There’s almost nothing better for your own bassline writing than studying some of the greatest bass players’ lines. That’s exactly what we’ll be doing in lesson #8 of the Basslines From Scratch series. In this video, I’ve found 3 songs by some of the most iconic bass players ever – and they’re all written over […]
How To Write More Creative Bass Lines – Get Past Roots And 5ths
Let’s talk about how to make more creative bass lines! Most beginning bass players are happy just to get through a song using roots and 5ths. They work well and they sound OK. But after a while, a lot of bass players at this level get bored and start to feel like everything they play […]
How To Make Basslines From Chord Charts And Lyric Sheets
Here’s an incredibly common scenario: You get handed a chord chart or a lyric sheet to a song you’ve never played or even heard before. Without any time to prepare or listen to the song, you’re expected to play something that not only sounds good by itself, but also works with what the rest of […]
Basslines From Scales: Why It’s NOT A Great Idea…
Bass players love scales! In fact, I love them myself! They’re unbelievably useful in all kinds of situations. You can use them to: Create melodies Improve your technique Understand music at a deeper level However, there’s one area where scales aren’t nearly as useful: Making bass lines. Scales are good for lots of things, but […]
5 ‘Secret’ Ingredients Of Great Basslines
Have you ever wondered what makes a bass line good or not? Now that is a question worth asking! It’s easy to go and play a ton of great basslines without really knowing what makes them great. But as bass players, the more we know about why great basslines work, the better we can make […]
Six Rhythmic Formulas For Killer Basslines: Basslines From Scratch 3/9
When it comes to writing your own basslines, sometimes you barely have to worry about the notes, right? They’re pretty much taken care of. It’s common for bass players to be given a chord chart or a lyric sheet that basically tells them what notes are going to work the best. This is great if you’re not […]
