Hope you’re all well! This is the final installment of this series looking at Major triads, and we’re now looking at combining double chromatic approaches from both directions!

Combining the chromatic approaches together we can get some really interesting ideas going so we’re going to get straight into the example groove, and for my subscribers, the second groove is a fun one ;)

Enjoy!

Chromatic Approaches Pt.6 - Basic

Chromatic Approaches Pt.6 - Track

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Hope this finds you well, this weeks lesson builds on what we looked at last time only now we’re approaching our major triad from a double chromatic (two half steps/two frets) above!

As I mentioned in the last lesson, this sort of vocab is something I heartily recommend working into your vocabulary and playing, it an incredibly useful and powerful tool to have and is a way you can rapidly expand a bass line/idea beyond your basic chord tones.

We’ll look at a couple of exercises that build on our last lesson and a new groove idea to put them into practice.

Enjoy!

Chromatic Approaches Pt.5 Basic

Chromatic Approaches Pt.5 - Track

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Welcome to part 4 of this series covering chromatic approaches to triads! In this lesson we’re going to stick with our major triads and start looking at approaching the chord tones using double chromatic approach.

Double chromatic means that we’re approaching the chord tones from two half steps (in order), and I would argue that this is a CRUCIAL piece of harmonic vocabulary to nail down and (as i’ll show you in some future bass line breakdowns), they are EVERYWHERE!

Without further ado we’re going to look at a couple of useful exercises to develop basic fluency and an example bass groove. As always, the PDF and the backing track i’ve used can be downloaded below!

Chromatic Approaches Pt.4 - Basic

Chromatic Approaches Pt.4 - Track

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This is the first of what will hopefully be a long series of tutorials of some of my favourite bass lines/songs, and we’re starting with the Dream Theater song Scarred from the album Awake (1994)!

Awake (for me) features some of John Myung’s best bass work and along with Scenes From A Memory, Falling Into Infinity and Change Of Seasons represents a real halcyon period for Dream Theater. The tapped intro from Scarred was one of the first things I tried to learn when I switched to 6 string bass and having done a complete playthrough on a recent session (linked below), I thought i’d also do a quick tutorial for you all!

PDF with notation/TAB is available below. Enjoy!!

Scarred - Basic

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In this lesson, we’re going to take the single chromatic approach notes to our major triad that we’ve discussed in the previous two lessons and combine them!

We’re going to do this through dissecting an example groove I’ve composed and taking a look at which approach notes have been used and where. The backing track is the same one used for the previous two sessions so if you’ve already got it, grab the PDF and you’ll be good to go!

PDF is available below. Enjoy!!

Chromatic Approaches Pt.3 - Basic

Chromatic Approaches Pt.3 - Track

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Welcome to part 2 of this new video series on chromatic approaches to triads. In this lesson we’re going to look at approaching the chord tones of the major triad from a single chromatic note above.

The single chromatic above the chord tone introduces a different sort of tension to the chromatic note below, it’s a little more ‘outside’ and as such can introduce a very cool, interesting sound to your bass lines! We’ll look at a variation of the cycle of 4ths exercise we looked at in the previous lesson and I have some new groove examples for you too.

PDF and backing track are available below. Enjoy!!

Chromatic Approaches Pt.2 - Basic

Chromatic Approaches Pt.2 Track

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This is the first of a new video series i’ve put together covering the use of chromatic approach notes to triads, both within a given chord and using them within a wider progression/moving through chord changes!

Chromatic approaches (and chromaticism in general) are an incredibly powerful tool to have in your locker of vocabulary and as such I would encourage players of all levels to become proficient in their use!

In this first lesson we’re going to look at approaching the notes of the major triad from a single chromatic note below the target chord tones. We’ll look at a couple of useful exercises to develop basic fluency and an example bass groove. As always, the PDF and the backing track i’ve used can be downloaded below!

Chromatic Approaches Pt.1 - Basic

Chromatic Approaches Pt.1 Track

For those of you who are paid subscribers, you’ll need the expanded PDF linked below for the exercise expansion and the additional bonus groove!

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Hope you’re all well! This is a short tutorial covering an exercise that I use on a daily basis to help with my basic level of technical fluency with both the left and right hands. I know it as the ‘X’ exercise because when you work through a bar it looks like you’re drawing an X on the fingerboard. Here i’ll show you not only the basic version of the exercise but several ways in which is can be expanded and modified to get a LOT of additional mileage from it!

Without further ado, let’s get going!

The X Exercise Basic

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This lesson follows on from last week’s where we were using broken 3rds to get more mileage from our major scale. This week, we’re stepping it up to broken 6ths!

Broken 6ths not only introduces us to a more angular sound and approach, there are also various technical benefits to be had through working on it such string crossing AND string skipping, both in the fretting and plucking hands.

Enjoy!

