In this video, I show how to play extended arpeggios on major 7th chords.
for those unfamiliar with extended arpeggios, they are a continuation of the arpeggios past the 7th. These are called the upper structure notes or “extensions”. These extensions add different flavour to chords and are useful when attempting melodic passages. They are widely used in jazz.

Because bass players love playing in E minor/G major, I’ve put this lesson beginning in G major. The arpeggio includes these notes:

G B D F# A C# E

The C# is not derived from the G Ionian (Major) scale, but C is sharpened to prevent the clashing of the 3rd and the 4th (minor 2nd, ugh…) You will notice that there is a pattern of alternating Major and Minor 3rds. This may help you memorize it easily. The inversions to which I’m referring in this video are simply other 4 note arpeggios found within this extended arpeggio simply by beginning on a different chord tone.

I’ve provided you with a couple of my own exercises. These will build dexterity and fretboard familiarity.

The subtitles should explain what I’m doing, if you’re still stuck, don’t hesitate to ask.

Hey all, check out this latest installation in our series on chords for bass. This lesson is on what I call “Alpha Voicings” for bass guitar. You should check out a few of the previous lessons to get the most out of this one(Pros/Cons, Close Position Triads, Open Position Triads). Otherwise, enjoy this latest lesson!

Cool!

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Download the PDF TAB

Optional download of video, mp3, pdf and Guitar Pro 5 tab here
http://www.tradebit.com/visit.php/213998/product/-/153244846
To practice Major triads as chords in root, 1st and 2nd inversion Im using Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as example.

Thx to the great bassplayer and Playbassnow.com teacher Adam Neely for opening my eyes with this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfD_tNAfy78&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Check his other videos

Cool!

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Cool!

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Different fingering possibilites for arpeggiating a Dominant 7 chord
Good for learning the fretboard and get started with walking bass
When playing from the root its called “rootposition”
From third its called “first inversion”
From fifth its called “second inversion”
From flatted seventh its called “thirdt inversion”

Having fun with ringing or droning open strings, for some beautiful solo pieces.
In the example I use the A aolian scale (A B C D E F G), the A major scale (A B C# D E F# G) , The A mixolydian (A B C# D E F# G) and the D major scale (D E F# G A B C#)

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Peace,

Adam

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

-Adam

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

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Since we started with Major 7 arpeggios and Minor 7 arpeggios in the last couple videos we’ve seen that all 7th chord arpeggios are in a way easier to deal with since you’re not going to be shifting as rapidly, but because there’s one more note than in the triad arpeggios (Major, Minor, Augmented,Diminished), there are a lot more options for position shifts and fingering. This video isn’t exhaustive, but it will give you some ideas for shifting and practicing the shape in one and two octaves.

Enjoy! Oh, and for those who find this series too challenging/too easy, I have a couple other lesson series in the pipeworks, so stay tuned.

-Adam

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Major 7 arpeggios, like all 7 chord arpeggios as we’ll see, are a bit easier to deal with since you’re not going to be shifting as rapidly, but because there’s one more note than in the triad arpeggios (Major, Minor, Augmented, Diminished) there are a lot more options. This video isn’t exhaustive, but it will give you some ideas for shifting and practicing the shape in one and two octaves.

Enjoy!

-Adam

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Diminished arpeggios are rather tricky just because they aren’t that easy to visualize, and starting on the pinky often leads to rather inefficient fingering if you’re looking to ascend on the fretboard. They’re nice, though, because they’re the first time so far where it really makes sense to use the third finger a lot because of the tritone.

Enjoy!

-Adam

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Augmented arpeggios are rather tricky because they don’t lead themselves very well to a “horizontal” approach on the bass. Shifting and figuring out the unique geometry of the augmented chord is something that’s really useful in our practice.

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Hope you all enjoy!

-Adam

Hey all, here is the next in a series of lessons covering a lot of the technical and conceptual concepts with practicing arpeggios across the bass’ fingerboard. Pay close attention to the ideas regarding shifting across the fingerboard – this is something that is almost completely neglected in the majority of method resources for electric bass, and is something that is very important to practice. Arpeggios are the best musical element to practice this physical concept.

Minor arpeggios are interesting because they usually require an odd shift/pivot between the 1st and 4th fingers. Check it out.

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Hope you all enjoy!

-Adam

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hope you all enjoy!

