Table Of ContentBass Lick of the Week #1
Playing Tips
This exercise is a funk bass groove that is played with the plectrum. The percussive use of the
pick in lines such as this was originally pioneered by legendary session bassist Anthony Jackson,
who used the technique on the O’Jays hit ‘For the Love of Money’. This style of playing remains
extremely popular today, thanks to bassists such as Bobby Vega and Cody Wright.
This line is based on a continuous semiquaver pulse and mastering it will require you to take the
time to study the correct application of the plectrum technique. This essentially requires you to play
semiquavers using a continuous down-up motion with your picking hand. If you begin every beat with a
downstroke, then adhere to a down-up-down-up picking pattern for the semiquaver subdivisions, you
will find this style of playing much simpler to master. Here’s an example: the opening note of this line is
a C, falling on the final subdivision of beat four of the count-in. As such, it is played as an upstroke. As
the line begins, the D at the beginning of bar 1 would ordinarily be played with a downstroke, although
in this instance it is not played by the picking hand as it was approached with a slide from the previous
note. The remaining three semiquavers in this follow the correct sequence however: up-down-up, as
they fall on the second, third and fourth subdivisions.
Busy lines such as this work because the ‘holes’ in the line are filled with ghost notes, which gives the
effect of playing with a percussionist. Feel is crucial to making these lines groove however. You can
add an extra degree of funkiness to the line by accenting beats two and four in each bar. These are
the ‘backbeats’ are where a drummer would play a snare. Accenting them, as you’ll hear me do in the
recording will create an even more powerful groove.
If you’d like to study the plectrum technique in more detail, be sure to check out Plectrum Technique
for Bass Guitar, which is available from Bassline Publishing as a book, iPad textbook and Kindle
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Bass Lick of the Week #2
Playing Tips
This exercise is a fingerstyle line that uses major and minor tenth intervals to imply chordal parts
alongside a bassline.
This exercise makes extensive use of tenth intervals. A tenth is a compound major or minor third,
that is, one that is over an octave above the root note. For example, the interval between A and C# is a
major third they are three scale steps apart - if we use the A at the fifth fret of the E-string and the C# at
the fourth fret of the A-string. If the C# is played an octave higher - at the sixth fret of the G-string - the
notes are ten scale steps apart, which is referred to as a major tenth. A minor tenth can be played by
moving the third down a fret from a major third to a minor (C in place of C#). Tenths are popular with
bass players as they help us to suggest harmony in our basslines.
This exercise is based around an E tonal centre. After opening with an E, we play a minor tenth interval
from the G#, then a major tenth interval from A. When playing the tenth interval on A, you should use the
open A-string - this will allow the notes to ring together, helping create a brief chordal sound. It will also
help with the position shifts. The same approach is taken at the end of the first bar - when playing the D
major tenth, the open D-string is used.
Good luck with this exercise - it’s fun to play, but it’s a bit of a finger-twister!
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Bass Lick of the Week #3
Playing Tips
This exercise is a slap bass groove that is a nod to the great Marcus Miller.
This line requires you to bounce your thumb in between popped notes, a relatively simple but effective
technique. As you’ll see in the first bar, after popping the F at the end of the first beat, you will pop two
further notes on the G-string - the E and D - playing ghost notes on the D-string with the thumb before
each one. When playing this phrase, I recommend fretting the first note - C - with the fourth finger of
your fretting hand, then sliding this same finger up to the D. This will keep your other three fingers free
to fret the E and D notes, and to perform the fretting hand slap (marked ‘lh’ in the slap guides) at the
beginning of the third beat.
The fourth bar of this line features a tricky pull-off phrase: fret the F and G on beat three with the first
and third fingers respectively. You will then have your fourth finger free to play the Ab at the beginning of
beat four. After slapping this Ab, you’ll need to pull-off to sound the G, then again to sound the F, then
once more to sound the open D-string - this is trickiest part of the exercise.
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Bass Lick of the Week #4
Playing Tips
This exercise is a slow bass groove that combines harmonics with fretted bass notes to create
chords. The inspiration for this piece was Jaco Pastorius’s renowned composition ‘Portrait of
Tracy’, which is highly recommended as a study piece if you enjoy using harmonics, or playing
solo pieces.
This piece opens with a melodic motif of six harmonics This is used in each bar of the exercise to lead
into the next chord. When playing this part, you can allow the notes to ring into one another, as this
enhances the effect of using harmonics. Be aware when playing harmonics at the fifth fret that their
pitches are not the same as the fretted notes that they sit above. For example, the fretted note at the
fifth fret of the G-string is a C, but the harmonic is a G. It’s worth taking the time to learn the note names
of the harmonics on the bass, as this will be very useful if you want to create your own chords, or write
your own melodic lines.
