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greghagger

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    Hertfordshire

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  1. greghagger started following Original American Pie Bass Line , Carol Kaye Groove Technique , Jaco Arpeggio Exercise - Great For Technique and 7 others
  2. greghagger
    There's a really interesting Carol Kaye interview online which I've dipped into before. Near the beginning, Carol talks about how she had to work on her groove and placement when she first switched over to bass from guitar. She borrowed a metronome technique from her Jazz playing, where she set the metronome to beats 2 and 4 and worked on her groove this way. So does this actually work? I delve into this concept in my latest lesson, featuring part of the Carol Kaye interview and dissecting this technique and the exercise that she demonstrates. This could be the perfect way for you to work on your own 'pocket' and groove playing.
  3. greghagger
    @paul_5 yeah it is sad isn’t it. I watch it differently now after 25 years since the last time I viewed it. I know I’ve got that booklet somewhere too. It’s a small little booklet without a cover isn’t it?
  4. greghagger
    No worries @ProjeKtWEREWOLF - I don’t think I’ve watched this since the 90’s. So many gems in there. Good luck with the stretches 😀
  5. greghagger
    Thanks @Beedster
  6. greghagger
    I was reviewing the Jaco Pastorius 'Modern Electric Bass' instructional video last week, for the first time in about 25 years! It was really interesting to watch and learn from. One of the exercises in the video is an arpeggio exercise that gets you flying around the whole fretboard. It's really great watching Jaco explain the exercise and to hear him play it - his tone is awesome! This exercise is perfect if you want to master your fretboard, work on your technique, and discover more about harmony. In my latest YouTube video I break this Jaco exercise down and explain how to play it. There is a free PDF link in the video description. Enjoy!
  7. greghagger
    Recently I stumbled across a YouTube video called 'Mind Bending Bass Exercise' and it looked pretty insane. It was the same 4 notes played over and over but by video creator Andres Rotmistrovsky, but he constantly changed position on the fretboard while doing this. So, is this video a fraud or a very good exercise? Click the link below to find out in my latest YouTube video. There’s a link for the free PDF of the exercise with the fingering patterns in the video description. Have fun with this!
  8. greghagger
    If you’ve ever played a James Jamerson bass line, you might have wondered about all the chromatic notes present and how they work musically. Well, there’s a particular technique that Jamerson used, which is more commonly found among jazz musicians. This technique is called an ‘enclosure,’ and utilising it in your bass lines will enable you to play smoother, more hip-sounding lines. I’ve just released a video where I analyze a few Motown bass lines so you can understand how enclosures work. In the lesson, I go on to show you how you can use enclosures when creating your own bass lines. I’ve also created a challenge for you, which you’ll find toward the end of the lesson. This is a new idea that I’m trying out for the channel, so I’d love as many of you as possible to get on board—you might even get featured in one of my future videos! You’ll find the free PDF download link in the video Enjoy!
  9. greghagger
    Last week I released a YouTube video where I analysed Chas Chandler's walking line from an Animals Classic, and used this to show how to walk over one chord and make it sound exciting. I've now made a demo video of me playing the whole of Chas's bass line from 'Bury My Body.' Although the walking bass sections are fast, this is really fun to play and it's got an easy main riff. The walking section is pure Chandler gold! You can also grab a free PDF transcription of the whole bass line by clicking the link in the video description. Enjoy!
  10. greghagger
    One of the hardest things about creating interesting walking bass lines, is if you have to do this on one chord. This does happens in Jazz and Blues progressions, and if you don't have a few concepts to fall back on, you're probably going to find that your walking lines sound boring and repetitive. In this week's video lesson, I analyse Chas Chandler's bass line from the Animals version of 'Bury My Body', as he walks over one chord for whole sections of the song. It's also a cool tune to look at, containing Chas' signature walking style. You’ll find a link under the video to my free note-for-note transcription of Chas’ bass line in standard notation and tab. Enjoy!
