Bass Books
Dan Hawkins: Taking it Online
Interview with bassist Dan Hawkins…
You may not know Dan Hawkins, but you’ve probably heard his work. Tim Fletcher catches up with a London-based bass player who has successfully embraced the online world.
Specialising in remote recording sessions from his home studio, Dan Hawkins has completed over one thousand tracks for clients in the UK, USA, Brazil, Canada, India, Egypt, France, Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, South Korea, Japan, Australia and Russia. He has recorded album sessions, jingles, adverts, movie soundtracks and film cues. His basslines have been featured on TV shows for Fox, ABC, VH1, Netflix, the BBC.
Dan Hawkins Sound Samples:
Dan is also a bass educator.
He runs an online teaching platform www.onlinebasscourses.com where he posts regular bass lessons, and his book ‘Creative Bass Technique Exercises – 70 Melodic Exercises to Develop Great Feel and Technique on Bass Guitar’ was published by Fundamental Changes in 2019.
Although much of Dan’s playing work is online, he has extensive performance experience including live work with Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Rod Stewart, Katie Melua and Carla Bruni, and he has played for the West End production of ‘Les Misérables’.
Tim Fletcher: Hi Dan – How’s it going?
Dan Hawkins: Great thanks! An absolute pleasure to be here.
How have you dealt with the lockdown?
Well, in the UK where I’m based, there are NO gigs – they were all cancelled. The government has just opened pubs, and you’re allowed to travel on a crowded plane, but musicians aren’t allowed to work live just yet. But I have managed to do a lot of writing, creating lessons for my site, as well as doing plenty of remote sessions.
You do a lot of remote recording for clients around the world – has the lockdown impacted that at all?
The first ‘lockdown’ session I did was for a Netflix/BBC thing coming out later this year, and that came about due to the hired musicians not being able to go into the studio. Lockdown had literally just come into play, and the composer found musicians who could record remotely so he could finish the score. In general, things were quite slow at first when everyone around the world was getting used to their own personal situations, but now, I’ve noticed a fair few sessions coming in.
You’ve been doing this for about a decade now – how did you get into remote recording?
I always wanted to be a recording bass player, but I came into the industry just when the studio scene started to decline. Although studios were closing, the prevalence of great, affordable gear, and more musicians with their own home studios made it possible for remote recording to be a realistic alternative.
A friend of mine knew drummer Jon Howells who was already doing this, and I desperately wanted to join in – and it made a lot of sense for me to start something online. I was really excited about the opportunities presented online and the chance to hone my recording skills, whilst playing a wide variety of musical styles.
Your remote recording work has stretched across the world – How do you promote yourself to clients in different countries?
I was lucky in that I started over ten years ago. I tried to learn as much as I could about alien subjects like creating a website and search engine optimisation. By arriving quite early on the scene, I’ve managed to get my site high up on search engines for terms related to remote bass recording. I get lots of clients through just that to be honest.
I started out just by doing anything I could for whoever wanted bass, and trying to build connections – a bit like you would when trying to get into live work. Word of mouth comes into play as well and just trying to build up a lot of clients.
I assume the work is pretty varied?
Very varied. My clients range from bedroom enthusiasts to top TV composers and artists. I play a bit of double bass and I remember one day doing a nursery rhyme on upright followed by a very heavy metal track.
Sometimes you have no idea where your bass lines will end up. To my great surprise, I’ve randomly heard my playing several times on TV. I’ve played on demos, jingles, adverts, TV, film, albums, songs, and EPs. There are so many music creators out there.
Is it difficult to negotiate with clients, to be sure what they are looking for?
That’s a great question. Communication is definitely key online. Most of the time a client will be clear giving me references, a score, some instructions, a guide bass line, or some combination of those things.
Other times people say ‘just make it sound good’ – it’s always been a session player’s job to make the person whose music it is happy. Most of the time, they trust me to give them something that will work well. There are definitely people who have a strong idea of what they want, and people who don’t want to have to worry about the specifics. I’ll never start a session unless I really know what they want. It saves a lot of hassle that way.
What have been the most memorable projects you have worked on?
I’ve really loved playing on UK comedian Adam Buxton’s jingles and, during lockdown, I played on some for his audio book which was produced entirely remotely.
