How to Play Chords on Bass (like the Pros do it)
Рет қаралды 175,620
4 жыл бұрынLearning how to play chords on bass is really important.
But some players think that playing chords on bass is just a “fancy trick’ and bass players should leave playing chords to the guitar players…
Honestly, they couldn’t be more wrong.
As bass players our primary role is to outline the chords of the song, just like the rest of the harmony instruments within the rhythm section, so how can we effectively outline the chords if we don’t have in-depth chordal knowledge - i.e. how they’re built, why inversions matter, what extensions we can add to the different chord types.
Simply put, having a deeper understanding of how to play chords on bass is going to help your bass playing, your musicianship, your ear training, and your overall understanding of harmony.
Now, in this week's new lesson we’ve got 2 bass players who are crazzzzy good at playing chords on bass.
Seriously, these guys are insanely talented.
In this lesson you’ll be learning about:
- Exactly where to start when you begin playing chords on bass
- The power and impact of learning triads
- Why inversions will help you move around the fingerboard much more freely
- Why some players play the roots on the highest string (wait for it!)
- And much more
As always, see you in the shed…
Scott :)
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@TheMemo659 2 жыл бұрын
32 years now playing bass. Bout a year back I decided to work on chords/triads in the 7th fret + area. The unlock Ive had since has been mind blowing. #1 My regular bass lines now choose between fills, framing, and passing notes. I used to just call them all fills. #2 My ear is WAY better now for what my guitar players are giving me. I'm not just grabbing the root out of what im hearing anymore. #3 The whole fret board opened up finally. I used to have a box around where I was playing, its top to bottom of the neck now. Probably one of the biggest jumps I've had in my playing, and my mind is kinda blown by it happening at this age.
@bassrumblings 2 жыл бұрын
That means there's hope for me :) Saying that though, I've only been playing for a little over a year!
@dylancarther9627 Жыл бұрын
Can you share your practice routine on this particular topic
@TheMemo659 Жыл бұрын
@@dylancarther9627 Sure. I keep my chords 3 notes so they dont get muddy. I do not use the E string for my chords, and typically use the double dots as a starting point. Here are two simple shapes; 1. Play the D string at the 12th fret with your ring finger. That D is your root note. Play the 11th fret on the G string with your index finger and the 12th fret on the A string with your middle finger. 2. Play the A string at the 12th fret with your middle finger. That A is your root note. Play the 11th fret on the D string with your index finger and the 14th fret with your pinky finger. There are a lot more chord shapes than those obviously, tiny bit of digging will hook you up. Using the above two shapes as a starting point is fantastic practice. Side to side movement changes key for both shapes obviously, and going back and forth between the two shapes does interesting things. Sometimes I just strum. Sometimes I do picking patterns with the chord shapes. Sometimes I'll have bass runs connect and/or dance around the chords. Above all else, I've spent a decent number of hours over the last 3ish years jamming chords all by my self. Have even written some fun to play and sing acoustic bass campfire flex songs if you know what I mean. The trippy thing to me? The bass chords themselves are not really applicable in either of my musical projects. Soon as someone else starts playing, I cant help but go back to playing.... the bass part. No matter how cool a bass chord sounds to me when JUST the bass is playing, they seem to either disappear or make mud in a mix. As such, I consider them a solo show off trick for the most part outside of an intro/bridge or two. YMMV Despite the lack of direct practical application outside of showing off on my acoustic, I refer to my original post above for some super cool unlocks the practice gave me over the long term. Apologies for the book, your ask + caffeine = word vomit.
@dylancarther9627 Жыл бұрын
Thank you for your reply Really greatful🙏🙏🙏
@BrianPellerin 10 ай бұрын
That’s awesome man. I sharpie-marked every note onto the fretboard and that gives me so much information constantly
@elcanaldepulcho 4 жыл бұрын
I'm peruvian and I loved when Andrés played "Fina Estampa" of Chabuca Granda, I feel proud of my country. 07:47
@marcoanaya7 4 жыл бұрын
También peruano y también alegre de que Andrés tenga basto conocimiento de la musica de la increíble Chabuca! Genios!
@binkydamauler 4 жыл бұрын
im in 🇺🇸 and i love that singer!
@jlfassa 3 жыл бұрын
@@binkydamauler and she's from Greece! Lead singer of Banda Magda!
@samuelemedici5184 4 жыл бұрын
Recently I've started doing online lessons with Andres. I find him very humble, really happy to help and very inspiring. His musicality Is Just beautiful!
@kelvinroytitong8234 4 жыл бұрын
Them : The!! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Me : what the heck is happening?
@OractheIII 3 жыл бұрын
Yea yea yea yea yea
@vincentm614 4 жыл бұрын
I love chords on bass this gives bassist the same opportunities as pianist and guitarist and chords are a gateway to composition on bass.
