A bit of bass (tuition videos) (alternative, country, funk, jazz)

littleknowitall · 01-22-2008, 07:34 AM

A Brief Introduction.

Thought I might do something a little different, my intent here is to basically give a combination of beginner to intermediate to advanced lessons in writing form, might put some videos up. If I can. I hope I can provide an account of bass techniques, influences, songs and theory worthy of some of our resident bassists.

I'm going to begin with the obvious. Start with some Victor Wooten and basically explain how this bass line is put together and give some tips on how to play it. It's something a little more advanced and it'll take anyone a little time to learn unless your far beyond my reach BUT here is victor wootens main riff and chorus to me and my bass guitar. (haven't quite figured out the bidge yet)

So,

I think when you get to these sort of riffs it's at a point where you begin to play them your own way If you don't want to spend too much time learning them, So the tapping isn't quite correct with me.

Here's my attempt.

Now,

Let's write a tab shall we?

Quote:

g -----------------x---------------x--------------
d --------x--6--x-----7--x------------------------
a ---------------------------7--x-----------5-----
E -7--x-------------------------------5--x-----6--

Here is the main circulating riff, and a lovely one at that I might add, It's a slap bass riff clearly, relying on a circulating slap, mute and pop theme. And I find it's easier although It's not entirely true to think of it as a riff in triplets. So count it as 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3 to begin with, each note that isn't muted is played as a hammer on out of nowhere so instead of striking the string or plucking the string with your right hand. Hit down the note with the left hand, then proceed to slap the first muted note and pop the second.

So hammer -on, slap, pop and mute the slap and pop.

so get the first 6 notes in a rythm...keep going over them until your comfortable enough to play them.

Done that?

Ok, now it changes, you can't continue to think of it in threes because unfortunately it isn't which makes it a little difficult, keep in mind tha every note that isn't muted should be considered note '1'

It will be played 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,1,2,3,1,2,1,1 It's something to get used to

(o.o)
|O|

So, try to get that count in your head before your continue, go over the numbers in your head to the rythm of the riff and the notes should slowly fall into place, as long as you think of it constructively in this way and are comfortable in your playing, you can with a bit of effort jump from playing the white stripes to this I assure you.

Right, I will edit this and add the CORRECT tapping, which is not what I'm really playing in that video, although I think if i sat down and went over it I'd get it eventually and I'll put down the chorus, Which is the verse With an added riff, which is evidentally a lot easier, I'll also probably go into some more detail as how to play it.

Oh and sorry about there being no amp in the video, If you want to hear it as he plays it (which is a **** load better) Then go here.

MySpace.com - Victor Wooten - BEVERLY HILLS, California - Funk / Jazz - www.myspace.com/victorw0010

Also, he raps over the top of it, which with a little bit of perseverence I can just about do

I don't know how this man does what he does but God bless him for it.

Well this was kind of rushed as I just wanted to get the stepping stone infront of me by starting the blog, and giving a little taster.

Next I'll proceed I think to start at a beginner level and give a full load of lessons though basically explaining everything I know in my 9 years experience.

So I hope this will come of some use as to anyone curently playing or wanting to learn to play the bass.

Anyway, back to do a far better job soon, and finish this one off too ofcourse.

Cheers,

Jake,

littleknowitall · 01-22-2008, 09:04 AM

Practical Lesson 1.

Side note:Some of these lessons Will be presented in written format, some in video and some in a combination of both. They will grow in size and detail as they progress.

Lesson level: Beginner

Basic Practical figures.

So I'll begin by giving you some basic riffs to practice when first picking up a bass.

Quote:

g-------------------------------------1--2--3--4--|
d-------------------------1--2--3--4--------------|
a-------------1--2--3--4--------------------------|
E-1--2--3--4--------------------------------------|

Quote:

g---------------------------------------4--1--2--3--|
d--------------------------3--4--1--2---------------|
a--------------2--3--4--1---------------------------|
E-1--2--3--4----------------------------------------|

Quote:

g----------------------------2------4--|
d----------------2-----4--1-----3------|
a----2-----4--1-----3------------------|
E-1-----3------------------------------|

Quote:

g-------------------------------------4--5--6--7--|
d-------------------------3--4--5--6--------------|
a-------------2--3--4--5--------------------------|
E-1--2--3--4--------------------------------------|

With these figures I'd suggest playing them firstly, then moving it all up a fret and playing it backwards back across the fretboard. Ascending it up and up to the 12th and then back down.

Secondly I'd suggest using these to utilize your picking with your right hand.

