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FENDER PLAYERS CLUB BASS GROOVES

BASS GROOVES Music is a combination of melody, harmony, and rhythm. Bass players most often function in the supporting role of providing the harmony and the rhythm-or the groove. Whether in a full band or just half of a duo, this is a big responsibility. Grooving the marriage of the rhythmic feel to the harmony, the backbone of the music-should be an integral part of our practice routine as we strive to become the complete bass player. Practicing grooves teaches us how to create grooves. Countless hours of scales, arpeggios, theory, and reading- all critical to our success- do not automatically prepare us for the primary function of grooving. So how does one become a groove master? It is a combination of things, like everything we study. Consider these suggestions: • Play to records everyday! Study the bass part to see what works. • Join several bands and learn from experience. • Always listen for what the other musicians are doing to make the music feel good. Be a complete musician, not just a bass player. • Put yourself in the shoes of the songwriter, singer, leader, etc. and think how best to serve the music. We all want to be noticed, but your wildest slap lick may not fit the music. • Study, learn, and memorize the grooves in this book.

STRAIGHT EIGHTH NOTES This groove is fairly simple, but the intervals in beats three and four of the first and third measures present an awkward fingering. The double stops are all perfect fifths. Notice that the guitar doubles the bass in the second section of the groove.

GROOVE 1
AUDIO-Without Bass
AUDIO-Full Band

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FENDER PLAYERS CLUB BASS GROOVES

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FENDER PLAYERS CLUB BASS GROOVES

This lesson is from: Grooves for Electric Bass: Essential Patterns and Bass Lines for All Styles (Musicians Institute Press) by David Keif. In this book, MI faculty instructor David Keif covers rock, pop, blues, funk, R&B, jazz, hip-hop and other bass styles. Includes four complete bass compositions, notes and tabs, and a CD with 36 tracks for demo and play-along. Inventory # HL 695265. Book/CD pack $14.95 (US).

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