This week I’m going to work on a really popular rhythm used in many popular basslines but that many people struggle to play.
Break It Down
This lesson is going to break down a popular rhythm that can be found in loads of bass lines but is really easy to play wrong. Here is the first part of the phrase:
You might notice that beat two is pushed, which means that it falls a semiquaver before the pulse. To help you understand the feel of a pushed beat, try subdividing the rhythm to work out exactly where the note falls.
Move It Around
Repetition is key when learning anything new: be it a song, phrase or rhythm Stick a metronome on and repeat this rhythm using different notes. Here is an example progression to get you started:
This rhythm is particularly popular in funk and can often occur alongside octaves:
Complete Phrase
Now we can add in the last note of the phrase which occurs on the offbeat of beat two.
Again, we can apply this to a chord progression and mix in octaves:
Hi Mark, Great lesson as always and explained so clearly. Wonderful. I would love if you could do a coarse on reading music and maybe some lessons on different rhythms as in demonstrating playing wise and notation bossa nova, salsa afro cuban and other rhythms. I think you are the guy who can do this effectively. Hopefully maybe some time in the near future.
Having trouble downloading lesson material
please i would really like you to do a lesson on african bass styles. dats makossa, bikutsi,bolobo and others. u d best mark
Hello Mark. I don’t speak English. do you have this course in Spanish or subtitulate. Norberto from Argentina
Mark,
Excellent as usual…my suggestion (request) is to see if you can slow down the 16th note practice scales, triads, and arpeggios in the practice area. I am having a hard time starting 16th notes @ 100bpm and assume that many beginners are as well (I tried 60/65 bpm and that is about as fast as I can keep up with).
Thank you,
JC
Thanks Mark, the thing that inspires me most about your teaching amd playing is your obvious enjoyment when you play even the most simple bass lines, its infectious. Love the improv on this one, its how I’d like to play.
The way I learned this was, think of the sixteenth note as leading in to the 2, but then instead of playing on the 2, I play it late by half a beat.
Works for me.
Then, in order to get my foot tapping on the 2 (instead of on the lead-in note, as it naturally wants to do), I actually play on the 2 in every second bar.