Practice consistently

to days tip is about getting things done that your working on. If you wanna increase your finger speed you just don't do an exercise once and your faster you have to play it over and over and over and over and... well you get the point. What im saying is write down what your doing and actually try to keep a log. write down the exercise your doing and write out the tempo and record how many times you can play it perfect and every few days or how ever long it takes increase the reps the tempo or both. practice makes perfect only if you practice perfectly. make yourself a routine just a simple 20 or 30 min or longer if you want but don't strain your hands and just really sit down and dig in. for example mine im doing right now consists of a warmup then i just play 16th notes on the E string for 45 seconds then i repeat that on the other strings then i play all of the 4 finger combinations starting at the 5 fret or other frets along the next which look like this and the numbers are your fingers 1 as the index and 4 as the pinky

Left-Hand Permutations
Index Finger Middle Finger Ring Finger Pinkie
1 2 3 4    2 1 3 4    3 1 2 4    4 1 2 3
1 2 4 3    2 1 4 3    3 1 4 2    4 1 3 2
1 3 2 4    2 3 1 4    3 2 1 4    4 2 1 3
1 3 4 2    2 3 4 1    3 2 4 1    4 2 3 1
1 4 2 3    2 4 1 3    3 4 1 2    4 3 1 2
1 4 3 2    2 4 3 1    3 4 2 1    4 3 2 1
then i play my pentatonic scale in different keys and at all five positions

then i play my modes

then i take a complex bass line like a fill in the song YYZ by rush and try to break it down and learn it by ear although i wont be able to play it really fast it will be a tongue twister which is good practice.

just remember that you cant be scared to play something hard and out of your reach cause if you keep practicing it you might find out your better then you thought.

till next time you can email me at papabear82191@gmail.com

Floating Right Hand Technique

Todays blog is about something a little different today. i have talked to some players on forums and looked at youtube videos and asked questions about proper right hand technique below im going to leave a you tube video i have found to explain this method. i have just began trying this and let me tell you its interesting to say the least. well first i must say it helps mute strings your not playing very well but im still getting the feel for it cause i normally play with my thumb on the E string and on the A. at first i didn't like it cause i couldn't get that leverage i needed but your hand will conform to it because it is supposed to be the most natural way of playing bass. don't knock it till ya try it

Pinky Conditioning

One of the biggest weaknesses for me starting out was pinky strength. at first i was like i don't really need my pinky cause ill just play with the first three fingers which i regret now. if you just train the first three and have a weak pinky the whole hand suffers cause its all connected. its like having huge biceps but your triceps are tiny therefore the whole arm suffers. well today i have a few proven methods that i have used and they really do work. now the key here is not to over exert your hands cause you don't want to hurt them. if they hurt take a few minutes for your hand to recover and always warm up first before rigorous playing. and don't forget to use one finger per string thats key to the exercise or else its pointless to do it.

The first exercise below is a very simple exercise that is meant to coordinate your fingers and build pinky strength.it looks like this

G---------------7--9--10--9--7----------------------
D---7--8--10--------------------10--8--7-----------
A-------------------------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------------------

now this is a good exercise cause your pairing the pinking up with the middle and ring finger which can both be weak spots. and you can even change the strings your on or change the pattern up like below. and don't forget about alternate plucking. and repeat it till its fluent

G---------------7--8--10--8--7----------------------

D---7--9--10--------------------10--9--7-----------

A-------------------------------------------------------

E-------------------------------------------------------

the next exercise i want to share with you is one i came up with myself that is a bit tricky but its great practice and this is a key one where if your hurting stop stretch and take it slow

G---8--6--8--5--8--6--8--7-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

D--------------------------------8--6--8--5--8--6--8--7------------------------------------------------------------

A--------------------------------------------------------------8--6--8--5--8--6--8--7------------------------------

E------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8--6--8--5--8--6--8--7--

and do this at different areas on the neck because there are different tensions at other parts of the neck

and our last pinky exercise for today is a good one that isolates the pinky with one finger at a time.