Each bar contains a chord which is played as a combination of fretted bass notes and harmonics. The
first chord is G^7, which consists of a root note G and harmonics B and F#, the major third and major
seventh respectively. The next chord is Em9, which has an E bass note, and harmonics B and F#, the
perfect fifth and ninth of the chord. The third chord is C^9 and consists of a C bass note and harmonics
B (the major seventh) and D (the ninth). An E harmonic (the major third) is also added, played at the fifth
fret of the E-string. This chord was used by Jaco Pastorius in ‘Portrait of Tracy’. The final chord is D and
is played by fretting a D bass note with the third or fourth finger of the fretting hand, and playing the F#
and A harmonics at the fourth and third frets of the D-string respectively. When playing harmonics at the
third fret, you might need to experiment a little with finger position - they are often clearer if you touch
the string slightly behind the fret (closer to the body of the instrument).
Pieces of this nature sound great with some reverb. I used the EBS DynaVerb pedal on the recording,
set as follows: Reverb: 1 o’clock, Tone: 11 o’clock, Type: Hall, Room: C.
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Bass Lick of the Week #5
Playing Tips
This exercise is a rock bassline that is played with a plectrum. You’ll also hear that I used an
octave pedal on the recording of the line.
After opening the line with two crotchet notes, D and F, a semiquaver-based picking pattern begins.
When playing this, it’s important that you adhere to the picking strokes indicated between the staves -
for continuous semiquavers, this should be down-up-down-up. Sticking to this sequence means that
you’ll always land on a downbeat with a downstroke, which is the most comfortable way to play using a
plectrum.
The key to success with this line is being able to alternate between ghost notes and fretted notes while
playing the continuous picking rhythm. This is done by fretting the note as normal, then lifting your
finger off it slightly in order to play a ghost note. This is all done with the fretting hand and is simpler to
do than it might sound.
The line ends with a D minor pentatonic fills in the fourth bar (D, F, G, A, C). Slides are important when
playing this fill, so try to include them as shown in the notation/on the video.
I used an octave pedal when recording this line, which as you’ll hear, sounds very effective. There are
many great octave pedals available, but I used the Boss OC-2, set as follows: Oct 2: Off, Oct 1: Full,
Direct Level: 3 o’clock.
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Bass Lick of the Week #6
Playing Tips
This exercise is a slow fingerstyle groove that’s played quite aggressively. I was listening to a lot
of Vulfpeck when I came up with this, there’s definitely a Joe Dart influence here...
This line opens with two notes, an F and a D. You can play a descending slide away from the D. These
are followed by an ascending line, played on the E-string. We then play this entire phrase twice more,
although the opening two notes are different each time: the second time around they are Ab and F, then
B and Ab. I recommend playing these notes at the fretboard positions indicated in the TAB. At the end
of the second bar there is a short turnaround figure that is played staccato - you should also drop the
dynamic at this point, playing it quietly and gradually raising the volume as you reach the end of the bar.
The fill in bar 4 is played around the twelfth fret and includes a ‘shake’. Shakes are similar to trills, but
have a slightly less precise sound because they are fretted with only one finger. This one is performed
by playing the F at the tenth fret of the G-string, then rapidly sliding the finger back and forth between F
and F# - check out the video performance if in any doubt.
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Bass Lick of the Week #7
Playing Tips
This exercise is a slap bass groove that will allow you to focus on fretting hand slaps and
popping double stops.
The opening phrase of this line is a continuous semiquaver rhythm which is to be performed by playing
notes with each hand. After slapping the open E-string, the fretting hand will need to perform a ghost
note slap. This in turn is followed by two further ghost notes, played with the thumb. Using the fretting
hand to perform ghost notes in this way allows for long sequences of semiquaver-based rhythms, and
is a technique often used by Mark King, Les Claypool and Stuart Hamm, among others.
On the second beat of the bar, a double stop is played - a double stop is two notes played together.
To perform this, you’ll need to pop the notes on the D and G-string simultaneously with the first and
second fingers of your picking hand. Another semiquaver rhythm involving the fretting hand is played
on the third beat, with another double stop coming at the end of the bar.
The second bar begins in the same way, but ends with a syncopated double stop phrase. I recommend
fretting the two notes in this double stop with the first and second fingers. These double stops are each
preceded with a ghost note played with the thumb, so the effect is of the thumb ‘bouncing’ between the
popped double stops.