@vincentm614 4 жыл бұрын
@Johnny G thats a load of crap and I already play keyboard! No one has said the bass should not function in its traditional role, however the bass can do many things. Micheal Mannring, Victor Wooten and leagues of others do that. As I mentioned before that statement was idiotic. If you want to limit yourself as a player fine but dont tell other folks what to do. Under the right circumstances with the right players chordal playing sounds great and is a wonderful way for a bassist to compose and open up their ears. Stop being a musical facist. You dont know what your talking about!
@joshstarr6400 4 жыл бұрын
@Johnny G Bro. I don't like to get into YT arguments but . . . That mindset only applies to certain times of music. In rock music and others, yes the bass takes a backseat and usually don't come into the spotlight, and that's fine. However, that does not mean that the bass should be held back in every music style. The industry needs new innovations, so perhaps bass taking a spotlight can be one of them? I'm not saying you're wrong, because in a "real life" setting, a bassist won't be doing a solo or playing chords. But that's only if that band is striving to sound like everyone else. Why should we be put in that box?
@vincentm614 4 жыл бұрын
@Johnny G well tell that to the tens of thousand bassist who are members of Scotts bass lessons who are intrested in learning music and not just the bassist traditional role. And as Ive said you do what you want and the rest of us will learn music! Im going to play chords and enjoy it! If you want to be a musical nazi good for you!
@vincentm614 4 жыл бұрын
@Johnny G youre probably a jealous rock and roll guitar player thats not that good to begin with so you probably hold back the other people in the band that play better than you and tell them what their place is and how they should back your inept solos. Perhaps you should give them a little more room and they may drawn you out and improve your sound finally! Lol
@vincentm614 4 жыл бұрын
@Johnny G the very reason that Stanley and Tony Levin and Jaco and James Jamerson played so great was because they played chords on bass. They may not have done it playing with most people but the ability to play and hear the diffrence between a major or minor chord consistently on your own instrument develops your ears. And yes im most musical setting bass players would get in the way doing this but times have changed and bassist are taking a greater role these days than just being a support player and not everyone plays in a damn wedding band. Bassist do now play solo at open mics or in avant garde or jazz settings. Not everyone plays in tribute bands or regular rock bands. Chordal playing is greater harmonic knowlege and in order to being a great player you learn to play EVERYTHING on your instrument. To say go learn guitar instead is backwards thinking. Again you go do what you want but dont limit the rest of us or dictate to the rest of us what we should be playing.
@rhinoutopia 4 жыл бұрын
I took Scott's chord course like maybe 2? years ago and it did more for my understanding of the fretboard than than *anything* I'd ever done before. It bridges the gap between harmony and melody and makes you understand why the chords are built the way they are. That forces you to remember where the intervals are on board for scales. Honestly it changed the way I look at the fretboard.
@WyattLite-n-inn 4 жыл бұрын
One hour ago and already over 2,000 downloads. I just joined the academy a week again as a member and this video shows why. Not only is there a useful diagram on the right but he has world level guys like these two and when they’re moving fast , he stops the tape and slows it all down and explains. SO good . And I’m a drummer not a bass player . But he makes learning so cool that I got my bass out of the closet and signed up anyway.
@bassrumblings 2 жыл бұрын
Being a drummer, your timing while playing bass should be amazing! You must have all your rhythms down!
@WyattLite-n-inn 2 жыл бұрын
@@bassrumblings It’s an advantage , yeah. The biggest one is that I know how to play with a drummer .
@ronoh55 4 жыл бұрын
Yes! Definitely expand on this format for the lessons!
@robertbickel 4 жыл бұрын
I dig the added graphics of the chords being played!
@pablofichaje 4 жыл бұрын
Andres Rotmistrovsky grande
@BarriDuty 4 жыл бұрын
Percebe jaja yo no entendía nada, abrí el video pensando que era uno de Andrés, y lo dejé para ver después, cuando le di play no entendí nada jaja pensé que lo había re confundido
@berniesaldivia5776 4 жыл бұрын
@@BarriDuty 😁 me paso lo mismo. Es un capo Andrés!
@drimets 4 жыл бұрын
Thank You So MUCH Scott's bass team! Last week I have just joined the lesson for a whole year. But I was struggling with chord progression and I was frustrated. Then I went on the forum and asked. A staff replied me but a week later here is the video! I am not sure if this is coincidence but I am so grateful for the help!! Thank you Scott!
@Zayskibop 4 жыл бұрын
scott you're the man! thank you for everything you do!
