#104 - How To EASILY Play Basslines Over Chords (Patreon)

My fellow bassists,

As a bassist, one of the most common skills we're expected to have is the ability to improvise bass lines just by looking at the chords. This is especially true if we're playing jazz or general business - "GB" - gigs like weddings or parties, where you're often playing covers and it might be a band that doesn't rehearse together particularly often.

Even if you're not playing any of these types of gigs, this skill will be incredibly helpful in being able to learn songs and really understand how to create your own bass lines!

Any time improvisation is involved, advice often becomes vague and hard to follow, so I decided to come up with a 6-step process that has worked well for me and will allow you to sound good no matter what style of music you're playing!

1. Scan the whole lead sheet and look for important moments like "segnos" and codas

2. Play the root notes of each chord

3. Play roots and 5ths, and add rhythms

4. Follow any band hits that are not marked in the lead sheet

5. Add 3rds and 7ths to your bass line

6. Always be looking one or two measures ahead

You can carry out this process in real time as you see the music for the first time, or over a longer period if you get the music in advance.

As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments at all and I'll make sure to respond ASAP!

Thanks for coming here and learning with me, have a great weekend and I'll see you in the next lesson!

Charles