Dexterity Using Scales - Basic

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In this lesson we’re talking Major scales, and an exercise that can help you get a lot more out of them by challenging you technically, getting you to see the scale as something other than 8 notes in linear order and helping you with interval recognition! So if you’re a little bored with your scale practice, check this out!

Scales In Broken Intervals Basic

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Welcome to another lesson on building vocabulary! This time we’re looking at a Stevie Wonder tune featuring the great Nathan Watts on bass and tune in question is Do I Do! There are lots of fantastic Stevie bass lines out there but for me, this line stands head and shoulders above them as Nate’s greatest bass cut, because it has everything you could possibly want in a bass line!

I’m focusing in on a particular little pentatonic nugget here (and how we can develop it!) but I urge you to go and check out the uncut version….trust me, you’ll be glad you did!

Enjoy!

Building Vocabulary - Nate Watts

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This lesson is an introduction to one of my musical loves, the six string bass. If you’re new to the six string or are considering getting one and are wondering where to start or how to work with the extra strings, this lesson is for you!

Here we’ll look at the basics, string crossing and work on your absolute fundamentals, which are all essential to getting the most from the instrument! I’ve got some lessons in the pipeline that will expand upon this and give you some more musical examples to work on but this is your starting point.

P.s - If you’re a five string player looking to incorporate your additional string, a lot of the same ideas will also apply!

Enjoy!

Six String: An Introduction

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Following on from the lesson I put out where we looking at some Anthony Jackson vocabulary, this lesson looks at a particular fill Stu Zender plays in the outtro of the song ‘Scam’ from the Return Of The Space Cowboy record.

The whole line for that song is absolute gold (i’ll drop a transcription of it at some point!) but when I was going back through that record recently this fill Zender plays really stuck out.

Having transcribed it, I thought i’d talk about how you could take an idea like this and work it into your own vocabulary!

Enjoy!

Building Vocabulary - Zender

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In this lesson I thought it would be fun to take a look at some Thundercat! He’s an absolute monster of a player and some of his tracks feature some really pretty chordal ideas in them including this one, Tron Song. His tunes often feature multiple bass tracks (on the studio versions) so here we’re focusing on the line that has ALL the chords in it!

I’ve recorded this lesson on my 6 string but it’s doable on a 5 String (B-G) if it has 21 frets so i’ve included notation/TAB for both. It’s an intricate part and some of the shifts can be a little tricky but it’s a fantastic study in moving harmonic shapes/ideas around the instrument!

Have fun!!

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In this lesson we’re going to take a look at some songs that use bass chords in them! I’ve transcribed 3 excerpts from songs for you and we’re going to get into the details and look at how some of the ideas i’ve talked about in the last 3 lessons have been used.

Have fun!

Chord Song Examples

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Here is part 3 of this series on playing chords on the bass, and this time we are going to look at playing minor triads using both open and closed voicings as well as looking at the various inversions.

This is the last ‘nuts-and-bolts’ video for a little while as we’re going to get into some musical examples in the next lesson, but the fundamental exercises in these first 3 chordal lessons will really set you up for when we start to look at some more complex ideas.

Enjoy and happy practicing!

Minor Triads

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Here is part 2 of this series on playing chords on the bass, and this time we are going to look at playing major triads using both open and closed voicings as well as looking at the various inversions.

These exercises were really important for me when it came to viewing harmony as something other than blocks built from the root, so I absolutely recommend working them into your playing as we work towards moving through progressions!

Enjoy!

Triads And Inversions

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This is part one of a mini-series i’m filming about playing chords on the bass! Within this we will get into the basics, triad inversions, different voicings, expanded voicings, how we can play through changes and potentially a couple of lessons on solo arranging in the way I did for In The Bleak Midwinter!

In part one we’re going to look at some fundamental ideas to build fluency as well as talk about WHY we might want to work on chords as full chords rather than as arpeggios.

Enjoy!

Chords On Bass

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A very Happy New Year to you all, I hope you all had a relaxing holiday period! I’m in the process of finalising the edits for a new multi-part series of lessons i’m looking forward to sharing with you all but in the meantime, I thought I’d give you a little look behind the scenes and show you where/how I record my bass when I go into the studio!

The studio in question is Colossus Studios based in Bolton, UK. Owned and run by Declan Pearson, i’ve recorded there multiple times and this video shows exactly what happens when we record, including a little explainer about mic choice by Declan (he knows SO much more about that stuff than I do…).

Any questions you have about anything in the video, feel free to ask!!

https://www.colossus-studios.co.uk/

This method was composed to train the Pianist’s fingers in speed, precision, agility and strength and we can use these exercises ourselves to achieve exactly the same things! The exercises are built around the major scale, and they gradually break up the scale in progressively more complex and demanding ways!

I might eventually arrange all 60 exercises for electric bass but for now we’ll take a look at the first of them, and for those on a paid subscription we’ll also get into ways we can modify them and expand in order to gain maximum mileage from each exercise!

Let’s dig into it!

Classical Exercises to Build Technique

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