Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies

Description

Refine your technique with 300 bass guitar exercises Practice tempo, time signature, phrasing, and dynamics Apply bass fundamentals to playing a groove The fun and easy way to lay down a groove The bass guitar serves as the foundation for almost every popular style of music — from rock to country, jazz to funk. Regardless of your preferred musical style, this hands-on guide provides tips and drills designed to help improve your playing ability. These exercises get you started with bass guitar fundamentals, like playing scales, chords, and arpeggios. Move on to sharpen your skills as you play grooves and melodies in different styles. Whether you're just getting started or an experienced bassist looking to stretch your playing skills, this is the book for you! Inside&; Tips for correct hand and body posture Methods for getting comfortable with scales Hints for developing a complete practice session Ways to apply the exercises to making great music Workouts for stronger playing Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Foreword Introduction About This Book Conventions Used in This Book What You’re Not to Read Foolish Assumptions How This Book Is Organized Part 1: Preparing to Practice Part 2: Scales (Modes) and Chords Part 3: Rhythm and the Groove Part 4: Turning Exercises into Music Part 5: The Part of Tens Part 6: Appendixes The Website Icons Used in This Book Where to Go from Here Part 1 Preparing to Practice Chapter 1: Reviewing Practice Fundamentals How to Approach Practicing Your Bass Dividing your practice time The importance of noodling Making a fool of yourself Exercises for a lifetime Getting into Position Your posture Positioning your hands Tackling Notation Note names on the neck Traditional music notation and tablature Using the grid Breaking down rhythmic notation Chord notation Chapter 2: Warming Up Your Right and Left Hands Stretching without the Instrument Getting a feel for each finger Stretching your hands Getting blood into your fingertips Stretching your shoulders and your back Crossing the Strings with the Right Hand Alternating up and raking down Referencing each string Exercising One String at a Time Striking the staccato way Accenting any note Using dynamics Keeping the Left Hand Stationary Left-hand permutations Walking spider Getting a buzz Cutting down on excess finger movement Shifting the Left Hand Shifting with any finger Cutting down on string noise Part 2 Scales (Modes) and Chords Chapter 3: Playing Scales (Modes) Playing the Primary Modes Major scale — Ionian Minor scale — Dorian Dominant scale — Mixolydian Half-diminished scale — Locrian Playing the Secondary Modes Phrygian — The exotic minor scale Aeolian — The natural minor scale Lydian — Major scale with a twang Making Music Chapter 4: Playing Mode Sequences Lining Up Major and Minor Sequences in 12 Keys Getting into the majors Practicing minor sequences Playing Sequences in Triplet Rhythm Major scale sequence — triplets and seconds Major scale sequence — triplets and thirds Major scale sequence — triplets and fifths Minor scale sequence — triplets and seconds Minor scale sequence — triplets and thirds Minor scale sequence — triplets and fifths String Crossings with Interval Exercises Major scale sequence — referencing the root Minor scale sequence — referencing the root Dominant scale sequence — referencing the root Rockin’ Out Chapter 5: Working with Arpeggios Triads: Outlining the Harmony Major arpeggios Minor arpeggios Diminished arpeggios Getting Down with Chord Inversions Major chord inversions Minor chord inversions Shifting with Two-Octave Arpeggios Two-octave major arpeggios Two-octave minor arpeggios Using Triad Accompaniment in a Song Chapter 6: Combining Seventh Chords Structuring Seventh Chords Major seventh arpeggios Minor seventh arpeggios Dominant seventh arpeggios Half-diminished arpeggios Combining Seventh Chords and Modes Major