The Better Bass Lessons Blog
Bass lessons you can take to the shed tonight
Walking lines, groove, soloing and technique for upright and electric bass, from Cole Davis and the Better Bass Lessons faculty.
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How to Solo on Electric Bass: Get Off the One
Your licks are right and your jazz solo still sounds boring? Check the one: beat one and the root. Here’s how to feel it without playing…
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How to Solo on Upright Bass: Start by Taking Notes Away
Your solo keeps turning back into a walking line? Start with the bass line you already play and subtract from it. Here’s the first step to…
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Upright Bass Right Hand Speed: 3 Drills to Play Faster
Can’t play as fast as you want? Your left hand probably isn’t the problem. Here are three right hand drills that build speed on upright bass,…
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Ray Brown on Have You Met Miss Jones: Time vs Feel on Bass
A tempo map of Ray Brown on Have You Met Miss Jones changes every beat, and it still swings. Here’s what that says about time vs…
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Israel Crosby Bass Lines: Steal His Beat Four Cadence
Israel Crosby reorders familiar notes and puts the cadence on beat four, and it sets up the next bar. Here’s how his lines work, and a…
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Charlie Haden Bass Lines and How to Get His Sound on Upright
Charlie Haden repeats notes, plays whole notes next to Keith Jarrett, and it still sounds perfect. Here’s what he plays, and how I got my sound…
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Billie’s Bounce on Bass: Fingerings That Make a Bebop Head Swing
Playing Billie’s Bounce on bass and it won’t swing? Here’s where to skip the open string, where to use it, and the right-hand rule that fixes…
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Jimmy Garrison’s A Love Supreme Bass Intro (and How to Finger It)
Jimmy Garrison’s open bass intro to Resolution is all fourths, and it’s hard on the hand. Here’s the fingering that makes it easier, and how to…
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Giant Steps Bass Line: How Peter Washington Walks It
Most Giant Steps bass lines are roots on every chord. Peter Washington’s isn’t. Here’s how he uses variety and chromaticism, plus a drill to start today.
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How to Transcribe Bass by Ear: My Real-Time Process on Jaco’s Havona
How I transcribe by ear, step by step, learning Jaco’s Havona solo in real time: sing it first, find it phrase by phrase, check the rhythm,…
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Teen Town Bass on Upright: How to Play Jaco’s Line at Record Speed
How I play Jaco’s Teen Town on upright at the speed of the record: open strings in the left hand, and every eighth-note line started on…
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Spain Bass Transcription: The Upright Fingerings That Make It Flow
How I finger Chick Corea’s Spain on upright: the third-finger G harmonic, the open G, small stretches, and positionless playing for the tricky part.
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