Jack Bruce’s bass line masterpiece, to me at least, comes from a 1968 performance of Robert Johnson’s Crossroads. I freaking love it now, but the first time I heard the song, I was wholly unimpressed. My first exposure to that song was at a musty, crusty blues jam session, and the version that got played […]
5 Vintage Blues Bass Riffs
Blues bass riffs are just about the perfect thing to pull out of your arsenal at a blues jam session. Why? Because if you play some authentic blues bass riffs, it signals to all the other people playing that you know and understand the language of the blues. And it doesn’t hurt that you know […]
5-Minute Slow Blues Bass ‘Hack’
You probably know that playing bass is about MORE than just playing the right notes with the right rhythms. You can play everything ‘correctly’ and it can still sound wrong. HOW you play something is often just as important as what you’re playing. When it comes to playing slow blues songs (or just about any […]
5 Blues ‘Traps’ Every Bass Player NEEDS To Avoid
If you’re playing blues bass, one of the most sure-fire methods of getting ‘chewed out’ on the bandstand is messing up the chords or the form. Trust me – it happened to me once when I messed up the form on a slow blues. I’ve haven’t been that red-faced during a gig since. And while […]
Blues Bass Turnarounds And Walk Ups
If you play for long enough, someone at some point is going to want to play a blues with you. It could be at a jam session, an open mic, at a real-world gig, or maybe just playing with your buddies on the weekend. Wouldn’t it be great if you had a whole bag of […]
Blues Bass Lines: 6 Authentic Formulas
Let’s talk about blues bass lines. If you’re playing any kind of 12 bar blues, you’ll need to know how to get through the form in a way that is functional (aka. playing the ‘right’ notes) but also sound authentic. The last thing you want is to sound like you don’t know what you’re doing […]
