I know I’m guilty of this… I’ll be teaching some concept or idea and say something like, “It’s just the pentatonic scale…” and then play something that I think sounds really cool. But then some students will try to do the same thing and play the pentatonic shape and it just ends up sounding… Un-musical… […]
Mode Mapping On Bass [2 Part Formula For Bass Lines/Fills/Solos]
Have you ever come across a chord progression ‘in the wild’ and been completely stumped as to what you could play over it? Sure – you might be able to scrape by if you just stuck to root notes, but what if you needed to come up with a more creative bass line, or your […]
The 30-Second Walking Bass ‘Hack’
I used to think that in order to get through a song with a walking bass line, you needed to have some sort of advanced degree in music theory. Everyone around me was telling me different things like: “You need to know all your scales to make it through” “If you don’t know your arpeggios, […]
The Hybrid Funk Scale For Bass
What if I told you there was a ‘hybrid’ funk scale for bass and you could start using it today? One super common question I get asked is what scale should you use over funk music; or what scale will make you sound funky. What I usually say when I’m asked these kinds of questions […]
Chromatic Scale On Bass: How To Use It
The chromatic scale on bass – you’ve probably heard of it as some point, right? But how are you actually supposed to use it? While it’s possible to just go up and down the chromatic scale, it may not be the best option. Sure – there are some songs that do that, but what is […]
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 […]