The way you should be playing is to use the first 3 of your four fingers on your right hand when you play in this motion.

1,2,1,3,1,2,1,3

This i've found is the best way to progress with your picking.

And this is an example of how it works, (watch my right hand) Kind of looks like a jelly fish o.0

Why are these relevant you ask?

It will bring alot of strength to your left hand and allow you to at the same time learn how to pick with your right along with making you a lot more comfortable with your playing.
They can be quite boring to continuously play BUT if you stick on a film and just play them whilst your watching something it gives you something more interesting to preoccupy your time whilst practicing them.

What I've found also helps is using the buddha rope technique, this basically brings in a bit of rope under the strings to mute the fretboard whilst making these quite annoying noises, if you want more of an explanation youtube Bill 'the Buddha' dickens. And find the lesson from the man himself.

Hope this helps you make a good start anyway,

Cheers,

Jake.

littleknowitall · 01-22-2008, 09:54 AM

Slap Lesson 1.
Paradidles.

A technique commonly utalized by drummers, This technique can be transfered cleverly onto the bass to sound rather impressive if played correctly.
Firstly,
You must learn to tap out the pattern for this riff with your hands on a desk.

Here's how it goes.

Quote:

Right hand: 1 3 4 2
Left hand: 2 1 3 4

Just tap that out on your desk until you can do it comfortably and steadily to a tempo.

NOW to put it to action on a bass guitar.

The notes by the way for this should be the same length apart and at a steady fast pace for it to sound any good.

Now with your left hand feel free to use your left hand to tap out the alternative notes creating a percussive sound around the top of the fretboard. Here is the basic line.
The open notes should be slapped with your thumb.

Quote:

g------------------------|
d------------------------|
a------------------------|
E 0--x--0--0--x--0--x--x-|

Get that sorted at a stady pace and tempo as boring as It may sound it does get better.

As soon as that settles in with you we can move on to using a bit of E minor pentatonic improv to mix i up a little, this will mean keeping that pattern and that pace and replacing some of the notes with some improvisation.

To start lets replace those last 2 percussive taps that are making it sound rather empty, Instead play this.

Quote:

h
g------------------------|
d------------------------|
a-------------------5--7-|
E 0--x--0--0--x--0-------|

Pop the last two notes and be sure to hammer on the 7 from the 5 as indicated.
By hammering on I mean not plucking the 7 but simply tapping the finger on to the 7th making it ring with the resenance of the note plucked on the 5th, if that makes any sense.

Now, get comfortable with that, and used to playing it.

PLay it 3 times and on the fourth time round lets add a little pentatonic run to mix it up a little.

Quote:

h h h
g----7--9--------------------|
d--------------7--9---5--7---|
a----------------------------|
E-0---------0----------------|

Try to mix it up a little as you progress wih your playing, and it gets more interesting, but it dosn't put much strain on your hands as far as bass slapping techniques go and can be played rather quickly without much difficulty.

Here's me playing it (2:39) It gets clearer briefly, but this might give you a basic idea.

I'll probably go through most of the techniques used in that video, some more interesting to learn and play than others, some techniques i've written, picked up and some I've stolen from other bassists lessons and songs.

So there we are,

Your first slapping technique,

Enjoy

littleknowitall · 01-22-2008, 10:39 AM

Tablature 1
Larry Graham - Pow

Here's one I made earlier.
I will throw in a tab to learn from time to time, I tabbed this out a while back. It's a great song from a fantastic bassist. There's no real way to explain any specifics to this, it's a combination of techniques, a lot of slap and pop and some persarverance, Good luck.

Here's a video of the song from the man himself, Larry Graham of Graham Central Station.

Quote:

Verse.

pow!.....I got ya....etc.
h h h h p
g--------------------------------------7----9-------------------|
d---------------------------------------------------------------|
a--5---7---------------5--7---x---x-----------------5---7---5---|
E---------0---0----0----------------------------x---------------|

h h or
g---------------------------|-------------|-------------------|
d---------------------------|-----7-----5-|------6-----7------|
a--5---7---------------5--7-|-------------|--4------5---------| Repeat
E---------0---0----0--------|--5-----3----|-------------------|

Bridge

What did you expect!!...etc.

g--------------------------------------|
d----------5-------2------3------4-----|
a--------------------------------------| x 7
E---3--3-------0------1-------2--------|

h h h p p
g----------------------------------9-----|
d--------------5--7--5---8--7------------|
a--------5--7------------------10--------|
E--5--7----------------------------------|

Structure.

