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13. Octaves

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This video course introduces a musical device that’s hugely important to us as bass players – the octave. Octaves have been briefly mentioned and used in previous exercises, but this course will break them down in detail.

Don't forget to hit the Download Resources button above to receive the PDF that accompanies these lessons!

This course is 16 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. What is an Octave?

This video will introduce the concept of octaves and examine how they are played on the bass. As you’ll discover, they fall very comfortably under the fingers.

2. Exercise #82

This bassline illustrates a very common way to use octaves: as a continuous, pumping bassline. This kind of line works really well in funk and disco music.

3. Exercise #83

This is a slow rock riff that uses octaves. You’ll hear that they also work well in rock basslines. Rests are also important elements in this line.

4. Exercise #84

In this line, octaves are used as part of a repeated bass motif. You should find that all of the notes in this line fall easily under the fingers.

5. Exercise #85

This exercise is a funk line that makes use of octaves. The ascending sequence in the first two bars is very common in funk music.

6. Exercise #86

This is a rock bassline that uses octaves. The use of the C natural in the fourth bar is a reference to the blues scale, which is covered in the Scales and Arpeggios course.