In this video course I’ll be showing you how to play the bass solo from Marcus Miller’s song ‘Son of Macbeth’. This track appeared on his 2015 release Afrodeezia and is one of the most popular pieces on the album. Although this is undoubtedly a very challenging bass solo, it relies mostly on conventional slap […]

‘Dream Crazy’ is a track from Level 42’s 1985 album World Machine. This song was later released as the b-side for the ‘Running in the Family’ single, and although it was not performed live during the band’s initial run, it has been included in their set in more recent years. The slapped bassline is relatively […]

‘Motor City Grooves (Make Me Wanna Practice…)’ was written to represent the unique playing style pioneered by legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson. Although technically simpler to play than some of the other pieces in the Giants of Bass series, this is nevertheless a very demanding piece to play. This is because the bassline features almost […]

This short video course covers some of the basic concepts that should be considered before learning to use a plectrum. These lessons will discuss the different kinds of plectrums that are available and examine how to hold one correctly. Also covered are strap length, and the difference between alternate and economy picking.

Some basslines can be played solely with downstrokes. Others will be too fast, or too complex for this to be effective. Because of this, the most efficient way to use a plectrum is to employ both downstrokes and upstrokes. This is a technique that you should be comfortable using on all four strings. To that […]

The previous courses in this series covered basic alternate picking. If you’ve successfully worked through those lessons, you should now be comfortable with the basic mechanics of this technique. Of course, not all basslines move neatly from string to string, and you won’t always have the luxury of starting on a new string with a […]

The previous two video courses have covered the basic mechanics of the picking technique. You should now be comfortable with alternate picking, as well as crossing and skipping strings in any combination. This course will now take the next logical step with the picking technique and will explore ways to play parts that do not […]

When it comes to popping notes, most players will favour either their first or second finger. It’s nevertheless an excellent idea to be comfortable using either one, as this opens up other options. If you’ve been working through these courses in order, the Double Stops course (Intermediate Level) will have given you the opportunity to […]

This course will get you acquainted with the open string hammer-on technique. This versatile technique has been popularised by bassists such as Marcus Miller and Stuart Hamm. Its most notable user however is Victor Wooten, who used it on tracks such as ‘The Sinister Minister’ (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones), and ‘A Show of Hands’ […]

The double thumbing technique is a relatively recent addition to the slap bassist’s arsenal. Although several bassists such as French Canadian virtuoso Alain Caron were using it in the mid-eighties, it really grabbed the attention of bassists everywhere in the nineties, largely thanks to Victor Wooten. Through his work with Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, […]