise shows you how to approach the chord tone from one note below.

We will use the C chord for this exercise. The notes in a C chord are C E G.






Your playing will sound more jazzy using this method.

Have fun!

Tritone Bassline in Blues

Hi,

In the previous lessons, we learn about how tritone works.

Now we want to create a bassline using tritone in a blues setting.

In the key of G, the 1 4 5 blues progression is G7 C7 D7.

After holding the G note for one bar, you can try the lick below.

The lick combines the notes of a G7 chord and it's tritone (Db7).






Don't worry about getting the right timing for now. Once you are familiar with the lick then work on the timing.

You can apply the same concept for the C7 and D7 chord.

Have fun.

D Melodic Minor Scale

Hi,

Most of us are familiar with the Natural Minor Scale (Aeolian) but seldom practice the Melodic Minor Scale.

The formula for Melodic Minor Scale is 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7

Therefore the D Melodic Minor Scale will be D E F G A B C#





A simple exercise to try this scale is over the II V I progression in C

The chords are Dm7 G7 Cmaj7.

When the musicians play a G7 chord, try playing the D Melodic Minor Scale.

It is equivalent to a G dominant Lydian Scale. Sound even more jazzy now!

Have fun.

Walking Bass Without Root

Hi,

Before reading this lesson, you might want to review Basic Walking Bass and Simple ii V I Progression Using Chord Tone.

As I already explained before about using chord tone to construct our walking bass lines, today's exercise is similar but no root note is used.

To avoid using the root note is challenging but the bass lines produced is more interesting.

Below is a simple ii V I IV Jazz progression in key of D.








I used the 3rd as the first note of the chord.

E.g. The notes in Em7 are E(root) G(3rd) B(5th) D(7th).

The first note I used for Em7 is G.

You can choose to play the line on a lower register.

Hope this is clear.

Cheers

C7 Chord Arrpegio

Hi,

The dominant chord is very common in most genre of music like blues, funk and gospel.

It is important as bass player to know the pattern and notes of a chord.

The chart below shows the notes in a C7 Arrpegio.






The notes in a C7 chord are C (root) E (3rd) G (5th) Bb (b7).

Practice this pattern and slowly move up the frets to find the other notes in the chord.

Have fun.

Double 5th Exercise

Dear friends,

If G is "I", the "V" is D

If D is "I", A is the "V"

The exercise below is useful when you are playing a lick in G.






All the notes are from the G major scale.

From the G on the 3rd fret of the E string to the G on the 12th fret of the G string.

Try this out and play some variation.

Cheers

Funk and Blues using Dominant 7

Hi,

This is a simple exercise for those who are exploring funk and blues.

The dominant 7 chords are frequently used in these genres.

The exercise below can be played over a A7 and D7 progression.






You may want to add some bending and sliding to create more feel.

You can practice the above as a slapping exercise as well.

Have fun.

Arpeggios 3rd

Hi,

When we are playing bass, sometimes it is good to start on the root but end on the 3rd (10th)

How do you do it?

Let say you want to improvise over a G chord.

You can follow the notes below:

--------------------------------------------
-------------------------5(root)---9 (10th)-
---------2(3rd)--5(5th)--------------------
-3(root)------------------------------------

You will be surprise by this simple technique.

Cheers

9th Chord

Hi,

There are some players who are confuse with the 9th chord and I hope to explain clearly here.

The notes in a C major scale are - C D E F G A B C ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8(1) )

The notes in a Cmaj 7 chord are - C E G B (1 3 5 7)

The notes in a C7 chord are - C E G Bb (1 3 5 b7)

To play a 9th chord, it is simple.

For a Cmaj 9, the notes are - C E G B D (2+7 =9)

For a C9 , the notes are - C E G Bb D

So do not mix up Cmaj9 and C9.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Inversion Chords

Hi,

I was playing with a song with chords like these recently:

E E7 A Am7

If the bass just play the root note, it will be quite boring.

