3 Melodies To Get Started With On Bass (+ Jaco’s BEST Melody Advice)
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►► FREE: Get the tabs, notation and practice tracks for all the melodies in this lesson → becomeabassist.com/how-to-pla...
When I was about 17, a friend of mine gave me a copy of the self-titled Jaco album. To be honest, at the time, I didn’t really understand the music - it was kind of beyond me.
But the bass playing? That *blew me away*!!!
The growl of his fretless, the chime of his harmonics, his sheer speed and chops on the instrument - I’d never heard anyone make those kinds of sounds on a bass before.
After hearing that first album, I went on a mission to find any and all Jaco recordings - his solo stuff, his big band stuff, the stuff where he was a sideman… I was voracious about tracking down everything Jaco.
It wasn’t long before I discovered that Jaco actually had an instructional tape where he actually sat down and went through how he does what he does, and being an industrious 17-year-old, it wasn’t long before I stumbled upon a copy of this tape.
It was low-res and had Japanese subtitles, but I didn’t care. I just wanted those Jaco pearls of wisdom.
I fired up the DVD player, put it in as I eagerly awaited to hear from the source. There was a bit of Jaco playing at the start, which was super cool, but I wanted to hear the man *teach*.
I thought I was so ready to hear everything he said, but one of the first things he says is this:
►► “The first thing was to learn the melody to every tune, which I feel like is ULTRA important”
It turns out, I wasn’t as eager to learn what Jaco had to say, because being the 17-year-old fool I was, I skipped right past that part looking for how to play all the harmonics, the licks, how to play fast…
This ‘ultra-important’ thing that a hero of mine was preaching went in one ear and out the other. I may not have been ready to actually learn what he was talking about.
It was about a full decade later - when I actually got serious about learning some melodies - that this sentence from Jaco made sense.
Jaco wasn’t this incredibly melodic bass player because he played bass lines all the time. He was melodic because he knew how to play melodies! It’s obvious in hindsight, but it took me a long time to figure out.
Learning melodies isn’t just for singers
The better you can play melodies, the better you are going to sound overall.
If you learn to play melodies really well, you’ll be able to create melodic bass lines that breathe and really contribute to the song.
You’ll be able to create and play melodic fills - after all, what is a fill if not a piece of melody in between chunks of bass line?
And of course if you want to take bass solos, learning melodies is practically essential, otherwise you won’t be able to pull yourself out of ‘bass line mode’ and actually be melodic.
If any of that sounds good to you, then be sure you don’t ignore the best Jaco advice around (like I did…) and start learning melodies.
You don’t have to start by learning super intense Jaco-level melodies though. In fact, in today’s video, we’re starting with a very simple, repetitive Beatles melody that I’m sure you’ve heard before.
In this lesson you’ll learn:
► 3 great melodies to get started with playing bass (that all teach you very different things)
► How John Lennon used repetition in his melodies - and how you can use it too
► All about the incredible ‘back-phrasing’ of Willie Nelson
► What ‘melodic sequencing’ is and how you can use it in your own melodies/fills/bass lines
If you want the tabs, notation, and practice tracks for all the melodies we go through in the video, they’re all available for free. Just head to this page:
becomeabassist.com/how-to-pla...
Fill out the form on that page and I’ll send it all to you 100% free.
You’ll notice that the common thread running through all the melodies in this lesson is that there is so much more than can be learned just by looking at the tabs or notation.
Melodies are kind of a different game where some of the rules we follow as bassists don’t always apply - and that can be great fun!
So one thing that’s going to help a ton as you go through these is to open your ears and listen as intently as you can to the melodies you’re trying to recreate. You might be surprised at how much music you hear.
Good luck with the lesson and happy playing!
Cheers,
Luke
[Chapters]
0:00 Intro
2:12 Melody #1
6:01 Melody #2
10:16 Melody #3
14:57 Melodic Sequencing
17:13 Get The Tabs/Tracks/Notation For Free
#melody #becomeabassist #jaco
Пікірлер: 69
What was the first melody you learned on bass?
@kresimirdobranic1682
2 жыл бұрын
Top Gun theme
@rke422
2 жыл бұрын
I had to keep my 4 y/o princess engaged while practicing, so I transcribed Twinkle Twinkle Little Star just by listening and looking at some sheet music on the Treble clef to confirm...at the time, it was a crowning achievement by me, I was so proud of myself lol...but I also though it would be cool to end a gig with someday...FWIW, the melody starts GG DD EE D; I start at the 10th fret of the A string, to the 12th of the D, to the 9th of the G, back to the 12th of the D...
@MrSubie2007
2 жыл бұрын
Autumn Leaves.
@Likeaforest
2 жыл бұрын
Its been a hard day and night from the Beatles
@vindieseldouble
2 жыл бұрын
Longview by Green Day was the first riff I mastered. It took me so many hours back then. Still a catchy little tune.
