Here is an example of a Montuno bass line played with the right hand mute technique. This is the easiest way to get the right sound for this kind of music, if you don´t have the right bass with you. Especially playing in a band, which does´nt play the whole evening one style, it´s impossible to bring 4 or 5 basses with you. So you need a good bass and some different techniques to be able to come up with the requested sound. There are lots of videos explaining exactly how this works: lay the palm of your hand on all 4 strings close to the bridge, and pluck the notes with your thumb. Regarding to the pressure and the position of your palm the sound is changing. Check out how your bass sounds doing this…

Interesting slap lines don´t have to be fast. More important are phrasing,
melodie and a combination of all funky “ingredients”: hammer on´s, pull off´s,
slides, triplets etc.

Some funk studies with triplets, hammer-on´s, pull-off´s, doublethumb etc.

Advanced rhythm studies…

What can happen if you change the start point of your pattern…..

Remembering the Gm pentatonic scale in the first two positions.

Shuffled groove in A with bluesy fills using my “alternative doublethumb technique”.

More details on this technique under

Click here to view the embedded video.

E maj scale in 4th steps over 2 octaves

Gmaj scale exercise in triads over 2 octaves (african feel)

Do you still remember all the different modes?

Here is another example with almost all of them within one tune, in 6/8 groove

Slow Slapfunk lick with some of my „alternative doublethumb“ technique (see more details of this technique under  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M09ryv8mQPw )

hammer on, pull off, triplets etc.

Just another groove with my new “baby”….

Small instrument – fat sound

To improve your own soloing it´s helpful not to listen only to other bass players, but to good solos on any kind of instrument. One of my personal favorites is this piano solo from Kenny Kirkland on „La belle dame sans regrets“ from Sting (Mercury falling). Extraordinary choice of notes and rhythm. In some notes i am not sure. Sorry, no transcription (am to bad in that, at that level…). But this example is only meant to encourage you, to not only check out  bass-solos…..

„Guajira“ is a cuban rhythm quite similar to the rumba. Its origin is from the canarian islands (Spain), and so „white music“. Mixing with the black influences from african slaves in Cuba the rythm developed to the so called „son“. Guillermo Portabales is a typical composer of guajira songs (just check them out on youtube, f.e. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dat8FA6z45Y&feature=related )

This is a fast house groove moving between Esus+F#7, will keep your right hand busy…

Here i am using a alternative technique for doublethumb lines. In principle ist the same purpose: to slap sixteenth notes on one string. The only difference is, that you play the  upcoming movement of you hand with your index finger and not again with the thumb. For additional pops you use the middle finger.

For my taste the sound of the upcoming index finger notes is more satisfying than playing all notes with the thumb. Check it out and let me know your opinion.

At the end of the video you will see that the king of pop still lives on in the heart of so many children….

Independence or independency? I have no idea, sorry for my lousy english, but you ´ll understand what i mean….

Sorry also for some distortion in the low notes.

Dorian Slaplick with doublethumb and Miller style tab….

In a nice typical Salsa tune you will never miss a break part, where a very rhythmical theme is played by the piano and/or the brass section. To give them more power, the bass often doubles them like in this example.

Check out the scale at the end, which is called harmonic minor and very often used in Latin+Salsa music.

In this case in F#:

(F#-G#-A-B-C#-D-F-F#). Half tone steps between II-III, V-VI, and VII-VIII, and one and a half tone (!) between VI-VII.

Since Jaco brought the bass from the last into the first row here and then we have the possibility to play the theme of a song with our bass, or at least to double it together with another instrument.

In Latin music this happens often that the bass plays the same line along with the piano or the brass section.

This example mixes up latin feel with funky style….

The Locrian mode has the formula 1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7. Its tonic chord is a m7b5.(Bm7b5 in the Key of C).

Happy new year!

Mixolydian scale G7: G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G  (Merry mixolydian christmas to all the bass-freaks out there….)

Lydian scale in F(maj7): F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F. The only difference to a ionian scale is the raised forth. So you can play lydian over

any maj7 or maj7/+11 chord.

Phrygian scale Em7: E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E  (1, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7). Used often in flamenco+oriental music, but works also on

calypso grooves like this one…..

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dm7 dorian scale: D-E-F-G-A-B-C

Try to transpose this lick to all different keys….

Cmaj7 ionian scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C) First practice the scale in different positions, learn my example, develope your own….