This is a video on something that I call “lyrical motivic development.” Check it out.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s important to stress the fact that no, you don’t have to be actually singing the lyrical content as you play it. You merely use the lyrics as a guide to what you end up playing, and that way it becomes easier to “hear” what you are going to improvise.

Hope you enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

E maj scale in 4th steps over 2 octaves

This is for the slightly more advanced bass players out there looking to expand their theoretical horizons. This is the second video in a series on the often misunderstood concept of chord scales (check out the first video here). No, this won’t make you an amazing bass player, but it should give you some food for thought.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s a “Chord Scale Primer” with instructions for constructing basic diatonic chord scales and a list of all 7 diatonic chord scales in C major, as well as a page listing the 5 Secondary Dominant chord scales.

http://adamneely.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/chordscale-primer.pdf

http://adamneely.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/secondary-dominant-chord-scales.pdf

Enjoy!

This is for the slightly more advanced bass players out there looking to expand their theoretical horizons. This is the first video in a series on the often misunderstood concept of chord scales. No, this won’t make you an amazing bass player, but it should give you some food for thought.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s a “Chord Scale Primer” with instructions for constructing basic diatonic chord scales and a list of all 7 diatonic chord scales in C major.

http://adamneely.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/chordscale-primer.pdf

Enjoy!

Tetrachord priciples as introduced in my lesson “Practicing the Major scale – tips and tetrachords”
A series of scale/mode  exercises – continueing with the minor tetrachord scale.

The minor tetrachord is a four note scale that can be played with 4 different patterns/fingerings, you should practice them all.

Pattern formula is whole step, half step, whole step.
Here is Pattern 1,  4 notes on 1 string,

A method/series to learn the modes and common scales by dividing an eight note scale into 2 four note scales (the brain has an easier time remembering 1234 1234 than 12345678) You only need to learn 4 different tetrachords to be able to play all 7 modes : Ionian Major, Dorian minor, Phrygian minor, Lydian, Mixolydian Major, Aolian minor, Locrian half diminished.

Playlist with Four different fingerings for a minor tetrachord:

First all patterns played in sequence, then one by one:

Playlist with Four different fingerings for playing a One octave Dorian Minor  scale (a C Dorian minor scale is contructed of two minor tetrachords, the C minor and the D minor tetrachord)

Go to previous lesson on Major tetrachords HERE

Tetrachord scale principles as introduced in my lesson “Practicing the Major scale – tips and tetrachords”
A series of scale/mode  exercises – beginning with the Major tetrachord scale.

The Major tetrachord is a four note scale that can be played with 4 different patterns/fingerings, you should practice them all.  Pattern formula is whole step, whole step, half step.

And when you have learned the Major tetrachord scale you can easily play the Major scale (see video #6 to 13 in the video playlist)

This is a a method/series to learn the modes and common scales by dividing an eight note scale into 2 four note scales (the brain has an easier time remembering 1234 1234 than 12345678).

You only need to learn 4 different tetrachords to be able to play all 7 modes : Ionian Major, Dorian minor, Phrygian minor, Lydian, Mixolydian Major, Aolian minor, Locrian half diminished.

Playlist with Four different fingerings for a Major tetrachord:
First all patterns played in sequence, then one by one:

Playlist with Four different fingerings for playing a One octave (Ionian) Major  scale (a C Major scale is contructed of two Major tetrachords, the C Major and the D Major tetrachord)
and four different fingerings for playing a Two octave (Ionian) Major scale

And you can download the Major tetrachord shape with 4 different fingering options below
And go to the next lesson HERE

Hopefully you’ve had a chance to dig into Visualizing the Groove Part 1 .  Again, just to be clear, the concept of using the ruler as a visual representation of time is borrowed from one of Anthony Wellington’s lessons on Victor Wooten’s Groove Workshop DVD. I’m a huge fan of the way that Anthony explains things.

In this post I’m going to use standard notation and one note ;  “A”. You can use any note that you like.

I’ve included two handwritten examples showing how standard notation looks compared to the yardstick concept.

I would suggest getting a paper and a pencil (with a good eraser) and start experimenting!

One “trick” when reading standard notation is to not get overwhelmed by a bunch of notes.  See the beats first. As you become comfortable with how each subdivision feels it will become easier and easier.

Groove Concepts 1:

• The first four systems show different permutations of beat 1.  Play through each one as needed until you’re comfortable.
• The second four systems utilize each of those same permutations on beat one and in other places within the bar.  Play each one until you feel comfortable.

