This course is a deep-dive into one of the most commonly-used scales – the minor pentatonic. As you’ll learn from the course, the minor pentatonic is derived from the natural minor scale and works well in all styles of music. As bass players, the minor pentatonic is an important scale for us to learn. With […]

If you’ve successfully worked through the first part of this course, you’ll be familiar with the minor pentatonic scale. This course is for bassists who are comfortable with the scale in all twelve keys, as the exercises presented here are written in a variety of different keys. Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button […]

This course is an in-depth examination of one of the most commonly-used scales – the blues scale. As you’ll discover, 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 video course before […]

This course continues our deep dive into the blues scale. If you’ve completed the first course, you will be familiar with playing the scale all over the fingerboard in the key of A. You’re hopefully also familiar with the sound of the scale. The exercises in this course have been written in a range of […]

This song is from Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the fifth album from Red Hot Chili Peppers. Flea opted for a more laid-back approach to his bass parts on this album, favouring fingerstyle funk grooves over the aggressive slap lines that he had previously been known for. This song is an excellent example of that approach. […]

This great song is from Talking Heads: 77, the band’s debut album. This was third single released by the group and has gone on to become one of their best-known tracks. The bass part on this song was performed by Tina Weymouth, a founding member of the group. It’s a relatively simple line, one that […]

This piece – one of Vulfpeck’s best-known tracks – is from their second full-length album, The Beautiful Game. Upon its release in October 2017, the song captured the attention of bass players everywhere thanks to Joe Dart’s incredible bass work. It quickly became a key part of the band’s set, with the audience often singing […]

‘Good Times’ is perhaps the best known of Chic’s hit singles and was recorded for their third album, Risqué. With its infectious groove, the track was an instant hit in the clubs and remained at #1 on the U.S. R&B Chart for six weeks. It is ranked #224 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the […]

This song is from Level 42’s 1983 album Standing in the Light. Driven along by a sixteenth note-based slap groove, it is also notable for Mark King’s use of harmonic chords and neck bending. Although a fan favourite since its release, the song was only performed live for the first time in 2008. The bassline […]

This piece was originally written to represent Duck Dunn in Giants of Bass, a book which celebrated the contributions of 26 of the world’s most influential bass players. As a result, it features a number of elements that are common to Duck’s playing, such as a strong use of chord tones, the inclusion of additional […]