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greghagger

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Everything posted by greghagger

  1. greghagger
    My Youtube lesson last week on the Noel Redding bass lines from Red House went down really well. Since then I've had some requests to compare these bass lines with the Billy Cox bass line from Red House live at Woodstock. If you're unaware of Billy Cox, he was Jimi Hendrix's long time friend who joined him in the band after Noel Redding left. The version of Red House at Woodstock is really iconic and it's interesting to see what Billy Cox played after I’ve looked at Noel Redding's bass lines. The two bass players are very different, not least because Noel Redding was first and foremost a guitarist. But personally, I see merits in both of their bass lines and enjoy all the contrasting versions of Red House. I’ve made a full transcription of Billy Cox’s bass line and you’ll find this under the video lesson. It’s in standard notation and Tab. Enjoy, and it would be interesting to hear which version of Red House you prefer. https://youtu.be/Et4vV7Vpnqo
  2. greghagger
    I’ve had quite a few requests lately to make a lesson on the Red House bass line, specifically the original bass line played by Noel Redding. I can understand why as this is a real Blues classic. The bass line is sometimes hard to hear in the mix and when I first started playing bass I just use to do my own thing when playing Red House at gigs. But I wanted to find out exactly what Noel Redding was playing so I started researching it. I found out something very interesting in a letter online from Noel Redding - he didn’t actually play bass on the original version of Red House! How had it taken me so long to find this out? It all makes sense when you listen carefully to what Noel is playing. I reveal all in my latest Youtube lesson and also show you two very different Noel Redding bass lines that you can use when playing Red House at a gig or jam night. The free PDF is under the video lesson. Have fun! https://youtu.be/9t_fiCQ7i6w
  3. greghagger
    Sometimes when at a gig or jam night we can run out of ideas of riffs to use in our bass lines while jamming a 12-bar Blues. So I've put a YouTube lesson together to give you five Blues bass riffs that are very easy to play and plug into the 12-bar progression. In the lesson I also talk about the main difference between the shuffle and straight feel and what this means for us bass players when we are playing Blues. It's important to get this right because you're gonna clash with the drummer if you play the opposite feel to him or her. In the lesson you'll also get plenty of practice playing through the 12-Bar Blues sequence which you should know back to front if you want to play at a Blues jam night. The five bass riffs are on a free PDF with standard notation and Tab. You’ll find the link to that under the video. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/NJ62_CXc1XM
  4. greghagger
    I’ve recently been looking at the music of the 'Godfather Of Soul' James Brown. And you can't look at James Brown without the funkiest of all Funk bassists, Bootsy Collins cropping up! Bootsy is on a lot of JB hits from the early 1970's and if you enjoy playing Funk then this is the bassist to check out. What a character he is, who lives Funk! In my latest YouTube lesson I show you the main grooves from five James Brown tunes. These all have great bass lines and some of them are trickier to play than you might think. All five grooves are really fun and you can learn a lot about the role of bass in Soul and Funk by studying them. As Bootsy would say - "you playing bass now, you are the foundation of the song." You can pick up a free PDF under the video of all five bass grooves in standard notation and Tab. https://youtu.be/qjNWnBYi9g0
  5. greghagger
    Hi @Dusty I use Sibelius to notate music and Tab. It’s pretty expensive but I need powerful software as I use it every day. There are free options out there for notation software that works on the iPad. Usually you have the option to write Tab as well as notation on these programs. Maybe someone on here knows of some free or cheaper options?
