Bass Lick of the Week #6

This exercise is a slow fingerstyle groove that’s played quite aggressively. I was listening to a lot of Vulfpeck when I came up with this, there’s definitely a Joe Dart influence here...

This line opens with two notes, an F and a D. You can play a descending slide away from the D. These are followed by an ascending line, played on the E-string. We then play this entire phrase twice more, although the opening two notes are different each time: the second time around they are Ab and F, then B and Ab. I recommend playing these notes at the fretboard positions indicated in the TAB. At the end of the second bar there is a short turnaround figure that is played staccato - you should also drop the dynamic at this point, playing it quietly and gradually raising the volume as you reach the end of the bar.

The fill in bar 4 is played around the twelfth fret and includes a ‘shake’. Shakes are similar to trills, but have a slightly less precise sound because they are fretted with only one finger. This one is performed by playing the F at the tenth fret of the G-string, then rapidly sliding the finger back and forth between F and F# - check out the video performance if in any doubt.

To download the backing track and PDF worksheet for this exercise, please visit the Free Stuff section of the website.