Complete Bass

Rhythm section basics: understanding the roles of bass and drummer in creating a group's foundation.

Develops strategies to set and refine goals, emphasizing efficient practice for consistent improvement.

The author's history as a session musician and teacher is examined, including their educational background.

Bass guitars' mechanical and electronic features are considered in choosing one for optimal playability.

String gauge affects sound and playability, with round wound strings having a notable impact on modern bass techniques.

Understanding bass guitar basics and features.

Electric bass guitar amplification techniques covered, featuring combos and stacks.

Tuning techniques for accurate bass notes using electronic tuners are explained.

Timing and tempo control skills are developed through the application of metronome techniques.

Reads and interprets traditional music notation and tablature, with practical applications in understanding sheet music and playing bass.

Staff, clefs, bar lines, and note values are introduced.

Notes on staff notation cover how notes are positioned on lines and spaces, including stem directions based on note head placement.

The course introduces the four fundamental open string notes in music and tablature notation.

Time signatures are introduced, covering the 4/4 pattern that represents a widespread rhythmic structure.

Introduces common note and rest values, exploring their duration and the impact of dots on timing.

Accent markings and various techniques such as staccato, trill, and vibrato are covered.

Optimal playing position techniques for bassists include strap usage and posture adjustments for both standing and seated positions.

Finger placement and techniques for playing bass guitar with the right hand are covered.

Picking technique fundamentals covered: grip and motion methods discussed.

Alternating finger technique involves switching between index and middle fingers for smooth note transitions.

The quarter note rest is a fundamental component of music notation, enabling precise control over silence and rhythm.

The fundamental structure of Blues music is covered, highlighting the 12 Bar Blues progression and its connection to key and chord construction.

Covers musical progressions using chord numbers and Roman numerals, including the 12-bar blues structure.

Root notes serve as the foundation for chord construction, while using them as bass lines provides a strong base for harmonic progression.

Chord symbols, major, minor, and seventh chords, and their application in a 12-bar progression are covered.

Introduces proper left-hand technique fundamentals, covering finger positioning on tips and behind frets.

Introduces techniques for playing notes on the guitar using the second fret and combining open strings with finger placement.

Introduces the mechanics of mastering notes at the third fret, with emphasis on playing the second and third strings effectively.

Country music rhythms combine half notes, quarter notes, and rests for distinctive effects.

Covers techniques for creating unique rhythms using whole notes, dotted half notes, and halftime feel in country music.

Properly fingered notes on the E string include the F note.

Ties in traditional notation and Tab are introduced, covering their purpose and application.

Eighth note bass lines are commonly used in rock music to create a driving rhythmic foundation.

Finger placement techniques for playing B and C notes on the G string are covered.

The structure and relationships of major scales are explained, covering their connection to the fretboard and finger positions.

The octave is introduced as a fundamental music concept, connecting scales and bass playing.

Analyzes bass fretboard diagrams and develops hands-on skills through note identification practices.

Introduces the fundamentals of the guitar fretboard, covering notes, sharps, flats, and naturals, with an emphasis on recognizing enharmonic notes.

The chromatic scale is a sequence of 12 half steps within an octave, featuring every possible note.

Intervals are fundamental to music theory, forming patterns on the fretboard that underpin scales, chords, and basslines.

The technique of producing a continuous sound by moving a finger along the string to new notes is covered.

Introduces techniques for navigating note positions on the guitar fretboard.

Relationships between major scales and key signatures are explored, examining how they interact.

Introduces playing repetitive patterns (riffs) over chord progressions and transposing them to various keys.

Introduces the C major scale pattern and its applications to various keys, including G and D.

Introduces the fundamentals of chord theory, focusing on the structure and function of major chords.

Introduces the concept of playing individual notes within chords to create bass lines and harmonize with chord progressions.

Introduces fundamental concepts of major scale and arpeggio patterns using open strings.

Bass techniques cover chord inversions for expanded musical range.

Bass arpeggios are played upside down to achieve a richer and more resonant tone.

The curriculum covers the major scales across all 12 keys, tracing the cycle of fifths.

Arpeggios across the cycle of fifths are covered, with emphasis on finger patterns and motion.

Legato and staccato articulation techniques are covered to improve guitar playing.

Displaces traditional rhythmic accents to create unconventional syncopation in music.

Introduces fundamental techniques used in Funk Bass playing, covering lead-ins, pick-ups, and triplets that set up musical phrases.

Ties and replacement symbols are used to create and simplify swing rhythms.

Shuffle rhythms are explored across Blues, Jazz, and Rock music, covering essential principles.

The 12-bar shuffle progression is explored, featuring applications of varying bass lines and quarter note triplets to craft dynamic blues rhythms.

Covers the C minor chord formula and its relationship to the C major scale, plus arpeggio applications.

Arpeggios applied to minor keys introduce first and second endings for improved harmonic understanding.

Introduces the formula and application of major sixth chords across different musical genres.

Seventh chords' structure and uses in music are introduced.

Major seventh chords' formula and structure are explained, along with practical applications in music.

Minor seventh chords are constructed using the formula 1-3-5-b7, drawing from basic harmonic principles.

Jazz walking bass style playing emphasizes chord notes, scale tones, and chromatic notes for smooth linear motion.

Principal chords and scale tone chords are introduced, including their relationships across multiple keys.

Introduces the concepts and techniques for creating repetitive chord patterns, covering various chord types and stylistic applications.

Introduces the structure and chord changes of a 12-bar jazz blues, including its variations and applications in various music genres.

Tension and release techniques in music are explored through the study of diminished seventh chords.

Suspended chords are explored through major scale notes and formulas.