Verse
bridge with the weird genre change pauses (country line not included in this tabe)
verse
bridge, as shown on tab
verse riff over keyboard solo
bridge over solo
bass solo (verse with a little bit more 'pizzaz' if you know what i mean)
Bridge
verse to fade out.

| / slide up
| \ slide down
| h hammer-on
| p pull-off
| ~ vibrato
| + harmonic
| x Mute note

This is an amazing song by one of the greatest if not the greatest bassist who ever
if you ask me, so have this little guideline to this particular song on me

Hope you enjoy learning and playing this as much as i did.

littleknowitall · 01-22-2008, 12:19 PM

Slap Lesson 2.
One of my orginals.

For my second slap lesson I intend to show you how to play one of my original bass riffs.
As it incorperates a number of techniques and a number of slap and pop paterns.

So here's the tab.

First part.

Quote:

s p s h s p h s p h s p
g----------------------7-------------------7--|
d-----9------6--7----------9-----7--9--------|
a---------------------------------------------|
E--7-----7---------7----------7--------7-----|

s = slap
p = pop
h = hammer on

This part is entirely based around the B minor pentatonic, By flattening your first finger over the 7th frets across the neck for the most part this is just a series of hammer-ons from there on along with some slap and pop.

Second part.

Quote:

s s p s s p s s p s s p s s p h
g------------------------------7----------------------------|
d---------9---------7---------------------9-----------7--9--|
a------------------------------------------------------------|
E--7--7------7--7------7--7-------7--7--------7--7---------|

s = slap
p = pop
h = hammer on

This relies on another slap and pop pattern which requires you to slap twice in a brisk pattern and then pop, just one more in many different combinations of the slap and pop technique.
Besides that I'd continue to keep your finger flattened across the entire neck on the 7th fret when playing this if more comfortable.

Third part.
This is basically a repeat of the first part.

Fourth part.

Quote:

s p h s p h s p h s s p s p s p
g----------------7-----------------------9-----10-----11--|
d-----7--9----------9-------7--9--------------------------|
a----------------------------------0--7-----8------9------|
E--7---------7----------7---------------------------------|

The Fourth and final part is basically based on the second part with some added octaves in a steping pattern to finish.

Anyway, there it is and here is me playing it, hope it helps to improve someones bass playing. Enjoy.

littleknowitall · 01-22-2008, 02:43 PM

Video Slap lesson 1
Bit of a **** up but ah well.

This was meant to be an entirely video lesson, but my camera cuts off so it gets through the basics of it, doesn't show you how to improvise in amongst the technique and cuts out before i get a chance to show off and go over it slowly then fast, at the end I swear I became more literate. And I had a brief chat to the camera just saying hi and stuff but unfortunately my camera seems to go into screensaver mode after a short time or the battery is gone I'm not entirely sure yet.

But here it is either way, someone asked about this riff, it was at the start of that jam between me and my bassist. Here's it a little slower and poorly explained, I hope it comes to some use.

Hope you all enjoy,

Cheers,

Jake.

littleknowitall · 01-22-2008, 03:40 PM

In depth look at bass.

Ibanez sb900 s

Quote:

I will randomly throw in some other parts to this blog, This blog is about the bass guitar in it's entirety even If I went on a lesson bender in bass playing today. So every once and a while I will pick a bass and have a small talk bout it If I lie the way it looks and plays or find it interesting. Or if it disgusts me.

Found this Bass in a post on another forum, And basically I've chosen this bass to take a look at because I've fallen in love with this bass and I doubt I'll ever own it.
It was made in Japan, It only ran between 1990 and 1991 (Which is why I'll probably never own this)
It's irridescent purple meaning it changes shades of purple or this one specifically which Is the one I need. It will change depending on the ammount of light on the bass from a reddish purple to a more pink purple. It looks gorgeous, It has a typical Ibanez shape to it. If only I had the chance to play one, Which Is the only think about during my daily morning shower. I picked this one bass not for the ammount of information or experience I had with it but simply because I want you all to look for it.
It's limited edition, I can't find a price on it, I need this bass. Not only do I need you all to hunt for it, but to find a finish either being that finish or a worthy opponent and I need you to find it at a price I can buy. Please help me with this.

This is one of many basses I will give a run through of as long as I can find the time. I will obviously write more about the other basses, It's just I needed to get this one out there and I couldn't think of another bass I'd put out first that I love the look of as much as this one.

Anyway, here are some pictures for you all to druel over.

littleknowitall · 01-22-2008, 05:41 PM

Bass Amplifier Review 1.

