greghagger
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Everything posted by greghagger
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Thanks so much, great shares. I may well make a lesson on one/all of these. I also really loved Nathan East when I first started playing in the late 80’s when it seemed he was playing on everything. Probably was! Cheers
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- nathaneast
- nathan east
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Last week I decided to delve more deeply into the Southern Rock scene. As well as liking the modern Southern Rock bands, I've always loved the solid grooves from bands like ZZ Top, and Lynryd Skynyrd and I wanted to have a closer look at the bass players who were active in that scene during the 1970's and 80's. What I found was really interesting and a lot of the bass line were different to what I was expecting. These bassists were playing much more than the classic 8th note grooves that are maybe more commonly associated with Southern Rock. This is a fun lesson that you don't want to miss and even better if you want to get more familiar with the bass players who established this style of Southern Rock. Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson. Enjoy!
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Looks awesome! Glad to have been of sone help with the review. I’m loving the pedal. Used it for quite a few different situations now. I usually pick a sound I like and stick to it but this pedal has a few great options that I’m finding I’m using.
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Great to see your pedalboard, even nicer to see the metal and black design to the whole board 👌😀
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After note choices, the single most important factor to help you develop your own personal playing style is how you articulate your notes. Articulation simply put is the attack and length of your notes. If you listen to some of your favourite bass players closely you'll notice that each one has a unique way of articulating their bass lines. This characterises their own style, often defining that player. Some players clip their notes short, some play longer notes with less attack and others have unique ways of plucking the strings. Bernard Edwards from Chic played with what has become knows as the 'clucking' technique where he used his fingers like a pick. You don't have to use this chucking technique but what is important to take away from players like Bernard Edwards is the shortened, more funky notes that they produced. In my latest YouTube lesson I discuss articulation in more detail and use the Sister Sledge tune, 'Lost In Music' to help illustrate the important of articulation. Check out the lesson and you can also get a free copy of the Lost In Music bass line under the video.
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- bernard edwards
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Moondance by Van Morrison is such a classic that you're bound to get asked to play it at some point. I must have played it 100's of times live and I haven't played the same bass line once! The original bass line is one long improvisation and for this reason you don't really need to try and learn it note for note. I did transcribe the whole bass line this week though so I could analyse it and I learnt some interesting things about it that I hadn't noticed before. This week I've made more of a 'bass line deconstruction video' for Moondance because this way I can show you how to go away and improvise your own bass line which will fit with the song and which frees you up to be more creative. There are some key musical ideas and scales that the bass player, John Klingberg utilises and once you know these, you can use them yourself to pick out notes that will sound great when playing Moondance. Find out more in my latest YouTube video and download free free PDF transcription.
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Arpeggios contain the building blocks for bass players. We can use the chord tones (the notes of the arpeggio) to create walking bass lines. These chord tones outline the chord and that's our job as bass players for the rest of the band particularly when playing Jazz. There are five essential 7th arpeggios that you need to know if you want to play Jazz bass. Once you known their fretboard shapes, you can transfer them to start on any root note. The names of these 7th arpeggios like, 'maj7' or 'dominant 7' can cause confusion so I've made a lesson to clear this up and to lay out all the five arpeggios. Find out more in my latest Youtube lesson. There is a free downloadable PDF cheatsheet with all five 7th arpeggios on it. Link under video. https://youtu.be/NpzqREyp0MI
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- gregsbassshed.com
- gbshed.com
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If you've ever played a Jazz tune at a jam or a gig then you're probably aware of what a '2-feel' is. If not, and you want to play Jazz bass then you have to know how to play a 2-feel and more importantly, how to make it swing. This is one of the most overlooked areas of Jazz bass playing, often overshadowed by a focus on learning walking bass. But when you hear the masters bassists like Ron Carter or Ray Brown play Jazz bass, you'll notice them playing 2-feels that compliment the band and that really swing hard! The 2-feel comprises of two notes per bar instead of the usual four notes that you find in walking bass lines and is often used at the beginning and end of Jazz tunes. If you're a budding Jazz bass player then you have to master the 2-feel and I've laid it all out in my latest YouTube video. Find out my 5 tips to make your 2-feel swing and also a step-by-step guide on how to lock in with the rest of the rhythm section by clicking below.
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I too was subjected to the ‘wooden box on top of the piano’! I do put my good sense of time down to those days though.
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Yes, that has always confused me about Jeff’s view on the metronome. He says bass players should learn like all other musicians using tried and tested methods but says not to use the metronome. Doesn’t seem to add up.
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I do still like the sound of the traditional ones too. We used to have a really old wooden one on top of the piano in the 80’s! 😀
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There are lots of free apps for devices that are pretty good. Some of the free apps even have drum sounds too.
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Yeah it’s good to have the first best of the bar accented.