One that sums up the remote experience is a song I played on for Kuwaiti pop star Humood Alkhuder, produced by Egyptian musician Hamza Namira. Being from the UK I never heard the song Kun Anta’ here, but it did quite well in other parts of the world, and has had nearly 200 million views on YouTube.
Another one was a bowing double bass session I did for UK producer Matty Moon. Bowing on the double bass was not, and is not, my forté! I pretty much turned the session down but he convinced me to give it a go. A lot of practice and many takes later, I got it down, and I’m proud of the results. The track was a version of ‘Jaws of Hell’ by Lonely The Brave.
What would be your advice for bass players setting up a home studio for remote recording?
Spend your money on a decent DI and analogue/digital converters – I use a Universal Audio Apollo, which is great. You do need a good computer – I use Logic Pro with an iMac – and some basic DAW skills.
I do have lots of basses because I want to be able to cover any bass tone. I have vintage instruments by Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, MusicMan as well as a Hofner Club, MusicMan StingRay, a Lakland fretless, Zoot Funkmeister and a few others, but, honestly, just get a decent sounding bass set up well, with no buzzes.
I know that in ‘real’ studios I noticed a change in perception towards me when I started bringing a vintage Fender Precision. I reckon that’s a good bass to go for if you had to have just one bass for recording, but being able to provide a range of tones is helpful.
What are the main challenges that you might expect?
Being able to play enough styles well to get enough work is one. I love players like Carol Kaye, Leland Sklar, Will Lee, Nathan East, and in the UK, Steve Pearce, Andy Pask, Phil Mulford, and Trevor Barry, just to name a few. These are the kinds of bass players I admire the most – they can play anything, but what they provide is a great foundation for a song.
Apart from the playing side, being able to generate enough work is a challenge. That’s always been the case for every working musician, and online it’s no different. I like to earn my living by doing different things. I think of them as threads of income, and it’s a must to develop a business head to be able to keep money coming in, especially now.
Learning all the new skills you need is a major challenge. With all the resources out there it’s not difficult though; just not always easy to juggle everything.
You do some teaching too – is that online as well?
I taught one to one lessons in schools for fifteen years, but stopped that a couple of years ago to start my blog: www.onlinebasscourses.com. That’s probably where the majority of my time and efforts are focused now. I’ve started a YouTube channel and do at least one bass lesson a week. I absolutely love reaching passionate bass players around the world. The bass community is a really awesome place to be, and to be a small part of it is a real privilege.
I do the odd Skype lesson, but I create tons of free lessons for people – with the idea that a small and interested handful will buy my paid courses… when I get around to making them!
What’s the balance of your work currently?
The balance has really changed for me over the years. It used to be about 70/30 gigs/teaching, then the remote recording came in. In the last few years I probably do fewer gigs, but much more online teaching and remote sessions. The teaching side of things has really been about building the content on my site and my newsletter, so I haven’t earned anything from it yet, but will be able to soon.
For me, as much as I love gigs, I’d like to gain a steadier stream of income, and one that I’m in control of, so that’s more and more where I’m headed work-wise.
Which do you prefer?
Honestly, I love the balance and the variety. I have to say that it’s very hard to beat a great gig playing awesome music with friends. That kind of interaction can’t be replicated.
The online game is a solitary one, which suits me fine, but gives you the opportunity to take more control of your career and income. I really love that aspect of it – which for me beats having to wait for the phone to ring to get work!
Ultimately, being creative and earning money through bass playing is something that I’m truly grateful for. It’s the only job I’ve ever had and whilst sometimes it can be tough for various reasons, I love it.
I understand that you have played at Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth II – was that a special day?
Yeah, that one was cool! And one of the best things about that gig was the journey. I’d just moved into a new flat closer to London, and this was my very first gig there – I just jumped on the Tube and was at the Palace within half an hour!
It was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation and a real honour to be a part of. I was playing for Katie Melua, and we played one song on two separate and very hot days. I remember playing and looking out from the stage onto the gardens. I saw a few of the Royals in the crowd (although I couldn’t see the Queen!) and thought that I’m lucky to do this as a job.
You have some great basses in your collection – which one is your ‘go-to’ bass?
