This is a class for students who are any place along the path to becoming a bass player who understands their instrument, the various styles of playing and how to integrate into a performing group.  These sessions will work with either upright or electric bass.

The first day will be spent on the “basics” of the bass; tuning, care, different styles of amplification, and the reading of Tab, chord charts, and notation.  You should bring with you a tuner, some paper, several pencils and, of course, your bass (and amplifier).  You might want to bring a small recorder of some type to capture for later review what we cover in class.

We will start out with several of the basic 12-bar blues progressions, some 8-bar progressions and then see how these fit into real-world applications.  Next, we’ll take these basic chord patterns and use them with different rhythmic patterns, slow, shuffle, swing, bossa, rock, etc., playing along with a drum machine and/or a prerecorded track.  The class should be small enough that everyone will get some individual time with the tracks.

Every day, we will listen to CD’s of some of the great blues bass players and do a little deconstruction on the what, how, and why of what they played.  Of course, we’ll steal all the really cool licks!  This is also a point in class where we’ll talk about and experiment with “groove.”  We’ll talk about and practice “laying back,” “playing on top of the beat, or behind the beat,” and how to help “drive” a band.  Learning to “play well with others” is not just for the playground!

Throughout the week we will make sure everyone is playing with the correct posture, correct fingering, correct picking or plucking (playing with your fingertips) and general care of the bass player’s body.  Later on in the week, we’ll talk about how to solo within the Blues genre and what makes a solo work.

All lessons will be accompanied by writing in both standard notation and Tab. Copies are limited and available to only students in the class.

Feel free to contact me at ernie.scarbrough@gmail.com.

See you there!