This week I’m going to show you a really popular melodic bass lick used in loads of different songs. This line can be played over a major or minor chord so is a very useful run to know.
The Must-Know Melodic Bass Lick
Today we are going to be learning a popular melodic fill used by loads of successful players including John Deacon and Pino Palladino. The defining characteristic of this lick is the inclusion of the 9th and by the end of this lesson you should feel pretty comfortable with including this chord tone in your playing.
Let’s get straight to it…
You will notice that we begin with the two most stable tones in a chord – the root and fifth. This gives us a strong foundation to start with before we head to the 9th. The 9th doesn’t actually occur naturally in a major or a minor triad, but as we are only touching on it quickly, this doesn’t matter.
There is no third in this riff, which means we don’t have enough information to work out if it is major or minor. However, as there is no indication of a specific tonality, we can play it over pretty much any chord.
Let’s try the lick over the following chord progression:
Dm7 | G7 | C Maj7
We can make the lick a little more interesting by simply returning to the root via the 5th for the last beat of each bar. This reinforces the sound of the chord by returning to the root.
To add more variation to this lick, we can add in the 3rd on the last beat of each bar. We will play this note an octave up as this stretches the chord out to make it sound bigger.
Now you have heard the basic form of the riff and you can extend it to include other notes such as the 3rd, try coming up with your own variations. Start by playing the basic form around a chord progression and slowly incorporate different variations as you hear them.
Where can I find the backing track for this?
Or the BPM on it?
It’s back to the basics which I’m finding I need to do to open my mind up…
I’ve played tuba for over 40 years. Only two weeks ago I picked up a bass guitar. I’m understanding this so much better than I thought I would. Slowly toughening up the pads on my figures, and becoming more comfortable holding this bass. So far these lessons have been great and seemingly geared for me!!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR GIFTS!!!!
I could use about a thousand videos just like this. My toolbox is shockingly empty, and licks like this are a fantastic start on filling it up with patterns I can use. Well done mate!
Would be really nice if I can get the backing track for this, anyone know where I can find it??!
Hey Mark , awesome as always, but as a quick note , neither my wife or I heard the difference from the progression to the 16th bom bom wammmmm bom vs bom bom bom bom. got to train my ear better I guess . Just to let you know just starting my second week on the bass and friends are already surprised at what I have learned and this is all to your credit , thanks man.
Great lesson. I use the 9th and 10th, and their octaves, to lead the band to other chords coming up in a song.
Brilliant lessons. I,ve learnt more since watching these video,s than any others . Clear, Precise and easy to understand.
Thank you so much for giving of your time and talent. I’e learned so much from these lessons.
Thanks Mark, these lessons are very much appreciated.
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Where can I find the backing track?
Is the backing track available? Nice item to play with, thanks!
Representing Uganda thx mn
I hv learnt alot
Mark is real talent teacher. Thank you
Can I download the backing track to practice in my own time?