Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield

This song is really fun to play with a band. It is pretty much the same thing throughout the song, except for the chorus. In the outro, the bass player changes his bass line slightly sometimes, he just adds a few notes, but I didn’t write it down here, because you can make your own changes. After playing the bass line for 9 minutes, you’ll want to change it up a little bit.

Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up Bass P1

Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up Bass P2

We hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Use Me Live (1972) - Bill Withers

This song has a very groovy feel to it. There are a few variations to the main bass line during the verses that are not shown in this sheet, but all the punch lines are.

Bill Withers - Use Me Live 1972 Bass P1

Bill Withers - Use Me Live 1972 Bass P2

We hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Just Kissed my Baby - The Meters

This Song is super groovy, not too complicated, but the bridge might make you sweat a bit.

The Meters - Just Kissed my Baby Bass P1

The Meters - Just Kissed my Baby Bass P2

We hope you enjoyed this lesson, if you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Stuck in the Middle with You - Stealers Wheel

This song has a great walking bass line. It seems like it repeats the same way throughout the song, but when you listen carefully you can hear some awesome variations of the same riffs.

Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the Middle with You Bass P1

Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the Middle with You Bass P2

Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the Middle with You P3

We hope you enjoyed this lesson, if you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Money - Pink Floyd

This song is a test of endurance. It’s a long song and the bass plays non stop. Pay attention to the time signature changes from 7/4 to 4/4.

Pink Floyd - Money Bass P1

Pink Floyd - Money Bass P2

We hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Warning - Green Day Bass

This bass line is a nice major scale exercise.

Green Day - Warning Bass

We hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

The Suburbs - Arcade Fire

Donate

This song is fairly easy. The bass approaches the chords and does a few octaves. It's a good song to improvise and try out different things, as long as you keep the drive and that you hit the root note of the chord on the first beat of every measure.

We hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Green Eyes - Coldplay

Donate

This song is pretty simple. The bass doesn't come in until after the D.C. (Da Capo) and it plays the classic country bass line which is to alternate between playing the root and fifth of each chord.

Green Eyes - Coldplay Lead Sheet

We hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Lithium - Nirvana

Donate

The format of this song is pretty simple; there are two chord progressions that repeat. The intro, verse and chorus are played the same way except that the guitar in the chorus is played with distortion. 

In the intro and the first verse of the song, the bass doesn't play. Be careful, as there is a DS with repeat after the first chorus. When you encounter F#5/C#, you have to play the C#. The bass is playing a descent from D to B, using C# as a transition. If you listen carefully to the recording the bass will do a few other notes, but it's mainly octaves. During the bridge, the bass plays with the G minor pentatonic, as the chord progression is pretty stagnante.

Lithium - Nirvana Lead Sheet

We hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Wonderwall - Oasis Lead Sheet

Donate

This song is pretty simple on bass guitar, it's mostly the root note and pentatonic scale of F# with rhythm. So, this lead sheet is intended for bass and other instruments. It is separate than the guitar lead sheet, as that one is written for a capo on fret 2.

Oasis - Wonderwall Lead Sheet

We hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Stand by Me - Ben E King

Donate

This song is pretty simple, but the rhythmic pattern is very interesting. The song is in the key of A, so the chord progression is I - vi - IV - V. Note that the bass line is the same throughout the song,  so the section indicated as verse is also the chorus and the bridge. 

Stand by Me - Ben E King

We hope you enjoyed this song, if you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

I Shot the Sheriff - Bob Marley

Donate

This song is a great example of Reggae bass lines; it follows the chord progression, while playing with rhythms and syncopation. A lot of the bass notes are not on the strong beats, which makes them stand out in the mix. Note that the rhythm is in double swing, or swing of sixteenth notes.

The chord progression is pretty simple, it is in the key of G minor and it uses the chords i - iv - v - VI. The most important thing to focus on in this song is the rhythm of the notes.

I Shot the Sheriff - Bob Marley Bass Guitar

We hope you enjoyed this lesson, if you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Minor Scale

Donate

The minor scale is a very important scale, as it gives you that dark sound that the major scale won't provide. This scale is considered as: 1, 2, 3b, 4, 5, 6b, 7b. The "b" next to the notes mean flat, which is related to the major scale. So, compared to a regular major scale like C Major scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B; the minor scale would be: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb. If you were in the key of E Major you would have: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#; but if you were in the key of E minor, you would have the notes: E, F#, G, A, B, C, D. Notice, that having flats next to the numbers in the minor scale doesn't necessarily mean that your notes will be flat, but rather that they will be one half tone lower than its major counter part.

Below is a graphic showing what the minor scale looks like on the bass guitar. The green colour is the root note. So, you simply need to find the root note for the key signature you are playing in and start the scale from there.

Minor Scale (Bass Guitar)

Practice going up and down this scale to remember it well.

If you have any questions, please contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Major Scale

Donate

The major scale is the most basic scale in music and it is the one that every other scales get compared to. This scale is considered as being: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. What that means is that this scale has no modification and it has seven notes. This scale, just like every other scales, is used for melodies, solos, riffs, etc.

If you were in the key signature of C, the notes of the scale would be: C, D, E, F, G, A, B

Below is a graphic showing what the major scale looks like on the bass guitar. The green colour is the root note. So, you simply need to find the root note for the key signature you are playing in and start the scale from there.

Major Scale (Bass Guitar)

Practice going up and down this scale to remember it well.

If you have any questions, please contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Major Pentatonic Scale Positions

Donate

The notes of the major pentatonic scale can be found everywhere on the neck of the bass guitar. Therefor, there are positions to help you remember where the notes are. 