What I did was to play the inversion.

E E7/D A/C# Am7/C

It's a natural walk down bass line and much more interesting than just playing root.

Give it a try.

Cheers

Major Pentatonic Scale (start on the 5th)

Major Pentatonic Scale is derived from the Major Scale.

Just skip the 4th and 7th note of the Major Scale.

e.g. C major Scale - C D E F G A B C
C Major Pentatonic Scale - C D E G A

The exercise below starts the C Major Scale on the 5th (G).

All the notes are still inside your C Major Scale and by starting

on the 5th, it gives a different voicing and sort of allow us to have more notes to apply.

Give it a try.

|--2--|-----|-----|--5--|
|--2--|-----|-----|--5--|
|-----|--3--|-----|--5--|
|-----|--3--|-----|--5--|

Have fun!

Ghost Note Exercise

Hi,

I find the below exercise useful to practice ghost note.

Ghost notes are muted notes that can be achieve when you lightly touch the fretboard
with your left hand and pluck/slap/pop with your right hand.

Practice the exercise with plucking first than slap. The "X" is the ghost note.

Make sure the harmonics do not ring out.





Enjoy

Funk Groove Part 2

Hi,

Another easy and cool funk groove for you to practice and apply.






You can shift the pattern to suit the chords played.

For the above example, get your musician to play an A and D chord (1 4 progression)

Have fun.

Power Chords

Hi,

Power chords is the most used chords on guitar and can be used on Bass as well.

The best thing about power chord is that the fingering is the same for major or minor chords.

You can choose to pluck, slap or strum the chords on the bass.

Just play the root and the 5th. e.g. C power chord = C + G

Below is a 6 4 1 5 chord progression in key of C.

Some of you might find this tune familiar :)






Have fun.

Simple ii V I Progression Using Chord Tone

ii V I progression in the key of C is Dm7 G7 Cmaj7

For the above exercise, the notes are all within the chords itself.

This is an easy way to start learning walking bass as well.

Notice that the first note I played on the Cmaj7 is a E note instead of the root.

Since my last note on the G7 chord is a F, it will sound more smooth going to E which is the 3rd of a Cmaj7 chord.

It is not necessary to always land on the root note of the chord.

Experiment and have fun.

Cheers

Slow Funk

Hi,

A simple slow funk exercise where you can repeat over and over again.







Don't rush and try to feel the groove.

Have fun.

Using 9th

Hi,

This bassline make use of 9th. Get your friend to play a G chord and C chord.






Have fun.

Diatonic Harmony

Hi,

The term diatonic means that the notes come from the same key.

Chords and notes that fall outside those made from these scales are not diatonic.

In the key of G major,the seven notes are– G, A, B, C, D, E, and F#.

A Cmaj7 is a diatonic chord in the key of G major since the notes are - C E G B which fall inside the G major scale.

A Cm7 is not a diatonic chord in the key of G major since the notes are - C Eb G Bb,
where Eb and Bb fall outside of the G major scale.

Hope this is clear.

Thanks

Dominant 7th

Hi,

Dominant 7th Chord is frequently used in many genres especially in Blues.








The above example is the pattern and notes for G dominant 7th chord.
All you need to do is study the fingering pattern and you can form other dominant chords easily.

Formula for Dom7th chord - 1 3 5 b7

G7 chord consist of G, B, D, F.

As for finger position you can try:
R (middle)
3 (index)
5 (last)
b7(middle)

Have fun.

Guitar plucking on Bass

Hi,

Bass can sound melodic too.

This article talks about plucking the bass like a guitar.








Use your thumb to hit the root note, follow by your index finger plucking on the open D string and middle finger plucking on the open G string.

For the left hand, you can use your index finger to fret the root note, ring finger to fret the open D string and last finger to fret the open G string.

Follow the above tab and you should be able to get what I'm trying to say.

Have fun.