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I've noticed that for some reason use of the metronome seems to be a real point of contention in the online bass community. This has always puzzled me as the benefits of a metronome are very clear for me to see. It's an invaluable aid to help when working on rhythms and time-keeping during practice sessions. So I've made a video explaining the benefits of using a metronome and also to show you how to use one properly for practicing. If you want to develop your time keeping and work on more complicated rhythms then definitely check out this lesson. The metronome isn’t solely the answer to good groove but it’s a very useful aid. Find out more in my latest YouTube video.
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You may have seen my lesson a few weeks ago on George Porter Jr.'s funky bass line from 'Fire On The Bayou'. Well, since then I've stumbled across another version of this Meters classic by Trombone Shorty. This is a live recording from a performance at the White House and Shorty's solo in this tune is incredible. This Trombone Shorty version features Nathan East on bass and as expected, his bass line is class from start to finish with awesome slides, pops, harmonics and pentatonic licks. I transcribed the bass line last week to fill some time when flying out to Norway for a gig. I didn't intend to make a lesson on this bass line but it's too good not to share. So I made a video which is more of an analysis lesson and in it I also compare some of the differences between this bass line and the original bass line. This bass line is definitely more suited for 5-string bass but you can still get a lot out of the lesson if you only play 4-string. Find out more in my latest YouTube video and download the free PDF transcription of Nathan East’s bass line.
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Rhythm has got to be the hardest part to learning bass, at least nailing the rhythm perfectly is anyway! How do you work on playing a new rhythm? Do you have a method or do you just 'wing it'? Do you isolate the rhythm first? Do you sing or clap the rhythm? If you want to accurately work out rhythms then you do need a foolproof method of doing this. You don't need to be a great reader (although it does help!) but having a basic understanding of rhythm and the various note values enable you to be precise with your rhythms without leaving it to chance. Find out more in my latest YouTube video and see what method which works best for you
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- gregsbassshed
- gbshed.com
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The 12-bar Blues is by far the most frequently used progression in Blues but there are also 8 and 16-bar progressions that are more common than you might think. Playing songs with these different progressions can lead to confusion and getting lost because most of us have really internalised the 12-bar Blues and we subconsciously want to follow that. So I've created a lesson where I explain more about the 8-bar Blues and teach you how to play 'Worried Life Blues' which follows the 8-bar progression. This tune has been covered countless times and I'm going to use the live Eric Clapton version from his Albert Hall gigs that took place over 1990/91. Eric Clapton used three different bands for these gigs and the band for this song (called 'The Blues Band') features Richard Cousins on bass who is a favourite of mine. Find out more in my latest YouTube video
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A few weeks ago I made a lesson on the Meters classic, 'It Ain't No Use'. This week I've got a second classic Meters bass line, this time from 'Fire On The Bayou'. This is another funky bass line by Funk Meister, George Porter Jr and this one is a lot easier to play than the last one. If you want a very approachable Funk bass line to practice 'playing in the pocket' with then this one is for you. There is a three-note groove that is repeated throughout, along with some funky variations. Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson.
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😂 I’d never thought of the pinky as a literal colour. I think I might just use ‘little’ in future! 😀 Generally bass players who have come over from guitar have better control over their fingers although I have seen sone guitarists with out of control fingers!
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It’s not so much not using the little finger but many players finding it harder to control. Definitely for beginners, it’s the little finger that moves away from the fretboard the most.
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- bass technique
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One of the most difficult technical aspects to bass playing is keeping your fingers close to the fretboard. But if you want to play faster bass lines with better accuracy, you have to minimise movement and learn to be more ergonomic. The little finger of the fretting hand is the hardest finger to control and a particularly erratic pinky is sometimes referred to as a 'flying pinky'! If you want to get your pinky under control or improve on your fretting hand technique then you'll definitely benefit from my new 'flying pinky' lesson. In the lesson I go over the main aspects of correct fretting hand technique which is very important as there could be a part of your technique that is stopping you from efficient bass playing. Find out more in my latest YouTube.
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Usually I gravitate towards bass lines with less notes and more groove, especially for Blues. But I instantly loved Andy Fraser's bass line from 'Goin' Down Slow' by Free. It's busy and hectic with a lot of notes but works so well. This song is from their debut album, 'Tons Of Sobs' released in 1969 and is a million miles away from their best known tune, 'Alright Now'. When this album was released, none of the band were yet 20 and Andy Fraser was 16 which is pretty incredible! I featured this bass line in my recent bass course, 'The Birth Of British Blues' and the backing track has some superb piano and guitar solos on it. For the course, I transcribed Andy Fraser's bass line and then created a shortened version using lots of his actual runs and licks. I'm now sharing this in a YouTube video as it really showcases what an excellent bassist Andy Fraser was. Find out more in my latest YouTube video where there is also a downloadable PDF of the bass line in the video description. Enjoy!
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I was confusing the SGT level dial too as it’s a bit counterintuitive from the level dial on the left!
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I tried it straight into the PA at a loud gig in a Symphony Hall last Friday and it sounded great! Works great that way. Yet to try it at a gig in front of my amp.
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I should try and get commission from Ampeg! 😂 Enjoy!
