Free Online Bass Lesson Video Minor Pentatonic Scale Fills

[alkleiza1995]

I'm a guitar player and I want to start playing bass soon. Have you got any tips on how to improve my playing faster and how to practise on getting the notes sound clean and 'perfect' like you play them?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for your info. I also came from guitar to bass and found that, ideally, the technique (also the mindset) is different for both instruments.

My step-by-step online bass course will show you how to apply a suitable technique for bass.

One tip: play right behind the fret wire.

Bass of Luck!

George

[alkleiza1995]

@BassLessonsOnline thanks a lot! as soon as I have my bass I'll start following your lessons. Thank you!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for your post ... and Bass of Luck!

George

[funkrun1]

is there a particular rule to make a riff i mean

[BassLessonsOnline]

There is no particular rule to make a riff. There are numerous guidelines that may help get there faster.

My subscription-based course of step-by-step lessons deals with all of this in manageable portions.

George

[funkrun1]

hi again !! this video is to improvise bass fills ; and how to make a riff....can use notes from the pentatonic scale that you are using or notes from the dominant 7 chord or notes from it's minor scale ?? .....i'm also ixperimenti using the 4 inversion of a major pentatonic scale that is always minor pentatonic...so you can use notes from it's minor and major scale ,don't you ?

[BassLessonsOnline]

You can use any notes that are suitable. This lesson deals with the Minor Pentatonic Scale, which is, as you noted, an inversion (or mode) of the Major Pentatonic Scale.

George

[300ways]

Thx I can use any help I can get to improve. -_-

[BassLessonsOnline]

You're welcome - Bass of Luck!

George

[luke7412]

awsome

[BassLessonsOnline]

Excellent ... and thanks for creating your playlist :)

George

[TheRyry97]

Nice, I like your style of teaching, and I love your videos. Thanks alot.

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thank you very much for showing your appreciation.

George

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks. In addition to rhythm and feel, the minor pentatonic scale is the most used scale in funk.

George

[AluminumScoopShovel]

Sorry.... drunk

[AluminumScoopShovel]

Money Money Money..... MONEY!!!!!

Some people got to have it

Hey, Hey, Hey - some people really need it

Hey, listen to me, y'all do thangs, do thangs, do thangs - bad thangs with it

Well, you wanna do thangs, do thangs, do thangs - good thangs with it - yeah

Un Huh, talkin' bout cash money, money

[AluminumScoopShovel]

Money Money Money..... MONEY!!!!!

Some people got to have it

Hey, Hey, Hey - some people really need it

Hey, listen to me, y'all do thangs, do thangs, do thangs - bad thangs with it

Well, you wanna do thangs, do thangs, do thangs - good thangs with it - yeah

Un Huh, talkin' bout cash money, money

[SJSam41]

I play mostly church worship songs for the bass. Let's say if there's a chord progression that goes such as Em, C, G, D. How could I improvise on that? I'm tired of just playing single notes according to my sheet music and would like to add an extra taste to my bass playing.

[BassLessonsOnline]

Those chords belong to the key of E minor and/or G major. You could therefore (very simply) use the E minor pentatonic or the G major pentatonic scale over all those chords.

Bass of Luck!

George

[skaterdouche4]

@BassLessonsOnline i have a couple questions? how can you apply a chord like a D7? or Dm7? and what you did on the fill is you played the same notes within the d minor pentatonic just the notes were in different places?

[BassLessonsOnline]

The D minor pentatonic scale (D F G A C) contains the 1 5 and b7 of the D7 chord. In addition, the scale contains the #9, which is a common extension of the V7 chord.

The scale contains all notes of the Dm7 chord.

The 5 notes of the minor pentatonic scale can be played anywhere on the bass (which is what I did).

I hope this helps.

George

[funkrun1]

@BassLessonsOnline hi this video is very helpfully thanks for posting...i have a question ....wich chord progression can one use to this bassloop ...playing some piano chords to this bassline i mean ,thanks in advance

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks for your thanks.

You can use a static chord, such as D7 or Dm7. There are many possible chord progressions - try Dm C Bm Am

Happy experimenting!

George

[Jejeco]

not useful

[BassLessonsOnline]

Fair enough.

George

[AluminumScoopShovel]

@Jejeco Money Money Money..... MONEY!!!!!

Some people got to have it

Hey, Hey, Hey - some people really need it

Hey, listen to me, y'all do thangs, do thangs, do thangs - bad thangs with it

Well, you wanna do thangs, do thangs, do thangs - good thangs with it - yeah

Un Huh, talkin' bout cash money, money

[jonespopibass]

what are the note you are playing

[BassLessonsOnline]

I mention all the notes in the video. If there is a particular segment in the video you cannot work out, please post another message with the time that segment begins and I will help.

