Bass Edu
Triadic Mastery – Supercharge Your Bass Playing For Life
Triadic Mastery…
This is an exercise for professional playing ability that will raise your skill set several levels. I guarantee that you are going to have a great time with this!
If you are seeking to add skills your bass playing there are few that will create the granitelike foundation of triadic materials. In fact, wherever you kick over a rock in the world of music there’s likely to be that triadic glint and glimmer for your prospecting.
There is a seemingly endless list of musical activities for curious students, yet for bass players triads seem to be at the heart of it all.
You can take common altered chords and form them from combining two triads. You can play great sounding walking bass lines based on little more than triads and chromatic approach notes. At just the right time in any solo you can use a triad to easily ring the upper structure color of the chord for dramatic effect. The list goes on.
When you are committed to boosting your bass skills then serious triad work will go a very long way. Triadic studies put you in a perfect position to start getting your game in great shape. That’s a promise.
The purpose of the lesson is to urge serious students of bass to undertake an all-keys study of major and minor triadic materials in the open, first, and second positions, and to also give an example that will be easily understood.
LESSON: Triadic Mastery – Supercharge Your Bass Playing For Life
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This is a highly demanding exercise and the prerequisite is that you must identify, note by note, each of the extended major and minor triad positions (grips) in the open, first, and second positions.
Identifying each and every note of the triad at hand means to slowly trace out the root, the third and the fifth degree of each of the 24 triads going from the lowest possible note in the position up to the highest possible note in the position.
These extended triads are the so-called “triad grips”. And please be prepared to proceed through the Cycle:
G, C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, B, E, A, D
As per usual I am going to leave the enharmonically named materials up to your own judgment.
You can play the triad grips without open strings by simply moving up to the second position and covering the open notes A, D, and G that way, and that’s fine. But I do suggest that you also learn to perform the open string positions as well.
To prove the virtue of open string bass lines, try playing Funky Broadway in closed position. Unless your rocking a graphite neck the tone just ain’t there. Word.
In this study, on a standard 4-string bass there are six triads that will start on the open note E. They are E, Em, C, C#m, A, and Am. Go ahead and identify those right away to start getting into the spirit of the study. Of course, any note will function as a root, third, or fifth degree.
Open strings ringing away and muddying up your bass activities is an annoying phenomenon but I believe it is a smart move to develop the facility to dampen open strings. It is definitely a subtle technique in its own right.
In the video lesson I open with a short demonstration using what are called “enclosures” for a closed position G major triad and an open-position Ab major triad.
Physically speaking, it will help to think of and use each note in the triad as an anchor of sorts. In the case of G major you have the notes G, B, and D. In the case of Ab major you have the notes Ab, C, and Eb.
Concerning the video lesson itself, my claim to have played the Ab major triad exercise in the open position comes from the fact that once you add in the notes for the enclosure the open strings D and G will pop up. Don’t let it get you down – you can do it.
Taking something through all keys can give you a ringing headache if you’ve never done it before. Believe it or not that is a good sign. Getting out of your comfort zone shows you are just about to clear out some cobwebs and start learning something of value.
When you have identified all of the notes of a triad in the position please play them out of time to simply feel what it will take to get every note in the triad to ring out clearly.
This is an important step and take it from me, it’s not going to happen quickly.
In fact, I recommend trying a bit of “finger meditation” to see just how firmly you need to press into the grip to make it work for you. Teachers of classical guitar use methodology similar to this to help imprint things musically into your hands, so please do take it seriously.
When you have this lengthy first step under your belt then refer to the video lesson to learn how to add the surround notes. These are the so-called enclosures. You will be approaching truly expert musical skills when you do this.
Make sure that you find a friend on your musical journey with whom to share this lesson. It is always inspiring to trade lines with your musical cohorts. It’s a lot more fun and I also think it helps you get better faster.
Thanks to everyone for stopping in.
Kevin
Bass Edu
BASS LINES: Triads & Inversions Part I
Triads & Inversions Part I…
Hello bass players and bass fans! In this issue, we are going to study the triads and their inversions.
It is very important for all bassists to understand and master the triads, but it is even more important to understand their different inversions.
In Part I, we are going to learn what the triad is in fundamental position.
The Formula consists of root, third and fifth.
