Break It Down Now! – How To Break Down A Groove

Ever heard someone say it?

“Break it down now!”

Other than the phrase sounding absolutely badass, I had no idea what it meant when you first heard it.

How do you break it down? Do you stop playing? Do you keep playing, but turn down? Do you actually physically break your bass down into small pieces?!?! (No – definitely don’t do that!!!)

At it’s core, breaking down a groove creates different textures, different sounds and different feelings for your audience. It gives you an incredible amount of flexibility and it lets you play with the intensity of your entire band. You as a bass player have near-ultimate power when it comes to doing this.

But like Spiderman won’t let us forget – with great power comes great responsibility, so you have to learn to wield it with care. Check out the lesson below:

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Of course, this ‘subtractive‘ method is just one way of breaking down a groove, but you can do other things as well. Once the groove has been totally broken down, you can start building it back up again.

You can add other notes, you can play with the rhythm, you can get even MORE intense than the original bass line. There are some examples of this in the PDF download above, so be sure to download it.

You actually have quite a lot of ‘wiggle room’ when it comes to playing with the groove. Just be sure that you’re listening and actually serving the music at all times. This is essential.

If you’re new to Become A Bassist and you like what you see, make sure to subscribe to the email newsletter. There’s a plethora (there’s a fancy word…) of exclusive subscriber-only lessons that are just waiting to be sent to your inbox, so make sure and sign up below. You’ll also get first notice when new lessons come out of the BAB studio.

Good luck with the lesson, and happy playing!

Cheers,