This line is meant to be played quite aggressively, so you can afford to really dig in here.
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Bass Lick of the Week #8
Playing Tips
This is a chordal plectrum part that makes good use of power chords. major pentatonic lines and
open string tenths.
When learning this line it’s important that you stick to the picking guide that’s been written between the
staves. Remember that when playing semiquaver-based lines with a plectrum, you should adhere to the
down-up-down-up picking sequence on the four subdivisions of the beat. This means that ater playing
the downstroke at the beginning of the first bar, the next chord is played as an upstoke as it falls on
the fourth semiquaver of the beat: DOWN-up-down-UP. Doing so will mean that you will land on the
downbeat of beat two with a nice strong downstroke.
The triplet phrase on the third beat is played using hammer-ons and pull-offs, with the note on the
A-string at the end of the beat played with a downstroke. The hammer-on at the beginning of the
fourth beat is played with a downstroke. The following note should also be played with a downstroke,
although an upstroke would also be acceptable here as the rhythm is quaver-based and therefore
slower. The next bar in the sequence is played in exactly the same way, but a tone lower.
In the third bar, the same picking pattern is used again for the first two beats of the bar. The open A
should then be allowed to ring whilst you play the ascending phrase on the D-string. This line moves
chromatically upwards to the major third of the chord (C#), which outlines the harmony nicely.
The fourth and final bar of the sequence uses a simple semiquaver rhythm to play two further chords,
C5 and D5. Make sure that the ghost notes are played as such here - these are rhythmic devices,
intended to keep the groove moving along.
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Bass Lick of the Week #9
Playing Tips
This exercise is a fast-paced fingerstyle line that was originally intended to be part of the Victor
Wooten-style piece that I wrote for my book Giants of Bass. It might not have made it into the
final track, but it’s still a great line that I wanted to share...
After playing the E and octave at the beginning of the first bar, two ghost notes are played on the
D-string. You then need to perform a slide from the A at the seventh fret of the D-string to the B at the
ninth. I recommend fretting the A with the first finger, then sliding the same finger up to the B: this will
put you in position to play the F# that follows, as well as the two G’s at the end of the bar. After playing
the the F# you can rake backwards across the strings to play the ghost notes - simply drag whichever
finger played the F# back across the strings.
When playing the second bar, I recommend fretting the B at the fourth fret of the G-string with the third
finger. You can then hammer-on to the C with the fourth finger, and play the A at the second fret with
the first. This hand position will also allow you to play the descending D major chord at the end of the
third beat using the finger-per-fret system: first finger on the A, third on the F# and fourth on the D.
In the third bar, I recommend using the third finger on the B again. After playing the two open G-string
notes at the end of the third beat, the E can be fretted with the first finger, and the C with the second.
When playing the fourth bar, I recommend fretting the D with the second finger. This will allow you to
play the entire bar using the finger-per-fret system: the B will be fretted with the first finger and the A
with the fourth. In the second half of the bar, the D# can then be fretted with the third finger.
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Bass Lick of the Week #10
Playing Tips
This exercise is a slow slap and pop bass groove that has a Marcus Miller vibe.
This line opens with a double stop: G on the E-string and Bb on the G-string. To play these, pluck the G
with the thumb and the Bb with the first finger. These notes are then played again as the first bar begins,
and the Bb is hammered-onto a B natural while the G continues to ring beneath. The remainder of the
bar is a slap groove which uses the G blues scale. Note that the C-C#-D figure on beat three is played
with a single thumb stroke: the second and third notes are played as a hammer-on.
At the end of the first bar, the line drops to a low E, which is then tied into the second bar. After the
octave is popped, the minor tenth interval is popped (open G), implying an E minor sound. After this the
line moves to an F major tenth interval, then an F# major tenth. You can read more about tenths - and
how effective they are on bass - in the notes for Bass Lick #2.
The third bar is a repeat of the first bar, but ends on the E at the seventh fret of the A-string. You should
keep this E ringing as you pop the octave in the following bar, then slide both notes up to G, then down
to F. You’ll need to keep your fretting hand in the octave position as you slap and pop these notes and
slide them upwards. The same technique is used in the second half of the bar, from Db to D, down to
Bb. This is typical Marcus Miller lick, one that you’ll hear him use very effectively in the opening of his
solo from ‘Frankenstein’.
This line was originally written when I was writing material for the Marcus Miller-style piece in my book
Giants of Bass Volume 2: 80s & 90s.
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