Another great lesson Luke. Playing the melody is something I've never considered. Three great examples to practice with.
Awesome video! Been ear training while using melodies, would love more videos on both! Keep up the great work!
Really freaky seeing this uploaded just now considering how I just started doing this last night to improve on making my basslines more melodic. A great tip I have is to sing the melodies as you play them!
Luke, there are some really great bass channels on YT. I wont name them. But, for me, yours is the most practical and user friendly. Thank you for the hard work! And i love that Spector bass. Im looking to get a Warwick Streamer Rockbass, and the shape is a lot like your bass. I think there was a court case between Warwick and Spector long ago. Cheers from South Africa. Keep well.
Awesome lesson. Thanks for sharing! Will definitely put this into my practice routine.
Good lesson Luke. Important concept that most Bass players ignore. Thank you for how you applied it within the lesson.
Great lesson! Learning the song melodies also forces one to explore the higher frets/registers and get away from the $ frets.
Grate lesson. I do this during practice from time to time.
Really sweet lesson Ty
So good to see you again
Another great vid, this is just the kind of thing I need right now. Thanks!
Hey Luke. Great video. I think that was one of the most useful so far! (And that's a tall order!) Thanks again:)
Great lesson, congratulations!
The final advice is pure gold
Great video 👍. This is something I will definitely start doing!
Great lesson! THANKS!
Greatly appreciated my friend thank you
inspiring, thank you very much
Thanks great lesson
sounds real good Luke
Very good Luke. Thank you 😁
Thank you for your useful lesson! I am rehearsing with a pianist that is way over my level and he keeps on suggesting exactly what you are talking about to enhance my solos.
@BecomeABassist
2 жыл бұрын
Sounds like your pianist friend knows what he's talking about! Haha! Learning melodies is *great* for improving your solos.
Very Helpful ☺️👍
Thank you
thank you the willie nelson song is mad fun to play
Hi Luke! Really enjoying the channel! :) Has anyone asked you about your Spector? Did you strip the finish? I've never seen that color before. I bought a black Euro 4LX last year, wonderful bass! What strings are you using? Cheers from across the pond-Brent
What bass are you playing?
Off topic, but just curious what brand and gauge of strings you use? Love that bass! :)
@rke422
2 жыл бұрын
I keep checking it out, too...it's a beautiful bass, & it looks so much like my Warwick Streamer, you could swap out the headstocks & I think it would be identical! I looked closely once, it's either a Schecter or a Spector...I get the 2 confused lol...
Salut Jolie cour de Bass ,mais bloqué pour télécharger, pourquoi ?
💥
Can I ask you a question, have you ever / will you ever play in a band, I would LOVE to watch you play music live!!!
@JonathanBrough-wg7ji
2 жыл бұрын
Check out: Luke McIntosh and the Flexi-sextet (8years ago). There must be more as Luke plays and tours too. Well, thats what i read in one of his emails.
@BecomeABassist
2 жыл бұрын
Absolutely @pickbassguitar - even though I run this KZread channel, I'm still a 100% gigging bass player. I have gigs every week (Covid lockdowns notwithstanding) so if you're ever in Queensland, let me know and I'll tell you when I have some gigs!
@pickbassguitar2802
2 жыл бұрын
@@BecomeABassist No doubt, One of my biggest goals would be see you play live!!!! It would be amazing seeing you play, it's like the person who taught me so much about bass, watching them play live :O, it'd be awesome, and I PRAY I do someday
I was about to fast forward this video, and something said, "STOP" 😂
Are you speaking of Jaco pastorious???? And if so this is a bit advanced for me
@BecomeABassist
2 жыл бұрын
Keep watching - I guarantee this isn't too advanced for you.
I got a Host Error w the link...
Hello man can u make some bass line with memes?
@BecomeABassist
2 жыл бұрын
I'm not sure what you mean @Daniel Finuliar - could you explain for me?
@danielfinuliar6965
2 жыл бұрын
@@BecomeABassist im sorry i mean can u make some tutorial to memes bass line ?
Dean ambrose
Your Bass seems out of tune. 🎶 🙊
Talk less please
@BecomeABassist
2 жыл бұрын
No thank you.
Did you say "solo"? Like a Bass solo? Do you know who likes Bass solos? Ummmmmm...nobody.
@BecomeABassist
2 жыл бұрын
Sounds like *you* might not like bass solos @terry witzu, which is fine - they're not everyone's cup of tea. But they are *somebody's* cup of tea.
@pickbassguitar2802
2 жыл бұрын
@@BecomeABassist It's my cup of tea... :>
@vindieseldouble
2 жыл бұрын
I'm not sure when you started speaking for me, but I don't remember giving you that authority. I love bass solos and always have. You can't be much of a musician if you don't respect a bass solo.
@pickbassguitar2802
2 жыл бұрын
@@vindieseldouble Me?
@vindieseldouble
2 жыл бұрын
@@pickbassguitar2802 No sir. I agree with you.