This song was recorded in 1975 by James Taylor. A cover of the Marvin Gaye original, Taylor’s version appears on his album Gorilla and quickly became one of his biggest hits. This version of the song features a simple but effective bass part from session legend Leland Sklar. Sklar, who has spent much of his […]

This course builds on everything that was covered in the intermediate level course. The sixteenth note-based lines that you’ll learn here are complex and will require a thorough mastery of the concepts covered in the earlier courses. Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above in order to download the PDF worksheet and audio […]

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. Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above in order to download the PDF worksheet and audio files […]

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. Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above in order […]

This course builds on the techniques that were covered at beginner level: those techniques will now be applied to sixteenth note rhythms. Being able to play sixteenth notes with the pick will open up a lot of possibilities in your playing. Eventually, you should be able to use the pick to play lines that you […]

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. Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above in order to download the PDF […]

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 […]