Marcus Miller: Run For Cover – Slap Bass Riff and Lesson
This week I’m giving you a pretty tough slap line from the tune Run For Cover by David Sanborn. The riff is by Marcus Miller and should test you whatever your level.
The Basic Riff
Run For Cover can be a really tough line to nail and it’s worth learning it in smaller sections. First we can try the basic core riff shown below:
Practice Tracks:
70bpm:
80bpm:
90bpm:
100bpm:
108bpm:
Variations
Next we can try some of the variations Marcus plays. First let’s try doubling up on the G in the first bar using a pop followed by a slap:
We can also replace one of the open E slaps with a muted note to give more of an anticipated rhythm in the third beat:
The Sliding Lick
At the end of the intro slap section we have the following lick sliding down the G string:
The Complete Intro
When we combine our variations and sliding lick we can play the entire intro section:
The Intro Bend
I’ve left the opening bend until the end of the tutorial because it can be tricky to jump from the lick into the main riff. Be sure to master the riff before adding it in there:
Hey Mark,
What a fantastically detailed breakdown of this iconic bass track. Really well explained, including all the small nuances which are often difficult to hear.
Great stuff!
Thank you,
John.
just excellent….. you’re a perfect teacher….
I fully agree. He leaves no stone uncovered. One of the top 3 online bass teachers on the world, in my opinion.
Hello Mark,
This is really very well explained
Thanks a lot!
Philippe
There are online bass teachers..and then there is Mark.
Excellently thought out and explained. After much practice, i can’t believe i can actually play this. However, the temptation to speed up too soon and loose the rhythm is great. he did warn about that a number of times. silly me.
Sooo perfect well explained!
Now I can’t wait for my blister to disappear before go to the next lesson :)
I’ve been trying this riff for years. Now I’m finally getting it.
Thank you sir. Well Done.
David in Orlando
Far and away the best explanation! The net is filled with sloppy explanations!
you the man!!!
This is a great riff. And very very well explained. Thank you, Mark!
Your a great teacher!! Thank you
donde consigo el riff sin bajo gracias
Great!!! Thanks a lot for your time 👊
Hi Mark. Would you consider preparing a lesson on the Marcus Miller solo on Papa was a Rollin Stone?
Cheers.
I know this post is old.. but I just saw in interview of Marcus who said he does not double pick those notes at the beginning of bar 2. It’s a LH-P-T…