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Hey, how are you doing? Scott here from Scott's bass lessons, again, hope
you're well. If you haven't checked out Scott's bass lessons before, make
sure you do so straight after this lesson. Because there is tons and tons
of videos just like this one all for free, so check them out.
In this lesson, I'm going to follow on from last week's lesson, and in last
week's lesson we were discussing the different fingerings of the major
scale, and we are also discussing how to get them into your playing, how to
make practicing scales musical, which is the most important thing. You can
learn scales all day but without making them musical and learning how to
put that into your practice time, you're never going to be able to remember
them or use them properly within you're playing. So I'm going to take the C-
major scale, if you haven't seen the tutorial I'm talking about, by the
way, there will be a link to it on this video somewhere, so click it and
you'll go straight there.
So we looked at the C-major scale. That was the second finger position, the
first finger position was... there, and the little finger position... was
there. And basically we went through, back and forward looking at the
different positions, talking about how it's really important to be able to
visualise these patterns on your bass, and then you'll be able to move
freely between each of the positions and you're aiming to have a mapped out
visualisation of the fingerboard when you're playing it. That's the aim,
okay? You're aiming to map it out, so you can just look down and you can
see all of the notes that are within any chord. We were talking about C-
major, so that would be all these notes. And using just the different
positions of the major scale and learning the different fingerings to be
able to do what I've just done there.
Now in this lesson, we're going to do it in the key of B-flat, I thought
we'd change it up a bit, make sure you're learning your positions for
different major scales, not just one, which was in the key of C. So B-flat
major were going to be doing, and again as always, the backing track if
you're watching this on YouTube, click the link below and it will take you
straight to the page where you'll see this video lesson and you can
download the backing track straight into the video. It will say something
like 'Download backing track'. or something along those lines anyway. Yeah.
So what this lesson is about is getting patterns into your playing, and I'm
not talking about licks. Licks and patterns get confused regularly.
A pattern is something like it could be a pattern in thirds, and that's
what we're going to be looking at this week. We're going to be looking at
three different patterns. A pattern in thirds is something like... da, di,
da, da, da, da, da. I'm sure you can sing it, give it a go, ba, di da, da,
da, da, da.
Now it's really important that we have these patterns in our playing,
because without them, all melodies, basically, are constructed of
intervals, and it just so happens that these were intervals of thirds.
So when I am improvising a solo, or a melody, I'm using these kinds of
patterns within my improvisation to give it some sort of, to give the
phrasing some sort of a continuity, so every phrase joins to the next
phrase, that kind of thing. For instance, if we were just zooming up and
down the scale all day... Gets a bit boring. Too linear. What intervals do,
when we're using them, like thirds, they give it a bit more depth. So for
instance, I could play a linear line... And then some thirds... Just gives
it a bit more body, yeah? Again I'll play another linear line... There,
putting more thirds in. So this is first pattern that I'm going to show
you, and then were going to try and fit it in with our soloing. So the
first pattern in the B-flat major, second finger position... That one. Is B-
flat, D, C, E-flat, D, F, and think about them in groups of two notes, so you're going, D F, E-flat G, F A, G B-flat,
A C, and B-flat. So played like that it would be...
Can you see? And when you're playing this, make sure that you're looking at
the major scale, you're seeing this pattern within the major scale. Now
without any gaps. Back down.
Now it sounds a bit like an exercise played like that. But let's listen to
the backing track and see how I fit it in with the actual solo. Okay,
linear. Linear. Linear. Thirds. Linear. Thirds. Arpeggio. Thirds. Linear.
Thirds. Linear. Arpeggio again. Thirds. See how I'm fitting in? I'm using
it to link up the linear lines. I'll playing a linear line, then I'll play
the third pattern a linear line, third pattern. And again, once more.
Thirds. Linear. Thirds. Linear. Thirds. Hah. It's hard to say it and play
it. Thirds.
Now, let's look at the second pattern. The second pattern is up three of
the major scale, and then back to the start,. Up the next note, then the
next note. So you've got B-flat, C, D, B-flat. Think about this in one two
three four, in groups of four, one two three four. And then the next one C,
D, E-flat, C. The next one D, E-flat, F, D. The next one E-flat, F, G, E-
flat. And obviously that carries on.
Now again, I'll play linear lines and then I'll start dropping on that
pattern. Now I'm not always starting on the B-flat, I could be... Hear how
I fit it in there? Let's try that.
Linear. Pattern. Linear. Pattern. Linear. Pattern. Pattern. Linear.
Pattern. Linear. Linear. Pattern. Linear. Pattern. Linear. Pattern. Linear.
Yeah?
Now the next pattern, and final pattern we're going to learn is a, sax
player's. Sax players love this pattern. I'll play it for you fast, and
then we'll slow it down... and again. Slowly, B-flat, D, B-flat, one two
three. Think about it in groups of three. Next one, D, E-flat, D. Next one
D, F, D, next one E-flat, G, E-flat. So all these patterns I've been
showing you are based around thirds. F, A, F, G, B-flat G, A, C, A, B-flat,
and again.
So with these patterns, I can either start a line off with them, a phrase,
I can start it off with the pattern, or I could finish it off with the
pattern. Or I could have it within the middle of the, of the phrase. Does
that make sense?
So what I'll do here, I'll explain. I'm going to start it off with a
pattern, and then I'll go into a linear type line, okay? So I'll start off
with a pattern then into a linear type line. Two, three, four. Again. Now
I'll start off with a linear line and then I'll drop onto the pattern, and
then I'll finish off with a linear line again, okay? Two, three, four.
So that was kind of sandwiched between two linear lines, a linear line, the
pattern and then the linear line. Now I'll just play linear line and have
the pattern on the end, okay. Two, three, four. Now let's hear it with the
backing track.
That was all that pattern.
So hopefully you can see there how, I'm, sorry, how I'm weaving in and out.
And obviously the end goal is being able to use all of these patterns
together, which is what I'm going to demonstrate now. I'm going to use
the... first pattern, then the second pattern... and then the final
pattern, all within the improvisation. Let's take a look at that.
Hopefully you've enjoyed this lesson, and if you haven't been to Scott's
bass lessons before, get straight over there, now, check it out, download
this backing track that's free with this lesson, straight from the link
below this video, and other than that, take it easy. Get in the shed, and
make sure you click like, in a bit.