  11. greghagger
    If you exclusively play your bass with fingerstyle, you might not know where to start when it comes to pick playing. This is a common issue for bass players, and students often come to me with this problem. They say that when they've tried using a pick, some of the following challenges arise: ❌ Unable to play consistently ❌ Unable to play fast ❌ Not knowing how to hold the pick This is not surprising really if you think back to how difficult it was to play a bass line when you first started bass. It's fine if you started on pick, but if you didn't, you have to develop your picking technique. ✅ Playing pick bass is not as hard as you think though. You just have to add in some pick playing to your practice sessions. I've put together a video tutorial to show you how to get started and to give you some tips and exercises that will help you to become a great pick player. These do work, as this is how I started playing with a pick when I was in the same boat as you, years ago! Now I often use both fingerstyle, and the pick. You’ll find a free download link in the video description. The PDF contains all the lesson exercises in notation and Tab.
  12. greghagger
    I'm currently planning a pentatonic bass course which will be out towards the end of the summer. Mastering pentatonics is very important if you want more freedom and more creative in your bass playing. One particular area that I'm deep-diving for the course is 'linear pentatonics'. In my latest GBS YouTube video, I give you a sneak preview into what I'll be looking at in the course. If you want to break out of the basic pentatonic box shape and at the same time, develop fluidity over the whole fretboard, check out my YouTube video.
  13. greghagger
    You might already be aware of the 'blues note', which is a note that guitarists often use in their riffs and solos. If you use this 'blues note' in your bass lines or licks, your lines will sound more authentically bluesy. But did you know that this 'blues note' is part of the Blues Scale and that there are in fact two blues notes, the flat 5th and the flat 3rd? The blues scales are based off of the pentatonic scales and contain one extra note. It's important to have these scales under your fingers if you want to have creative freedom with your Blues bass playing. I’ve made a video lesson explaining how to turn pentatonic scales into blues scales. You can also download a free PDF containing handy fret diagrams of the various scales - link in video description. Enjoy!
  14. greghagger
    Continuing on from last week's video lesson where I gave you a simplified version of the bass line from Don McLean classic, 'American Pie', this week I have a lesson on the original bass line. This is an epic bass line from Rob Stoner, that is improvised all the way through! The bass line is pretty busy, using a combination of triads, scales and repeated 8th note patterns, and it's really fun to play. Because the song is so long, in the video lesson I've just picked out the key passages from the bass line, but you can download a full transcription of the note-for-note original Rob Stoner bass line. Enjoy!
  15. greghagger
    The Don McLean classic, 'American Pie' is one of those songs that I've always loved, but never thought to learn properly. I did play this live way back at school, and I have to admit that I just 'blagged'' it from the chord chart! But recently, a one-to-one bass student of mine has been encouraging me to transcribe and make a lesson on the American Pie bass line. I'm sure though, that he just picks epics so I've got my work cut out for me! 😂 The song is over 8 minutes long and Rob Stoner's bass line is through-composed, meaning that it doesn't repeat anything. As you can image, it took me a while to transcribe! To make this song more approachable for everyone, I've made two video lessons on the bass line. In the lesson this week, I've come up with a simplified bass line that still sounds really great. Next week I'll show you the original bass line. So, if you've always wanted to play American Pie, here's your chance, whatever your playing level. You can pick up a simplified bass line transcription in the video description. Enjoy!
  16. greghagger
    I held a one-to-one lesson a couple of weeks ago where I taught a student how to use a single one-bar riff to construct a whole 12-Bar Blues bass line. We also delved into how we could take this one step further and add in variations to create more interest. I decided during the lesson that this would make a useful YouTube video, so here we are. My latest YouTube lesson is perfect for any aspiring Blues bassists who wish to improvise their own Blues bass lines. It's a basic concept that can be used to produce interesting and impressive sounding Blues bass lines, sure to get you out of a hole at a Blues jam or gig! You can download the free lesson PDF by clicking the link in the video description. Enjoy
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