G-----------------5-8-8-5--------------------------------6-8-8-6--------------------------------7-8-8-7----------------

D------------5-8-----------8-5----------------------6-8-----------8-6----------------------7-8-----------8-7-----------

A-------5-8---------------------8-5------------6-8---------------------8-6------------7-8---------------------8-7------

E--5-8--------------------------------8-5-6-8--------------------------------8-6-7-8--------------------------------8-7

thats all i got for today keep it slow and keep low any questions feel free to contact me at papabear82191@gmail.com

modes

ok in  my last lesson i didn't think i explained things well so i took down that post cause i received some bad comments but today im going to fix that. i dint wanna get to complex just yet but i feel it needs to be done.in a previous lesson i showed you an easy way to remember the major scale but what i failed to mention was modes. now there are 7 modes of the major scale. and i will list them below

    G Major scale 1st position     ionian

G---------------------------------4--5--7--

D-----------------------4--5--7------------

A-------------3--5--7----------------------

E---3--5--7--------------------------------

              2nd position              dorian

G---------------------------------5--7--9--

D-----------------------5--7--9------------

A-------------5--7--9----------------------

E---5--7--8--------------------------------

             3rd position                     phrygian

G--------------------------------------7--9--11--

D---------------------------7--9--10-------------

A---------------7--9--10-------------------------

E---7--8--10-------------------------------------

              4th position                       lydian

G------------------------------------------9--11--12--

D-----------------------------9--10--12---------------

A----------------9--10--12----------------------------

E---8--10--12-----------------------------------------

              5th position                        mixolydian

G------------------------------------------------11--12--14--

D---------------------------------10--12--14-----------------

A------------------10--12--14--------------------------------

E---10--12--14-----------------------------------------------

               6th position                        aeolian

G------------------------------------------------12--14--16--

D---------------------------------12--14--16-----------------

A------------------12--14--15--------------------------------

E---12--14--15-----------------------------------------------

             7th position                           locrian

G-----------------------------------------------14--16--17--

D--------------------------------14--16--17-----------------

A------------------14--15--17-------------------------------

E---14--15--17----------------------------------------------

now let me try to explain how these all work together. all modes are just starting points to get a different sound. for example if you play aeolian starting at the 3rd fret of the E string you are now playing in G aeolian. and a fun fact is that aeolian is the natural minor scale. and from G you just follow the order of the positions to figure out where the rest of the notes are in the scale

now im gonna give you a visual so you fully understand what im saying

         this is a G major scale. this is ionian

G---------------------------------4--5--7--

D-----------------------4--5--7------------

A-------------3--5--7----------------------

E---3--5--7--------------------------------

now like i said if i take the aeolian shape and just start it at the 3rd fret of the E string we have the minor scale let me show you

                 G aeolian 

G------------------------------------3--5--7------

D-------------------------3--5--7-----------------

A--------------3--5--6----------------------------

E---3--5--6---------------------------------------

if you want dorian just like above you just shift the entire major scale and start the dorian pattern at G on the E string

                G dorian

G----------------------------------3--5--7--------

D-----------------------3--5--7------------

A-------------3--5--7---------------------

E---3--5--6-------------------------------

its alot of information but trust me it is correct ive done lots of research and talk to many good musicians about this for any questions and comments feel free to contact me at papabear82191@gmail.com

More Finger Jam

ok looking back on yesterdays lesson i didn't really give any substance to it so today i will give you a few exercises to show what im talking about. Like i said sometimes you find your self in a finger jam and you get fumbled cause you play a rhythm one way but with other parts of a song it comes out differently. Well i have a few tabs for you my friends.

G---------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------5--------------------------
A---------5------55----5--7-----77--5-----------------
E--5--7------7-------7-------------------7--------------

now keep in mind those are 16th notes so they are quick now take this slow and repeat
and remember the goal is to make sure you alternate pick every note. Now ill be honest with you theres no way a bass player plays alternate picking every note but when your practicing its good to do this so your fingers learn how to do a lick in multiple ways. This is very important in improvised playing so your fingers dont get jammed cause they are used to different patterns.

another great exercise for 16th notes is just stick on a string and mix up 8th notes and 16th notes. it is so simple but effective here it is

G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0-0-0-0--00000000-----
D----------------------------------------------------------0--0--0--0-00000000------------------------------
A------------------------------0--0--0--0--00000000---------------------------------------------------------
E--0--0--0--0--00000000-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

for any questions or comments you can email me at papabear82191@gmail.com

Finger Jam

todays lessons is a very important lesson about our right hand technique. last night i was attempting to play freewill by rush and i got everything perfect untill the breakdown a measure after the guitar solo starts. geddy lee starts playing a mix of 8th notes and 16th notes looking something like this.

