Bass Gym 101 – Essential Plectrum Grooves

Bass Gym 101 – Essential Plectrum Grooves by Marek Bero

Bass Gym 101 – Essential Plectrum Grooves is the ninth in a series of books written by UK bassist Marek Bero. In this book, you will find 101 exercises which will help you to master the plectrum technique on the bass guitar.

All the exercises in this book include tablature and recommended fingerings. MP3 files are available to download from Free Stuff page on this website.

Marek shares more on the inspiration behind Bass Gym 101 – Essential Plectrum Grooves…

Personally, this is quite a special ninth book from the Bass Gym 101 series. It took me many years and countless hours of playing experience to realise the potential of the plectrum for the evolution of bass playing. Frankly, I have to admit that I was one of those bassists who considered playing bass with a pick a misdemeanour and sacrilege. ‘Real bassists use fingers!’ was my mantra. Playing with a pick was in my opinion reserved only for ex-guitarists, metal-style players or worst of them all, fake and lazy aspiring bass players who wanted to cut corners by not working on their ‘proper’ finger techniques.

On one hand, now I regret my rather limited view, however, on the other hand, this strong opinion brought me a great deal of motivation in an effort to achieve the most consistent finger plucking and slap techniques. Basically, after tens of thousands of hours of practising, I found out that I was trying to imitate the efficiency and tone of the plectrum. And thanks to this approach, I managed to gain exceptional finger techniques with a precise tone and articulation even at a very fast pace and rhythm divisions.

However, let’s forward swiftly to the present time. I am very proud to present to you this book which will guide you through all the essential techniques and advantages of the small triangular plastic called plectrum which is so precious to all guitarists.

The concept of the book is more progressive this time, ie. You start with elementary strokes only from the top (downstrokes) and then you consequently move in a series of ten exercises one level higher and higher during different aspects of pick playing. You will practise the effective alternation of strokes from above and below (down & up strokes); combinations with percussive notes; how to play melodic string skipping and larger intervals for smooth all-around movements; utilising palm-muting techniques for a distinctive sound effect so popular with guitarists; rhythm studies will give you many interesting challenges with wild rhythmic patterns so frequent in modern rock and metal styles, but also in funk, soul or fusion; you’ll learn how to play double stops and chords in practical stylistic studies and in the final sections of the book you will play great sounding bass lines in various musical styles and also in the spirit of legendary players who used plectrum as their main playing technique.

Bass Gym 101 – Essential Plectrum Grooves is available online at basslinepublishing.com