by Do you know how to play bass with other people? If a guitarist just started playing a song you didn’t know, would you be able to play along with them?
Imagine this – you’re playing bass, maybe at a jam session and a guitarist jumps up and starts playing a song you don’t know.
They don’t tell you the key, they don’t tell you the chords, they don’t give you any clue about what notes you could potentially play.
You’re on your own…
So What Do You Do?
If you’ve got a decent ear or have worked hard on your ear training, then you’ll probably be able to figure it out eventually…But what if you haven’t done any of that yet?
Do you just take a blind stab in the dark and hope whatever you pick works?
Would you hack away at notes until you stumble on to something that doesn’t sound terrible?
Could you wait until everyone is giving you the stink-eye before someone finally comes over and tells you what to play?
You could just not play at all and hope somebody else comes up to replace you?
None of these are good options – most of them are terrible. But there is an alternative; a ‘hack‘ that shows you exactly what notes to play nearly every time – even if you don’t know the song.
I call it The Glance Method and you can learn all about it here:
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I’ve been using this method for years and it has never failed me. In fact, The Glance Method has made me tons of friends, especially in singer-songwriter circles. Why? It’s because I’m always on the same page with them as I’m playing their songs.
It may seem like magic to a lot of people, but you know now – it’s a very simple method. In fact, if you already play a bit of guitar, you’re probably already using this trick – and that’s great!
People will be amazed that you know how to play bass to a song that you’ve never heard before.
If you want to take this method to the next level, be sure to go through the Glance Method Cheat Sheet. We blazed through in the video, but if you want all the diagrams, plus a ton that weren’t in the video, make sure you download it.
If you go through the Glance Method and use it in the real world, send me an email – I’d love to hear about it!
Good luck with the lesson and happy playing!
Cheers,
used this when I was young. Never failed.
Awesome Walter – it makes things so easy!
This lesson was really just a pretend-lesson. If you’re appealing to people like me who haven’t done ear-training (as you mention in the lesson) then simply help us memorize these shapes isn’t nearly far enough. If you wanted this lesson to be useful, showing this in practice – for example zooming into the fretting hand of a guitarist playing a simple song on the left of the screen, and showing the bass response on the right of the screen – would have changed this from pretend-useful to something that many people would end up using over & over again. Go on … give us a boost.
Hey Bf – sorry you didn’t find this as useful as you wanted. I want to challenge you to think bigger though.
How can you take what you learned in this lesson and apply it to your situation? Could you find videos of guitarists playing these chords and look at the shapes one by one and play along? If you know someone who plays guitar, could you get together with them and go through some songs that use these chords?
There are plenty of ways you can apply the information in this lesson to your situation if you’re willing to put in the work.
Luke, my goal is to learn the bass, and yours is to teach the bass.
For me, I effectively have an infinite choice on which online resources I use (already subscribe on SBL, for example). I’ve been following you a bit, and like any learner, if I like what I get from you, I will come back again & again. Even pay. And if the stuff feels like ‘click bait’ then eventually I (and others) will stop coming back.
My comment above was not intended as criticism – I really appreciate the hours you put into these videos. My comment was to give you insight into the mind of just one viewer – me. I felt that the video stopped halfway to be useful. And, thinking about it, because that ‘connection’ to the topic was never completed by your video, I’m not committed enough to your promises (of being able to do something *instantly*) to do all the trawling around the internet to work out from others what you didn’t deliver. On the other hand, had I seen it in action for something basis, I might have felt that connection, and it might have triggered even more action from me.
If you’re happy that your videos are just teasers and that for every video, I still have to do follow-up research, then great – you achieved your aim. If you want to make it a little easier, to make the teachings a little more tangible, then here is one viewer suggesting you take it just one step further.
Again, I appreciate your efforts – I just think the value could be much higher for ALL viewers (not just those who do follow-up research). Hopefully you appreciate that my detailed reply means I’m not just trolling.
Hey Bf,
Thanks for the insight – I do appreciate it. I think I understand where you’re coming from and I’d be happy to make a follow up lesson if other people feel that it could be more useful. I try and make every lesson as valuable as possible without making it too long and dry. It can be a tricky balancing act sometimes, and I don’t always get it right.
Once again, I’m sorry you didn’t find the video as useful as you wanted. If there’s enough interest, I’ll get onto making an extra one like you suggested.
Not sure how you’ll measure that, once people have watched the video and moved on, but I for one would be keen to see it 🙂
The measuring is relatively straight forward. The people who feel strongly about it will leave comments or send me an email letting me know they want more. For example, if a video gets 1,000 views and 100 people take time out of their day to comment or email the same thing, then chances are the other 900 thought something similar, but didn’t care quite enough to say anything.
I’ve done this once before with my bass chord series. I got a ton of emails and comments asking about how I use the right hand when I play bass chords. After I got dozens of emails, comments and questions about this exact thing, I knew there was a ton of demand for a dedicated lesson about it, so I made it. It was a no-brainer.
First of all, many thanks for your lesson, Luke.
This trusted method served me countless times in the 60’s and early 70’s as a Pro.
As always, keep those lessons coming our way…..beginner, intermediate or Pro.
Top bloke !!!
Thank you.
Bob,
Leicester,
England.
Hey Bob! Glad you liked it – and great that you’ve already used this method before! I’ll be sure to keep the lessons coming as well.
Many thanks, Luke.
Please do not take on board the comments of Bf !!!!
From a Ex – Pro to a Current Pro.
Bob.
You’re advising Luke to completely ignore the comments & requests of users who take the time to give feedback? Ouch – that’s not way to run a business, Mr ‘Pro’
Xxx….
Hey Luke
I’ve been doing this for years as well as I was/sometimes still am a rhythm guitarist. Where I found this really useful is when the guitarist uses a capo!! I play in a duo with an Irish girl. She sings and plays guitar beautifully but she loves her capo!! I find thata little confusing on the fly and have to transpose!!
Keep the lessons coming squire.
They are great.
Cheers – Gerry
Yeah – that capo can be a real pain! It’s super convenient for them. For us – not so much! Haha! And yes – the lessons will definitely keep coming! Thanks Gerry.
This is great stuff . I was a 60’s and 70’s guitar player .I substituted on bass on occasion when the base player was late or sick ! This would have really helped me then . I’ve started playing guitar again at 72 . Now my step son’s girlfriend wants me to teach her to play bass!!! .This is wonderful and I will definately teach her from your videos and encourage her to tune into you .Great stuff and just in time .Thanks for sharing. CCM
That’s awesome Carlos! Thanks so much for sharing the videos around and thanks for watching too. I really appreciate it!