-Adam

A practical theory lesson on the importance of learning and practicing triads, their inversions and different fingerings. Using triads as target notes will help you gain control better control of your fretboard.
In this lesson we explore the Major triad (root, Major third, perfect fifth)

Download iPod friendly m4v version

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 major scale.
I also show a E maj9 chord voicing – from bottom up it is
E (root) – open E string
B (fifth) – 14th fret A string
F# (ninth) – 16th fret D string
G# (third) – 13th fret G string

Download original quicktime movie here

Anthony Crawford gives examples on how to tap out chords on the bass.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/crawfordbass

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anthony-Crawford/162765698121?ref=search

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/anthonycrawford

Do you still remember all the different modes?

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

For beginners and maybe a reminder for the rest uf us;-)

Getting to know the fretboard of the bass guitar using target notes and arpeggios.

I use simple major and minor triads in the examples – root , third and fifth

„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 )

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lecture about the foundation of the music we know – the major scale ; its use and why its such a good idea to learn.

Whole thing is almost 30 minutes but ive divided it into three parts, first today – so hang in there;-)

We are “harmonizing” the major scale – building a chord an each step of the scale and numbering them as we move along (this is also known as the “Nashville number system” used by the studio musicians fro writing down songs)
Also an introduction to learning to analyze the most common chords and progressions in songs, so we can learn tunes faster and transpose them easily too .

For further written explanation revisit this lesson on playing bass lines over triads

Quick and dirty Bluesy lick with chords tutorial.
Three bars of D7 then one bar of C7
Just recorded straight into Quicktime player with  macbook webcam from Sandberg bass California JJ to Tc electronic rh450 amp to Apogee soundcard.
New Fender Nickel-plated steel roundwound strings, gauge 45 -105
Its a mono recording but unfortunately saved as stereo recording, so you will only hear one side, i told you its was quick.
I will from time to time do these “low quality” recordings when i dont have patience or time for HD, audio and videoediting.

I now give online One on one lessons at:

http://www.ashburymusichall.com/offerings/funk-rock-bass-marlowedk

Quicktime original

Flash flv

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

In this first lesson, a groove with chords in F major.

You will notice that the groove is dampen by the palm of the right hand.

The chords are: F maj7 / Bb maj7 / F maj7 / C7

www.bassebruno.com

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).

I’m just playing through this intro for you.

I start by playing it up to speed,
then slowly,
then just the chord shapes (in sequence, this the first step, i just wanted you to hear it first),
then at a medium tempo,
then up to speed.

Coordinate those left hand fingers into getting the chord shapes before adding the melodies in between the changes.

For the right hand, I’m switching between a traditional two finger picking technique and a more guitar player like finger picking, utilizing the thumb,  index and middle fingers. I’m not sure if Tal uses that fingerpicking, but it came instinctually to me.

\This is a great sounding bass part; gorgeous line.
Take your time with it, take it real slow.

Its fun to play when you’ve got it up to speed.  Hope you find this helpful. If you need any clarification, just leave a comment!

Simlarily, I looked at some of Tal’s fingerings for this intro from her performance on Australian TV, which is floating around YouTube for sure. After figuring out the other chords using a Tascam, I watched the video again and verified that these are the shapes she uses.

Tapping chords using all 4 strings: E minor, Dmaj, Cmaj, B minor

Click here to view the embedded video.

This a continuation of the playing over triads series, go to previous lesson and backing track HERE

In this example i cram almost everything i know in playing the bassline over the progression:

Chordnotes – Major triad 1, 3, 5 sometimes with a 6th added.
Scale notes – When doing the walkup or walkdowns from one chord to the other i just use the notes from C major scale.
Chromatic passing notes in between scale notes – For example, on the F chord, if you are goin from the 3rd A to the 5th C, you can use notes inbetween in passing – A (A# B) C.
Inversions of the chords – the root position of the Major triad (you can add the octave too) is 1, 3, 5, then first inversion 3, 5, 1 and the second inversion 5, 1, 3.
Doublestops (2 note chords) – Playing the root plus the 10th (an octave + a third)

Playing this in a band would surely get me fired for overplaying, but again, its an example of possibilties and inspiration for you to in learning to play over these fairly simple Major chords.
And we havent even touched the use of the 7th, as i basically play over triads with a 6th added here and there, but its the pure major chord sound witch is used a lot in most rock and pop songs.

Quicktime version

iPod version

This is a lesson 2 in this series, go to lesson 1 HERE or continue after this to lesson 3 HERE

iPod version here

Im just playing the notes from the triads  in a fairly strict up and down fashion over the music in this exercise – in a real playing situation i would of course vary the patterns – mostly put emphasis on root notes, use other rhythms , add scale notes etc..

