Bass Guitar Study Overview
- Bass Study 1
- Bass Study 2
- Bass Study 3
- Bass Study 4
- Bass Study 5
- Bass Study 6
- Bass Study 7
The Bass Empowerment Series:
Use these melodic patterns to make musical sentences and fuse different chord centers. Start with the basic format program the responds the units co-existence. Freedom of movement and the elimination of atonal composite colors your solo. Systemic calisthenics opens pathways from each degree of the fashion or arpeggio the idea of five fits the format of 5-8 odd fashions oppose the four because when you riff on the bass guitar every fashion will fall even and boar the listener but with unevenness you have a chance to raise the octave one half step that will enable to access new scale like the formula of arabian scale C D E F# G# A B C.
How did you start this Bass table idea?
It is and innate comprehension to pick up a song on the spot from sight reading charts. I had to learn difficult songs from records to play in the R n B bands, something occur almost every time the music took on specific song pattern. either it was in a major key or a minor key or with jazz fusion material the twelve tone system or something known as projections. After careful study on harmonic rhythm and chord progressions, when you get the basic patterns under you belt like (I-ii-V) and (ii-V-I) and (I-iii-VI-ii-V) and its substitute you'll have a foundation to hold fast to in a working situation. This systematic arrangement is the formula for innermost reality to express myself in solos.
Your's Truly, Brian Ellis
THE AEOLIAN PRE-REQUISITE
The aeolian pre-requisite is used to springboard melody, harmony and rhythm into an attractive array of sounds that is pleasing to listener and also a stepping stone to the future of bass improvisation. This ability to master and capture the hidden secret of the beauty in the cycle of fifths and the cycle of fourths is amazing to ones’ own psyche when it comes into your creative process.
The youth are expected to b laze the trails, but what do you bring to the table? Does every one bring “meatballs” to the dinner? If I bring “meatballs”, you bring “meatballs”, and he brings “meatballs”, the only thing you gonna have to eat for dinner is “meatballs”. But if someone brings the meatballs, someone brings the spaghetti, and another brings the tomato sauce and still another bring the hot bread and butter, we’ll have the full stimulus of musical growth to feast on.
I learn scale development by accident . I was introduced to the mathematical sequence one afternoon when I made a mistake while practicing my diatonic scales in the key of “G” major and connected “G” on the 3rd fret on the ‘E” string with “G” on the 12th fret of the “G” string. It hit me like a ton of bricks, you could solo all day by looping the interlocking note of a scale and run up and down the neck of the bass.
Yours truly, Brian Ellis.
" The Silhouette"
The basic outlook that is in perspective is the ability to learn songs, new concepts and the chief overall progress to achieve the highest accomplishments on the bass guitar. The “Silhouette” is an idea that came to me when I was sweeping the floor in my house. I was listening to may stereo when I started to mimic the bass line a song that was playing with my broom. The song was “Scorpio” by Dennis Coffy. Everybody loves that bass solo, its rated as one of the all time greats from the early days of bass improvisation and moreover while we’re on the subject keep in mind “walking in the rain” by Barry White and the love unlimited also has a great bass solo that was a head of its time. These songs stop you in your tracks and demand your attention. So what came to me is the layman may not play the bass guitar, but if he could he would move his body and his fingers a certain way and shake his head to the beat and hold the bass like he or she is on stage. As entertainers, we should adapt this ideology when performing. I think the “Silhouette” was given to me as a fancy name for “air guitar playing”.
"Capture the attention of the audience"
Whenever possible build your triad on a level presentation in a fashionable form move evenly across the neck and play each tone smoothly solo work recovers such finger command and performance. Wait for the right moment to launch a dramatic riff just don’t use your power riffs al la at once or right in the beginning of the song. Let your song develop and give everybody a chance to set the music machine in motion. I like to structure to foundation for the ensemble my job is rhythmic with the drummers foot not to solo all through the song unless the bass guitar is being feature or if the music is written with a funky dynamic bass line. Its not always fitting to out play the lead instruments. Yours truly, Brian Ellis.