Degrees of the Triad
Major Triad: 1 – 3 – 5
Minor Triad: 1 – b3 – 5
Diminished Triad: 1 – b3 – b5
Augmented Triad: 1 – 3 – #5
Fig.1 – The C, Cm, Cdim & Caug triads
(Fundamental Position)
Bass Edu
Premiere! Bass Playthrough With Foetal Juice’s Bassist Lewis Bridges – From the Album, Grotesque
Premiere! Bass Playthrough With Foetal Juice’s Bassist Lewis Bridges – From the Album, Grotesque
Bassist Lewis Bridges Shares…
“Gruesome’s sparse intro marks a stark contrast from the intensity of the rest of the album. The original intention was to keep the bass simple but colourful, however as I worked on it, the lines grew more expressive and the more striking flourishes began to emerge. The intensity builds into a harmonic minor passage that takes us into the drop — a signature death grind cacophony. This is where Foetal Juice thrives. You’re getting a full-on right-hand barrage to in the face to take you into a groove-laden mulch-fest.
I owe my throbbing bass tone to the Darkglass Alpha Omega pedal borrowed from our sound engineer, Chris Fielding (ex-Conan), mixed with the clarity of the tried and true Ampeg SVT CL.
As mentioned earlier, colourful basslines are important, especially in a one-guitar band. Chucking some funny intervals and odd flourishes here and there brings life into the brutality. There’s no point sounding brutal if it’s not gonna be fucking evil too!
Recording this playthrough was hard work. This was not the fault of James Goodwin (Necronautical), who was kindly filming and is ace to work with, but because in true Foetal fashion, we had stinking hangovers — and that jam room was hot!”
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Bass Edu
Bass Lines: The Circle
Bass Lines: The Circle…
Hello bass players and fans of bass! This month we’re going to study “The Circle.”
The Circle of Fourths can also be called “The Circle of Fifths or just The Circle.
Practicing the scales, chords, and ideas in general via the circle has been a common practice routine for jazz musicians and highly recommended.
It is a disciplined way of working through all twelve keys.
Plus, many bass root movements to jazz and pop songs move through sections of the circle.
Fig. 1 – “The Circle”
See you next month for more full bass attack!
#bassmusicianmag, #basslines, #bmmbasslines, #groovemaniac, #thecircle, #thecircleoffourths, #thecircleoffifths,#scales & #chords.
Bass Edu
Approach Notes – Part 5
Continuing our lesson of Approach Notes, Part 5…
In continuing with the concept of approach notes being applied to chord tones, this lesson approaches the root, third, fifth, and seventh degree of each arpeggio inversion by incorporating a double chromatic approach from above, and a single chromatic approach from below.
The first examples approach the root of a G major 7th arpeggio as a double chromatic from above and a single chromatic approach from below -before continuing to the third, fifth, seventh, double chromatic from above/ single from below to the root, continue to the third, fifth, and come back down.
The next example approaches the first inversion of G major 7th arpeggio.
A double chromatic from above/ single from below approaches the third, continue to the fifth, seventh, root, double chromatic from above/ single below to the third, continue up to the fifth and seventh, and back down.
The third example approaches a second inversion of a G major arpeggio.
A double chromatic from above/ single from below approaches the fifth, continue to the 7th, root, 3rd, double chromatic from above/ single from below to the 5th, continue to the 7th, root, and back down.
This final example approaches a third inversion of a G major 7th arpeggio.
A double chromatic from above and below approaches the 7th, continue to the root, 3rd, 5th, double chromatic from above and below to the 7th, continue to the root, 3rd, and back down.
Be sure to pace yourself with these lessons to avoid burning out.
Being overly ambitious with your practice schedule can lead to unrealistic expectations. Try learning one approach note concept and one chord type a week. Change your practice routine as necessary and tailor it to your needs as a musician. Good luck!
Bass Edu
BASS LINES – The Blue Notes (Minor Blues Scale)
Hello bass players and bass fans! Happy New Year 2024!
In this issue, we are going to study the blue notes.
In blues, jazz, and rock, a blue note is a note that (for expressive purposes) is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical context.
The blue notes are usually said to be the lowered third(b3), lowered fifth(b5) and lowered seventh(b7) scale degrees. The lowered fifth(b5) is also known as the raised fourth(#4). Though the blues scale has “an inherent minor tonality, it is commonly ‘forced’ over major-key chord changes, resulting in a distinctively dissonant conflict of tonalities”.
Blue notes are used in many blues songs, in jazz, rock and in conventional popular songs with a “blue” feeling.
Formula:
The A Minor Blues Scale
1 – b3 – 4 – (#4/b5) – 5 – b7
A – C – D – (D#/Eb) – E – Bb
The grades(blue notes):
b3, (#4/b5), b7
C, (D#/Eb), Bb
See you next month for more full bass attack!
#bassmusicianmag, #basslines, #bmmbasslines, #groovemaniac, #thebluenotes, #minorbluesscale & #bluesscale