Funk tips

Hi,

Check out this video by Andre Berry.

Have fun.

Funk Groove - James Brown

Hi,

This bass exercise is inspired by the song 'Give it up or turn it loose' by James Brown.

You may want to listen to the track and get a feel before trying the exercise.

You can slap this exercise if you want. Important is the feel.

Hope you like it.

Cheers

Palm Mute

Hi,

Palm muting is a guitar technique to muffle the strings slightly.
To achieve this sound, place your palm just over the saddles on the bridge.
Most of the time I use my thumb to play the notes but bass player like Gary Willis will include his index and middle finger.
You can create the pedal rock sound using the palm mute technique.

Have fun.

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.

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.

Open Hammer Pluck

Hi,

Just to follow up on the previous post.

If you gave it a try, you will be surprise how fast you can play with little effort.

Now let's try another technique called the open hammer pluck.

All you need to do is add a pluck after the open hammer.

------------6(p)--------8(p)--------9(p)---
--------------------------------------------
----0-4(h)-----0-6(h)------0-7(h)---------
--------------------------------------------

Have fun!

Basic Paradiddle on Bass

Hi,

A paradiddle is a drum rudiment which consist of a four-note pattern of the form Right Left Right Right(RLRR) or LRLL.

This pattern can help us improve our rhythmic and percussive style of slapping.

Let's try this pattern on the bass where "R" is your right hand slap thumb and "L" is using your left hand to slap the fretboard.

Slapping with your left hand on the fretboard requires some practicing.

Now try the pattern RLRR LRLL and repeat it.

To get the percussive feel, mute all the notes.

Once you are more comfortable, you can increase the speed.

Experiment and you will be surprise what you can do.

Cheers

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.