G-----------------------------------------
D------------33---55---66---55---3--------
A-5-5---3-4-5---5----5----5--- 5---5-4-3--
E-----5-----------------------------------

now this really tricked me up because i could play it fine some times then other times i would mess up and this is what inspired this lesson. when your plucking your two fingers a good way to practice it to start a bass line with your index finger and alternate your fingers, then do the same bass like but start with the other finger and alternate pick. I never really sat down a practiced this exercise but im sure gonna try to. the reason behind practicing like this is so no matter what order your fingers are playing you will be able to nail the bass line starting with either finger. this is especially useful if you like to jam a lot because you don't always know what your going to be playing. as for exercises for today just take your major scale and run threw it starting with the index finger then start with the middle finger.

for any questions or comments about todays tips you can contact me at papabear82191@gmail.com

Left and Right Hand Cordination

todays lessons is a bit of getting back to bassics ( no pun intended). But the real deal today is getting that left hand working with the right hand fluently. The first step is taking it slow of course but i have a few excercies i have made that have tremendously helped me form a more consistent and better technique.
ok the first one is working in the pentatonic scale that i practice every day because you will have to go up and down the strings over and over and you will be building speed accuracy and finger strength. And for the tabs we are in A pentatonic starting in the first position at the 5th fret.

G-----------------------------------------------------5------5--7------

D-------------------------------5------5--7--5--7------7-------------

A----------5-----5--7--5--7------7-----------------------------------

E---5--8-----8---------------------------------------------------------

G--7--5-----5-----------------------------------------------------------

D---------7-----7--5--7--5------5-------------------------------------

A------------------------------7------7--5--7--5-----5----------------

E----------------------------------------------------8-----8--5---------

All this exercise is is just overlapping the scale three notes at a time. this will really get your hand going but make sure you play it correctly and slowly. you can also do this in the major scale as well. its great practice and it builder your finger strength. i actually recommend doing this more on the major scale then pentatonic because you get more use out of that weak pinky you have


The last exercise for you guys today is another in A pentatonic

G--------------------------------------------------------------5--------------------5--

D-------------------5--------------------5--7--5------5--7-----7--5------5--7-----

A--7--5-----5--7-----7--5------5--7-------------7--------------------7------------

E---------8-------------------8-------------------------------------------------------

Now your hand will get tired doing this and you wont be good at it at first but keep on digging it and you will thank me later for it. Set goals with it first try to get through it with out mistakes then try it twice perfect and then try to get it 4 times perfect and so on. thats the only way to really get a full hand workout.


and remember TAKE IT SLOOOOWWWW 
until next time you can email me at papabear82191@gmail.com for and questions and suggestions

Secrets of the Major scale

Remember how i said that the pentatonic scale is fused within the major scale well heres that lesson for you. To stay consistent we will be using the G major scale and the E pentatonic scale like in the last lessons. Now stay with me and don't over think this one. The E pentatonic scale is inside of G Major. where you might ask well remember the 6th position of the G major scale shown below?

               6th position

G------------------------------------------------12--14--16--

D---------------------------------12--14--16-----------------

A------------------12--14--15--------------------------------

E---12--14--15-----------------------------------------------

well at 6th position of the G major scale the E pentatonic scale lies here below

     E pentatonic 1st position

G--------------------------------12--14-----           

D-----------------------12--14--------------

A-------------12--14------------------------

E---12--15----------------------------------

make sure you realize the similar notes in each scale and truly see why they are connected. and don't worry it might take a while before it sinks in but keep studying 

above and below this text are the same exact scale just an octave apart which just means the same note but at a higher pitch

