greghagger

7 hours ago, Shanashian said:

Yo, if you're not big on putting ink on paper, Musescore's the real deal. It's free, beats some paid software hands down. I've had Coda and Sibelius, but Musescore's my jam. You can hear your tunes, mess with chord symbols, and snag other people's scores. It's a win-win! 🎵🎶 #MusescoreFan

Great tip. I’ve heard good things about Musescore. 

Last week I shared a YouTube lesson about walking bass which featured some of Chas Chandler's lines from the Animals song, 'Dimples'. 

I've now made a play-through video of the whole of the Dimples bass line so you can see and hear more of Chas Chandler's ideas, straight from the source.

You can view the video where I play Chas's bass line note-for-note along with the original song and you can also download a full transcription of the bass line by clicking on the PDF Booklet button below.

This was a fun bass line to record and it was also challenging to sightread my transcription and get it down in one take as it covers a lot of the fretboard and keeps moving for the whole song. But it's really worth looking at as you can learn a lot about how to construct Blues walking bass lines from it.

You’ll find a link to the transcription under the video. 

Chas Chandler from the Animals had a very unique, upfront style of bass playing and he could really play a great sounding walking bass line. 

There are particular patterns that will always work when walking a 12-Bar Blues and you really only need to know a few of these and also learn how to link up the three chords and you have the basics to play a convincing walking bass line. After that it’s a matter of using more options to get more creative. 

In my latest YouTube lesson I show you some of these patterns that are featured in Chas Chandler's bass line from the Animals song, 'Dimples'.

Find out more by clicking below and you’ll also find the free PDF with these walking patterns under the video. 

If you're interested in playing Blues bass then you have to know the 12-Bar Blues progression. It forms the foundation for loads of Blues standards and if you want to get up and play at a Blues Jam or play in a Blues band then you need to internalise this sequnce.

Once you know the progression, you can develop your Blues skills by learning different riffs and adding them to the 12-Bar. You can also easily transpose the progression into different keys once you understand how it works.

I explain how to do all this in my latest YouTube lesson so if you're a beginner player or you've always wanted to understand more about the 12-Bar Blues, check out this video.

Under the video you’ll find a free PDF with the lesson exercises and five extra Blues riffs. 
 

On 11/11/2023 at 14:34, ezbass said:

A lot of things go better when you 'slow down', especially sports. If you slow down, you tend to relax, if you're relaxed, there is less tension, which in turn allows you move faster. The same is surely true for playing any instrument.

That’s a very good point. I find a lot of similarities between practicing sport and music. If you gointo something new at full speed you tend to tense up more so relaxing is very much a focus. 

It sounds counter-intuitive, but to play fast you must first play slow. This is so important and I find myself repeating this a lot to bass students.

It's human nature to want to get stuck in and master a bass line as quickly as possible but if you don't break it apart and work on the tricky sections first, it'll take a lot longer to master. 

So, if you find yourself struggling time and time again with a few notes in a riff or bass line then this is the approach that you need to take.

I explain this simple but effective concept in more detail in my latest YouTube lesson and give you some important tips to help with playing fast.

On 29/10/2023 at 00:28, asingardenof said:

I often try not to use open strings in case I have occasion to play a song in a different key so it's less of a pain to figure out the fingering, and sometimes because the tone is nicer, but it's sometimes nice to use open strings where to not would be awkward.

Yes, open strings do make transposing a little harder! 

44 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

I've always used open strings when it's suited what I'm doing, why ever not? 

Totally agree @Waddo Soqable but judging by the questions I get asked about using open strings it was worth making a video! There’s a lot of misinformation out there so it’s confusing for inexperienced players. 

2 hours ago, ezbass said:

When playing a DB or EUB, open strings are always my go to, when possible. However, when on EB, not so much, no real reason.

Yes, whole different ball-game on the upright! 

I've lost count of the amount of time I've been asked whether it's ok to use open strings on the bass guitar. It's a fair question  though as there are lots of urban myths floating around about this topic.

The open E-string is obviously an open string that we can’t do without on a 4-string but many bassists won’t use the other open strings. 

Some players favour open strings more than others but there are situations where they are useful to help with fingering patterns and for certain effect.

So this week I've made a video to discuss open strings in depth.

Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson. 