Program Lesson" D "Minor
Course of action to display relative major 6th degree. Speak on woodshed techniques for the winter months that will convey your approach for the spring concerts. The main idea is to work as directly with books and sounds materials to explore new possibilities that are available to you as resources for the advancements Bass skills. D E F G A Bb C D also in comparison C# minor and Eb minor which I call unison twins because my learning the D minor mode you can learn two scales in one motion.
The “D” tone is indicative to the human heart beat respectively. In passing I have heard
The James Brown knew about this hidden golden nugget, because so many of his songs are written in the key of D. When you hear a James Brown song with that funky beat and that funky bass lines you for some reason snap right in the groove. He was a master of music sound as an artistic fragment in American soul music. The experience on the familiarity of the African drum in regards to its tuning is also ancestral when we today's modern beats in western music. I would go as far as saying it in our DNA to dance when we hear a drum beat. The African drum is tune in Five intervals as appose western music tuning of a 12 tone system. Equidistant interval relationships are C D (EF) G (ABb) this the five tone drum scale. Now lets take a look at some characterize :
ONE: The formative D position on fretboard is located in the middle, which will give you a great balance and a great pivot motion for slap bass, and walking bass. Its nice and easy like slapping the bass in E minor. E minor slap is so smooth because the open E string alla “Louis Johnson” and “Larry Graham”.
TWO: I like its chording persuasion and its beautiful note quality the ability to flow in and out chord progressions effortlessly. (demonstration) “lets dance” and “ I got my eye on you”.
THREE: D minor is also a good vocal key with nice vocal access tones for classical runs and solo fragments. It matches the human voice because it’s the closest note to natural “C” only one whole step away. C natural is the basic key for folk songs.
Scale library
Forms, creative ones and harmonic forms for composing or arranging enhance the solo process. Their ways make you feel its presence. Play these scales up and down the bass guitar in d arpeggio design form to build foreign harmonies across board for melodic color. Chord patterns like triads melodic or harmonic qualities help your understanding rhythm. Play formula tables across and down and diagonally and back and forth to obtain its usefulness. The cycle of perfects fifths, can be related to the structure and colorful series of tones that will develop. In most cases the mood sets the pace for the beauty in the artistic flow. yours truly, Brian Ellis
“The Overlap Perspective”
Now even on this week, I was talking about something I call the overlap perspective. Being a gospel bassist with background overtones of Funk and Jazz roots, it started like this when I first started playing the bass in Church I had to become familiar the legalities and the annual functions of the church. For example you have the choir anniversary, the pastor’s anniversary, you have men’s day and women’s day so forth and so on. Now during those first years I didn’t know the song very well songs like “we come this far by faith” and “leaning on the everlasting arms of the lord” the solution to the overlap perspective is as you stay in the ministry and grow , each year as these functions repeat themselves annually, the same songs are perform at the appropriate occasion. You will get to know these songs and other praise and worship songs like the back of your hand to give “god” the glory with your gift.
“Stay in the running”
I been doing this now for over thirty years and its come quite evident if you stay in the running you will over come the pitfalls of discouragement. Some one who is just coming into the ministry would have a hard time learning this material, but you would have to stay in the running and learn about God and studying his word and work hard in the church .
The first year I didn’t about program services, I was fishing and sometime stumbling along . My musical knowledge and skills help get the basic song structure and the key of the devotional songs. I would read the piano bass clef from the Baptist hymnal to keep up with the congregation . Now one thing that is worth an honorable mention is when you perform in the church, with the “Hammond B3 organ” your bass guitar should locked in with the bass from the organ’s foot pedal. If take a minute study how it works and looks, it resembles the piano but for the foot. This is what makes a great bass player if the organist puts his foot on A flat, your bass should be on A flat and its beneficial when you go into the church if you can set up right next to the organ where out the corner of your eye you can see his foot. Position your self diagonally . Now if you’re performing with and ensemble , set up right in the middle of the drummer and the organist so you can gravitate by having one eye on the drummers foot pedal and one eye on the organist foot pedal and the movements of his left hand.