     E pentatonic 1st position

G------------------------0--2-------------           

D-----------------0--2--------------------

A----------0--2---------------------------

E---0--3----------------------------------

so keep practicing everyone and try your best to fuse the two scales together 

for any questions and suggestions please contact me at papabear82191@gmail.com

Note On The Neck

below im gonna provide you guys with a chart of every note on the bass as your learning scales and patterns try to be aware of what notes your playing and try to remember what they are. it will make everything a bit easier. and also look for patterns in the positions of the notes. see you tomorrow

Major scale

Alright for todays bass tip were going to look at the big picture of music called the major scale. The major scale is the back bone of just about all music you listen to i guarantee it. In fact the pentatonic scale i shared with you yesterday is inside the Major scale so basically if you know your pentatonic scale now you know 5 notes out of seven in the major scale. don't worry about making the connection yet first we need to learn the major scale so like last lesson Im going to break it down so you can play it all over the neck.

    G Major scale 1st position

G---------------------------------4--5--7--

D-----------------------4--5--7------------

A-------------3--5--7----------------------

E---3--5--7--------------------------------

              2nd position

G---------------------------------5--7--9--

D-----------------------5--7--9------------

A-------------5--7--9----------------------

E---5--7--8--------------------------------

             3rd position

G--------------------------------------7--9--11--

D---------------------------7--9--10-------------

A---------------7--9--10-------------------------

E---7--8--10-------------------------------------

              4th position

G------------------------------------------9--11--12--

D-----------------------------9--10--12---------------

A----------------9--10--12----------------------------

E---8--10--12-----------------------------------------

              5th position

G------------------------------------------------11--12--14--

D---------------------------------10--12--14-----------------

A------------------10--12--14--------------------------------

E---10--12--14-----------------------------------------------

               6th position

G------------------------------------------------12--14--16--

D---------------------------------12--14--16-----------------

A------------------12--14--15--------------------------------

E---12--14--15-----------------------------------------------

             7th position

G-----------------------------------------------14--16--17--

D--------------------------------14--16--17-----------------

A------------------14--15--17-------------------------------

E---14--15--17----------------------------------------------

now let me explain that you must know this scale even better then the pentatonic scale cause most music is derived from the major scale. now if your wondering about pentatonic and how its connected you gonna have to wait till tomorrow but for now learn this scale just like how you learned the pentatonic scale and the same rules apply to shifting the scale all you do is just slide the whole thing up to what ever key you want it in

for and questions feel free to email me at papabear82191@gmail.com

also you can follow me on twitter at papabear 82191

Pentatonic Minor scale

 Ahh yes the back bone of rock and roll the pentatonic scale. this is rock and roll people below there is a tab for you to follow but first i need to explain a few things about the pentatonic scale. Penta means 5 and in this scale there are five notes in it. essentially if you know the five notes in that key you can figure out where to play it all over the neck of the bass. but thats a bit harder to figure out especially if you don't know the names of the notes so i suggest if you don't know the notes on each fret you take a few minutes a day to try and learn them. So in order for me to make you able to play the pentatonic scale i have broken it down into 5 positions on the neck. 

     E pentatonic 1st position

G------------------------0--2-------------           

D-----------------0--2--------------------

A----------0--2---------------------------

E---0--3----------------------------------

            2nd position

G-----------------------2--4----------------

D----------------2--5-----------------------

A----------2--5-----------------------------

E---3--5------------------------------------

           3rd position

G------------------------4--7---------------

D-----------------5--7----------------------

A----------5--7-----------------------------

E---5--7------------------------------------

         4th position

G------------------------------7--9---------

D---------------------7--9------------------

A------------7--10--------------------------

E---7--10-----------------------------------

        5th position

G----------------------------------9--12-----

D-------------------------9--12--------------

A--------------10--12------------------------

E---10--12-----------------------------------

the key is to be able to fluently play the scale in all positions up and down. But let me point out a few things of importance about the pentatonic scale. Did you notice how i said before there are 5 notes in the scale? and did you also notice that there are 5 positions? thats because each position represents a note in the scale. this is mearly a way to remeber how to play the scale up and down the neck. Now remember when you practice try to stay with in that posotions your working on but when you incorporate it into your playing try to bridge the gap between each position and make it as fluent as possible.


