LearnBass.net

Here is an archived post of all my lessons so far. I’ll keep on adding to this as time goes on. Hopefully, it’ll become a great resource for budding bass players, along with my lesson tree, that can be found here

Not all lessons are hosted on my youtube channel which is available here. I also have a lot of videos at my My space page that aren’t at youtube.

Hand and tendon exercises.

A few stretches and words of advice concerning not getting Carpel tunnel syndrome and R.S.I. Try and do these exercises before you start playing your bass, and especially if you know you’ll be playing for a long time (maybe for a gig). This is an early video, and I talk quite a bit before we start. Apologies.

How to increase finger strength for Bass

My personal review of these great little tools, that will help you maintain finger strength.

Beginners Bass lesson part one

For the guys and gals that are starting from the beginning of their bass journey. What the different parts of the bass are, walking finger technique, and a simple riff for you to be getting on with.

Beginners Bass lesson part two

The second part For the guys and gals that are starting from the start. What the different parts of the bass are, walking finger technique, and a For the guys and gals that are starting from the start. What the different parts of the bass are, walking finger technique, and a simple riff.

Beginners bass lesson part three (evolution-premium)

The Evolution of our Beginners youtube riff! In this lesson we will add fills to our riff and some other cool ideas. In this lesson we briefly cover:

Hammer-ons.
Slides.
Economy of motion/finger placement.
String bends.
Slapping and popping the riff.

We also cover alternative notes to play around the board.

Back to Basics

Just a vid explaining terms of techniques on the bass guitar. What is tapping? What is slapping and popping? What is a hammer-on? What is a walking blues bass-line? I cover it all here!

How to learn the notes on the Bass fretboard

I can’t emphasize how important it is that you learn these notes, and where they are off by heart! It’s one of the fundamental and first things you should learn as a bass player. Don’t feel like this task is too daunting. It’s more simple than it looks. There are only twelve notes to remember on each individual string, and our language is made up of a LOT more letters than that…

The Major scale

What are root fifths and octaves? How do I play the scale? What does it mean? What are intervals? Need it all explained? Then watch on….

Ok, at this point you will have learnt the major scale, how to play a simple riff, learnt where a few notes are on the fretboard, learnt the history of the bass guitar, terms of techniques, as well as some great strengthening tips! Let’s carry on shall we? Now we’re going to get onto learning some famous songs. These are nice and simple, but will help you build up your strength and timing…

Learn simple Bass riffs: Seven nation army

The White stripes, seven nation army. Although he doesn’t use a Bass on the recording of this song, his effect is so low, it may as well be! No playalong, because it’s a simple tune to learn.

Learn simple Bass riffs Ben.E.King: Stand by me

Learn Ben E King’s Stand by me Bass line, here. This is a nice and simple line that all beginners should have fun with. Good luck!

Learn simple Bass riffs Radiohead: Creep

A nice simple riff for you beginners to get started with. As I say in the video, try and mix it up a bit with the stuff I taught you in “Beginners Evolved” premium lesson, if you have it…

Learn simple Bass riffs Sly and the Family Stone: If you want me to stay

So…the Chilli’s version of this Sly and the Family Stone CLASSIC.

Ok, so now you’ve learnt a few cool songs to help your playing along! I hope you enjoyed them. We’ll get onto learning some more songs in the near future. At this point you may have a few questions that will need answering. Below are some answers to questions that maybe troubling ‘ye.

How much should I be practicing?

What Bass should I buy as a beginner?

Hey! I have a blister!

Should I be using a pick or not?

How do I read Bass tabs?

I hope the above answers helped you out. If not, you can always ask me or my bass community any questions right HERE

Also, you can contact me through my Twitter which is right here.

Now, let’s get on with a few more interesting songs. These are a little harder, and should keep you nice and concentrated.

Learn simple Bass riffs: The Beatles: Come together.

Ok, here is a tune by one of my all time favourite bands. The Beatles changed the way music was perceived and played, and inspired pretty much all the great music we listen to today. Ask any of your heroes for proof! If you dig into their music really deep, and get away from all the lovey (although that is still brilliant) stuff, there is some amazing music there. Especially if you dig really deep into the theoretical stuff that “shouldn’t” technically work. But it does…

Learn simple Bass riffs: The Breeders: Cannonball.

Nice and simple but effective live from the Bass player from the Pixies.

Learn simple Bass lines: The Police: Roxanne.

Great song from a band with a great bass player.

Learn simple Bass riffs: Red Hot Chili peppers: Under the bridge.

Ooo! I love this line! I used to have a “Blood sugar sex magik” tab book, and this was the first bass line I learnt from it. It took me ages! But the feeling of accomplishment was immense. I played that chorus riff over and over and over in the summer of ‘93.

Enjoy.

A few open E’s before each chorus. Simple stuff.

Learn simple Bass riffs: Red hot chili peppers: Under the bridge (Part two)

Part two of the above, Mofo’s!

Learn simple Bass riffs: Wild cherry; Play that funky music.

Really addictive bass line to play, once you get it down.

Learn simple Bass riffs: Bucket full of simple riffs.

Welcome to my “Bucket full of simple Bass Riff’s” Series!

In this series we cover lines and riffs that are simple but effective, just like the Beginners bass line I taught some time ago. Now, these lessons have evolved. The videos in this series come in a .zip format…

In the .zip archive you will find the lesson itself (normally around 20 minutes), the drum beat to play along to (as an .mp3 format), and another video which is me playing guitar, that you can jam along with on your bass!

This makes things as interactive as possible for you guys, so that you can really work your timing and dexterity.