If I had to pick one it would be my 1978 Fender Precision. That was my first vintage bass and, at the time, I was working with UK artist Luke Batt. He was recording an EP produced by Ken Nelson, who had recently worked with Coldplay. It was the first time an artist or producer really commented on my tone. Ken said it was one of the best P-bass tones he’d recorded. I got lucky with that one, as I got it for a reasonable price.
People feel very at home with what they know, and the look and sound of a Fender Precision pleases many. That was my first P-bass and I love it. That’s the bass that has been on the most sessions for me. It sits in the mix so well, has a very playable neck, and is so unfussy.
I also own a Lakland fretless that Pino Palladino played on a few tours and albums. That’s also a keeper.
Are there any basses you lust after?
Yes. How long have we got?! I absolutely love everything about the bass and consider myself a student of it, but I’m definitely not a collector. I only want basses I’ll actually use. A few that spring to mind are: a vintage Burns Bison, a Wal, and maybe a Sadowsky. I’m also amazed at how good some of the basses being made in the Far East are. I’ve been checking out a few of the Ibanez basses recently and they look great.
I’ve also always loved MusicMan and Warwick basses. In fact, my first proper bass as a kid was a Warwick Corvette Proline which was stolen. I’d like another one in my collection one day. I’ve built up my stable over the past 10 or so years, and I’m very happy with what I already have – there’s always room for more though!
Who are your major influences as a bassist?
One of my early teachers opened my ears to Jaco, and I became seriously obsessed for a year. I couldn’t listen to anyone else in that period. I also studied the ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown’ book turning me onto James Jamerson, whose playing still blows me away.
At around the same time I got into Marcus Miller, Jimmy Haslip, Tony Levin, and John Patitucci through my music teachers. Through my older brother I listened to loads of rock, and Flea was a particularly big influence.
Other favourites are Saturnino, Victor Wooten, Carol Kaye, Pino Palladino (a huge influence), Stu Hamm, Bryan Beller, Herbie Flowers, Dave Richmond, Paul McCartney, Gail Anne-Dorsey, Guy Pratt, Laurence Cottle, Mark King and Geddy Lee. I’ll stop the list here knowing that I’ve missed out some of my absolute favourites.
Your book ‘100 Funk Grooves For Electric Bass’ was recently released – can you tell us a little about it?
It was written for a great publishing company called Fundamental Changes. I wrote it because funk music is very close to my heart, and there’s so much in the genre for bass players to learn from. It’s an ‘in the style of’ book, where I’ve written five bass lines each for twenty great funk bassists, split into different sub-genres.
Each chapter starts off with a bit of history, the gear that was used, and key songs to check out. The book comes with a twelve-hour playlist, audio examples, 100 pro-recorded drum loops, a few backing tracks and a few video lessons.
I also give plenty of tips on how to make up your own bass lines and fills. I think it’s really important to take whatever you’re learning and apply it in real-world musical situations. I try my best to give as many real-world bass playing tips as I can.
Dan’s book ‘100 Funk Grooves for Electric Bass’ is available now at fundamental-changes.com | Click here to download a sample
You cover the styles of some great funk bass players in the book – who is your favourite funk bassist?
That’s a tough one, although Bernard Edwards springs to mind! His combination of muscular tone, beautifully perfect hook-based lines, and ferocious technique is hard to beat. His timing is out of this world.
I do have to mention a couple of the Prince bass players: Ida Nielson and Rhonda Smith. There weren’t many female bass players in the classic bands and eras I featured in the book, but it’s great to see so many incredible female bass players around now.
Have you written any more bass tuition books?
Another Fundamental Changes book is ‘Creative Bass Technique Exercises’. I like literal titles! This book works on many different aspects of music, through examples that actually sound like real bass playing. I’m very proud of it. There are many more titles to come in the future.
What’s your next project?
After moving to Singapore next month, I’ll be writing my next book (a technique one), creating some courses for my site, more remote sessions, growing my YouTube channel, and trying to find some gigs in a new town! I’m also setting up a bass and drum loops website with Jon Howells, who I mentioned before.
Playing live is a real part of my identity, and I definitely want to keep improving on that front, so I’ll be looking for live music opportunities in Singapore and the surrounding area.
