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greghagger

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  1. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) by Marvin Gaye is a really poignant song with a smooth funky bass line that was originally recorded by Bob Babbitt. This song is from Marvin Gaye's iconic album, 'What's Going On'. Most of the bass lines on the album were recorded by James Jamerson but Bob Babbitt was also on a few tracks. There's a main 2-bar groove that Bob Babbitt varies throughout the bass line and because it's a pretty high part it has to be played around the 12th fret, making it a little tricky to get the fingers around! But it's really fun to play once you've worked out the pattern. There's also something very interesting that I've found out about the recording session(s) for this bass line and I share that with you and teach you the bass line in my latest YouTube video. Free bass line transcription in notation and Tab in the video description. Enjoy!
  2. Occasionally an incredible player bursts onto the music scene that just blows me away. The latest player to do this is Indian bassist, Mohini Dey. A couple of weeks ago, Rick Beato released an excellent interview with Mohini Dey where she talks about her childhood, the challenges of being a female bass player in Indian, how she got to such a high level on the bass, and much more. Her style is a fusion between Indian music, Jazz and Rock and although this type of music might not necessarily tick your own music preferences, she's well worth checking out, not least because she's got such a great bubbling personality. I've gone all out this week and created my first 'reaction video' where I pick out the important parts of the interview. I've also featured a bass scale workout in the video that is based on some of the scales Rohini practices. Free Essential Bass Scales PDF under the video.
  3. A couple of weeks ago, one of my students generously sent me a set of Rotosound Black Nylon Tapewound strings as I'd never tried them before. I've always been interested in these particular strings but had never got round to getting a set. I've always thought that the nylons would be a perfect match for my custom ‘tele’ bass. Before putting the strings on, I decided to compare the flatwound strings that were already on the bass with the new tapewounds. I thought this would make an interesting and useful video for those of you thinking about trying nylon or flatwound strings. In the video, you can hear samples of both sets of strings on the same bass to get a good idea of their characteristics.
  4. There's a really cool minor Blues by ZZ Top called, 'A Fool For Your Stockings'. This is from their 1979 album, Degüello. It has some stunning work on it by guitarist, Billy Gibbon and also has an interesting chord progression. It follows a 12-Bar Blues progression, but like many minor Blues, it has more interesting chords in the last four bars of the progression. Dusty Hill's bass line doesn't have anything tricky to play in it but it requires a good groove and feel to really command this root note shuffle groove. It's very accessible and a really fun bass line to jam along too. This week I've made a lesson on the bass line and you can also check out my play-through video with the original track, on Monday. Link for the full bass line transcription is under the video lesson.
  5. This week I stumbled upon a bass groove that knocks it out of the park! It's from the Jazz/Funk classic, 'Expansions' by Lonnie Liston Smith. I had to research this tune more, and it turns out that the album its from was a real trailblazer at the time. The band were all 'straight-ahead' Jazz musicians playing with the likes of Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett and Art Blakey, and they created a more laidback fusion style with this album. The bass groove is two bars long and is looped over and over again throughout the song. Although it sounds more like an electric bass on the recording, it was actually played on upright bass by Cecil McBee. The riff is very fast and difficult on an upright, take that from me, I tried it yesterday!! But it also sounds great played on electric and falls under the fingers once you've learnt the notes. There's no getting away from the fact that it's fast, but it's a really useful groove to learn slowly and get gradually up to speed to help with the technical sides of playing. You’ll find the free transcription under the video. Have fun with this one!
  6. I was saddened to hear of Aston 'Familyman' Barrett's death last week, but I decided to celebrate his fantastic work by featuring five of his classic bass riffs in a YouTube lesson. All five riffs come from Bob Marley songs, as these songs form a big part of his career, and they're great! But Familyman also had a long career after Bob Marley, right up to a few years ago. These bass line are very accessible and not too technical but the real secret to playing them, and Reggae bass in general, is your feel and groove. Pay particular attention to the rest of the band and where they are playing. This is called 'placement,' and as you develop as a musician, placement becomes very important. When I dep (or sub as it's sometimes called), I always check out where the band, especially the rhythm section are playing in regards to the beat. Some bands play right on the beat, some behind, and some in front. Focusing on 'locking- in' with the drummer will also help you to produce a solid groove for the whole band. Groove is what Familyman was known for, so always have this in mind as you play his bass lines. If you develop a strong sense of groove, you'll always have the audience bopping with you when you play live. Transcriptions of each riff are on a free PDF - link under video lesson.