Trace Elliot combo 715 (7 Band EQ)

Features:

Quote:

In 2005 Trace Elliot released this amp into its catalogue, A modern amp in attire with a classic, warm trace sound, Not much to favor the typical pick rendering metal bassist as this amp finds itself falling back into the basics of amplified sound. For any bassist looking for that simple, rustic rock tone typical of Trace Elliot then this amp can’t be far from your pay pal shopping list.
These amps ‘footswitchable’ features include pre-shape; compressor; Graphic EQ and an output mute.
The Pre-shape being a built in classic Trace Elliot tone, Which In experience for me has been an asset to my live playing, It provides for a quick and easy Rock tone worthy of any bass player and any venue. The quality of this built in sound is more than competitive in conjunction with other leading brands.
Although having graphic EQ can’t be a bad thing, I have yet to find much use for it, honestly The punters don’t really tend to notice anything past their so much loved fast fretwork on the 6 stringed enemy of the bass and a compressor as much as it may prove slightly useful to any progressive rock obsessed individual looking to perfect perfection with this amp It has yet to provide me with any such satisfaction. I just tend to find myself setting it if at all into the shape of a ‘smile’ for a slightly lower frequency.
The compressor for me seems to again lay itself no justice to the smaller pub venues that I tend to familiarize with.
And of course the ever favourite, ever necessary mute button, gracefully simplistic and always put to use for any actively performing bassist.
For any middle-plain small venue bassist this amp can be a both cheap, light and efficient solution to all your problems. 250 Watts with a solid state it provides just enough power in that small frame to comply with the needs of a modern ‘pub’ bassist.

Sound:

Quote:

So far, with regards to my encounter with this particular amp I have committed an unfortunate injustice, In owning myself a singular bass guitar, that particular bass guitar being a vintage music man copy (anyone familiar with this bass will know of the dreadful sound and the eventual crumbling that follows the purchase of this item in particular).
Where as I am sure an original music man would do nothing but lean to the sound of this amp, the Trace Elliot 750 s Combo can only do it’s best to compensate for a corresponding bass guitar that is nothing but a nightmare to play and listen to.
Its low frequency, warm and growling tone lends fondly to the traditional rock sound I use in my venues and the quality of its higher frequency tone settles nicely over the odd funk bass line that I am most partial to. In this sense it suits my particular styles of playing very well along with many others I am sure.
Through careful experimentation with these amps and their features I can only give you my word that this amp accounts for nearly all of the basic genres of music and can give musical satisfaction to all walks of bassist.
The Amp itself will peak and has a built in monitor to keep track of when exactly the amp is peaking, although it will have little damage on the sound quality then received it is not recommended by the manufacturer that you continuously peak the amp itself and hence asks you put that ‘peak monitor’ to use.
This amp will provide any user with enough presence to comfortably fill a room in a venue from a pub or club to a fairly large hall, that is a given.
Its vast array of wonderfully set sounds and tones can lend themselves to a soft blues bassist and give that overly aggressive sense of power to any bassist hungry for a tone to fuel his growling bass lines.

Reliability & Durability.

Quote:

This amplifier, small and compact is as reliable as they come, not once since my purchase in a time far gone has this amp failed to comply with my needs nor has it once murmured a single whimper of fault.
It’s small and compact stature, light and easy to maneuver mean regardless of a frequent use and its constant shipping you need not worry about bringing any harm to this amp, it is not hard to carry around, it is small enough to shuffle through crowds, it is reliable when played and will virtually never die on you.

Overall Impression.

Quote:

To conclude, this amp has more than enough features built into a light, stylish and compact model. Its appearance only tells the truth of its high quality tones. It’s of a fantastic value for money considering the competitive prices you can find this amp at across the web. It provides an array of tones befitting of a vast range of bass players, its built in sound is of an almost God-like design in terms of the sound of competitive amplifiers in this present day of course and for the cheaper prices I seem to continuously find it for whilst scoping the web then it is ideal for any bassist on a low budget looking to find a quality amp with just enough power to get him through those smaller venues.

LittleKnowItAll’s rating. *****

littleknowitall · 01-23-2008, 07:57 AM

Tablature 2.
Stereophonics - Bartender and the thief.

Here's another one, more for beginner bassists, but good fast picking in this song, good practice for you to start using 3 fingers to pick.

