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greghagger

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  1. greghagger
    Last week I released a video lesson that focused on the slow 12/8 Blues style. 6/8 time is very similar to 12/8 time, and is often used for slow Blues tunes too. In my latest lesson I show you how to play the bass line from the Freddie King version of, 'Same Old Blues'. This is a lovely 6/8 slow Blues tune with the addition of a choir at one point. Learning to play in 6/8 time will strengthen what I showed you last week, and it's important to be able to do this if you want to play at Blues jams, as a slow Blues tune is bound to come up. There’s a free transcription of the original bass line under the video. Enjoy!
  2. greghagger
    One of the many things that I like about Blues is the slow epic guitar solo. The slow Blues is where you’ll find these solos and this style often contains the most heartfelt, emotional and serious side of the Blues. Slow Blues songs are mostly in the 12/8 time signature, which requires a different mindset from playing in the more usual 4/4 time. There are also particular bass patterns that work well in this style, and some that don't! In my latest lesson, I deep-dive the slow 12/8 Blues style and give you examples of the types of bass grooves and rhythms that work well in this style. It's essential to understand the slow Blues and know exactly what to play if you want to sound like an authentic Blues bass player. Check out how to do this in my latest video. Free PDF download link in the video description.
  3. greghagger
    No worries, glad it’s useful.
  4. greghagger
    That’s my next move. Also interested in trying some Creamery pickups.
  5. greghagger
    Really interesting. Great info. I’ll be trying my Mustang with some effects to see! Thanks
  6. greghagger
    Yeah I agree. I was pretty surprised at just how similar they sounded. Within a mix, I don’t think many people would be able to tell the difference.
  7. greghagger
    Interesting. The Squier P-Basses must be light. My Mustang is considerably lighter than any other 4-strings that I’ve picked up before. But I know they are making basses a lot lighter nowadays.
  8. greghagger
    Short-scale basses are becoming very popular lately, and there are many reasons why, not least because they are so much lighter than full-scale basses. Personally I'd never really considered short-scale basses before I had to play one when covering for another bassist on a gig. This particular short-scale bass was a Fender Mustang, and I've got to say that I was pretty impressed! The Mustang was instantly easy to play, and through a decent amp, it sounded much fatter than I imaged it would. So, of course I've gone out a brought one! In my latest YouTube video, you can check out what I think of my new Mustang bass, and hear how it stacks up against a full-scale P-Bass. This is a useful video if you’re considering buying a short-scale bass, and you want to hear how a Mustang bass sounds. Enjoy!
  9. greghagger
    It seems that bass players are frequently talking about other bass players that have good groove or who, 'play-in-the pocket'. There's good reason for this. If you're watching a bass player at a gig, you might notice some nice note choices, but invariably, it's the way that the bassist locks in with the drummer. and the band, that often catches people’s attention. Good groove is not as elusive as you might think though, and working on your timing with a metronome, click, or drummer will help you to improve in this area. My latest YouTube lesson covers these areas of playing and delves deeps into the different places that you can play with the beat. There’s a free PDF under the video. Enjoy!
  10. greghagger
    One of my favourite pieces of fretless playing has to be from Pink Floyd's, 'Hey You', and I've loved this bass line ever since I first heard it on 'The Wall.' The bass line has two sections of lyrical, melodic fretless bass and some very effective slides throughout the bass line. What I particularly like about the fretless bass tone from Hey You, is that it doesn't have a ton of chorus on it, like a lot of the 80's fretless features. You just get the pure sound of the fretless and this really adds to the emotion of the song. If you want to work on your fretless playing, this is a brilliant choice of bass line to play and study. You can also jam this bass line on a fretted bass, if you don't have a fretless. There’s a full transcription of the bass line in notation and Tab under the video lesson. Enjoy this classic bass line!
  11. greghagger
    Sounds great! I didn’t realise over here in the UK how popular Simple Man is for bands to play. It’s such a great song!
  12. greghagger
    The song 'Simple Man' by Lynyrd Skynyrd is such an epic and the bass line is really inventive too. Ed King was the bassist on the original recording and there's an interesting story regarding him, this bass line, and Leon Wilkeson. All will be revealed in my latest YouTube video! It's a pretty tricky bass line so I've spent some of the video teaching a simplified bass line that I've created for this song. Even though this bass line is much easier to play, it still sounds great. There’s a link in the video description to a transcription of the simplified bass line and the main sections from the original bass line. Enjoy this classic!
  13. greghagger
    I’ll definitely have to try one then!
  14. greghagger
    A very common question that I'm often asked is, "how do I lock in with the drummer?". This question might resonate with you, and it leads to a whole host of other questions like, "do I have to play with the kick drum?", or, "can I create my own independent bass groove?". These are all very good questions that I wrestled with in my earlier years of bass playing. We should all be looking to interact with the drummer, but we might not always know just how to do this. So, I've made a video explaining my take on how to lock in with the drummer, and in that video I present simple concepts that you can take away and use when jamming or creating grooves with drummers. I hope that you find this useful. Leave a comment and me know what you think.
  15. greghagger
    Nice, have fun with the bass line. How is your EB-3 to play? I’d like to try one.
  16. greghagger
    Andy Fraser's bass lines always impress me when I study them in details, particularly when I remember that he was very young when he recorded the Free material. Recently I had a recommendation to look at Andy Fraser's bass line from the live version of the free song, 'I'm A Mover', and what a groove! The bass tone is magnificent with superb 'in-the-pocket' playing throughout. This bass line really epitomises how I think the bass player can both lead, and support the band at the same time. You can check out this bass line in my latest video lesson and download a free copy of my transcription in the description underneath the video. I hope that you enjoy this awesome bass groove!