Kind regards,

George

[striver415]

@BassLessonsOnline

At 1:03-1:07, what are the notes for the riff?

I don't get the two following notes right after playing "C" twice on G-string.

Thanks

[BassLessonsOnline]

The riff notes are D, then its octave twice, then the two C's. Before re-starting the riff on the low D I play a muted open A as a ghost note (if that's what you mean).

George

[sekiryu]

Correct me if I'm wrong: the fill should be from a scale in the key of the song and not from a scale of the note (other than the key note) I play in the riff? E.g. if a song is in the key of G, and I want to play a fill after playing the note B in the riff, then the fill should come from a scale in G and not a scale in B?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Your assumption will be correct only some of the time.

You should look at the "chord scale", i.e. the scale that best suits the chord you are playing over.

George

[sekiryu]

@BassLessonsOnline So I should look at the scale that the original song comes from and take the fill from that?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Not necessarily. This will only work if there are no key changes. As mentioned before, you would ideally find the most suitable chord scale (the scale that best suits the chord you are playing over).

I give tips in this video about which chords the Minor Pentatonic scale best suits. If you have not already done so, take another look and listen.

George

[sekiryu]

@BassLessonsOnline The video only mentions D chords for the D Minor Pentatonic Scale, which is why I assumed that the scale must come from the same key as the song. I really only play church music which doesn't usually have key changes anyway.

[BassLessonsOnline]

At 2:06 I mention Dm7 and D7 chords. Both chords could belong to several keys, Dm7, for example, to the key of C or F, and D7 to the key of G or D (as in Blues or Funk).

George

[deofrancis]

Thank you master!!!.

[BassLessonsOnline]

You're most welcome. Thanks for posting.

George

[SirNorwayDaniel]

I remember when I was in a christian club, when In got confirmaded, where they signed me up for christian rock and I used fills. How angry they got! xD

[BassLessonsOnline]

As I mention in this video, there is nothing wrong with well-placed and well-timed fills if we don't "step on someone's toes". If we do (step on toes) it hurts )-:

George

[SirNorwayDaniel]

@BassLessonsOnline Yea, and I respect that other people might not like it, but its just as annoying as a guitar stealing all the light with he's solos

[NButters]

sounds good, a little to advanced for me tough! Ha

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for checking this out. It does not take much to learn the minor pentatonic scale in all keys. And once that is done it is easy to apply.

Bass of Luck!

George

[19abaddon88]

thanks for the lesson sir!

[oldskoolskater3]

what strings are you using? You got a fat super fat tone

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thomastik Jazz Flatwounds

They are very flexible and easy to play.

George

[ThisAintUseful]

seriously, how can you pretend giving lessons if you cant even play properly yourself?

[ThisAintUseful]

This is some very crappy playing if you don't mind me saying so

[BeezleBoy]

What I hate about bass is you can never hear it in songs unless if you really pay attention. No fair! Every time I turn my bass up even with the rest at church, they get pissed at me for being "too loud"

[majed89]

@BeezleBoy I know what you're talking about, but by the end of the day it's always the sound of the band that matters the most not the sound of any individual musician.

[Monument09]

you are amazing! wow i play another kind of bass but this really helps. my technique has inproved thanks to you...Thank you very much!

[BassLessonsOnline]

That's excellent news! Thank's for checking in.

George

[BassLessonsOnline]

That's excellent news! Thanks for checking in.

George

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thank you. I was drooling over it in the Fender catalog until I just had to get it.

George

[footdrcb]

George, Im 48 years old and been playing 6 string guitar since i was 12. Ive just purchased a lovely Ibanez 5 string bass and a few years ago , a J D Luthiers Bass . ( 4 string)

Your videos are very helpful and id like to purchase your lessons on line. Do you have 5 string specific lessons ?

thank you again for what you have set up on youtube. You have a pleasant way about you which comes across very well on video..

Thanks again

Footdrcb

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks again for another post and for your kind words.

My online course is designed for bass with any number of strings. The demos are on 4-string, but I often suggest (both in the lesson texts and accompanying videos) applications and extensions of exercises for 5 and 6-string basses.

Kind regards,

George

[maxio94]

Hi George. I'm Mike and I'm intermediate in bass playing. I play also guitar, drums and harmonica, but bass is my favourite instrument! You were my teacher when was beginner. Can you give me tabs for this song? My e-mail is: maxio94@tlen.pl

Thanks, mate!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello Mike and thanks for your request. This is not an actual song; it is a riff with fills. I don't advocate the use of tabs unless it is really required.

