This study piece was written as a resource for developing the use of harmonics on the bass. Throughout this piece, we’ll be playing lines that combine open strings with natural harmonics, as well as melody lines that include combinations of fretted bass notes and harmonics. We’ll also be looking at some ways in which we […]

This study piece is a funk rock track written in the style of bands such as Extreme, Aerosmith and The Electric Boys. It was composed as a resource for working on more complex rock bass picking lines, where the bass plays a more active role, often doubling tricky lines with the guitar in addition to […]

This plectrum study illustrates how a pick can be used to play funk and R&B lines, as popularised by bassists such as Carol Kaye and Bobby Vega. This piece was written as a practice resource for working on sixteenth note-based funk lines and strummed chordal parts and is great fun to play. Don’t forget to […]

This piece was originally written to represent legendary session bassist Carol Kaye in Giants of Bass, a book which celebrated the contributions of 26 of the world’s most influential bass players. This study is a great workout for your plectrum technique: the bassline for is based on a continuous sixteenth note feel, which is something […]

This study piece was written in the style of legendary bassist Marcus Miller. One of the key challenges with this piece is playing slap bass grooves at slower tempos. This is something that bass players often struggle with but is one of the many things that Marcus excels at. This piece is also a great […]

This study piece features a very busy style of slap bass, one that has been popularised by bassists such as Mark King, Stuart Hamm, and Victor Wooten. A wide range of slap techniques are put to use in this piece, including fretting hand slaps, chord strumming, double popping and open string hammer-ons. Don’t forget to […]

This piece is a challenging slap bass study played using a drop-D tuning. A wide range of techniques are used in this piece including chord strumming, double popping, fretting hand slaps, machine gun triplets and more. Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above in order to download the PDF transcription and audio files […]

This hyperactive slap bass study features a range of different techniques. Although conventional slap techniques are used for many parts of the line, there are sections which call on more advanced concepts. These include double popping, double thumbing, and the open-hammer-pop technique. In addition, there are some fingerstyle grooves and unison lines to get your […]

This study was written to demonstrate the complex, chordal lines that can be performed using the two-handed tapping technique. As such, it features an advanced application of the tapping technique. It is therefore recommended that you work through these lines very slowly to begin with, allowing yourself the time to correctly develop the required coordination […]

This challenging piece was inspired by the work of virtuoso players such as Victor Wooten, Michael Manring and Jeff Schmidt, all of whom have been very successful in combining multiple techniques into one seamless performance. Consequently, this piece requires a solid grasp of a wide range of techniques such as slapping, strumming, tapping and palm […]