In this lesson we’re going to look at a killer funky bass riff and then break it down to see what it’s made of and how we can apply those building blocks in our own basslines. The main concepts we’ll be covering are chord tones and chromatic approach
Killer Funky Bass Riff
One of the best ways to learn how to create your own grooves is to dissect other bass lines and find out what is going on. That is why today we are going to learn a new funky groove and pick it apart to give you material to build your own riff with.
Let’s start with the basics… this riff is in the key of C and although it is pretty chromatic, the tonality implies a C dominant 7 chord. Rhythmically it can be quite challenging, but the key is to take each bar individually and work through it slowly.
A Closer Look…
As we just mentioned, the riff implies a C7 chord, but is packed out with chromatic notes. If we look at the notes more closely, we can see which notes are chromatic and which are chord tones. Let’s start by looking at the notes in C7:
C E G Bb
1 3 5 b7
You may notice that our riff contains a major 7th (B), as well as a minor 7th (Bb). As the B is sandwiched between a Bb and a C, we can assume that it is being used for chromatic effect. The Bb sound is more prominent here as it lands on the beat and so is slightly accented.
Now we know which notes are chord tones, we can work which of the others are chromatic. If you go through the riff taking note of the chord tones, you will notice that they are almost always preceded by a chromatic note or two. This happens in bar 1 leading down to the G (5th), from the A (6th), and again from D (2nd) to E (3rd).
As an exercise, try coming up with a riff that just uses the notes of C7. These are your target notes that you can lead into through the use of chromatic tones. Add a few leading notes before chord tones to get a feel for targetting a note.
Mark is moving the standard for Online Music Teaching up by several notches. This video is indicative of how he brings understanding of musical theory into practice in ways that change your approach to playing — forever. After learning from him, I see song/riff/hook constructions in an exciting and completely different context. Way to go, Mark !!
Great practice lick Mark!
Thanks Mark! what a great lesson. Got a much better and easier understanding how to use these chord tones and arpeggios with dom7
Love this lesson!
Better late than never! Great tid-bits Mark. Your the easiest teacher to learn from, for me anyway by far..
Thanks a million for all the different styles you share and turning on my Theory lightbulb!!!
Great lesson buddy, love them
This lesson shed a lot of light on working your own riffs around the chord structure. Thanks Mark!
where is the backing track?
Really cool Lick Mark. Since I nailed it I think I’ve played it pretty much every single day if only to warm up. It opened up loads of funky possibilities. Fantabassody. !!!LOl
:D
yo!
Where is the beat track?
missing for ever