I believe everything in this video is well-enough explained ... and it is more about the use of the concept as opposed to copying my improvised fills.

Bass of Luck!

George

[OreoPanda888]

why is it that whenever i record my bass guitar on a recording device for example a webcam it sounds to metally and disgusting? WHY? and my bass guitar neck wont fix!!! X X __

[BassLessonsOnline]

For both issues you may have to do some research. (This post of course is the beginning of your research.) I suggest a google search with relevant keywords.

Bass of Luck!

George

[DGA0602]

ok... i think this is the 3rd time i comment on ur videos and there is a reason for that... ur videos have helped and are still helping me improve!! yesterday i played the bass at my church but in a whole new different way with the help of all but especially this video!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Yours is a very pleasing comment to see. Thanks for posting your success :-)

George 

[DGA0602]

hello... ur videos have helped me alot.. thanx.. but i have a question... what scales are safe to use with any chords wether they are minor or major?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks for your kind comment and question. I am happy to help.

The most safe scales are Major Pentatonic for major chords (not for all major chords, however) and Minor Pentatonic for minor chords (also not all).

George

P.S. I think I use the term "safe scale" somewhere in this video.

[over18account123]

OH MY GOD AN ENGLISH TUTOR :D

[BassLessonsOnline]

Not quite - I'm Australian.

Greetings from Down Under!

George

[NightXemnas]

You're really cool, and a great teacher!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thank you. I love what I do.

George 

[DosSantosRonaldo]

very great lesson,thank you soo much!!!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thank you very much. I'm glad you found this concept (and the lesson) useful.

George

[fujirama]

Thanks. Your musical example is nice, and your explanation help get me over a "hump". Thanks a bunch from maui,

Marc

[BassLessonsOnline]

Excellent. Thanks Marc. Greetings from Australia!

George

[DGA0602]

ok.. this might be a dumb question but would it be wrong to use minor pentotonic scales on major chords?

[BassLessonsOnline]

It is actually a good question.

The minor pentatonic scale scale works well over a Dominant Seven chord (which is a major chord) such as G7, C7 etc. but does not work well over a Major Seven chord such as Gmaj7, Cmaj7 etc.

I hope this helps.

George

[DGA0602]

ok ... heres my problem.... i played guitar at my church.. but i recently moved on to the bass but i just play the regular notes and sometimes play around with scales... thing is that i cant figure out which scales to use or when to use them.. im a far below beginner.. any tips?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello David. Thanks for your queries and for subscribing.

It is generally safe to use major pentatonic scales on major chords and minor pentatonic scales on minor chords; this is because the pentatonic scales have no "wrong" notes.

Stick to chord roots mainly, and use scales to create grooves or fills.

Bass of Luck!

George

[Chance3248]

What's a pentatonic chord? Could you maybe help me learn some bass chords?

[BassLessonsOnline]

I have a couple of You Tube lessons on chords and chord theory. You can find those lessons either on the right >>> or through my channel.

Kind regards,

George

[OhSoKimmie]

Thanks for this video (: I only just realised that I need a new bass teacher (been playing almost a year and a half), when I was recently asked to improvise a bass fill. I couldn't at all and almost cried. This video helped :p

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for your "revelation". My online bass course (available through my website) is designed to get you to making up your own bass riffs and fills etc. That's where the fun is!

George

[R3WARDS4U]

awesome, ive been trying to make things up, this helped me a lot.

[BassLessonsOnline]

I'm happy to see this video has helped you. This concept can generate many ideas.

George

[fhoeben143]

thanks i learned a lot..^^ keep it up..

[BassLessonsOnline]

Excellent - thank you!

I am currently in the process of recording many additional videos for my complete step-by-step bass course.

Kind regards,

george

[DownSouthable]

u need to work on not using your pinckie for only notes 4 frets away from your first finger.

[AelfricVampire]

Thank you alot.I learned so many things from you and I hope more and more vides will come. Keep up the good work!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for showing your appreciation.

I'm currently in the process of recording more videos for my subscription-based course. After that is completed , I will add new videos to You Tube.

George

[shanedizzleee]

you rock george, thanks.

[BassLessonsOnline]

That's a welcome comment - thank you!

George

[abowen2]

George, last year at 59 yrs old I retired from law enforcement and having never touched a guitar in my life picked up a bass and I am teaching myself to understand and play it. You have no idea how helpful this video has been...I can actually play along. One small suggestion, please use a better quality video device to capture and post your videos. The video and audio is slightly out of sync which makes it much harder to accurately follow along with your fingering. Great stuff George.Thank U

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks for showing your appreciation.