  6. greghagger
    Yet again Tommy Shannon is getting the business done in the studio version of Texas Flood. This whole album was recorded in three days which is hard to believe with albums taking months, even years to get finished nowadays! Without any overdubs, the album has a really nice live feel to it. The song Texas Flood is in 12/8 time and if you want to become an accomplished Blues bass player then you need to be comfortable playing in the 12/8 Blues feel as it's often used for slow Blues tunes. I spend time at the beginning of this YouTube lesson explaining exactly how 12/8 time works so definitely check out the lesson if you need help with this. There are particular lines that just 'work' when playing in this style of Blues and Tommy Shannon is a great player to learn these from. He really lays the groove down but also has an intuitive sense of when to 'let rip' and add some variety to his lines. In the lesson I show you how to play the first chorus of Texas Flood and then break down the rest of the bass line and talk through some of the variations Tommy plays. You’ll find a full transcription of the bass line in Tab and standard notation under the video. https://youtu.be/qMcGhUysokM
  7. greghagger
    You've probably heard that to play the bass properly you need to use the one-finger-per-fret rule but you don't always have to follow this rule and you can also use four fingers over three frets. The bass fretboard is large and because of this you need to be efficient if you want to play fast but still be accurate. But if you get your technique correct then it really doesn't matter if you've got small hands or don't have a big stretch as it's all about how smoothly you shift positions. There’s an extended technique where you use four fingers over five frets. You don't have to physically stretch your fingers over the five frets but instead glide across the frets. This helps greatly when playing large intervals and big jumps. I’ve prepared a lesson article on my website where I explain more about the extended fingering technique for bass. You'll also find an exercise that I've written for bass guitar based on a Bach Prelude that will help you to work on this technique and smoother playing. https://www.gbshed.com/extended-fingering-for-bass-guitar
  8. greghagger
    If you are a fan of Blues and you haven't seen footage or heard of the 'In Session' gig featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King then I highly recommend that you watch it! There are some brilliant renditions of Blues classics in the gig and it's great to see these two Blues guitarists playing so beautifully together. Gus Thornton is on bass duties for the gig and he really plays great, adding new ideas to these classic bass lines. You can also hear him very clearly and you even get some footage of Gus playing which is often rare for bass players who are usually hidden at the back! I've made a note-for-note transcription and a YouTube lesson on the 'Born Under A Bad Sign' bass line from this gig. Gus Thornton plays around a bit with the original Duck Dunn bass line and you can take his variations and use them when you play Born Under A Bad Sign yourself. If you want to get up at a Blues jam night then this is one of those Blues standards that it's great to know. You’ll find the free PDF in the video description. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/ICJ9jCrfI0Q
  9. greghagger
    Earlier on this week I got to hear a Gospel band and choir performing live and the sound was just incredible. The band were seriously cookin' and I couldn't believe the quality of the choir, especially the soloists. I was blown away by the musicianship and pure soul and energy. This inspired me to put a lesson together based on a Gospel inspired funky bass groove with four licks. The Pentatonic and Blues scales are boss when it comes to creating Gospel fills and licks and the great thing is that the four licks I show you in the video can be used in your bass lines for many other styles of music. In the lesson I also show you some of the concepts behind how I created these licks from scales, giving you insights into how you can improvise your own licks and know that they are going to sound great every time. All the licks and the bass line is on a free PDF which you’ll find in the video description. Have fun! https://youtu.be/ihLN8mSV4Wc
  10. greghagger
    Great to hear @paddy109, hope you enjoy more of the lessons.
  11. greghagger
    Thanks so much @petecarlton really appreciated.
  12. greghagger
    Glad you liked it @petecarlton That’s very kind of you. if you wish to donate, I am part of the ‘Buy Me A Coffee’ scheme. https://www.gbshed.com/buy-me-a-coffee-gregs-bass-shed Cheers
  13. greghagger
    Tone is so important for us bass players. Without a good sound, what do we have? Most of the time when we practice at home at low volumes or using headphones, we lose perspective of how tiny tweaks and changes to our technique can make massive differences when playing live at much louder volumes. A loud amp or PA will amplify any subtle changes we make and that is something we should always be aware of when practicing. When I first started putting serious work into my bass playing in the early 90's I went to a more advanced bass player for some help with my sound. He showed me a simple change I needed to make and to this day that has stuck with me and it's something I'm always aware of. I've made a YouTube lesson on this technique because it's something that I often see new students missing and you may also need to work on this to improve your tone. This technique involves the mechanisms behind how you pluck the strings and it's a simple technique that anyone can start to use from beginner to intermediate players. Maybe you mastered this technique ages ago but I'm sure that there is something in this lesson for everyone.... There are exercises in the video that you can also download on a free PDF. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/9pLDn7RaEn4
  14. greghagger
    Hey @lowdown thanks man! Good suggestion for software in your last message. I highly recommend going down that route for students once they have grasped the basic of writing music. I’m running a boot camp in September for beginner readers and there will be notation tasks so I made the YouTube lesson to help with that as well as for general viewing.
  15. greghagger
    Yes @paul_5 that’s a good suggestion for a software program but I highly recommend that beginner readers physically write down music first to learn the basics properly. Programs will automatically do a lot of this which is great once you’ve established the basics.
  16. greghagger
    Good suggestion @FDC484950 Music notation software is great, I use Sibelius pretty much everyday. But I recommend students to physically write down music first of all as it helps with learning to read music as well. It’s good to learn the rules of writing but software programs will automatically do this for you. Once you’ve mastered and understand notation then using software programs make a lot of sense.