Here are some audio examples in the same order as they are in on the pdf. [audio:http://sonofabass.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/grooves.mp3|titles=audio examples]

I’m sure that you’ve heard how important it is to grasp concepts behind the licks you learn. This makes it much easier to create your own grooves. In this case, let’s take a look at visualizing groove. Well, in this post we’re really just exploring time a little bit. Nothing fancy, no polyrhythms  or anything like that. Just the “simple” stuff that you encounter on paying gigs. ;- )  The aim here is to become comfortable enough to feel and acknowledge – visualize if you will – any subdivision of a beat at any given time. Trust me… what may even seem “boring” to some at first will become more and more fun, and challenging as you explore the possibilities.

Before I continue; let me acknowledge that the way that I am going to begin explaining this comes from one of Anthony Wellington’s lessons on Victor Wooten’s Groove Workshop DVD.  I thought that it was brilliant how he explained this concept using a diagram that he called the “Yardstick of Time and Groove”.

Remember that the goal is to become comfortable with each subdivision so that you can acknowledge it without thinking about it. This is a great way to visualize rhythm and can also serve as sort of a primer for learner how to read standard notation. (DO NOT BELIEVE THE HYPE – You should learn to read music if you don’t already.  If you’re going to be any kind of serious musician you are going to be able to open more doors if you can read – Period.)

Anthony uses a diagram that looks like a ruler for this exercise. (please forgive my pitiful artwork)

• Set your drum machine to a medium tempo.
• Use a pencil with a good eraser or a white board because you’re going to make a ‘tick mark’ underneath each line where you want to play a note. Any note will do.
• You don’t have to keep writing tick marks once you become comfortable.  Just feel.

1. 1. Play each down beat individually until you are completely comfortable. That could mean for four bars you may just play beat 3 of the bar until it becomes comfortable. I know that they are just down beats but be honest with yourself.  And play them short (the equivalent of a 16^th note)

1. 2. Play each up beat individually ….

*It’s ok to just hang onto one sub-division until you just know how it sounds. For instance, if you have trouble feeling the “and of beat three”, just loop the one bar pattern and play only on the “and of beat three” until it becomes second nature.  Remember – writing your name didn’t come automatically –you had to practice writing it one letter at a time.

1. 3. Play the “e” of each beat individually.  Are you detecting a pattern? Same rules as 1 and 2 apply here.
2. 4. Play the “a” of each beat individually….
3. 5. Play through this one bar pattern and displace the note that you play each time until you come full circle and then do that in retrograde!

Example:  (the bold indicates what subdivision is played)

II: 1 e+a  2 e+a 3 e+a 4e+a :II

II: 1 e+a  2 e+a 3 e+a 4e+a :II

II: 1 e+a  2 e+a 3 e+a 4e+a :II

II: 1 e+a 2 e+a 3 e+a 4e+a :II

II: 1 e+a  2 e+a 3 e+a 4e+a :II etc….

6. Then, in retrograde: rest until you hit the ‘a’ of beat four, the ‘and’ of beat four, the ‘e’ of beat four, the downbeat of beat four, the ‘a’ of beat three….

example 1 (the video/audio are out of sync)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gmaj scale exercise in triads over 2 octaves (african feel)

First part:

Improvisation over C maj7 chords (C E G B) with two scales:

- C major scale = C D E F G A B C

- C lydian mode = C D E F# G A B C

www.bassebruno.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Do you still remember all the different modes?

Here is another example with almost all of them within one tune, in 6/8 groove

In this lesson I talk about practicing scales in a musical way using different intervals, arpeggios and fingerings. Im also introducing a new way (for me) to look at the Major scale formula which we normally view as 7 different steps (8 if you count the octave):
G A B C D E F# (G)
Whole step (G to A), whole step (A to B), half step (B to C), whole step (C to D), whole step (D to E), whole step (E to F#) and half step (F# to G)

Instead we divide it into 2 parts – so we get two four note scales (called tetrachords) – identical patterns where the first (called the lower Major tetrachord) G A B C:
Whole step (G to A), whole step (A to B), half step (B to C)

And the second (called the upper Major tetrachord) D E F# G
Whole step (D to E), whole step (E to F#) and half step (F# to G).
The beauty of it is that it is easier to remember 2 x 4 notes than 8 notes in a sequence, its easier to get an overview of the fretboard when you condense the scale into smaller scale units.