Quote:

Tuning:E,a,d,g

Intro Verse
G|----------------------------|-------------------------------------------
D|----------------------------|-------------------------------------------
A|----------------------------|-------------------------------------------
E|--3--3--3--3--3--3--3--3--3-|-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-

G|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D|-----------------------0--0--0--3-0-0-3-0-0---------------0--0--0--3-0-0--
A|---------------------------------------------3--3--3--3----------------
E|-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1---------------------------------------------------

G|----------------------|
D|-3--0--0--------------|x2
A|-----------3--3--3--3-|
E|----------------------|

Bridge
G|----------------------------------------|
D|----------------------------------------|
A|----------------------------------------|x2
E|--6--6--6--6--6--6----3--3--3--3--3--3--|

G|-----------------------------------------------------------|
D|--3--0--0--3--0--0--3--0--0--3--0--0---3---0--0--0---------|
A|-----------------------------------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------------------------|

Chorus
G|--------------------------------------------------|
D|--------------------------------------------------|x4
A|--3--3--3--3--3-----------------------------------|
E|-------------------5---5---5---5---5--5--5--5-----|

Live Outro
G|------------------------------------------------------------------------
D|--3--0--0--3--0--0--3--0--0--3--0--0--3--0--0--0-3--0--0--3--0--0--3--0--
A|------------------------------------------------------------------------
E|------------------------------------------------------------------------

G|-------------------|
D|-0--3--0--0---12---|x4 (Hold 12th om last note).
A|-------------------|
E|-------------------|
| / slide up
| \ slide down
| h hammer-on
| p pull-off
| ~ vibrato
| + harmonic
| x Mute note

So there's tab number two, enjoy. Nice easy one there to work on your 3 finger picking and build up a bit of speed.

littleknowitall · 01-23-2008, 01:25 PM

Bass Theory 1.
A beginners starting point.

So here it is, a very basic starting guide to what to know as soon as you begin picking up that bass.

This is a diagram of the fretboard, on it are the notes you can find on a bass. Between those notes are sharps and flats, it doesn't really matter wether you consider any of those notes to be sharps or flats, doesn't really make much difference and don't let any other overly obsessive musician tell you otherwise.

The 12th fret as you might notice is the same note as the open note on that same string. That is because they're octaves, also you might notice if you take a note, cross over 2 strings and up 2 frets that is also another octave, as you can see octaves are 12 notes apart. Being the same note higher or lower.

This next diagram basically gives you an explination of each feature of the bass guitar. It doesn't really need any further explination. You really should kind of be able to work out what each part of the bass does.

Now comes reading tablature, In a standard tab you will find 4 horizontal lines representing the 4 strings on your bass. The lower horizontal line representing the lowest note on a bass. so,

Quote:

h
g-----------7---9---|
d-------7-----------|
a-------5-----------|
E---/3------------x-|

There you have it, on these horizontal lines you have numbers representing the fret number you should be placing your finger on. On that diagram you have 5 notes to be played, (theres no tune to it, I was just putting in some notes)they should be read left to right, and played in sequence. So play them 3,5&7,7,9 And then the mystery letter .
the forard slash (/) before the 3 means that you should slide up to that 3, as there is no note prior to the 3 in this case you should simply start on the first fret, being the lowest fret you can start from and slide up to the third fret leaving no pause on the first fret. If you notice then that the 5 and 7 are parallel to each other meaning they should be both played at the same time, either with your first and second finger or your thumb in a downward strumming motion. the 7 to 9 has a 'h' above it symbolizing a hammer-on, meaning you should pluck the 7 and then slam another finger onto the 9th and done properly this should allow you to hit the 9th note without plucking it. The opposite of this would be a pull off which basically means you would pluck one note and release it onto a note further down the fretboard creating the same effect.
And finally 'x', that represents a palm mute meaning rather than playing a note, you simply keep your finger on the string but release pressure so to mute a note entirely.

So there is your starting point, hope it helps someone,

Cheers,

Jake.

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01-22-2008, 02:43 PM
littleknowitall Last of the Musicologists Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: swansea, wales, uk Posts: 1,478	Video Slap lesson 1 Bit of a **** up but ah well. This was meant to be an entirely video lesson, but my camera cuts off so it gets through the basics of it, doesn't show you how to improvise in amongst the technique and cuts out before i get a chance to show off and go over it slowly then fast, at the end I swear I became more literate. And I had a brief chat to the camera just saying hi and stuff but unfortunately my camera seems to go into screensaver mode after a short time or the battery is gone I'm not entirely sure yet. But here it is either way, someone asked about this riff, it was at the start of that jam between me and my bassist. Here's it a little slower and poorly explained, I hope it comes to some use. Hope you all enjoy, Cheers, Jake. __________________ My Myspace. My Bands Myspace - Please Show Some Love Here. My Youtube. My Ultimate Guitar. Last edited by littleknowitall : 01-22-2008 at 06:09 PM.