The "out of sync" is due to You Tube changing its format about a year ago and not providing a conversion solution for older videos. This is very noticeable on videos where sound synchronization is important. Sorry ;-(

George

[will888hawes]

good lesson helped me create a good bass line thanks =)

[BassLessonsOnline]

I love to be helpful. Thanks for posting and enjoy your creations.

George

[iLegendaryy86]

Great man. I'm getting backing into the Bass. (been playin' guitar for awhile now) and I'm looking for good stuff like this.

5* keep 'em coming. :)

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks for your kind comment and excellent rating.

Coming from guitar, the concepts outlined in this lesson will be very easy to employ.

George

[merkaf288]

Really nice !!! thx a lot

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thank you. Its a pleasure to be creative and help other bass players at the same time.

George

[lienad009]

i kaant believe yoove dun this

[BassLessonsOnline]

I hope you mean that in a good way ;-)

George

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thank you for your post and suggestion.

George

[istarnion]

Thank you very much for a great lesson!

Bur I've been wondering, I've always been thought to keep my fingers in one position as much as possible, and thus I play the D-minor pentatonic fifth and eight on the A-string, and fifth and seventh on both the D- and G-string. This way I don't have to move my hand the slightest, but is there any particular reason you don't do this?

Sorry to bother, just trying to pick up some tips.

~Edward.

[BassLessonsOnline]

Yes: Flexibility, i.e. "Getting out of the Box."

George

[ETizzleful]

do you have any tips on timing? i seem to be struggling with that and all these things i'm learning is kind of useless if i don't know good timing

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks for your question.

My major tip on timing (before anything else) is to be able to tap a steady pulse and hum something - anything - in time and with a good groove while you are tapping consistently.

All of this should be OK before you even attempt to play.

Bass of Luck!

George

[articalboy]

thank you very much! i really enjoying to watch your lessons and learn about them

[BassLessonsOnline]

Excellent - thank you for watching and learning!

george

[MrSlappaDaBass]

Hey,

Great lesson,

I was wondering if you could send me the notes for that beginning riff.

-Thanks

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thank you.

Your answer is at 2:00

George

[shrapnel94]

ive been a punk bass player since i started playing bass almost 10 years ago , these lessons are soo helpful as i try to play other kinds of music.

thanks

[BassLessonsOnline]

I love punk and the energy of it.

I'm glad to help with some "alternative" material ;-)

George

[dimoschka]

i think you may like a band called "infectious grooves".

it is a punk-funk band that had an amazing bassist called robert trujillo (actual metallica bassist).

the band is awesome, you should check out a song or two of them.

one of my favorite ones is "punk it up". let me know what you think! :D

[seemann30000]

hello George its a really good video¡, but I like to know if you can make one about funk bass, maybe the basic of that kind of music

Regards,

Renato

[BassLessonsOnline]

That's a good call, Renato. Although I have a revealing generic funk lesson as part of my subscription course, I will put your suggestion on my list for You Tube.

Kind regards,

George

[skalewilly]

Hi Gerorge.

very good lesson. I will practique.

thanks for the lesson videos!!

how many bass have you got?

regards!

-Ale-

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello Ale

Thank you.

I have "only" 5 bass guitars and one double bass. They are all different and each one serves its purpose.

George

[lakland001]

what records have you played on?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks for your interest.

The most recent is a "soft folk" CD by Terri Nicholson, titled "Fall Into Feeling". Terri is a friend who lives in our local community. You can have a listen on Terri's website, which is terrinicholsonmusic (com)

There are many more recordings (nothing famous) for which there is too little space to list here.

Regards,

George

[andrewtrucker]

TOO SLOW FOR ME

[BassLessonsOnline]

You are very fortunate to be a fast learner. Thanks for commenting.

Gerorge

[jackyhowey]

my only problem is that you refer to the notes, rather than the frets and the strings, as i only got my bass last week i dont have a clue and that kinda loses me a bit

otherwise the lessons have helped me, i like them a lot, thank you

[BassLessonsOnline]

I'm glad you like the lessons. It is important to learn notes as soon as possible.There are a couple of good lessons on You Tube on the topic.

If you check again, however, you will find that I refer to frets and strings to get the shape of the scale.

Good luck!

George

[BassLessonsOnline]

My apologies. I checked the video and found that I only show the D Minor Pentatonic scale shape through one octave without naming the frets.

I start on the 5th fret of the A string - the rest is obvious.

If you want all this - and heaps more - covered in a step-by-step fashion, then check out my bass course through my website.

