Bassic Basslines

An educational book designed to give students a understanding of basic music theory and bass guitar technique necessary to improvise bass guitar lines in a variety of musical situations. Includes 63 tracks of audio (minus bass) for students to play along. Music examples are written in both standard notation and bass guitar tablature.

This book is designed to teach the beginning bass player how to build and play functional basslines in a variety of musical situations. The first chapters provide the student with a functional understanding of basic music theory concepts. Later chapters apply this understanding to playing standard chord progressions common to all styles of music, from Blues and Rock and Roll to Latin and Pop music. The student will learn three different chord progressions used in many songs, and how to construct a bassline in several styles for each progression. We will also explore the four most commonly used time-feels, or grooves, that all bassists need to know. The play-along tracks recorded for this book have the example basslines played on the first repetition of the progression for the student to hear. The bass then drops out for the student to play the example themselves on the following repetitions. Each progression repeats a minimum of four times to give the student time to get comfortable with the material.

Author of Music Theory Dominatrix Column for Bass Guitar Magazine, contributor to Bass Player Magazine. Also a former instructor at Los Angeles Music Academy, University of Southern California, and numerous clinics and private lessons across America. Visit lynnedavis.com for more information.