@dashawman1 4 жыл бұрын
Love this format, great content as always keep it up :)
@joeleo078 4 жыл бұрын
This was an awesome! Made the topic of chord playing on bass totally doable for me. Thanks!
@willyjgonzalez6560 4 жыл бұрын
Andres is the man!!! This is extremely beneficial! Thanks Scott!!
@eyeofbass 4 жыл бұрын
All of the segments on SBL with Andres and singer were awesome! Amazing talents!
@atelier3985 4 жыл бұрын
This is good. Need more chord stuff like this. Thanks
@CoreyWBaker 4 жыл бұрын
Just what i wanted to see today Scott, Cheers!
@carlosricaurte5304 4 жыл бұрын
Grande Andres y Magda! Thanks Scott for inviting him!
@shanephillips4069 4 жыл бұрын
I literally just started learning chords on my bass and I love the sound of them, it's fascinating how much more I have been learning and developing. Still though, have not quite started understanding the inversion aspects and why ridding notes is important other than not being able to physically play it.
@MrLyge 4 жыл бұрын
Brilliant. Loved that lesson. The inversion stuff was pretty eye opening. The bass is such a beautiful instrument.
@garrybrown7372 4 жыл бұрын
Great vid Scott. Love the chordal aspect and melodic harmony approach. Your bass playing too, is packed with feelings and emotions (intro to this vid) cheers.
@01gabito 4 жыл бұрын
The collaborative format is amazing. You get the right guys.
@bnw4379 4 жыл бұрын
You the man Scott! Great vid, Oteil's Modulus sounds so heavenly
@stein0niets 4 жыл бұрын
8:40 haha loving your brutal honesty (so true) haha "it makes me want to WEEP" has me cracking up. thanks for sharing!
@noelsoto2613 4 жыл бұрын
Yeah Scott that form of chord disclosure helps a lot thank you for sharing . Awesome!!
@jerannon 4 жыл бұрын
Love the video, Scott! The content is awesome. I have been getting into chords recently and use them quite a bit to create a relaxing atmosphere for the hospice patients that I play for. Wish I could dive into the SBL academy, but the budget is tight right now. Someday! Keep up the good work 👍
@davidsims7887 4 жыл бұрын
Beautiful stuff. Oteil always amazed me with his knowledge of chords and how he just sings those phrases out.
@honeybee4316 4 жыл бұрын
I just started experimenting with chords on my bass at gigs. Then this video poped up. This takin to a whole nother level! Thank you!
@rbm314 4 жыл бұрын
I've been looking for something like this on chords for a while. Nice lesson, thank you
@mission-bass 4 жыл бұрын
Love the format, keep em coming!!!
@rodhutchinson205 4 жыл бұрын
Like the new format Scott!
@EB0322 4 жыл бұрын
Andres! One of my favorite bassists on youtube , good to see him here !
@andresrot 4 жыл бұрын
Thanks a lot!!!
@thebasstown 4 жыл бұрын
I studied with Andres Rotmistrovsky in NYC some time ago. Great guy!
@jcmcclain57 4 жыл бұрын
Hey Scott, great lesson. My major takeaway is the tuning opening up the higher registers. Both using the high C. Not that one must go there, but it does add a sweetness to the tonality. Very cool lesson.
@Werkaholik261 4 жыл бұрын
When I saw how the 5-string was tuned, E A D G C, bells and whistles went off. I have a 5-string bass tuned, B E A D G. I think I'll be changing it just for playing chords. For me, that one change will mean a lot and will open up my options. THANK YOU!!
@qxHAGENxp 4 жыл бұрын
Was the first thing I did when I got mine. The low B is just that. 5 lower notes. But with the high C there is just so much more that becomes possible now.
@vroth88 4 жыл бұрын
Also the 5 upper strings on a 6 string bass standard tuning for those willing to get one Update: Ah just watched the second artist with the 6s now lol
@egorsozonov7425 4 жыл бұрын
The nylon strings he's using are awesome too. I'm not going back to metalwounds, ever. EADGC on nylon is the best a five-string bass can be, in my opinion.
@stackofiasco5591 4 жыл бұрын
I’m honored to be a part of this dialogue and I’ll just share what I;m doing without judging value other than for my needs. I started playing bass 40 years ago and guitar 37 or 8 but am nowhere as good as that may imply but I’m still trying and learning. Learned an awful lot from Carole Kay’s website. I found/made a friend here in Playas de Tijuana who was making fabulous plexiglass and wooden guitars and basses right in his garage. Although I was studying jazz guitar I bought 2 5 string basses from him one of each. Suddenly I decided instead of both with lower B’s if I add a HIGH B IT’LL BE BETTER FOR CHORDING. As a bassist at heart I’ve struggled with that G-B discrepancy my whole life but am finally dealing with it peacefully and of course it was created to make chording easier so there you have it. For the sake of reinforcement I tune to a high B so it’s easier to go from playing guitar to Bass. That’s all I got. But the plexiglass that I left with a Low b. Man Oye Como Va, White Wedding, Walk on the Wild Side I love to see them top shelf tequila and scotch bottles doin that shimmy shimmy shake, haha haha, That’s all I got. Cheers mates and keep your practices fun, eh.