More info on tetrachords HERE and on www.notreble.com there are some good articles too,  HERE

And you can download the Major tetrachord shape with 4 different fingering options below

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chords are

| Am7 | G7 | FMaj7 | FMaj7 Bm7b5 |

You can play the A minor aolian/A minor pentatonic scale

or see it as

C Major ionian / C Major pentatonic

Favorites also inlude E minor pentatonic (great sound)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A continuation of the theme from previous video (Minor 7 chord improvisation with scale substitution ) , how to improvise over a D minor 7chord, this time using the pentatonic scales contained in the C major scale or any of the modes derived from it – look below

C major ionian and/or C major pentatonic
Dm dorian and/or D minor pentatonic (of course)
Em phrygian and/or E minor pentatonic
F major lydian and/or F major pentatonic
G mixolydian and/or G major pentatonic
Am aolian and/or A minor pentatonic
Bm locrian

These all contain the same notes, but you target the notes differently by cheating the brain to see new patterns

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A practical theory lesson on how i approach improvising over a static m7 chord groove. In jazz, funk and rock, if a solo section consists of a static m7 chord, most often the Dorian minor scale is used (1, 2, b3, 4 , 5, 6, b7). The dorian minor scale is built on the 2nd step of the Major scale.
In this example the D dorian minor scale is 2nd step (or mode) of the C Major scale – or in other words it IS a C major scale just starting on the 2nd step/degree.
So on any given minor7 chord we can improvise a Major scale a whole step below.
ie if we play over a Em7 chord , we can play a D Major scale

Click here to view the embedded video.

For beginners and maybe a reminder for the rest uf us;-)

Getting to know the fretboard of the bass guitar using target notes and arpeggios.

I use simple major and minor triads in the examples – root , third and fifth

I want YOU to post a comment where YOU are analyzing a simple song with these tools, a video comment would be nice:-)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lecture about the foundation of the music we know – the major scale ; its use and why its such a good idea to learn.

Whole thing is almost 30 minutes but ive divided it into three parts, first today – so hang in there;-)

We are “harmonizing” the major scale – building a chord an each step of the scale and numbering them as we move along (this is also known as the “Nashville number system” used by the studio musicians fro writing down songs)
Also an introduction to learning to analyze the most common chords and progressions in songs, so we can learn tunes faster and transpose them easily too .

For further written explanation revisit this lesson on playing bass lines over triads

A maybe too detailed explanation of the pentatonic scale;-)
Its in two parts

The 5 positions for the pentatonic scale.

The A minor or C Major pentatonic scale, they share the same notes, so you can look at the 5 notes A C D E G , either as steps of the A minor pentatonic scale:

A = root (1)
C = minor third (b3)
D = fourth (4) E = fifth (5)
G = minor seventh (b7)

Or as steps of the C Major pentatonic scale:

C = root (1)
D = second (2)
E = third (3)
G = fifth (5)
A = sixth (6)

Click here to view the embedded video.

iPod m4v (original)

Flash flv

Click here to view the embedded video.

iPod m4v (original)

Flash flv

Ive attached an image of the 5 positions as 5 colored “boxes”

(Click the image for full size)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Since Jaco brought the bass from the last into the first row here and then we have the possibility to play the theme of a song with our bass, or at least to double it together with another instrument.

In Latin music this happens often that the bass plays the same line along with the piano or the brass section.

This example mixes up latin feel with funky style….

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Locrian mode has the formula 1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7. Its tonic chord is a m7b5.(Bm7b5 in the Key of C).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Happy new year!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mixolydian scale G7: G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G  (Merry mixolydian christmas to all the bass-freaks out there….)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lydian scale in F(maj7): F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F. The only difference to a ionian scale is the raised forth. So you can play lydian over

any maj7 or maj7/+11 chord.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Phrygian scale Em7: E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E  (1, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7). Used often in flamenco+oriental music, but works also on

calypso grooves like this one…..

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dm7 dorian scale: D-E-F-G-A-B-C

Try to transpose this lick to all different keys….

Warning! Dont do all of this (maybe 25% of it) in a tune! But use some of the ideas where you feel appropiate

Click here to view the embedded video.