  7. There's a really cool YouTube video that I found this week called, 'Chicago Blues Live, Vol 1'. I assume this is from a DVD and who knows, you might even have it! The video was taken at Buddy Guy's Legends club in Chicago and features some great footage of different Blues artists. One of the tunes by Junior Wells really caught my ear and it's called, 'If I Knew Then What I know Now.’ You can hear the bass very clearly in this tune and it drives the song forward from start to finish. Bass really is holding down the groove throughout! I couldn't actually find out who the bassist is but he's using a 5-string bass with a modern sounding bass tone. It works great though in this context so all you 5-string players out there, you're going to love this lesson. You can easily play this bass line on a 4-string too so don't worry about that. In the video I teach the main riff and then give you two more choruses filled with loads of Blues 'tricks' and licks that you can take away and use when creating your own Blues bass lines. I also show you how I would approach playing this sort of Chicago Blues tune at a gig and you can catch me jamming my own bass line to the live footage towards the end of the video. Enjoy!
  8. There's a very interesting documentary called 'Gunsmoke Blues' that was made by the film crew who were shooting the Western drama series, 'Gunsmoke' at that time. It features Muddy Walters, Big Mama Thornton, Big Joe Turner and George 'Harmonica' Smith. It's a real piece of classic Blues history. There's a really great shuffle Blues version of 'Early One Morning' by Big Mama Thornton in the documentary. Calvin 'Fuzz' Jones is on bass for most of the gig but Big Mama has her own bass player, Bruce Sieverson in her band who plays this song. He's playing a really solid shuffle bass line that’s based on a very useful pattern that you gotta know if you want to play Blues. In my latest YouTube video I break down this bass line and show you how to use shuffle 8th notes to enhance basic Blues bass riffs. This is a superb pattern to get 'under your fingers' and a useful one for Blues jam nights. Enjoy!
  9. If you don’t know King Curtis's classic tune, 'Memphis Soul Stew' then you have to check it out. It has a funky bass riff that is featured throughout and pretty much runs the whole show! As well as the original studio version of Memphis Soul Stew, there is a well-known live version that feature the groovemeister, Jerry Jemmott. But he didn't play on the studio version and there is often confusion about this. In my latest YouTube video I discuss this bass line, teach the main riff, include snippets from the classic live version and show you an interesting interview with Jerry Jemmott where he discusses this bass line. You’ll find a full note-for-note transcription of the original bass line under the video.
  10. Really great to hear that this is useful to you. I’m sure you’ll get yourself to a position a you get up and play at jam. Then a lot of it is just taking the plunge and going for it!
  11. Recording yourself is one of the best ways to get an honest review of how you are progressing with your playing. This can just be audio or you can include video if you want a visual to get feedback on your technique or playing posture. It's also very common to record songs and albums at home nowadays and it's getting much cheaper to do this. I now record remote sessions for artists all over the world without even leaving The Shed! You don't need to have a pro recording setup like me and it's now very easy to get together your own recording setup without breaking the bank. You just need an audio interface and some recording software and you can get a really good quality recording from your bass. The technical side of building a decent recording setup at home isn't hard, as long as you understand a few simple steps so I've made a YouTube video to show you how to do this. I’ve also made up a list of reasonably priced audio interfaces and recording software (DAWs) which you’ll find a link for under the video.
  12. Every year me and my longtime mates perform the music from 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' at a gig after showing a viewing of the animation. The music is so great and we always get a lot of feedback saying it really gets everyone in the mood for Christmas. This annual Christmas gig means a lot to me as it sets me up for Christmas and I also get to play with my buddy Dan the drummer who I've know since we were 4 years old. The Charlie Brown Christmas tunes were originally played by the Vince Guaraldi Trio and I always get my upright bass out for the gig to keep things authentic. For the last GBS YouTube video of the year I've recorded me playing along with the original track of 'Christmas Time Is Here' on my upright bass. It can easily be played on electric bass though and I've written out a part so you can do that on either bass. You’ll find the free transcription under the video. I hope this classic will help you get into the festive mood 🎄
  13. Recently a bass student shared a video with me that showed a close up of 'The Ox' (John Entwistle) playing at a gig and he was interested in comparing his own plucking technique with Entwistle's technique. The student was concerned that he might not be plucking in the most efficient way. So that prompted me to look at other pro bassists's plucking techniques in more detail. There is of course a sort of 'standard plucking technique' and that's the one I teach all my bass students. But I was interested to see just how much variation there is in technique between the different bass players who are at the top of their game. Variations in plucking technique include: * Angle of hand * position of fingers * Contact point of fingers So, if you want to ensure that you are plucking your bass in the most efficient way and you are producing the best tone possible, then check out my latest YouTube video. In the video you get to see real live footage of six awesome iconic bass players and then hear my thoughts and analysis on their technique. I'll give you real tangible concepts to take away to help tweak your own plucking technique.
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