Augmented chords' formula and arpeggio patterns are introduced, highlighting their unique characteristic of having a sharpened fifth.

Minor sixth chords and their arpeggios are introduced, covering formulas, inversions, and patterns for expanded guitar proficiency.

Minor seven flat five chord formulas and arpeggios are covered, along with their musical applications.

Turnarounds and chord combinations are applied to create complex harmonies.

Introduces techniques for enriching chords by adding additional notes, examining various types and applications across instruments.

Introduces advanced chord arpeggios with extensions like m9, m13, and #11, and applies them to practical examples.

Bass pedals, chord variations, and major seventh applications on minor, diminished, and augmented chords are covered.

The evolution of Latin rhythms in modern music, from Afro-Cuban jazz to electronic fusion.

Reads and writes chord symbols in sheet music notation, covering pronunciations and alternative symbols for various chord types.

Lightly touching strings with the left hand while playing with the right hand, this technique enhances rhythmic precision and control.

Introduces the fundamental principles of funk bass rhythm, including sixteenth notes, rests, and dotted eighth notes.

Drumming together harmonizes when listeners respond to rhythms and drum notation facilitates a cohesive groove.

Timing, bass lines, and solid grooves are developed through drum machine programming techniques.

Develops left-hand techniques for expressive and complex piano playing.

Finger independence techniques for producing sound using only left-hand fingers, sans strings.

Pull-off technique is applied to produce notes without string manipulation, combined with hammer-ons and graces.

The trill is a right-hand technique involving rapid hammer-ons and pull-offs on specific notes.

Vibrato is used to sustain notes and add pitch variation, applicable to all fretted notes.

Introduces techniques for playing double notes, creating harmonically rich sounds by simultaneously striking two pitches.

Develops skills to convey waltz feel and slower blues rhythms in 3/4, 6/8, and 12/8 time signatures.

Unique rhythms and grooves in odd time signatures are introduced.

Rhythmic displacement and syncopation techniques are covered, with applications across multiple music styles and time signatures.

Afro rhythms emphasize off-beats in 3/4 time, featuring complex polyrhythms.

Time signatures and rhythmic patterns in Reggae and Afro music are examined, highlighting common characteristics.

Characteristics of reggae music include distinctive bass line patterns and emphasis on rhythmic rests.

Introduces the application of rhythmic figures with a sixteenth note rest, expanding on foundational skills.

Syncopated sixteenth-note figures are covered, focusing on developing control over intricate guitar rhythms.

Sixteenth note triplets applied to funk bass and dance grooves provide rhythmic complexity.

Modes of music covered include Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.

Introduces the concept of modal bass lines, focusing on applying the seven modes to craft complex, harmonically rich musical phrases.

Introduces the characteristics of major modes, such as Ionian, Lydian, and Mixolydian, highlighting their distinct brightness or darkness.

Introduces the application of musical modes to create bass lines over common chord progressions in various genres.

Covers AABA song structure fundamentals, including chord progressions and rhythm variations.

Rhythmic exploration of Latin and swing styles features contrasting rhythms and chord progressions.

Introduces techniques for transitioning between half-time and swing rhythms in musical compositions.

The pentatonic scale's five-note pattern is revealed, along with its adaptability in various chord contexts.

Covers the principles and patterns of the Blues scale, including its relationship to the minor pentatonic scale.

The harmonic minor scale and its modes are explored, featuring note patterns, structural variations, and corresponding chord progressions.

Modal bass lines based on harmonic minor scales are analyzed through short progressions.

The melodic minor scale and its modes are applied with matching chords to generate diverse musical options.

The melodic minor scale modes, including modes 4, 5, 6, and 7, are introduced.

Melodic minor modes are applied to create modal bass lines, integrating modes with chords and scales.

The diminished scale's unique structure is applied to dominant and diminished chords.

The whole tone scale is a symmetric scale used over dominant chords, featuring only two keys without modes.

Creates melodic bass lines by combining chord arpeggios, scales, modes, and chromatic passing notes. Modulates chords using slash notation.

Implies fundamental bass chords through double stops techniques.

Introduces techniques for creating distinct, resonant tones on the guitar through precise finger placement on the fretboard.

Harmonics on the seventh fret are introduced, covering their distinct tone and musical applications.

Harmonic chord structures and their uses in guitar music are examined.

Wrist twisting and releasing techniques are applied to produce distinctive sounds in slapping playing.

The finger popping technique is introduced, combining with thumb slapping, hammer-ons, and pull-offs for effective slap bass playing.

Eighth-note grooves and shuffle rhythms are explored, featuring syncopations and various technical approaches.

Introduces the cross-hammer technique, combining notes on different strings for a unique rhythmic effect.

Introduces the development of a percussive left-hand technique for adding rhythmic complexity.

Develops precise 16th-note grooves through emphasis on accurate note placement, enhancing timing, technique, and musicality.

Tapping techniques for two-handed playing are introduced, focusing on sound creation and expanded musical range.

The technique of hammering and attacking strings to produce sustained notes is covered.

The technique of right-hand tapping covers producing sound solely with right-hand fingers.

Techniques for precise note placement on guitar strings cover finger independence and hand positioning.

Combines tapping and hammering techniques on both hands to produce melodic lines and chromatic octaves.

Introduces advanced arpeggio tapping techniques for diverse chord playing and improvisational skills.

Introduces fundamental techniques for playing common intervals on the top two guitar strings through right-hand tapping.

Double stops and chord tapping techniques are covered, emphasizing their application in guitar playing.

Applies open position arpeggiated chord voicings and rhythmic variations to create musical interest.

Music theory and notation, Pitch, Scales, Key signatures, time signatures, tempo markings.