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Developing Rhythmic Independence

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This video course will cover the fundamental rhythmic independence techniques required for ‘contrapuntal’ playing. Playing contrapuntally means to play rhythmically independent lines with each hand. For example, your fretting hand might play a bassline, whilst your picking hand plays a melody, or some chords. This is a skill that pianists develop through the natural course of studying their instrument but is not one that most bassists will ever require. The course that follows this one will cover contrapuntal playing in a variety of different musical styles, and the exercises presented in this course will help you to develop the rhythmic independence required to play them.

This course contains ten exercises for you to work on. The first five of these consist of only one note in each hand – a G. This is because the focus here is going to be on rhythm, rather than pitch. These exercises may seem simple, but you are likely to find that they are deceptively difficult.

As you work through this material, you might find the following courses useful (all included in the monthly subscription cost):

Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above to get the PDF worksheet and audio files for this course (available to subscribers only).

This course is 55 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. The Basics of Rhythmic Independence

This video will cover the basics of playing independent parts with each hand. This will then be demonstrated with a simple exercise.

2. Exercise #2

This video will show you how to play another simple exercise that will help you work on developing rhythmic independence in each hand.

3. Exercise #3

This video will show you how to play a third exercise that will help you work on developing rhythmic independence in each hand.

4. Exercise #4

This exercise features a dotted quarter note-eighth note rhythm that makes the coordination of the two hands more challenging.

5. Exercise #5

This exercise introduces some simple sixteenth note rhythms which are first played with the picking hand, then with the fretting hand.

6. Exercise #6

This exercise has a I-V-IV progression. The two hands play the chords together, and in the second and fourth bars there are melodic phrases played with either hand.

7. Exercise #7

This exercise has a I-vi-IV-V chord progression. The fretting hand plays a root-fifth bass line, while the picking hand plays a simple melodic phrase over the top.

8. Exercise #8

This exercise has a bossa nova feel. The bassline (played by the fretting hand) follows a root-fifth motion. The picking hand plays a simple melody across the top.

9. Exercise #9

In this exercise the fretting hand plays a root-fifth-octave figure, and the picking hand adds a melody above it. In the second half of the exercise, the bass notes change.

10. Exercise #10

This exercise is a slow, bluesy shuffle in 12/8. The picking hand plays a simple, repeating melodic figure. Underneath this, the fretting hand plays a simple shuffle groove.