Tips on Technique

Right Hand:

• Playing this style with a pick allows for a more aggressive, bright and precise attack than playing with fingers. Plucking the harmonics back closer to the bridge enables the harmonics to ring out more easily. Work on alternating up and downstrokes with the pick until you settle into a comfortable pattern and pluck harmonics hard enough to make them ring out.

Left Hand:

• Practice a curled, one-finger-per-fret left hand technique using your thumb as a pivot point in the center of the neck.
• Curled fingers and fretting with finger tips as opposed to collapsing the hand will allow for the harmonics to ring out and sustain above the line.

Begin by plucking the natural harmonics that occur above the 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th frets until you find the optimum place on the neck where they ring the clearest (every bass is different). Once you are comfortable with making the harmonics happen, work on making them sustain above a root oriented bass line/progression. Direct message me for more questions and tips!

Have fun!

NP

Click here to view the embedded video.

E6add9 chord played with harmonics (from top B, F#, C#, G#, E )
This is a 5 string bass, so you get 4 harmonics and a fingered rootnote E on th B string. For 4 string bass just play the top 3 strings as harmonics (from top B, F#, C#) and play the open E string.
The lick is based on the E major lydian scale (E, F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D# ), but you can *think* F# mixolydian (same notes but starting on F#), that can help with the fingering

Bass guitar funk slapstyle groove. I used my Fender Jazz bass 3TS and Tech21 NYC SansAmp VT Bass recorded directly in LineIn.

Bass guitar funk pickstyle groove. I used my Fender Jazz bass 3TS and Tech21 NYC SansAmp VT Bass recorded directly in LineIn.

Bass guitar groove with harmonics part 1.
For tabs mail me at mcrtchan@mail.ru

For tabs mail me at mcrtchan@mail.ru
Key of B-minor.
Tempo – 100 bpm.
Recorded with Boss LMB-3

Nice fingerstyle bass groove with harmonics and hammer on and dead (muted) notes. For tabs mail me at mcrtchan@mail.ru.

Apoligies for the delay in tutorials.

Here is the 5th installment of my harmonic tutorial series.

This video explains the basics of tapping harmonics with the plucking hand. The advantages of this technique are that only one hand is needed to play the harmonic. It also creates a more “dynamic” timbre.

Hope this tutorial is useful.

A quick lick recorded acoustic with my laptop crappy mic:-)
Im playing my old cheap Maison electro acoustic bass

A lick/run with a lot of slides only using notes from the E minor dorian scale.
A minor version of yesterday’s Major lick
I also show a E minor 7 voicing with harmonics -  from bottom up it is
E (root) – open E string
D  (minor seventh) – 5 fret D string
G  (minor third) – 5 fret G string

Download original quicktime movie here

Hello again. Apologies for not posting any videos in ages. This is the latest installment in my harmonic tutorial series.

The basic concept is playing a note and an artificial harmonic simulataneously to create a massive interval. The note is plucked with the thumb, and the harmonic is played using the “steve bailey” style (see my video on artifical harmonics for more information).

In fact, this is one of Steve Baileys harmonic techniques. Here is a link to a youtube video of him (and victor wooten) giving an example of the technique in action. Skip to 2.30.

Because the intervals are so big (triple octave), if you’re using a laptop you may need to plug in some external speakers to hear the bass part properly.

First an Emaj9 voicing i shamelessly stole from a Bobby Vega youtube video, followed by a B major pentatonic lick (fits EMaj7) – The B Major pentatonic scale consists of the notes B C# D# F# G# which translates to the 5th, 6th, Maj7th, 9th and 3rd step in the E major scale, a nice jazzy/lyric note selection. So when playing over any Major7 chord (EMaj7 in this example), try and play a major pentatonic scale starting on the 5th step (B major pentatonic scale in this example). Lastly im trying to play the chord with “false” harmonics, by using my left hand thumb to lightly touch the string an octave above the last fretted notes and pich the harmonic with a finger (phew, thats hard to put in words, better just look how its done)

Quicktime original

iPod mp4 version

Flash flv version

I now give online “One on one” lessons: http://www.ashburymusichall.com/offerings/funk-rock-bass-marlowedk

This quick tutorial introduces the basic technique of harp harmonics used by guitarists such as Tommy Emmanuel. The contrast between the artificial harmonics and the plucked strings on the bass makes this technique particularly effective in creating a mellow and melodic feel.

I have played back the video and it seems a bit quiet, for which I apologise.

Some of the ideas in this video about artificial harmonics and nodes are addressed in greater detail in part 1 and part 2 of my harmonic tutorials.
I may do one or two more vids on harmonics, so stay tuned

Artificial harmonics are created by fretting a note, touching a node and then plucking the string.

They can be used to create harmonics that have pitches which can’t be achieved using natural harmonics.

An application of this is playing a melody using only harmonics, like in the intro to Birdland by Weather Report. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqashW66D7o

People often confuse artificial harmonics with  “pinched” harmonics. However, they are not the same thing. “Pinched” harmonics is a guitar technique where the string is plucked using a plectrum and instantly touched by the thumb. This is done above a node, resulting in a harmonic.

Again, I apologise for using an unmarked fretboard – I am at university and only brought along one bass.

This lesson is all about natural harmonics – What they are and how to play them.

I hope you find it useful. I am planning a three part series on harmonics. Part 2 on artificial harmonics will be coming soon.

I apologise for the un-marked fretboard. I realise that this makes it hard to follow along, but I am currently at university and only brought along one bass.

If you want to know even more, check out this wikipedia page – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonics

These days im trying to change my usual way of playing pentatonic scales (using scalar runs) and instead use more note skipping and playing more legato lines using slides, hammerons and pulloffs.

Support PlayBassNow and download original video, transcription/TAB and mp3 version here