But this is for you to get equally comfortable with the third (3rd )  and the fifth (5th) as well as the root

Now we use the C, F and G Major triads in a chord progression

Another way to learn this is by looking at at the chords as steps of the major scale (for explanation revisit lesson 1)

We are in the key of C so:
C Major is the 1st step of the C Major scale,
F Major is the 4th step of the C Major scale,
and G Major is the 5th step of the C Major scale

Optionally you could look at -The same chord sheet as above where numbers replaces the letters making it much easier to transpose

The positions revisited:

The C , F and G Major triads played in different positions up to the 7th fret, please memorize them, you will gain a great advantage in being able to break out of the “only playing root notes” box

(Click the image for full size)

iPod version

This is a prepatory exercise for Ch11 Using Major triads in basslines

The C , F and G Major triads played in different positions up to the 7th fret, please memorize them, you will gain a great advantage in being able to break out of the “only playing root notes” box

(Click the image for full size)

Explanation of  why you should learn this;-)

Since most western music harmony is based on the 7 steps of major scale, and that the chords built on the major scale are VERY common and should be memorized and transposed since they cover the foundation of MOST songs you will ever play.

And most pop and classic rock is composed either on a guitar or piano playing simple chords  (often by a non guitarist or non pianist), hence the “easy” keys and chords (C, G, D, Am, Em…) that  are VERY common.

So if we take the 7 steps of the major scale and build a simple chord on each step, in this case a triad (a three note chord):

• 1  C E G – spells a C Major triad – written as C
• 2  D F A – spells a D minor triad – written as Dm or D-
• 3  E G B – spells a E minor triad – written as Em or E-
• 4  F A C – spells a F Major triad – written as F
• 5 G B D – spells a G Major triad – written as G
• 6 A C E – spells a A minor triad – written as Am or A-
• 7 B D F – spells a B dimished triad – written as B0 or Bdim, but is not thatcommon and is often changed to a G Major triad with B in the bass – G/B

To build a triad from a scale, you play every other scale note, ie the C Major triad is the 1st,  3rd and 5th step of the C major scale, the D minor triad is the 2nd,  4th and 6th step, the E minor triad is the 3rd,  5th and 7th step….

So we have:

C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim

and if you look it as scale steps from the C major scale, it translates to:

1, 2m, 3m, 4, 5, 6m, 7dim

If we only use the Major chords we get :

C, F, G or the scale steps 1, 4 ,5

Which is a very common progression – ie Blues, Rock ‘n’ roll (Chuck Berry, Elvis…)

| C | C | C | C |
| F | F | C | C |
| G | F | C | G |

Or written as numbers (the scale steps) as the Nashville studio musicians do:
| 1  | 1  | 1 | 1  |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 1  |
| 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 |

A very wise thing to do since you can transpose to all keys more easy just thinking in scale steps

| 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | in C is
| C | F | G | C |

And transposed to G is

| 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| G | C | D | G |

Go to next chapter of this tutorial with a song built on the 1st, 4th and 5th step ogf the major scale using the triads you have learnt in the video

This is a technique for playing basic chords using compound intervals. Compound invervals are like standard intervals (eg, 3rd, 4th, 5th) but the notes in question are an octave (or sometimes more) further apart. They are great to use at the end of a passage or phrase, or to simple add a bit more flavour to an otherwise simple bass line.

The Bossa nova rhythm plucking im using for this: (video on the way)

2nd example:
root note – 1 (C) on Astring – 15 fret
fourth – 4 (F) on D string – 15 fret
seventh – b7 (Bb) on G string – 15 fret

2nd example:
root note – 1 (C) on Astring – 15 fret
major third – 3 (E) on D string – 14 fret
seventh – b7 (Bb) on G string – 15 fret

1st example:
root note – 1 (C) on E string – 8 fret
seventh – b7 (Bb) on D string – 8 fret
minor third – b3 (Eb) on G string – 8 fret
+ added
flatted fifth – b5 (Gb) on A string – 9 fret

2nd example:
root note – 1 (C) on Astring – 15 fret
minor third – b3 (Eb) on D string – 13 fret
seventh – b7 (Bb) on G string – 15 fret
+ added chord shape
root note – 1 (C) on Astring – 15 fret
flatted fifth – b5 (Gb) on D string – 16 fret
seventh – b7 (Bb) on G string – 15 fret

2nd example:
root note – 1 (C) on Astring – 15 fret
minor third – b3 (Eb) on D string – 13 fret
seventh – b7 (Bb) on G string – 15 fret

2nd example:
root note – 1 (C) on Astring – 15 fret
major third – 3 (E) on D string – 14 fret
major seventh – 7 (B) on G string – 16 fret

2nd example:
root note – 1 (C) on Astring – 15 fret
major third – 3 (E) on D string – 14 fret
major sixth- 6 (A) on G string – 14 fret