Topic
Transcriptions
Lines from the great bassists, broken down so you can play them and use them.
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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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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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How to Play the So What Bass Line and Walk Like Paul Chambers
Three ways to finger the famous So What bass melody, plus the move Paul Chambers uses to keep all those bars of D minor moving when…
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What Paul Chambers Plays on Freddie Freeloader (and What to Steal)
Paul Chambers plays triplet fills on a B-flat blues on Kind of Blue, and it works. Here’s what he’s doing, and the beat 1 habit you…
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