This song was released in September 1978 and was a big hit for The Jacksons. It was written by Mick Jackson, David Jackson (confusingly, no relation to The Jacksons themselves) and Elmar Krohn. Upon release, it reached #3 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, and #8 in the UK Singles chart. It was […]

This song was the biggest hit for Fontella Bass, an American soul singer and songwriter who was active during the sixties and seventies. ‘Rescue Me’ topped the U.S. R&B charts for four weeks and was also a hit in the UK. The song is known for its distinctive bass part, which was performed by session […]

This piece was originally written to represent virtuoso bassist Stuart Hamm. It focuses specifically on the instrumental music that he recorded during the late eighties and early nineties. The line features many common elements of his playing style, such as complex slap grooves, triplet popping lines, note bending, the use of open strings, and the […]

This song is from Running in the Family, Level 42’s best-selling album from 1987. It was one of five singles released from the album and reached #10 in the UK charts in April 1987. It remains a regular fixture in the band’s setlist to this day. features a slapped line, the verse and chorus sections […]

This song is from Mother’s Milk, the fourth album from Red Hot Chili Peppers. This album features some of Flea’s funkiest bass work, and this song is a great example. It’s a track that has not been heard live since the early nineties, and one that is really only to hardcore fans of the band. […]

This piece was originally written to represent Mark King’s bass work with Level 42 in the Giants of Bass book and video series. It was written with a focus on the instrumental jazz-funk that Mark played with Level 42 in the early eighties. As a result, the bass part features many common elements of his […]

This piece was originally written to represent Marcus Miller in the Giants of Bass book and video series. As a result, it features some advanced applications of the slap bass technique. This piece has a moderately slow tempo and is representative of the music that Marcus recorded on albums such as Silver Rain, Renaissance and […]

This course is perfect for bass players who have not yet begun learning their scales. It’s also a great refresher course for those who need to recap on the basic theory behind them. As you’ll discover, the theory behind scales is actually very simple, and you’ll find that there is a logical order in which […]

In the first part of this course you learnt the basic theory behind the major and minor scales. If you’ve successfully worked through that course, you’ll also have learnt to play those scales in several keys, using a basic fretboard pattern. In this course we’ll be continuing that work. We’ll first learn to play the […]

Arpeggios are an important area of study for any musician, including bass players. But while you might have heard the term, you might be unsure what it means. An arpeggio is essentially a chord, played one note at a time. These arpeggio notes – also known as chord tones – are essential building blocks when […]