Groove and Practice Advice
Groove
I was just on the TalkBass forums while gobbling down lunch (yes, its 5:00, but I only remembered to eat a few minutes ago). While there, I read through a thread called “book of bass riffs: recommendations, please!“. In the thread, the OP, sjm2357, asks for the names of any good beginner’s books with lots of riffs.
He got a few responses, but the one that I found most interesting was this, from MalcolmAmos:
Bass Styles Made Easy by Chris Matheos $14.95
Quoting Chris Matheos; “The pattern is not that difficult. Playing a pattern in a chord progression takes a bit more skill. Now you are dealing with a moving pattern. Playing with a band takes the most skill. You have to focus on time, feel, and groove, as well as playing the pattern.”
Reason I put that in is; ask yourself how will you groove that riff. Knowing a riff or pattern is first, gotta at least have the pattern into muscle memory – then after that knowing how to use it is next. Locking that in with the drummer is also kinda important.
Bass Grooves by Ed Friedland $19.99 is also full of patterns and anything Ed writes has value.
Quoting Ed; “Most bass lines are constructed from the same elements – roots, 5th, octaves, triads – with varying connecting material such as scalar and chromatic passing tones. The defining factor in a genre is most often its rhythmic content ……”
Basic Reggae riff will/can use the R-3-5 notes. So will a Zydeco riff. And for that matter so will SKA. The rhythm sets them apart. My reason for pointing this out, on my first reading of Ed’s Bass Grooves I concentrated on the notes and missed the part about the groove. Play the riff grooving with the drummer. ………. Or a drum track, click track, something.
Have fun.
Ugly Bass Face 