  17. greghagger
    Ever wanted to write down music but don't know where to start? My new YouTube video lesson is an easy guide to get you up and running with writing down music. You don't need any fancy software, you just need a pen and the manuscript paper which I'll give you in the free PDF booklet to print out. It’s so handy to be able to notate music, even if you just want to scribble down a riff to remember later on. Notating music also helps to speed up learning to read music and the two skills complement each other. The PDF booklet link is in the video description. I’d love to hear how you get on so leave a comment under the video to let me know or if you have any questions please ask. https://youtu.be/Dm8T99qR2DU
  18. greghagger
    If you play bass for a while then there’s no doubt that you’re going to hear about Jaco! Although his bass lines are often challenging to play, he still used basic pattens that he developed to more complex grooves. A few years into playing bass I worked out one of those pattern and I knew instantly that it was going to be really useful for Funk and Soul bass lines. It falls under the fingers very nicely and sound great! It's a basic 16th note groove that you can use over one chord or when the chord progression moves from chord 1 to chord 5 and back to chord 1 again. You might also have heard of Rocco Prestia and Jerry Jemmott who were also playing in that era, they frequently used this groove in their bass lines too. Check out the video lesson to find out more... Free PDF in the video description. https://youtu.be/tkaLlilo5lY
  19. greghagger
    One of the most common questions I get from bass students is should I practice scales and if so, which ones? Now there are a lot of scales out there and trying to practice them all is let's face, pretty boring and tedious! Although I think it's important to have basic scale knowledge, I don't recommend mindlessly running scales each day. But there are four scales that are essential to know if you want to create riffs, bass lines and licks that you know are going to sound great. These scales are the major and minor pentatonic scales and the two Blues scales. I've made a new Youtube lesson showing you all four scales and an easy way to remember them. There's also a handy PDF booklet with the four scales in standard notation and TAB along with fret diagrams. If you do run scales in your practice sessions, these four should be the ones you focus on. https://youtu.be/bUZPpdn8G_A
  20. greghagger
    @paul_5So great isn’t it. Interesting when you come to play some of the more tricky lines that don’t fall under the fingers so much on bass.
  21. greghagger
    You might already be aware of how important the pentatonic scales are for us bass players. They can be used to create bass lines, riffs and licks that you know are going to sound great. There’s a song called Mojo Hannah by Elkie Brooks that has a bass line almost exclusively made up from the major pentatonic scale. It’s really fun to play and a good example of how to incorporate certain scales into bass lines. I’ve transcribed the bass line note for note and you can download the free PDF In standard notation and Tab. I’ve also made up a webpage where you can hear me playing the main riff, learn the pentatonic scale and read the bass line. Even if you don’t yet have the technique to play the bass line at full tempo, it’s still worth learning and playing at the speed you’re comfortable with. Enjoy! https://www.gbshed.com/mojo-hannah-bass-line
  22. greghagger
    Cheers, glad you like it.
  23. greghagger
    It may come as a surprise to you that there is a formula that can help you to play great sounding walking bass, but there is! Certain note choices just sound 'right' every time and the quicker you get to know those, the quicker you'll be able to play walking bass lines that work, sound great, and help support the band. Walking bass lines can be utilised in many style of music, Blues and Jazz are the obvious ones but you'll also find walking bass in Ska, Reggae, and Pop for example. In my latest YouTube video I show you this formula and how to pick the ‘best notes’ for your walking bass line. I use a simple Jazz progression but everything you learn in the lesson can be applied to any style of walking bass. This is a great starting point for improvising your own walking bass lines. Once you learn these walking basics you can develop them and start getting more creative with your note choices. There is a free downloadable PDF booklet in the video description. Enjoy!
  24. greghagger
    I was jamming through a Robben Ford track the other day and I found myself messing around with an idea for a lick. Without really thinking about it I was using a pattern based on the minor pentatonic scale. This is a really useful scale to utilise when trying to come up with licks and fills. Once you get the pentatonic scales under your fingers, you have options and great sounding note choices for creating bass lines and knowing these scale shapes also help with transcribing. So I thought I'd share this lick in a YouTube lesson and also run through the minor pentatonic scale. A bonus is that this lick will work over minor and major chords so it's very versatile. Some of you may find the lick pretty technical and fast so it might take a while to learn but I've also put a second easier lick in the lesson for those of you that don't fancy the main lick! You’ll find the free PDF link under the video. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/4AXGXTcugZA
  25. greghagger
    There's a great way to link up chord changes in Blues and Jazz bass lines that pretty much every experienced player will use. When I first started playing in a Blues band and worked this particular walk up out, I found it so useful for loads of the bass lines I was playing. This walk up is very simple but extremely effective and you can use it in lots of different musical situations. In my latest YouTube lesson I show you how to use the walk up to connect different chords in a 12-Bar Blues. I think you'll be surprised at just how easy it is to learn and play this simple one-bar pattern. Once you know this walk up then you can use it in Blues walking lines, groove bass lines, Jazz standards, Gospel, and the list goes on. There’s a free PDF booklet in standard notation and Tab in the video description. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/VNx_5mdOdGY
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