2 hours ago, Paddy777 said:

Sorry for the blatant plug but I’ve decided to go a different route and I’ve gone for a Caveman BP1C, soo.. my Ampeg SGT-DI is up for sale in the Effects marketplace for about £100 less than I paid and still in as new condition, so if you’re on the fence but the price is prohibitively expensive I’ve done the decent thing and took the hit on it 😉 haha. It’s a great preamp clean and even better if you like the dirt section, but I don’t find I get any use out of the SGT circuit, which is its main USP 

No issues plugging it on this thread! Good luck. I’m sure that you’ll sell it no problem. 

There's a classic bass tone that has stood the test of time and that is the P-bass and flatwound strings combination. 

But how relevant is that bass tone today? Is it still 'cutting the mustard' or has it been surpassed by more modern active basses and roundwound strings?

I discuss this in my latest YouTube video and also play samples of P-basses with flatwound and roundwound strings so you can get a direct comparison of the sound differences.

I also delve into the various options that you have for different flatwound string brands. 

Find out more by clicking the link below. 

2 hours ago, stevie said:

You're right - that's a great bass line -  and I've definitely struggled with the triplets.

They are pretty fast! The chorus moves a bit too! 

After my false start a few weeks ago when I initially thought I was transcribing him, I've finally got round to covering a Leland Sklar bass line. I've gone for 'Doctor My Eyes' which is classic Jackson Browne, as the bass line is pretty accessible apart from a fast triplet bar.

This is a great tune and the the simple root note bass line in the verse really helps the song to groove. Jackson Browne is on top form in this song, as are the rest of the band.

Sklar's bass line is quality from start to finish and as you would expect from a session player of his caliber, it fits the song so well.

There're only a few sections to learn as lots of the bass line is repeated but you'll have to master the triplet bar which happens four times!

Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson. The full transcription in notation and Tab is available under the video. 

Enjoy!

On 16/09/2023 at 14:21, ezbass said:

Never a bad thing. That era had so many great session players, Jackson was spoilt for choice, the personnel on that album alone reads like a who’s who. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pretender_(album)

Incredible line-up. 
 

I’m currently researching a lesson on Doctor My Eyes. 

I'm sure that you know the guitar riff from Layla by Derek And The Dominos. This is probably Eric Clapton's more well-known riff.

I must admit that at one point I had heard Layla so much that I started to fast-forward it, in the days of cassette tape! But it's a brilliantly crafted Rock song in two parts that were actually recorded on different days and spliced together at a later point in the studio.

Carl Radle's bass line from Layla is often overlooked as there's a lot going on in the song, but it's really creative and is a lesson on how to perfectly support a song. I was reminded when doing a session yesterday that creating a bass line is a fine balance between producing a line that is repetitive but interesting at the same time, and Carl Radle was so great at this. He even switched to plectrum in the second part of the song!

As lots of the bass line is repeated, you only have to learn a few sections to play the whole epic 7 minutes.

Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson and grab my free note-by-note transcription of the bass line under the video. 

As bass players we are used to holding down the low end and providing a strong outline of the harmony for the rest of the band. So melodic playing can sometimes be an alien concept. something that we don't have any experience with.

But a strategically placed melodic intro or lick can be very poignant, can really make an impact and lift the song to another level. There's something very unique about the bass player covering the high end.

So I've put together a lesson with five tips to help you to start mastering melodic playing on the bass. I've used examples from Elton John's 'Rocket Man' and Carole King's 'So Far Away' which both feature excellent examples of creative melodic bass playing.

Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson. Free PDF download under the video. 

10 hours ago, itu said:

Stan's song theme starts with the neck dots on one string. Connection to school, and learning the neck? (Just guessing.)

 

 

Chord spacing

The more important detail is about why the chords sound good when we travel up the neck, and not so much down low. Well...

 

Frequency doubles when going up an octave. The frequency difference of a played octave is decent around the neck, even down there in the half position. A fifth does not work anymore when you go down low: from 42 Hz (E) to 62 Hz (B) the f difference is only 20 Hz. Not too far from let's say a detuning effect, but muddy anyway.

 

Let's take the basic tuning A, 440 Hz and put a fifth (E, 659 Hz) on top of it. Now the difference is already over 200 Hz, and the sound is fine.

 

The lower you go, the further away the notes have to be. Playing with a piano may be complicated, if the pianist loves to go down. You need a 5 string, or low tuning, or simply stop playing. There has to be some space between you and the next note upwards. Arrangers know this well.

 

Hopefully someone now understands why chords are nice, but not every chord anywhere around the neck. And that we may need to have some space between instruments, if there's a chord, although some unisono or octave playing can be very effective.

