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20 Pop Basslines

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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 cost):

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

This course is 1 HOUR & 45 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. Exercise #1

This exercise is a riff-based pop groove in E minor. Be sure to play the notes marked staccato accordingly, as they are important to the feel.

2. Exercise #2

This is a disco-influenced line that uses lots of octaves. Again, be sure to keep the notes marked with staccato short and crisp.

3. Exercise #3

This is a pop reggae line that has very simple harmonic movement. A lot of the phrases start with upstrokes, so keep in mind the importance of silent downstrokes.

4. Exercise #4

This exercise is played at a quick tempo. The first half is relatively sparse but leads into an eighth note-based line in the second half.

5. Exercise #5

This is a very funky pop bassline that uses upper register notes and tenths to outline the harmony. Ghost notes are essential to the groove.

6. Exercise #6

This pop bassline is a tip-of-the-hat to Jamiroquai. The root-octave figures at the beginning of the second and third bars require some nimble string skipping.

7. Exercise #7

This exercise is another pop bassline with a light reggae feel. This time the line is busier, with lots of sixteenth note-based phrases.

8. Exercise #8

This is a fast pop/rock line that is similar to the line on Bruno Mars’s song ‘Runaway Baby’. You can afford to dig in a little more on this one.

9. Exercise #9

This exercise follows a simple progression in C# minor. The bassline features a certain amount of syncopation, and you’ll find that ghost notes are important to the feel.

10. Exercise #10

This exercise has phrases that begin with upstrokes. The syncopated fill in the fourth bar will require some careful thought as to the picking sequence that you use.

11. Exercise #11

This exercise is a slow reggae groove featuring some triplet figures. Be sure to keep these triplets played staccato, as shown in the notation.

12. Exercise #12

This is an octave-based disco bassline similar in style to Janice-Marie Johnson’s great line on A Taste of Honey’s hit song ‘Boogie Oogie Oogie’.

13. Exercise #13

This exercise is in the key of A minor and has a Latin flavour. The presence of the G#’s suggest the use of the harmonic minor scale.

14. Exercise #14

This exercise is a complex funk/disco bassline with lots of funky fills. Be sure to keep the octaves in the fourth bar nice and short – they are marked staccato.

15. Exercise #15

This longer exercise is similar in style to the Michael Jackson hit ‘Billie Jean’. The majority of the line is notated with staccato dots, so be sure to keep the notes.

16. Exercise #16

This is a sixteenth note-based line that is played at a slow tempo. This makes it a lot easier than it looks. Note that each bar should begin with an upstroke.

17. Exercise #17

This is a longer exercise, played at a very fast tempo. Playing the root-fifth-octave figures in the middle section is tricky at this speed.

18. Exercise #18

This busy bassline uses octave patterns and tenths. Be sure to let the tenths ring together in bar 6 – this will reinforce the harmony.

19. Exercise #19

Here’s a bassline that uses continuous sixteenth notes, making for a simple picking sequence. There are some unusual chord movements in this one.

20. Exercise #20

This final exercise is a Motown-style line that uses some very popular bass figures that are based on the major pentatonic scale.