Mutant Bass: Fearless Flow

visit: http://www.mutantbass.com

Introduction to frethand leading: Frethand leading is a technical device that can be used to create a continuous flow of rhythm. This device is effective for bass grooves and bass solos. When applied, interesting counter-rhythms natrually occur, masking the simplicity behind its concept.

Although bass players, such as Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Bill "The Buddha" Dickens, and Oteil Burbridge, have been incorporating this device for quite some time to their arsenal of bass grooves, I did not realize this concept through transcribing their work or reading about it. The realization came from a breakthrough in my perception.

One night, while I was riding in the back of my friend's pick up truck, my mind was stuck thinking about a particular drummer, Mike Clark. I was listening in my mind to his linear grooves on the drums. There were so many rhythms I could hear going on in his playing.

One second my ear was drawn to the rhythms of his hi-hat. The next second, my ear was drawn to the rhythms of his snare drum. Another second, my ear was drawn to the rhythms of his bass drum. Yet somehow, his groove still breathed as a single unit---the drumset.

I kept asking myself "What is the glue?...What is the glue that keeps it all together? What is the glue that keeps it all together so effortlessly?". Then...it hit me like a brick! And even while I was still sitting in the back of the pickup truck, without my bass, my mind started to unlock bass lines, such as Victor Wooten's "Me and My Bass Guitar".

All of a sudden, the core of Victor Wooten's "Me and My Bass Guitar" groove, made sense! It made a lot of sense! And as soon as I got back home, I was able to execute the gist of the bass line exactly as my mind heared it!

What used to play tricks with my ears, seemed drastically clear now. The thing that was happening, that was cluttering up my ear, was that I was not hearing the overall pulse. When I was listening to Mike Clark, I was not hearing his rhythmic anchors. When I listened to Victor Wooten's "Me and My Bass Guitar" groove, I was not hearing his rhythmic anchors!

Discover the overall rhythmic pulse and almost everything falls into place!

Unlocking Frethand Leading:
Drummers often practice simple rhythms in a few ways.

1. Playing a simple rhythm, while alternating and changing it's source (bass drum, snare drum, ride, etc...). The entire time, the rhythm does not change (it may be embellished, but the core rhythm remains), only the source become explored.

2. Playing a simple rhythm, and filling in the rhythmic gaps, with various sources.

Both of these practices yield interesting results. When different sources are alternatively explored, natural counter-rhythms occur, creating a type of rhythmic illusion. For this article, I will direct our attention to the second practice.


Step #1: Perceive a simple rhythm. Use your frethand hand to clap on your lap this rhythm (count aloud and clap only the underlined bold).

| 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a |

Repeat this rhythm, many times. Make sure you internalize this simple rhythm. This simple rhythm will become the core rhythm for this example.


Step #2: Repeat Step#1, but now include your pluckin hand. With your plucking hand, clap on your lap the notes in between the core rhythm. In otherwords, fill in the gaps!

Now the key to being able to do this effortlessly, is to not think so much about the rhythms you are playing to fill in the gap. Only focus on the core rhythm, making sure the core rhythm feels good! The core rhythm is the glue.


Step #3: Apply the bass! Explore note choices with your frethand, while hammering-on the core rhythm. Explore different techniques with your plucking hand, such as open strings, slap and pop, and even tapping!

That's a basic gist to get your feet wet with frethand leading! Never stop hearing your core rhythm. That is your anchor---your glue! Explore all note and muted possibilities with your frethand! Explore all technical possibilities with your plucking hand! Remain curious...just make sure it grooves!

visit: www.mutantbass.com

Category:

Music

Tags:

• mutant
• bass
• posido
• vega
• victor
• wooten
• les
• claypool
• bill
• buddha
• dickens
• oteil
• burbridge
• slap
• tap
• concepts
• lessons

[StopTheMoti0n]

Awesome vid! what's the tension on your strings for stuff like this?

[posido24]

@StopTheMoti0n thanks for checking out my video... i have to use the lightest gauge strings i can in order to keep things as effortless as possible (40-60-80-100)....

[hairlessdog101]

I play guitar but i think this is more helpful than any guitar lesson ive ever had......my friend plays bass and trys explainging this stuff to me but the way he explains it is really complicated but you do i good job very very easy to understand and apply

[posido24]

@hairlessdog101 hi hailessdog101... thanks for the comment! sorry it took so long to reply. i never saw this appear on my comments :( anyway, it's good to hear the explanation made sense. teaching is a work in progress for me! hope music is going well for you!

[1rushboy]

with a drum backbeat a bassplayer can play so many variations of the same line it's scary

[posido24]

hey 1rushboy... i most agree.... hope ur music is going well!

[cbhead23]

Woo! Thanks for the video!!

I'm checking out your website for sure!!

[myusernameissocool]

Best lesson I've ever seen, please do a lot more! I love it!

[plusmin09]

Good video!

[ninjaassassin27]

i had to realize this on my own too. even though i'm a pianist as well as bassist\guitarist, the same rules apply. the rhythm is everything, just like the melody is. all the small things come together on their own when you craft it as your own, and understand what you're crafting. you have to feel it.

[88ways2listen]

im right handed but play left this just show me i need to go righthanded thanks

[Colerosity]

It's funny, this is a pretty basic concept for drums. If you're a drummer, get The Drummer's Complete Vocabulary As Taught By Alan Dawson.

[lajack07]

It didn't hit me until you said something about the open strings. I was trying to think of an example about what you could have possibly been talking about because the idea wasn't getting through.

This completely explains the thought process for Muse's "Hysteria."

[herchimer]

I owe you one, this just made my day.