In this bass guitar lesson, you're going to gain inspiration from the tones, techniques, styles, and bass lines of four incredible bass players:
- Pino Palladino
- Carol Kaye
- Flea
- Geddy Lee
For each player, I take an idea I love from their playing and demonstrate it using one of their bass lines. Then I show you how you can use it in your playing.
Examples of great bass playing
Pino Palladino
Forget You by Cee Lo Green.
Listen to the middle 8 below. Pino uses deft touch and melodic note choices to create memorable and unexpected fills.
Flea
Mellowship Slinky in B Major by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Flea only uses a few notes in the verse riff but every note is played with great feel and perfect timing. Listen to the swing 1/16th rhythm. It's crucial to learn to subdivide the beat - that way you'll always be in the groove.
Carol Kaye
Kaye's use of a plectrum is legendary. Again, she is subdividing the beat and sticking to a consistent down-up-down-up picking pattern. This locks in to the 1/16th note grid.
She also has an amazing bass tone, down to the use of the pick with a Fender Precision strung with flat wound strings and muted at the bridge (you can use some foam).
This has to be one of the funkiest bass intros ever!
Geddy Lee
Geddy's tone is fat, warm, and raucous down to the use of overdrive.
If you're interested in rock bass tone, watch this video:
How To Get A Great Rock Bass Tone
His touch, timing, and note selection is also awesome. There's so much going on in this great bass solo. It's one of my favourite rock bass tones ever.