Yours truly, Brian Ellis
Practice Techniques for the Bass Guitar.
Welcome to the creative formula for the bass guitar, today’s program I would to take a special look a some practice maneuvers that I use to prepare me for those ever influenced summer concerts. This is also a mass review of the many E-mails I receive on the aspects of my programs. For example, many players haven’t seen these scales and patterns explained in such a profound manner and it helps them get excited about music theory again and not be afraid of the notes on the staff. Its just a matter of studying so many bass books by prominent authors in the music field with studio experience and knowledge I became fortunate enough to lock into my own technique. When I first studied the bass guitar my approach was to take one page of the bass book or sheet of music from a song that you want to learn and literally eat it for two or three days, don’t proceed to the next page of the book until you got it under your belt in all keys. Almost in respect to Oliver Nelson approach or Dick Grove excellent professors in music theory and arranging techniques.
the first scale is the G major scale which has an interlocking factor which loops or connects the G on the 3rd fret of the E string to the 10th fret of A string and moreover the 12th fret of G string itself. Then I run a chromatic G pattern descending.
| GGbFE | GbFEEb | FEEbD | EEbDDb |
| EbDDbC | DDbCB | DbCBBb | CBBbA |
| BBbAAb | BbAAbG | AAbGGb | AbGGbF |
Practice skills have away of preparing for an intense response when a Bass Chart is put
In front of you in a studio situation. Nothing satisfy a producer more when a musician can
Read the music and also interpret what the writer is trying to convey in his song. With a 20
Minute regiment daily, we can examine and explore the most diffi cult key signatures that
Will prepare us for half-step modulations which are rare, but adds beauty to a song and
Melody when the arrangement calls for it. Example:F major to Gb major.
Solo Block Arpeggio Study
| CDEbC | GABbG | DEFD | ABCA |
| DEbFD | ABbCA | EFGE | BCDB |
| EbFGEb | BbCDEb | FGAF | CDEC |
| FGAbF | CDEbC | GABbG | DEFD |
| GAbBbG | DEbFD | ABbCA | EFGE |
| AbBbCAb | EbFGEb | BbCDBb | FGAF |
| BbCDBb | FGAF | CDEC | GABG |
| CDEbC | GABbG | DEFD | ABCA |
This Solo Table shows the melodic and harmonic qualities in the system. The science of this theory is hidden or superimposed in one single motion. The notes in the triad are arranged in a series within its scale octave to octave.
keep in mind these triads are products of scale development in motion. These notes can spring board melodic and harmonic creations to build your figures on in a spontaneous situation. Solo fashions and its functions will change over every new chord to mix up the sounds.
Major scale tones and inversions are design to enhance tonal patterns. The program is used for the development of improvisation for the bass guitar. This brings to mind the three fold composite with its overlay, 1. the note 2. scale 3.chord, and the overlay is 1. melody 2.harmony 3. rhythm
And the projection is 1. medium 2. song progression 3. variation.
C D E F G A B C
D E F# G A B C# D
E F# G# A B C# D# E
F G A Bb C D E F
G A B C D E F# G
A B C# D E F# G# A
B C# D# E F# G# A# B
C D E F G A B C
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bb | C | D | Eb | F | G | A | Bb |
"Bflat overview with chromatic tones"
| E= Diminished fifth |
|---|
| Cb=minor second |
| Gb=minor sixth |
| Db=minor third |
| Ab=minor seventh |
| Eb=perfect fourth |
| Bb=unison-octave |
| F=perfect fifth |
| C=major second |
| G=major sixth |
| D=major third |
| A=major seventh |
| E=augmented fourth |
This table help me as a foundation to learn
the notes in all keys.
"The Making Of A Solo Table"
| B | C# | D | E | F# | G | A | B |
| E | F# | G | A | B | C | D | E |
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | A |
| D | E | F | G | A | Bb | C | D |
| G | A | Bb | C | D | Eb | F | G |