Thanks for your time!
My pleasure!
So You’ve Decided to Play Bass at Church: A Practical Guide for Serving on a Worship Team is a short ebook written by Eric Richardson specifically for musicians who are playing, or preparing to play, bass in contemporary worship settings.
Rather than functioning as a traditional lesson book, the guide serves as a practical field guide for church bassists. It focuses on the real situations that arise when serving on a worship team, including rehearsals, Sunday morning services, changing arrangements, and adapting when musicians or plans change.
The book intentionally avoids music theory instruction, bass exercises, chord charts, and scale diagrams. Instead, it explores practical ways bass players can approach their role within a worship band, both musically and relationally.
Drawing from firsthand experience in contemporary worship environments, the guide offers insights about supporting the band, communicating with other musicians, and adjusting in the moment depending on the needs of the group.
At 43 pages, the ebook is designed to be concise, practical, and accessible for volunteer musicians and church teams. DRM has been intentionally disabled so the resource can easily be shared among worship teams.
So You’ve Decided to Play Bass at Church: A Practical Guide for Serving on a Worship Team is available now on Amazon.
New Ebook Helps Volunteer Worship Bass Players Move Beyond Root-Only Playing, Without Overplaying…
Practical, song-first guide offers tasteful bass movement for church and worship settings
Your First Steps Beyond Roots: Contemporary Worship Bass Made Easy! addresses a common, but often unspoken, pattern in church music: volunteer worship bass players relying almost entirely on root notes, even after years of playing.
Written by a seasoned worship bassist, the short, practical ebook is designed specifically for church musicians who are not professionals but faithfully serve their congregations week after week. Many of these players have been making music for years, may play other instruments, and are comfortable on the bass, yet choose to stay on roots when playing in church.
This often comes from a desire to stay out of the way, avoid overplaying, or uncertainty about what is musically appropriate in a worship setting. The book speaks directly to that reality.
Rather than focusing on advanced technique or formal music theory, the guide offers straightforward, usable ideas for adding simple bass movement that fits modern worship music and real church environments. The emphasis is on supporting the song, maintaining clarity, and staying appropriate for congregational worship.
“I’ve played in worship settings for years and noticed that many volunteer bass players—people who simply attend church and serve on the team, tend to default to roots, even if they’ve been playing music for a long time or play other instruments,” says the author. “This book shows practical ways to add movement while still keeping the bass part supportive and appropriate.”
Intentionally concise and worship-focused, the ebook is accessible to volunteer musicians, church bassists, and players without formal training. DRM is disabled, allowing easy sharing among worship teams, churches, and reviewers.
Your First Steps Beyond Roots: Contemporary Worship Bass Made Easy! is available now on Amazon >>> VIEW
The bass guitar is a truly unique instrument and its role in modern popular music is well-defined. About 400 years ago, the first basslines were born, and the evolution of instruments producing mesmerising bass frequencies began. We’ve come a long way since then, and we now live in an age where the bass guitar plays a major role not only in music, but also in the online world of social media.
Available online at Amazon https://geni.us/I0Evl
In this book you will find thirty transcriptions of original compositions designed primarily for solo playing, with the aim of attracting attention on social media. However, there are no self-serving technical pieces or even circus stunts here. These compositions can be played solo, but all of the ideas and concepts are fully usable in wider musical contexts.
The pieces in this book are built around three techniques: fingerstyle, slap bass, and playing with the plectrum. The length of the pieces is usually between 45-90 seconds, which is longer than a simple exercise, but shorter than a standard song structure. This makes them ideal for players who want plenty of inspiration, but don’t want to learn whole songs or long etudes. Stylistically, the compositions are a mix of funk and alternative rock with occasional excursions into jazz or blues styles.
Each piece is notated in standard notation and TAB and is accompanied by some brief performance notes. The book contains links to video performances of all of the pieces and the accompanying audio files are available to download from the Bassline Publishing website.
