From the London Bass show, 2012…

Great day out! Here’s the video, Fat stringers!

Not Just another Bass tuition Book!

(Click image to purchase-temporary introduction Price!)

Book one

These series of short books aren’t similar to most other Bass tuition books.  They are a small archive of the things and ideas that have helped me become the Bass player I am today.  A little insight into my way of doing things, if you will.

All those people that have asked me how I use the techniques used in my solo bass guitar songs have the information right here. The questions are answered.

Why “Not just another Bass guitar book”?  Well, there are plenty of books out there that teach you how to play music, and a Bass, theoretically.  Although these books are important (and I’d still recommend them!) they are quite lifeless, and seem to lack practical ideas. A lot are just repeated content from another book that was written the year before. Copy and paste tuition.  This is more a book of practical ideas, and therefore not just another Bass guitar book.

So, You might call it a book of notes and ideas.  Hopefully, something positive for everyone of all standards.

The book is aimed at intermediate players, but there is a lot of stuff for beginners in there as well. I didn’t want to just make it at one level, so i’ve tried to mix it up a bit, so everyone can benefit. This is certainly the case with the 61 free bass riffs.

What you are getting with the first book:

61 original Bass riffs to learn. all created by me, in all manners of genres and difficulty levels.  Punked, funked, slapped, tapped, strummed and more!  There are loads of riffs to play with for beginners and upwards!

An extra folder full of beats for you to practice with, in all different BPM’s and time signatures.

An e-book, with original and practical lessons, and video examples. The first book chapters chapters include:

Introduction.

On Technique.

Role of the Bass.

Bad habits you’d do well to avoid.

Playing with three fingers.

Jedi Bass tricks.

Downstrokin’ and upstrokin’.

Finger picking.

Composing simple Basslines.

Some timing and rhythm exercises.

The text files will be as PDF’s. Most modern computers will have a PDF reader. If not, there are plenty on google to choose from.

To view the videos, I’d recommend a free bit of software called VLC. Movie files are mixed between .MOV’s, and .M4V’s. I’m not sure if standard players will play both types of files, but if they don’t, get yourself a copy of VLC:

http://www.videolan.org/

*The files themselves come as four .ZIP files.  I had to do this, because the file was WAY too big by itself.  So, I had to split them, just so it’s easier for you guys to download.

If you have any questions about the book.  Any questions at all, please ask them in the special category I set up in my forums.  If we keep all the questions in one place, other people can benefit from them.  Click HERE to be taken to the forum category (You’ll need to join)

 Here are some quotes from people on my forums who have purchased the book:

So, my youtube channel just hit twenty thousand subscribers. Wow! That’s a lot, and I never imagined I’d reach that…

Anyhow, I’d like to say thankyou to every one of you for your support. And looking at the comments on this video, I am proud that I have given so many of you something positive. Really proud!

Here’s to twenty thousand more…Enjoy!

And here is part two. That bothersome Bass solo!

The Penthouse project.

A UNIQUE learning opportunity.

My new bands’ songs, broken apart for you to learn composition, writing and musicianship skills.

Learn unique and original riffs from myself, and more importantly, why I write those specific riffs to the music being played.  In some instances I write the main part to the song, and sometimes it comes from jamming.  This will all be explained in the videos!

So, how does it work?

Well, Penthouse is a band that covers many styles and genres of music. So the lessons featured here should interest a wide variety of musicians. Typically, each “Piece of music” is around ten minutes long, with lots of interesting changes. Each piece describes a situation from my cartoon towers block, ‘The Towers’.

We will go through the songs, part by part, and I will teach you what I am playing for that part.  Whilst I’m teaching you, I’m explaining WHY I am playing those parts.

All in all, I’m hoping that this will be a really educational experience for my online (and off!) students. I have been writing music and Bass lines since 1993, and have lots of experience I can share.

Why am I doing this?

Well, I’ve been teaching Bass guitar online for a few years now. Although thousands and thousands of people have benefit from these lessons, I wanted to start teaching something with a more practical matter concerning being in a band, and writing lines.

What shall I play here? Why would I play it? How shall I play it? All these questions will hopefully be answered when I break apart these Bass lines.  I’ll also be covering issues like overplaying, specific techniques for specific genres as well.

Ok, here is the first song you will be learning:

And here is the video how to play it:

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Had a great day up at the show. Played on some awesome basses, and through some awesome gear.

Got to hang out with some nice people, and be in an enviroment that was pretty much close to heaven for me!

Mmm….Bass….

I could go on about what happened that day, but that would ruin the video. So, check out the vid as it’s a pretty good summary of the event!

The discussion on this post on theory has inspired me to write this.

Recently, I seem to be getting a lot of people that ask if they are physically suited to play Bass guitar. It’s normally concerning the hands, and the size of hands. A lot of female students are concerned about strength, and I also have a couple of guys in wheelchairs that have been asking questions…

Firstly, I’d say that the strength to be able to sustain your playing tends to come with practice. It’s as simple as that. Practice as much as you can, but never ignore any pains. That’s natures way of telling you to slow down. But if you’re feeling good, then just practice as much as possible. Strength will come. There are plenty of great Female bass players out there, who have the same ability as their male counterparts.

The short hand thing has never been a problem to the people I know that have short hands, and have stuck with their practice, and are good bass players. I don’t believe that this is a problem at all. It might be a case that you have to adjust your strap, or technique slightly if you don’t feel comfortable. But don’t let something like this become a psychological burdern. This brings me what I replied in the previously mentioned post:

Do you know that Bruce Lee’s early Kung Fu teachers told him not to study, as he’d not be able to progress very far due to his physical failings?

Beware, the people that tell you that you can’t. Sometimes, a slight change in technique that has never been used before can open up a whole new world of inspiration. Ask Larry Graham.