The final rhythm that will be covered on this course is the triplet. Although in some ways triplets are simpler to play than the sixteenth note-based rhythms that have been covered in previous courses, they can be problematic when playing them with a plectrum. By leaving them to this part of the advanced course, you […]

This video course is the first of three that will focus specifically on a single genre of music. First up: rock and metal. These exercises cover a wide range of styles, including classic rock, punk, funk rock, alternative rock and more. Rock and metal are perfect genres for getting stuck in with the plectrum and […]

This video course features a selection of pop basslines. Like rock, ‘pop’ is something of an umbrella term that encompasses many subgenres. You’ll therefore find lines here that have elements of funk, rock, reggae and more. As you work through this material, you might find the following courses useful (all included in the monthly subscription […]

This course contains a series of funk grooves. Funk might seem an unlikely style of music to play with a plectrum, but as bassists such as Carol Kaye, Anthony Jackson and Bobby Vega have proved, it’s actually a style that’s extremely well suited to the technique. Many of the exercises in this chapter are built […]

This study is an up-tempo rock track written in the style of classic rock bands such as Deep Purple, KISS, Alice Cooper, and Bad Company. The main challenges here are the fast tempo and using upstrokes to play phrases which begin on an upbeat. As you work through this material, you might find the following […]

This course takes the picking techniques that were covered in the Beginner course and applies them to sixteenth notes. Being able to comfortably play sixteenth note rhythms with the pick will open up a lot of possibilities in your playing and enable you to play most lines that you might otherwise play with your fingers. […]

In this course is a direct progression from the first part of this series. This time, the focus is on rhythms that combine sixteenth notes with eighth notes. There are three possible ways to combine these note values within a single quarter note beat, and each will be examined in turn here. It’s vital that […]

This course tackles two new rhythms, both of which consist of a dotted eighth note and a sixteenth note. As with previous combination rhythms, it’s crucial that these new variations are played with the correct application of downstrokes and upstrokes. As you work through this material, you might find the following courses useful (all included […]

This course is an in-depth examination of one of the most commonly-used scales – the blues scale. As you’ll learn from the course, the blues scale is simply the minor pentatonic scale, with an added ‘blue’ note. With that in mind, it would be a good idea to have worked through the Minor Pentatonic Scale […]

This course is a deep-dive into a very popular and useful scale – the major pentatonic. As you’ll learn from the course, the major pentatonic is derived from the major scale and works well in all styles of music. As bass players, the major pentatonic is an important scale for us to learn. With that […]