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Articles & Books From Patrick Pfeiffer
Way more than just the bass-icsWhatever you're playing—funk, soul, rock, blues, country—the bass is the heart of the band. Bassists provide a crucial part of driving force and funky framework that other members of any and work off. From John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, to "The Pixies’' Kim Deal, to James Brown's favored bassist, Jimmy Nolan, bass players have made big names for themselves and commanded respect throughout music history.
Get ready to master the bass guitar faster than you can say “amplifier.” A staple of almost every genre of music out there, the bass guitar is a fundamental (and fun!) instrument that can now be easily learned by musicians of any experience level with Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies. Complete with a bonus downloadable content, this book gives bassists a variety of tips and drills to help you strike a chord with any performance (even if it’s only for an audience of one).
Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-18-2022
The real fun and challenge of playing a bass guitar is that the patterns of the chords and scales never change, no matter what musical key you’re in. Memorizing the order of your bass’s musical notes can prepare you to tackle those chords and scales.Once you know the notes, you can master basic chords, 7th chords, modes, and solo scales and become a truly versatile bassist.
Step by Step / Updated 08-11-2022
The bass guitar, more than any other instrument, is at its best when tightly aligned with the drums. Together, the bassist and drummer develop the powerful grooves that drive the song by constantly listening and reacting to each other. Here are ten classic bass-and-drum combinations (sorted alphabetically by the bass player’s last name) that have enhanced a multitude of songs.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-12-2021
Playing bass guitar well, much like playing any other musical instrument, requires practice. And how do you practice? You play exercises, often over and over, until you master them. Fun, no? You'll have an easier time mastering bass guitar exercises if you understand how to read music and tablature and have a basic understanding of common bass grooves.
Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016
The name finger-style refers to your striking the strings on your bass guitar with the index and middle fingers of your right hand. You can hear this style in country, rock, jazz, and funk — and just about any other type of music. Jaco Pastorius, James Jamerson, and Francis Rocco Prestia are only three of the multitude of bassists who use this technique.
Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016
Imagine that you’re getting together with a bunch of other musicians or bass guitarists to play some music. The guy in charge says, “Let’s jam in D7.” (He’s talking about playing in D dominant.) Don’t panic. The following list gives you some guidelines for determining what notes to play during a D7 jam.Determine the root of the chord.
Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016
You’re playing with the band as a bass guitarist, jamming on a dominant groove …but wait …what if the guy in charge yells, very enthusiastically, “Let’s jam in D minor!” Uh, oh…a minor adjustment is in order. Relax. Here’s the process:Determine the root of the chord.In this case, the chord is D minor (Dm or Dm7), so the root of the chord is D.
Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016
Say you’re jamming away with the band as a bass guitarist on a minor groove, when all of a sudden the guy in charge yells (with uninhibited enthusiasm), “Let’s jam in D major!” Hmmm, does he really mean major? Here’s the way to respond to that enthusiasm.Determine the root of the chord.In this case, the chord is D major (D Maj or D Maj7), so the root of the chord is D.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Bass guitarists choose notes from a scale, an orderly ascending or descending sequence of notes, to create their music. The most commonly used scales have seven notes, beginning with the root (the first note). The eighth note (the octave) in the sequence sounds similar to the root, but it's a higher root. A chord is a combination of three or more notes taken from a scale.