This week’s exercise is another funk groove that’s played with the plectrum. Much of this exercise is rich in chord tones and strong supporting notes from the D Mixolydian mode. In the first and third bars, the line opens with a hammer-on from C to D (the minor seventh and root note of the implied […]

This week’s exercise is a quirky, up-tempo slap and pop line which was inspired by the playing of Les Claypool, the bassist with Primus. The first bar opens with some power chords, which are played using the strumming technique. To play these chords, flick downwards with all of the fingers of your picking hand, allowing […]

This exercise is a relatively simple, but melodic line in A minor. The opening phrase of bar 1 strongly implies the sound of an Am7 chord. This is because all of the notes from this chord are used here: the opening C is the minor third of the chord, the A is the root, the […]

This week’s exercise is a rock bassline that sounds great when played with a pick. This line makes for a great workout for your plectrum technique as it features some string crossing, a continuous semiquaver feel, and some hammer-on figures. When playing this line, be sure to start every beat with a downstroke, and follow […]

This exercise is played with the slap and pop technique and features some challenging strumming figures. The line opens with a chordal part, strummed on the D and G-strings. To strum these chords, flick downwards with all of the fingers of your picking hand, allowing your fingernails to strike the strings – the sound of […]

This exercise features a lot of harmonics and uses an 11/8 time signature. In the first bar, the opening two notes – A and B – are played as normal notes. The B should be fretted with the first finger, and should be allowed to ring underneath the harmonics which follow. Use your fourth finger […]

This week’s exercise is a fingerstyle funk line that works over a D7 chord. This is a challenging, semiquaver-based line that is heavy on chord tones, but it’s great to play once you get it down. Like all good basslines, this one features chord tones extensively. In the first bar, the root note (D), is […]

This week’s exercise is a busy rock riff that should be played with a plectrum. This line was inspired by funk-metal band Extreme, who often use similar riffs as guitar/bass unison lines. This line is built on the E minor pentatonic scale. In the first bar, you’ll initially play a descending lick moving from E, […]

This week’s exercise is a slap groove that’s played over a shuffle feel. This line is in the key of E minor, but starts on a non-scale tone, the Bb. This note is the ‘blue note’ and works because it comes from the E blues scale. As you’ll hear, this is a very striking note […]

This week’s exercise is a two handed tapping line that is a great place to start if you’ve never used the technique before. If you’re new to the two handed tapping technique, the first thing you’ll need to work on is tapping notes with your picking hand. To do so, rest your thumb on the […]