seventh tonality Major seventh groove, chord, and mode Minor seventh tonality Minor seventh groove, chord, and mode Dominant seventh tonality Dominant seventh groove, chord, and mode Half-diminished tonality Half-diminished groove, chord, and mode Using Seventh Chords in a Song Part 3 Rhythm and the Groove Chapter 7: Building the Groove Skeleton Playing with Eighth Notes Dotted quarter followed by an eighth Quarter notes Eighth notes Rockin’ out with a song Zipping with Sixteenth Notes Dotted eighth followed by a sixteenth Sixteenth notes Getting all funked up Shuffling with Triplets First and third notes in a triplet First and second notes in a triplet Trials, tribulations, and triplets Chapter 8: Accessing the Groove Apex Isolating the Sixteenth Notes Sixteenth-note groove apexes in beat two Sixteenth-note groove apexes in beat three Sixteenth-note groove apexes in beat four The rise and fall of the apex empire Isolating Triplets Triplet groove apexes in beat two Triplet groove apexes in beat three Triplet groove apexes in beat four Having triplets Chapter 9: Setting Up with the Groove Tail Preparing a Groove with an Eighth-Note Feel Two-note setup Three-note setup Four-note setup Anticipatory setup Tailing a song with an eighth-note feel Approaching a Groove with a Sixteenth-Note Feel Two-note setup. Three-note setup. Four-note setup. Anticipatory setup. Song with funky tailing sixteenth-note feel. Setting Up a Groove with a Triplet Feel. Two-note setup Three-note setup Anticipatory setup Happy tails for a song in a triplet feel Chapter 10: Combining Rhythms Mixing Triplets with Eighth and Sixteenth Notes Scales in sixteenth notes and triplets Arpeggios in sixteenth notes and triplets Arpeggios and scales using sixteenth notes and triplets with a sixteenth-note groove Arpeggios and scales using sixteenth notes and triplets with a triplet groove Song using triplets and eighths, with bass playing the melody Mastering the Master-Maker Etudes Diatonic chord movement using eighth notes and triplets Diatonic chord movement using sixteenth notes and triplets The ultimate exercise Song with a rhythmically complex groove Part 4 Turning Exercises into Music Chapter 11: Feeling the Eighth-Note Groove Harnessing Country Grooves Traditional country bass Contemporary country bass Caught between a Rock and a Hard Bass Pop goes the bass player Rockin’ and rollin’ Embracing Worldly Styles Ramping up reggae Looping Latin The whirled beat of world beat Chapter 12: Working the Sixteenth-Note Groove Getting into a Funk Traditional funk bass Funk-a-di-gunk Funkifizing R & B/soul Be on Your Mettle with Metal . . . and Prog Rock Steeling yourself for metal Progressing to prog rock Chapter 13: Trippin’ on Triplets Shuffling the Eighth Notes Shifting into shuffle mode The slinking shuffle Swinging the Funk and Making It Swunk It don’t mean a funk if it ain’t got that swunk Hipping and hopping Part 5 The Part of Tens Chapter 14: Ten Essential Elements of a Great Practice Session Inverting Triad Arpeggios Arpeggiating Seventh Chords Playing Scale Sequences with Grooves Moving the Modes Doing Right-Hand Exercises Doing Left-Hand Exercises Practicing Master-Maker Etudes Grooving in a Genre/Style Freebassing Reading Bass Grooves Chapter 15: Ten Famous Tunes That Incorporate the Exercises in This Book Weaving through Scales and Chords — Jaco Pastorius Perfecting the Groove Tail — Pino Palladino Inverting Triad Arpeggios — Cliff Burton Swinging the Triplets — Berry Oakley Hitting the Groove Apex — David Hood Arpeggiating the Triad — Paul McCartney Nailing the Groove Skeleton — Anthony Jackson Using the Seventh-Chord Arpeggio — George Porter, Jr. Running the Mode — Bernard Edwards Mastering the Swunk — Francis “Rocco” Prestia Part 6 Appendixes Appendix A: How to Use the Website Relating the Text to the Website Files Stereo separation System Requirements Tracks on the Web page Troubleshooting Appendix B: Extended Range Basses and Practice Goals EULA