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Syncopated Sixteenth Note Lines

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In this course we’ll be building on everything that was covered back in the Intermediate Plectrum course. The sixteenth note-based lines that we’ll be looking at 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 to receive the PDF that accompanies these lessons! (available to subscribers only) This course contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. Silent Pick Strokes

In this lesson we’ll be looking at silent pick strokes. This is an important concept when it comes to playing sixteenth note lines that begin on a syncopated part of the beat, or which involve the use of ties. As you’ll discover from the lesson, a silent pick stroke is simply where the picking hand goes through the motion of a stroke (typically a downstroke) but doesn’t actually play the string. This is important as it enables the player to maintain a logical, down-up picking motion.

2. Incorporating Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs

The concept of silent strokes applies when using hammer-ons and pull-offs in your lines as well, as you’ll discover from this lesson.

3. Exercise #6

Here’s a funk bassline where the main phrase begins on the second sixteenth note of the bar. There are also several hammer-ons used throughout.

4. Exercise #7

This exercise is a simple rock groove that uses hammer-ons in a minor pentatonic-based line.

5. Exercise #8

This exercise is a continuous sixteenth note bassline that uses both hammer-on and pull-off figures. Note that these figures remain the same even when the bass notes below them change in the third and fourth bars. These changes will lead to some tricky fingerings for your fretting hand.

6. Exercise #9

This exercise is a slow rock groove that mixes E Mixolydian and E minor pentatonic sounds. The pull-off phrase in the fourth bar is a tough one - watch out for the two upstrokes in a row.

7. Exercise #10

This is a much quicker rock bassline that makes use of hammer-ons. Note that in the fourth bar there are several slides that are performed as slurs: only the first note is struck, the next is performed by sliding upwards with the fretting hand.

8. Exercise #11

This exercise is an up-tempo metal groove.

9. Exercise #12

This is a pop bassline that features a lot of string crossing as well as several hammer-on figures.

10. Exercise #13

This exercise is another pop bassline that uses a lot of hammer-on and pull-off figures. There are also some slides in the fourth bar: remember that when playing these, only the first note is struck, the second is performed by sliding upwards with the fretting hand.

11. Exercise #14

This one is a slow rock exercise that is quite simple. The fourth bar features a descending two-beat lick that uses the blues scale. This lick is then repeated, an octave lower, with a slightly different tail.

12 Exercise #15

Here’s another fast metal exercise that makes use of hammer-ons. It also uses the ‘gallop’ rhythm (covered in the Intermediate Plectrum course), which is a popular rhythmic device in rock and metal basslines.

13. Exercise #16

This exercise is a complex funk groove in the style of great pick players such as Carol Kaye and Bobby Vega.

14. Exercise #17

This line is a fairly simple rock groove with some syncopated figures played on the third and fourth beats of each bar. The fourth bar features a descending blues scale lick with a three-note figure that is repeated three times. As this part is played as continuous semiquavers, this figure starts on a different subdivision of the beat each time.

15. Exercise #18

In this funk bassline, the opening figure outlines a B7 chord using a voicing that crosses all four strings. This is then used a tone lower in the second half of the first bar to outline an A7 chord.

16. Exercise #19

This is a sixteenth note-based funk groove that uses a lot of ghost notes to add percussive interest to the groove. The fourth bar has some sixteenth note triplet figures: as these are slurs, they are played with one pick stroke, as indicated.

17. Exercise #20

This is a pop bassline with a driving groove. The end of each bar is punctuated by some descending hammer-on figures.

18. Exercise #21

This exercise is a busy funk groove.

19. Exercise #22

This exercise is a funk groove that uses a lot of hammer-ons on typical ‘funk figures’: the sixth to the flattened seventh (A to Bb) and the minor third to major third (Eb to E) for example.

20. Exercise #23

This exercise uses a lot of syncopation, meaning that you are required to play several upstrokes in a row. Remember that you will also be playing silent downstrokes in between in order to maintain the correct picking sequence.

21. Exercise #24

This exercise is also heavily syncopated. Try to allow the open A-string to ring where possible in this exercise as this will enhance the chordal element of the line.

22. Exercise #25

This exercise is a pop bassline containing lots of hyperactive hammer-on/pull-off figures.