In this lesson, we cover the “Up-down” method of pick playing. I also cover tonal opportunities when playing in different places, as well as discussions on pick thickness and uses.

After this, I move onto an exercise. There will be more and more of these.

Here is the initial discussion video (click).

And here is the Intro and exercise:

Regarding effects that I use in my vids. I review the Korg, here (clicky).

If you look over there on the right hand sidebar, you’ll see a nifty little bass tuner!

It’s at standard-E-A-D-G, you you’ll have to find your own B if you have a five string.

It’s been really handy for me. I don’t need to go any further than my own blog now I have it! Hoorah!

Here we have a slap exercise that has a consistent and constant rhythm throughout.  The mutes and nature of the slap are creating a rhythmic feel about the line.

This exercise will give you a good sense of timing if you play it along to a beat or a metronome.

Try and keep everything as tight as possible!  Remember, be strict with yourselves…:)

G||———————1-x——x—x-x-1-x-x-x-x—
D||—————————1-3——————–
A||————————————————–
E||-1-1-1-1-1—————-1———————-

The Video

Heya, guys.  Check out this drum track generator I found.  I’ve only had a little play of it, but it seems pretty good for people that just want to practise their timing.  It’s a little more fun than a metronome, as you can program the thing yourself…

They also have an online beat library.  Enjoy!

(This would be perfect to use alongside my Beginners Bass Evolved lesson)

Was just jamming to my daughter (Melody) as it sends her off to sleep. This is what I jammed…

And here we have another exercise created by me to perfect your finger funkiness.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Playing funk with the fingers is all about a quick and snappy attack, and hitting those notes true and with precision. You have to be on the beat, and in the pocket.

At the moment I’m telling people that these exercises are for intermediate players. Now, the newer guys don’t understand this, because the lines themselves are quite easy to play.

But it’s not the line that makes it for intermediate. You have to ask yourself (and be strict) “can I play this line, in time, perfectly with no timing errors, technique errors, or anything else that sounds bad?” Be honest. If you can play these lines perfectly, then yes, I would say you are well on your way to becoming intermediate.

That’s the difference!

Enjoy…

G||—-5—————–5—————–
D||—4–0-7-5———4–0-7————-
A||————0-3-4-5———————
E||–5—————–5——————-

As an alternative, try muting those open strings:

G||—-5—————–5—————–
D||—4–x-7-5———4–x-7————-
A||————x-3-4-5———————
E||–5—————–5——————-

And here we have the first in my tapping exercises! Woot!

If you have no idea on how to tap, or what it is, check this lesson out. In it, we go through the motions, and you end up playing a nice little line at different speeds. Come back to this after!

I tabbed this video, but they kept on saving differently than I wanted. However, Garth at my forums was kind enough to tab it over there. Click here for it!

Ok, i’ll explain my reasons for doing these new lessons.

Excuse me if I waffle.

A lot of people like the new exercise structure, and a lot of people don’t. Some people like me to talk, and some don’t.

It wasn’t a professional choice, but one of necessity. Here are a few reasons below:

- I don’t have much time at the moment. Doing these “quicker” vids, is easier, because I just plug in my Korg, jam, show, and it’s done! If i’m speaking, I need to unplug Korg, plug in amp, mess with settings, yadayada. This just means I can do a lot more lessons.

- I have passed the “beginner” part of my online tuition. I feel i’ve chucked a lot of good information out to get people on their way (a lesson on tuning, and alternate tunings will still arrive, though). I HAD to speak when I did the beginner lessons. I had to, to teach. I don’t need to so much, anymore. But…people need to be aware that all people are at different levels in their growth. Some people may need me to speak. Some not.

For that reason, I WILL do lessons in the future where I talk. I’ll need to.

- I’m now a guest teacher on MarloweDK’s site, and I felt I needed to “up my game” if I was going to host my vids on his site. It wouldn’t be fair on him, or his regular visitors if my videos were of a lower quality.

- I feel i’ve come far with these lessons. From where I had a crappy camera, amp and bass, and just talked and taught. I’ve learnt a lot about myself and teaching. It’s been great, and I thank those that have supported my efforts from the start (you know who you are). But now is time to move on.

Expect many more of these new and shorter lessons. Many more. We’re moving on…

Hope that clears some things up, and I hope you guys enjoy what I’ve got in store in the future.

It goes much further than learning bass with me. I’m giving people an opportunity to get involved in music my friends (some very talented musicians) and I are creating, and even earn some cash in the process.

The future looks good…

Ok, this lesson is a little less “funkier” than the first precision exercise. But needs must, and I designed this exercise to really help with your thumb targeting!

G||———————–
D||—-7-5—————
A||———7 6 5-3-5—
E||–5——————–

As per usual, strike the strings clean with your thumb. It’s quick, so you’re going to have to be precise. If it’s too fast, slow down. If you can do it easily (without accidently hitting ANY other strings), speed it up.

Good luck, and tell me how it goes!

Finger Funk exercise numero uno.

G||————————————————
D||—-2-3-0-5-3———–2-3-0-5-3—————
A||————–0-3-4-5————-0-3———–
E||–3——————-3————————-

Ok, this lesson is aimed more at intermediate players, rather than beginners. Of course, beginners are welcome to give it a go, but as usual, take it slow…!

Let’s consider why it’s a little more difficult.

Funk, played with the fingers, has to be very precise. We can’t get away with sloppy playing. In this example, my notes are very quick, and you need good control of the strings to get good attack without ringing out anything else.

Take the open D string played here as an example:

D||—-2-3-0-5-3—

That string is played so quickly, and so precise that it almost becomes a mute. Infact, in that example, I swap between hitting that open real quick, and playing a mute, because the difference is minimal.

For you beginner guys, play the with slow. Work on finger control. We want the strings hit true, fast and with precision.

This is the nature of playing funk with our fingers…

Good luck, and have fun with it!

If you enjoy these funger funk exercises, check out my “Cool funk” lines to play.  Some of my own Funk bass lines for you guys to check out!  Here is the first one.