Thanks for the great intel on frequency in relation to chords. I didn’t really know that side of things. 
 

I do love the effect that is created in sone of Avishai Cohen’s music where he plays upright with very low notes being played on the piano. You can hear that frequency difference between the two instruments and it causes a sort of natural chorus effect. 

Chords on the bass you say?

Yes! Chords definitely have their place in certain bass lines and can be very effective to fatten up the sound.

Although chords are utilised more frequently in solo bass tunes, bass players like Andy Fraser and Geddy Lee have been using them for years in fully-blown Rock songs.

The humble power chord is king here and is easy to learn and throw in where appropriate. 

I've made a new video explaining some options for playing chords on the bass and in it I’ve also showcased a few chordal bass lines from songs by artists such as Stanley Clarke and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson.

5 minutes ago, Thunderpaws said:

I was wondering about this too. Is it best to set the preamp level first, using the dial on the left. Then engage the SGT and match its level using the right hand control. Then engage the IR and set its level to match using its own volume control? 
 

 

Yes, I would do it like that. I’d always set the preamp level first. 

8 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Cracking tune, in fact, the whole album is superb. The crediting of Lee Sklar (IIRC) rather than Bob Glaub is an amusing anecdote.

Confused me for a while there!! Thought I was transcribing Sklar! 😂

I'm always on the lookout for interesting bass lines and bass players that are new to me. I've done this since I first picked up the bass around 35 years ago and now I'm also doing this to pass these gems on to everyone else. 

Jackson Browne has always been a favourite songwriter of mine but up to now I've haven't transcribed any of the bass lines from his songs, in fact I wasn't even sure who played bass on his records. 

'The Pretender' is one of Jackson Browne's most well-known hits and after spending a few confusing hours researching this song, it became clear that the wrong bass player was credited on it! It also turns out that one of my P-basses is a signature model from the actual bassist who did record this track.

The bass line from The Pretender is a useful lesson in when to lay down a basic bass groove and when to fill the space with a busier and more melodic line. The two bass fills in this bass line are beautifully crafted and one of them just runs on when you think it's finished.

Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson and pick up the free bass line transcription  (notation & Tab) below the video.  

Enjoy!

3 hours ago, Thunderpaws said:

Had first play with new arrival last night. Just a bit if practice through headphones. First rehearsal in coming week. 
 

Love the sound of this thing and seems very versatile once I work out all the bells and whistles. 
 

Two things I have questions about though…

1) seems really sensitive to hum.  Couldn’t use it in a chain (even using different power supplies) with my Seymour Duncan compressor and snark tuner. Even when it was disconnected from the chain and using totally different power supplies, when I touched metal on either the Ampeg or the other pedals the hum disappeared. Ground lift just gave me a different frequency of hum. Is it just the case that my house has noisy electric supply?! I’ll need to use this to record at home, and in rehearsal with a chain, so will report back when I’ve had the chance in those situations. 
 

2) The ir selection really does make this sound a pleasure to play through, though a balance of volume across the selection would be nice. When you choose between the different cab sims the volume changes.  Also, the dial has a bit of “no volume” when turning them all of a sudden gives a big jump in volume. Maybe something I can adjust when I get it plugged in to the software?! 

Glad you like it! In regards to the hum, I haven’t had any issue with that at home or in a few venues where I’ve used it. I’ve only got a few pedals in my chain though so maybe that’s an issue for you? 

23 hours ago, Thunderpaws said:

Totally understand this pedal is designed for us bass players, but, has anyone loaded a guitar cab in to the ir loader and played a guitar through it? Did the Stones use Ampeg amps early days? 

I’ll see if I can persuade one of my guitarist mates to try this! 

On 10/09/2023 at 11:06, Kateplaysbass said:

Only just come across this and wanted to say thanks - this is definitely something I need to look at because although I use alternate fingers for medium fast tempos, when things get really fast I tend to use a single finger and a more percussive stroke, which I know isn't right! 

 

The (slightly obscure) track that I'm currently struggling with because it has a couple of fast sixteenth note passages is East Side Story by Bob Seger. Learning it more for fun than anything else since I'm not sure I'll ever persuade a band to add it to the setlist, but it's a great bass line! 

Hey @Kateplaysbass I’m glad the video can be helpful for you. Let me know how you get on. Speed is definitely something that gradually happens with practice. 
 

Good luck with getting that Bob Seger tune in the set 😀