This book contains the following pieces:
Funky Saturday (Muted by Sponge)
Super Slap Wednesday
B-String Beaten
(P)Funky Sh**t
These Licks are Fire
Neighbours Must Love Me
How to Break a Pick
Two G-Strings
Groovin’ at Grandma’s House
DJ’s are the New Rock Stars
INSomnia
Slappada Bass
Blues with Too Many Notes
Sonata in Drop C
Gentle Slap in F# Minor
Acid for the Children
Music Store Funk
Bend It in Drop D
Electro Vibes
Infinity
Flamenco Meets Thumb
Wheels on the Funk
You’ll Never Be As Cool As George
Chromatic Love
Lazy Afternoon
Shuffle for the Drivers
Half Tone, Whole Tone
Percussive Study in A Minor
Just Groove
Hammer-Ons Out of Control
Available online at Amazon https://geni.us/I0Evl
All jazz bassists recognize the pivotal role that the Bill Evans Trio played in creating a new model for the bass’ function in jazz. In this book, Bass Foundations, Chuck Israels (one of Bill’s long-time bassists) has created a masterpiece of explaining what that revolution consists of. Among other crucial concepts, he shows how the bass can both lay down the pulse and have a dialogue with the other musicians at the same time.
Backing up this analysis are 63 pages of Chuck’s improvised bass lines from his time with Bill Evans. With Bill’s chord changes included, this affords you the opportunity to play-along with the recordings, just like you were a member of his trio. Serious fun!
- Part I — Chuck’s insightful wisdom on the importance of rhythmic interaction with the soloist, the value of keeping the melody of the song in mind as you play, insights on playing in 2, rules for note choices in creating walking bass lines, and much more.
- Part II — Note-for-note transcriptions of Chuck’s bass playing on 18 songs he recorded with Bill Evans from “Moonbeams,” “How My Heart Sings,” “Trio ’65” and other classic recordings. (Generally just improvised choruses are included since the heads are particular to Bill’s recordings. Chuck’s improvised choruses are more useful as general role models.)
- Part III — Transcriptions of Chuck’s bass playing with his own groups. Again, chord changes are written out so you can play along with these great jazz compositions.
YouTube URLs are provided for each song, making it easy to listen, watch the bass lines go by, and then play along with the recordings.
Chuck Israels – Bass Foundations: Principles of Jazz Bass Construction available online at Amazon.com
Press Release
Welcome to the eleventh book in the Bass Gym 101 series, a collection of books for bassists who want to push their playing to the next level. We’ve reached the magic number of 1111 exercises, covering all of the important aspects of bass playing: warm-ups using the finger-per-fret system, arpeggios, pentatonics, all types of scales, odd time signatures, slap bass, plectrum technique and chord playing. This book is a continuation of the book for absolute beginners.
From the author… In writing this book, my intention was to write fun, practical and, above all, inspiring exercises that will guide the student through the various positions on the fretboard. The bass guitar’s fretboard is divided into four zones (or positions, if you prefer): from the open strings to the third fret (1st position), from the third to the sixth fret (2nd position), through the sixth to the ninth fret (3rd position) and finally from the ninth to the twelfth fret (4th position). In the second half of the book you will learn how to combine positions, and by the time you have completed all 101 exercises you should have a very detailed and effective knowledge of the fretboard from the open strings to the twelfth fret – this is the area in which the vast majority of the basslines you know so well from popular songs or musical styles take place.
Inside you will find 101 exercises that will take you through all the positions on the bass in a structured, logical sequence. These exercises will also get you playing in different musical styles, using the most common melodic and rhythmic patterns of popular basslines. Each exercise is written in both standard notation and TAB, and audio files can be downloaded from the Bassline Publishing website.
As the book is primarily aimed at beginner and intermediate players, you won’t find any of the more demanding techniques such as hammer ons, pull offs, trills etc. However, each exercise has been written for a specific playing situation and is immediately applicable to music practice. I’ve paid close attention to melody, clear phrasing and of course playability. Each of these exercises will challenge your attention and memory as you repeat them.
You’ll find basslines in many styles of music in this book: walking bass, hip hop, pop, rock, punk, ska, metal, progressive styles, various Afro-Cuban grooves, funk, indie, reggae, country and bluegrass, EDM styles, blues, soul and folk.
Bass Gym – 101 Position Exercises for Beginner and Intermediate Players available in the US at Amazon.com and in the UK at basslinepublishing.com