Here is a link to the purchase page, and an example of the simple riff that we go through. I hope you enjoy it:

So now you have a few more tunes in your repertoire! I hope you are enjoying them. Now you just need a guitarist and a drummer who also know the songs…But before you do, let’s focus on some of the more important aspects of the bass guitar.

Tips on timing 5/4 (Introduction)

Tips on timing 3/4

Further tips on timing

Role of the Bass player

General Bass playing tips

So now you have some ideas on how to keep better time! Let’s have a look at some more techniques!

An introduction to Bass chords (Orion)

Here, you will learn how to play Metallica’s “Orion.” (the middle part). This is a good introduction to the chords I will teach you in the future

Cool chords #1

Here you will learn the shape of five chords to experiment with, and start to write music with. I also cover different ways
of playing these chords. I dont teach the “names” of the chords, just the shapes. I name them “Primusy one” etc. At the end, we string these chords together to write a nice tune! This lesson is best for intermediate students, but will be O.K for beginners with good hand strength to sustain chords. It’s best if you do the “Basic chords” free lesson before you purchase this one…

MASSIVE tips on how I compose music, here!

Slap and pop lesson one

Here we have the first in my slap and pop series. I explain what slap and pop is, where to slap and pop and how to slap and pop as well as add mutes (or ghost notes). We also go through a basic riff!

Slap and pop Lesson two

The second lesson.

Slap and pop lesson three

In the third lesson, we go through the Chili peppers’ “Higher ground”. Well, their version of the Stevie Wonder classic, anyway.

Red hot slap and pop!

In this lesson, we cover some methods that will get you slapping and popping like the pro’s! We discuss right hand muting methods as well as left hand hammer-on stuff. We also cover the technique and method that “Flea” uses in his slap and pop playing. We break down the slap part of “Black eyed blonde”, and my song “Day of the goat.” Both these slap parts can teach good technique when slowed down and broken apart. I also tell you about tried and tested methods that will help your long term slapping and popping!

Ideas on Slap precision

Slap Dynamics

When I slap and pop, where does my thumb land?

Do a search on this blog for “Slap precision” to access loads of exercises I am uploading!

At this point, you may want to think about learning songs by yourself via tabs. There are loads of sites around the net that have tabs, but in my experience, a lot of them are wrong (in most cases, people submit their own tabs). I think it a better idea to get it straight from the horses mouth. Check out these official tab books:

Cool tab books of note

What does “playing in the pocket” mean?

You may have heard of this term. Click to see my explanation of it.

Introduction to bass tapping

Another new technique for you to get your fingers round! “Tapping”, a technique made famous by Eddie van Halen on guitar, is now being used more and more on the bass guitar. Here is my introduction to the technique.

Below, we have a bunch of my personal funk lines for you guys to learn! I play the riff, show YOU how to play the riff, and then there is a drum track for you guys to play along with. All for free. Bargain. Some are finger played, and some are slap and pop, so make sure you have a little experience before you start these.

One of my own funk lines to learn #1

One of my own funk lines to learn #2

One of my own funk lines to learn #3

One of my own funk lines to learn #4

One of my own funk lines to learn #5

One of my own funk lines to learn #7

One of my own funk lines to learn #8

And some more…

Are you stuck in a bass playing rut?

Learn to play by ear (great post from my forums)

Great little unit I use for effects

So hopefully, at this point you’ll have a good understanding of the bass guitar, be able to play a few songs, have good hand strength, know quite a few techniques, and have a good basic understanding of theory, know a few chords as well as loads of other important bass related stuff.

Feeling confident?

Then try and create some of your own bass lines to these guitar and drum lines I created. There have already been some great replies to this, and i’m always interested in seeing what everyone else has been creating! Here’s the blurb:

Now, there’s a few ways we can do this. One would be for me to tell you what notes im playing, and then you can play along… But. Where is the fun in that? I figure that it would be more of a challenge for me to tell you the opening note, only. I’ll tell you why: When you’re jamming with other musicians, it isn’t always suitable to ask for notes/chords, etc. When the drummer and guitarist are already jamming on a good riff, it isn’t really cool to stop them and ask what the guitarist is playing, so you can figure out what to play. And this is where playing by ear/sight comes into play. You can see what fret the guitarist is playing off. Thats the first. If that fails, do it by ear. Listen. Work from feel… It will be hard at first, but don’t give up! Learning to train your ear, is a valuable tool in the playing and writing of music. Now, once these riffs are up and at it, i’d like to see responses to my guitar/drum track. I’d like to see people get involved. It doesn’t matter what standard you are at, everyone is welcome to join in. We are all at different stages of the same journey, and the experienced players also had to start out, and work hard to get good. If you’re shy, there is no need to show your face. Turn comments and ratings off if you don’t care what the youtube public have to say (they can be cruel). We can discuss progress/riffs of each individual player, here at my forums. This way we can give positive criticism, without malice. The aim of this project is for people to build confidence. Not have it destroyed...

Jam with D’man (rocky)

Jam with D’man (Funky)

Jam with D’man (Chilled)

Jam with D’man (Indie)

Jam with D’man (grunge)

And lastly, if you’re interested in my Bass-only compositions, then click here:

Dmanlamius’s Bass only tunes

I hope this list has helped you in becoming a better bass player! Be sure to bookmark it, and subscribe to my RSS feed, right here. This way, you’ll be informed of any other lessons I will be posting in this page.

Main site: Dmanlamius.com

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Youtube channel: Dmanlamius76

Twitter: Dmanlamius

Myspace: Mrlamius

Squidoo: Freebasslessons

The Beat box: Here at main site

My music Recommendations

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