Regards,

George

[Haraldbass]

really good lessons, I will watch them and practice them! really usefull, thanks alot!

5/5

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks for the great score!

You've got the best mentors in Jaco, Miles, Chick etc.

Enjoy your learnings!

George

[cyanideandhappiness7]

Are you a fan of 5 string basses?

[BassLessonsOnline]

I play 5-string bass when it best suits the music, so, yes, I am a fan.

George

[BassLessonsOnline]

You are so right - 8 hours a day for one year and we can "forget" everything we learned because we no longer have to think.

George

[herzogsbuick]

nice tight sound, even comes through my computer speakers!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Very good! Thanks for commenting on the sound.

It is most likely due to the combination of flatwound strings and a dose of compression.

George

[ThatBassFeeling]

hey george,

great vid :) im still playing bass :)

oh by the way its your old student reece :) haha

best of luck.

[BassLessonsOnline]

Of course you're still playing bass! That's great, Reece - thanks for checking in :)

George

[mas502arc]

How do you record these lessons? I'm planning to upload a few videos, get some feed back, therefore improving my skills.

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello Sam

Essentially I record with the inbuilt camera of my MacBook.

To make things easy I have a setup where my bass, voice, drum machine, and whatever else I want, go through an old Tascam Portastudio (used as a mixer). The bass goes through an ADA MB-1 programmable preamp first.

I hope this helps,

George

[soccerballhead]

So if I had a chord progression of Em C G D/F# what could I play apart from the root notes and the F#? Any ideas? Thanks for your help.

[BassLessonsOnline]

You could play any of the chord tones. Root/five will work well. Check my You Tube video "Beginner Bass Lesson Video Number 4".

There are heaps of possibilities. As usual, experimentation is the key!

George

[soccerballhead]

Am I right in assuming if the song is written in C major I would use the major pentatonic scale for the riff and fills? Also, is it the rule that the bass plays the root note of the chord when the chord changes? ie. during my riff I MUST play the chord change? Thanks. You've been extremely helpful as I've only been plau=ying bass 6months.

[BassLessonsOnline]

Not exactly. Although the core of your assumption is correct, just because a song is written in C major does not mean that it is in C major all the way.

The bass player plays the chord root on the chord change most of the time, but it is not a MUST.

Thanks for your questions and kind comments.

Enjoy your further insights and progress!

George

[godhand95]

how do you improvise somethin from a bass? say wen a guitarist is playing a random improvisation and u try to join in. what do you do?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks for your question.

"Random" improvisation is quite rare. The guitarist might be using a particular scale, such as the Minor Pentatonic (addressed in this video).

A good starting point before joining in with the guitarist, is to hum a note that underpins what the guitarist is playing, then find that note on you bass and play a suitable rhythm.

Don't be afraid to ask the guitarist to show you a few suitable notes.

Bass of Luck!

George

[p1rha]

Great sound and play, what strings do u use?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thank you. The strings are Thomastik Jazz flatwound.

George

[Faelkoala]

what a different accent

[keypadtone]

nice work last fill was great

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks - it is always fun to improvise.

George

[thevixon4ever]

@full metal mirror- I'd like to see your band perform without one. that is PRESUMING you even have a band (which exists outside your head) MEtalheads dont get groove anyway.

Hey George! keep up the awesome lessons.

[mattonalog]

you say metalheads don't groove...

THERE'S A FUCKING GENRE CALLED GROOVE METAL

XD

just thought i'd mention it

no offense intended should you take offense to my comment

[Caconymic]

Well I wouldn't say that, the band Meshuggah clearly has a lot of groove in it.

[wooglewooglewoogle]

they aren't really "metal" as in meshuggah, but mudvayne. they are quite groovy as well

[FullMetalMirror]

bass players are failed guitar players

[VigisKane]

nice.......thanks mate.........its hard to find a good bass teacher

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks. Yes, both playing and teaching bass is lots of fun.

George

[spoofzilla]

Very nice!

[BassLessonsOnline]

I'm glad you enjoyed and posted - thanks.

George

[ozzy2026]

nice sound man

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thank you. This bass is strung with flatwound strings. (But of course that is only one element of the sound.)

George

[PF149]

dig the body color dude!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Yeah - the body color is called Sunset Orange.

George

[breakdowntimeyeeeh]

nice playing man! i don't even play base!! but that was cool.

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks - it was lots of fun!

George

[teledestiny]

psshh yahh dood riffs and fills

[magrao600]

can u give an advice in eq pls?

[BassLessonsOnline]

What, in particular, do you want to know about eq?

George