and one last important thing this is all done in E pentatonic minor. now if your wondering how to make this sound good in a different key like A pentatonic minor all you do is move it up to the 5th fret instead of starting at open E.

for any questions feel free to email me at papabear.gmail.com

Right Hand Technique

Right hand technique is very important for and bassist but many struggle with speed and precision especially with the D and G string but its ok we all have issues there. next we need to find a solution with a few exercises. make sure you have a solid point to keep you thumb on the bass such as on the pick ups or on your E string just find a consistent spot to keep your thumb

the first exercise is to make sure you alternate your two fingers. Start by muting the strings with your left hand and alternating your fingers play the E A D and G up and down with a metronome. Then after you have that down, begin to switch it up by playing the E then the D the A then the G. mixing it up will be more realistic because when you play songs you don't just go up and down the strings.

another good exercise is to play only on the D and G string to strengthen your hand. Start by playing on the D string 5th fret then the 7th and do the same on G and back down. and just repeat that over and over till you got it.

Efficient Practicing

Most beginners intermediate and professionals all have a hard time practicing efficiently. When i say efficiently i dont mean jaming or just doodling around on the bass I mean sitting down and trying to truly get better at bass. There should be 3 states of mind when playing bass. The first is practice.  Practicing should involve lost of repitition, learning new rhythms and forcing your self to learn things you cant play. You need to be distraction free and only focused on bass . The second is jaming around where theres room for errors  and experimentation which could turn into songs and new ideas. And last is playing songs where you need to be in the pocket and theres no room for errors. 

Part of practing is learning to seperate these states of mind. The best way to grow musically and technically on bass is to set yourself a scheduled practice time that you will do everyday no matter what for at least 1 hour. First warm up then for a solid 30 minutes play scales, difficult patterns or find a weakness that you have and isolate it. For example i noticed in my own playing that some bass lines I played were a little bit sloppy when i used my pinky. From then on for about 2 weeks i would sit down and focus on playing with my pinky more to build up dexterity and before i knew it my pinking was stronger and i could play a bit cleaner. And for the last 30 min play to some music or jam over a track. 

By the way you will mess up a lot at first but you have to keep playing to find your groove.

There are a few things I like to do during my focused practice. Ill take a scale and I will play it up and down in in multiple positions across the neck with a metronome. Then I will do the same but with 8th notes then 16th notes, triplets, and 16th note triplets. The point of this is to force you to learn the scale and tighten up your playing. But the key to this is slowing it down so you can play it. Find a comfy tempo and play and when you can nail it at that tempo then you can speed it up. And remember even billy sheehan, geddy lee, and dave ellefson slow down things to learn new stuff so you should too.

And lastly it is a fact that you will come across many things you cant play, you will make tons of errors, and also you will get frustrated but remember every great bassist sucked at one point.

for questions you can email me at papabea8211@gmail.com.

Warming Up

one of the biggest problems bass players have is not warming up. warming up isn't just playing songs you know your playing scales its about getting the blood pumping in your fingers and hands. Think of it like your working out at the gym, before you get into the workout your stretch and warm up your body. Yours hands are the same because if you don't warm up your hand can cramp up or you can cause damage to your hands. so lets dive right into the warm up.

to begin your warm up stretch your fingers. literally put down your bass take a miniute and strech your fingers out. The next step is to do something that makes no musical sense at all. for example begin by playing 1234 on the E then on the A,D and G string and then play the same thing back down. doing this for a minute or so will get for fingers going. next take the same concept playing 4 notes per string but instead of playing 1234 switch up the finger ordering such as 1324,2314,4312 ect. and go up and down the strings.

Now when doing this if your hand is hurting at all stop and strech because you could do damage to your hands. also if you are just starting dont play these starting at the first fret begin somewhere around the middle of then neck because that is where the least amount of string tension is. The last warm up technique is isolating fingers that you struggle with. for example one of my weaknesses and just about all other bassisist  have a problem with their third and fourth finger. to work on this just alternate between the two up and down then neck. if you just take 10 miniutes to force yourself to warm up your playing will be tighter and more consistiant. also if you dont have a bass near by you can strentgthen your fingers with hand and grip exercisers.
thats all for this lesson if you have more questions you can email me at papabear82191@gmail.com