Below is a graphic showing what the pentatonic scale positions looks like on the bass guitar. The green colour is the root note. So, you simply need to find the root note for the key signature you are playing in and start the scale from there.

Position 2 starts on the second note of position 1; position 3 starts on the second note of position 2, etc. Each position is connected with the following one, position 5 being connected with position 1. 

Major Pentatonic Scale Positions (Bass)

To remember all those positions, practice them individually going up and down. Once you feel comfortable with each of them, try to combine them to help you remember them and understand how to use them in solos. You can go up one position, then down the next position. Be creative!

You can try to practice improvising using this blues track below. The Blues is in E, so use E major Pentatonic.

If you have any questions, please contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Minor Pentatonic Scale Positions

Donate

The notes of the minor pentatonic scale can be found everywhere on the neck of the bass guitar. Therefor, there are positions to help you remember where the notes are. 

Below is a graphic showing what the pentatonic scale positions looks like on the bass guitar. The green colour is the root note. So, you simply need to find the root note for the key signature you are playing in and start the scale from there.

Position 2 starts on the second note of position 1; position 3 starts on the second note of position 2, etc. Each position is connected with the following one, position 5 being connected with position 1. 

Minor Pentatonic Scale Positions (Bass)

To remember all those positions, practice them individually going up and down. Once you feel comfortable with each of them, try to combine them to help you remember them and understand how to use them in solos. You can go up one position, then down the next position. Be creative!

You can try to practice improvising using this blues track below. The Blues is in E, so use E minor Pentatonic.

If you have any questions, please contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Major Pentatonic Scale

Donate

The major pentatonic scale is as useful a scale as the minor pentatonic. Just like it's counter part, the major pentatonic is made of five notes that work well on genres from Blues, Rock 'n' Roll to jazz, pop, etc. 

The major pentatonic scale is made of: Root (1), second (2), major third (3), fifth (5) and major sixth (6). So, if you were in the key of C, the notes would be: C, D, E, G, A

Below is a graphic showing what the pentatonic scale looks like on the bass guitar. The green colour is the root note. So, you simply need to find the root note for the key signature you are playing in and start the scale from there.

Major Pentatonic Scale (Bass Guitar)

This scale is used to improvise solos, create riffs and melodies. The best way to work this scale is to practice playing going up and down the scale in different keys, so that your fingers get used to it. Once you are comfortable with it, you can start improvising with it, playing the notes of the scale with a rhythm and order of your choice. You can try to practice improvising using this blues track below. The Blues is in E, so use E major Pentatonic.

If you have any questions, please contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Minor Pentatonic Scale

Donate

The Pentatonic scale is probably the most useful scale in almost any genre. It is one of the first scale taught and one of the last one you'll use. Penta meaning 5 and tonic meaning tone or note; the scale has only five notes, compared to most scales that have seven notes. 

The minor pentatonic notes are: root (1), minor third (3m), fourth (4), fifth (5) and minor seventh (7m). So, if you were in the key of C it would mean: C, Eb, F, G, Bb

Below is a graphic showing what the pentatonic scale looks like on the bass guitar. The green colour is the root note. So, you simply need to find the root note for the key signature you are playing in and start the scale from there.

Minor Pentatonic Scale (Bass guitar)

This scale is used to improvise solos on different genres or to create riffs and melodies. The best way to work this scale is to practice playing going up and down the scale in different keys, so that your fingers get used to it. Once you are comfortable with it, you can start improvising with it, playing the notes with a rhythm and order of your choice. You can try to practice improvising using this blues track below. The Blues is in E, so use E minor Pentatonic.

If you have any questions, please contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

E Blues Bass Basics

Donate

When playing the blues on bass, just like with any other instrument, you play it with a basic blues  form which we discussed in Basic Blues Theory. Below is the E Blues form that we will be using for all the exercises for this lesson.

E Blues Form

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E Blues Form Exercise #1

This first exercise is simply to play the root note of every chord for this E blues form with a whole note, so one note per measure like the example below.

E Blues Form Whole Notes

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E Blues Form Exercise #2

This exercise is the same as exercise #1, but you'll play half notes, so two notes per measure.

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E Blues Form Exercise #3

This exercise is the same as exercise #1, but this time with quarter notes, so four notes per measure. You should try to play this one with one finger the first time; the second time, try to alternate between your 1st finger (index) and your 2nd finger (middle).

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E Blues Form Exercise #4

This Exercise is a typical blues walking bass line. Walking bass refers to your fingers that look like they are walking on the bass. In this exercise we use patterns that will be repeated on every chord of E, then a very similar pattern every chord of A, then a bit of a change for the chord of B.

E Blues Walking Bass #1

On the chord of E, try to use your 3rd finger for the 4th fret and your 1st finger for the 2 fret. Use the same fingers for the corresponding notes for the chord of A. For the chord of B, start the pattern with your 2nd finger, then 1st finger for the 1st fret, and 4th finger for the 4th fret.

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E Blues Form Exercise #5

This blues walking bass is a variation of the exercise #4. It is a two measure pattern, which means that you can only use it when you have two measures with the same chord next to the other.

E Blues Walking Bass #2

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E Blues Form Exercise #6

This exercise is the same as exercise #5, but you play eighth notes swing throughout the blues form. Alternate your plucking fingers, between your 1st and 2nd finger.

If you have any questions, please contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com

Bass Tuner Standard E

Donate

Here is a bass tuner in standard E tuning: E, A, D, G. That is the usual tuning for any type of bass guitar. The string #4 is the biggest one, but also the closest to the ceiling. The string #1 is that smallest one and the closest to the floor.