The Three Up, Three Down Trick for Walking Bass
Blues Rhumba Jam in C
I recently posted a lesson on the Blues Rhumba. As I mentioned, you won’t hear a rhumba as often as you hear a shuffle feel, but that’s one reason it’s so memorable. And it’s important to be able to play
Blues Rhumba in C Major
The Blues rhumba (or rumba) has almost an “island” feel. There’s a bit of syncopation to it, and it’s important to play it with feeling. You won’t hear a rhumba as often as you will a shuffle, but
Basic Killing Floor Riff
This is a very standard and traditional Blues bass riff. It’s actually a simple version of the riff used for The Killing Floor, and many other Blues songs.
Watch the video, and pay special attention to which notes are used.
Funk Riff in A with Flat 7
Here’s an easy riff in A, with a flat 7. Watch the video, and pay special attention to which notes are used. Then, learn the notes in order, but not in time. Next, play along with the slow version, until
C Major Funk Riff with Flat 7
Here’s an easy riff in C, which can actually be used with C7 and Cm7 chords. Watch the video, and pay special attention to which notes are used. Then, learn the notes in order, but not in time. Next, play
Funk Riff in E with Major Third
While it’s true that a lot of funk is based on the Minor Pentatonic scale, it doesn’t always have to be. For example, this basic funk riff uses the major third. It is based on the Major Pentatonic scale, with the addition of a few notes.
Watch the video, and pay special attention to which notes are used. Then, learn the notes in order, but not in time. Next, play along with the slow version, until you’ve got it down. Finally, you can play along with the regular tempo version. Continue reading
Riffing in Dm Pentatonic
Other bassists often ask me, “the Blues are so limiting. What can you really do with five notes?”
The question tells me a lot about the person, and how they view music. My personal take is this: you can make more beautiful music with five notes than you can with a million. It’s all about your approach.
Yesterday, while I was taping for some new lessons, I took a few minutes to just riff for the fun of it. The video below shows that riff session. Notice that I seldom go outside the pure pentatonic scale – a few times using the flat 5. Continue reading
Simple Funk in E
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