  17. greghagger
    If you've heard the words, 'chord tones' and wondered what they are, why they are important, or even how to use them, then read on... Chord tones are very important to us bass players as they are the essential notes of the chord, that we can use to outline and establish the harmony for the rest of the band. These are our building blocks, and you need to know what they are, and how to use them if you want to start creating and improvising your own bass lines. Chord tones really are very simple to use, once you know how, of course! So I've put together a short lesson explaining chord tones in a way that is very easy to understand. I’ve put the link to a handy free PDF under the video and this containing the fret diagrams from the lesson and a bass cheatsheet.
  18. greghagger
    If you're a fan of Chas Chandler and The Animals, then you'll bound to know 'It's My Life'. If not, then check this song out as it has a really great little bass line that drive the song from start to finish. Chas Chandler was such a solid bass player and his sense of groove is excellent. This bass line isn't too technical but it good for practicing groove, and it's also a fun one to play. You can check out the bass line in my latest video lesson by clicking the link below. Full transcription in notation and Tab under the video. Enjoy!
  19. greghagger
    If you're familiar with my teaching style, you'll know that I'm not one for promoting the playing of mindless exercises for hours on end. I believe that It's much more constructive and effective to spend the majority of your practice time working on bass lines. But technical exercises do have their place, especially for helping to develop certain aspects of playing technique and for fixing any annoying flaws that we might have. There's one single exercise that has had the most impact on my playing, because it helped me to develop a good fretting hand technique, including sorting out my 'flying pinky' finger! I've lost count of the times that I've recommended this exercise to my one-to-one pupils, so I thought it was high time to set it down in stone in a YouTube lesson, so that you can access it to help with your own playing. It's simple to grasp the concept of this exercise, but I bet that you'll find it harder to play this exercise perfectly! This is the sort of exercise that you can also use to slowly warm up before each practice session. Check out the exercise in my latest YouTube video by clicking below. You can download the exercise on a free PDF under the video. Enjoy!
  20. greghagger
    You may have noticed that chord progressions seem to follow similar patterns and that certain chords will be major, and others minor. Well, there's actually a formula that dictates the chord type of every chord in a particular key. Knowing this formula is extremely useful when creating or learning chord progressions. But there's also a very logical way of working out these chord types, and that is by building triads off every degree (note) of the major scale. Now, if this sounds daunting or the theory is going over your head, don't worry as I've made a YouTube lesson on this topic, that's very easy to follow! This area of music is very important, and shouldn't be missed out, so check this lesson out and learn it once and for all! #gregsbassshed #fretboardshapes #triads
  21. greghagger
    A long while ago I made a video on the five major pentatonic bass shapes. It's taken a while and a few friendly prompts, but I've finally got round to making a video on the five minor shapes. This lesson is sort of off the back of my video No.275 that I made a few weeks ago on the minor pentatonic scale. These minor pentatonic shapes are so useful to us bass players, and if you're struggling with knowing notes options for creating your own riffs, licks and fills, then this video is for you. It will help you to understand a framework across the whole fretboard to help with improvising. In the lesson, I guide you through the scale shapes and explain why they are so useful. This is an easy lesson to understand but an important one, so you don't want to miss it!
  22. greghagger
    There's a really great Blues bass player who was on the scene in Chicago in the 1960s, playing with the likes of Junior Wells and Buddy Guy. His name is Jack Myers and he's often overlooked, maybe because he left the music business in the early 70s. Jack Myers was one of the first to play electric Fender bass, and apparently Buddy Guy acquired his first electric bass for him from Willie Dixon, via a pawn shop! His playing style is very interesting, he lays down a very solid bass line but he’s also very inventive, often including interesting rhythmic ideas and note choices. In my latest YouTube lesson I break down Jack Myers' bass line from the Buddy Guy version of 'Sweet Little Angel'. This is a slow Blues in 12/8 time and a fun one to play. As always when studying the greats, try to pick up some of their ideas to use when playing your own Blues lines. You can get a free copy of my bass line transcription in notation and Tab by clicking the link below the video.
  23. greghagger
    Thanks, that’s really nice of you and I’m genuinely happy that the lessons are being watched. This was a pretty special video for me and one that I really enjoyed making. I’ve got a more general Herbie Flowers Tribute video coming out on Tuesday that you might enjoy.
  24. greghagger
    No problem. Glad you liked it.
  25. greghagger
    A really great British session bass player passed away last week, the brilliant, 'Herbie Flowers'. Herbie played on so many session that even he couldn't remember them all! The bass lines that he's best known for are from 'Take A Walk On The Wild Side' and 'Space Oddity.’ Like lots of session players, Herbie Flowers wasn't really in the limelight, but he played right up to his death and was also heavily involved with education, helping to set up the music college, BIMM in Brighton, England. One of the albums that Herbie played on was, 'Tumbleweed Connection', a country album by Elton John that was released in 1970. His bass line from the song, 'Country Connection' is really great. It's so inventive and shows some of Herbie's Jazz influences in it. I set myself the task of transcribing and recording it in one day, which was a challenge. It's the type of bass line that I could really do with practicing for a few days to really nail the high melodic licks perfectly. So, here's my play-through video, warts and all. It's my tribute to Herbie Flowers. There’s a link under the video to my full transcription in notation and Tab. Enjoy!
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