This a continuation of the playing over triads series, go to previous lesson and backing track HERE

In this example i cram almost everything i know in playing the bassline over the progression:

Chordnotes – Major triad 1, 3, 5 sometimes with a 6th added.
Scale notes – When doing the walkup or walkdowns from one chord to the other i just use the notes from C major scale.
Chromatic passing notes in between scale notes – For example, on the F chord, if you are goin from the 3rd A to the 5th C, you can use notes inbetween in passing – A (A# B) C.
Inversions of the chords – the root position of the Major triad (you can add the octave too) is 1, 3, 5, then first inversion 3, 5, 1 and the second inversion 5, 1, 3.
Doublestops (2 note chords) – Playing the root plus the 10th (an octave + a third)

Playing this in a band would surely get me fired for overplaying, but again, its an example of possibilties and inspiration for you to in learning to play over these fairly simple Major chords.
And we havent even touched the use of the 7th, as i basically play over triads with a 6th added here and there, but its the pure major chord sound witch is used a lot in most rock and pop songs.

Quicktime version

iPod version

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is a lesson 2 in this series, go to lesson 1 HERE or continue after this to lesson 3 HERE

iPod version here

Im just playing the notes from the triads  in a fairly strict up and down fashion over the music in this exercise – in a real playing situation i would of course vary the patterns – mostly put emphasis on root notes, use other rhythms , add scale notes etc..

But this is for you to get equally comfortable with the third (3rd )  and the fifth (5th) as well as the root

Now we use the C, F and G Major triads in a chord progression

Another way to learn this is by looking at at the chords as steps of the major scale (for explanation revisit lesson 1)

We are in the key of C so:
C Major is the 1st step of the C Major scale,
F Major is the 4th step of the C Major scale,
and G Major is the 5th step of the C Major scale

Optionally you could look at -The same chord sheet as above where numbers replaces the letters making it much easier to transpose

The positions revisited:

The C , F and G Major triads played in different positions up to the 7th fret, please memorize them, you will gain a great advantage in being able to break out of the “only playing root notes” box

(Click the image for full size)

Click here to view the embedded video.

iPod version

This is a prepatory exercise for Ch11 Using Major triads in basslines

The C , F and G Major triads played in different positions up to the 7th fret, please memorize them, you will gain a great advantage in being able to break out of the “only playing root notes” box

(Click the image for full size)

Explanation of  why you should learn this;-)

Since most western music harmony is based on the 7 steps of major scale, and that the chords built on the major scale are VERY common and should be memorized and transposed since they cover the foundation of MOST songs you will ever play.

And most pop and classic rock is composed either on a guitar or piano playing simple chords  (often by a non guitarist or non pianist), hence the “easy” keys and chords (C, G, D, Am, Em…) that  are VERY common.

So if we take the 7 steps of the major scale and build a simple chord on each step, in this case a triad (a three note chord):

• 1  C E G – spells a C Major triad – written as C
• 2  D F A – spells a D minor triad – written as Dm or D-
• 3  E G B – spells a E minor triad – written as Em or E-
• 4  F A C – spells a F Major triad – written as F
• 5 G B D – spells a G Major triad – written as G
• 6 A C E – spells a A minor triad – written as Am or A-
• 7 B D F – spells a B dimished triad – written as B0 or Bdim, but is not thatcommon and is often changed to a G Major triad with B in the bass – G/B

To build a triad from a scale, you play every other scale note, ie the C Major triad is the 1st,  3rd and 5th step of the C major scale, the D minor triad is the 2nd,  4th and 6th step, the E minor triad is the 3rd,  5th and 7th step….

So we have:

C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim

and if you look it as scale steps from the C major scale, it translates to:

1, 2m, 3m, 4, 5, 6m, 7dim

If we only use the Major chords we get :

C, F, G or the scale steps 1, 4 ,5

Which is a very common progression – ie Blues, Rock ‘n’ roll (Chuck Berry, Elvis…)

| C | C | C | C |
| F | F | C | C |
| G | F | C | G |

Or written as numbers (the scale steps) as the Nashville studio musicians do:
| 1  | 1  | 1 | 1  |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 1  |
| 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 |

A very wise thing to do since you can transpose to all keys more easy just thinking in scale steps

| 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | in C is
| C | F | G | C |

And transposed to G is

| 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| G | C | D | G |

Go to next chapter of this tutorial with a song built on the 1st, 4th and 5th step ogf the major scale using the triads you have learnt in the video

Click here to view the embedded video.

Music theory for understanding the modes of the major scale.

This portion explores some simple possibilities over a fairly common I/Vi/IV/V chord progression.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This first half simply explores the 5 positions of C Major.

Click here to view the embedded video.