@darrellwilliams6741 4 жыл бұрын
Thank you Scott for this Lesson I Love Chords on the Bass Jaco used them they sound Beautiful. Back to the Shed. 👍
@kidpop2126 4 жыл бұрын
Keep these coming Scott! Thanks.
@sansocie 4 жыл бұрын
Very nice. Hope you find more uses for this format! Great show
@TheGrooverBass 4 жыл бұрын
Great format Scott!!! Loved it!!!
@75RWM 4 жыл бұрын
Pre-dawn Saturday morning bass chords, niiiice.
@ianc1498 3 жыл бұрын
Andrés, your music, technique, and tone is amazing!!! I'm going to look up your music after finishing this video.
@ArchimedesWoo 4 жыл бұрын
Best lesson format so far. ;-)
@ronfleming5488 Жыл бұрын
Andres is such an amazing bass player! Definitely one of the best I have ever had the opportunity to play with!
@juanpablobulacio2162 4 жыл бұрын
The Grand Master Andrés Rotmistrovsky, from Argentina to the world
@jared338 4 жыл бұрын
DR black beauties?
@BronstoneHowlski 3 жыл бұрын
I absolutely love his duet videos with all those gorgeous women!
@blunderbuss393 4 жыл бұрын
Always a huge fan of Andres. He is criminally underrated.
@mickeybassi.9385 4 жыл бұрын
Love this.... Brought it a new concept of my thinking
@franklehouillier8865 4 жыл бұрын
This was an outstanding lesson.
@AutoAppraise 4 жыл бұрын
Scotty is the MAN! Thanks for all you do!
@leobassii 4 жыл бұрын
Great information Scott I need to check out cord inversions Thanks for the motivation to get back in the Shed!
@ferchomj86 4 жыл бұрын
Here is my teacher and friend in New York City !! Andres Rotmistrovsky. highly recommend. Grande Maestro !!!
@Javierfgt 4 жыл бұрын
Love this video, great material!
@williamwhren4275 4 жыл бұрын
More to explore. Thanks Scott.
@Skull99Crystal 4 жыл бұрын
Vamos Andrés!!!! Aguante 🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷
@philparker97 4 жыл бұрын
Great lesson - great inspiration !
@emilklomberg8544 3 жыл бұрын
when he's playing that d7(3rd inversion) to d augmented/b so beautiful
@boondocksaint4082 4 жыл бұрын
Liked the format . . . so nice , I watched it twice !
@stevenklavins5714 4 жыл бұрын
At 2:44 all I could hear was for end of the Super Mario theme
@maxkaledin3462 4 жыл бұрын
Great! I will always put like for ideas and new thinking
@sirfultonbishop 4 жыл бұрын
Good food for thought! Thanks!
@andrewmcmahon6432 4 жыл бұрын
The new format is good for giving a taste of the full lessons, the fretboard illustration at the side of the screen was cool too. Guess I'll have to restring my 5 string E-C, or even better buy a 6 string 😀
@miguelbass8882 4 жыл бұрын
Andres is very good.. He has a very melodic approach to Bass playing without loosing any foundation on the bass
@andresrot 4 жыл бұрын
Thanks Miguel!
@Shivabraxus108 4 жыл бұрын
Yes, I thought this was a great format, and fantastic that I can now go and check these courses out on SBL... thanks Scott! ;-)
@chapero1 4 жыл бұрын
Andrés is a monster. So happy he is here.
@louarthur7648 4 жыл бұрын
Beautiful segment Scott!
@Tanglangfa 4 жыл бұрын
I love that sucked into a black hole vibe guys like Oteil (sp?) get. They just explore and live in the music. That’s what keeps me playing.
@ramonbs6075 4 жыл бұрын
😍😍😍 awesome video!!! I’m a great fan of him!
@songfulmusicofsongs 4 жыл бұрын
Very good and interesting video! Thank you very much!
@lowend 4 жыл бұрын
Love Oteil's segment- it's definitely very academic though!
@xRyuzakii 4 жыл бұрын
amazing musicians right there!!! hugs
@ignaciomeyerp 4 жыл бұрын
Great content! thank you!
@wilowwells 4 жыл бұрын
Continually the the bast bass content on the web. Scott is a BAMF.
@sonsauvage 4 жыл бұрын
Beautiful fodera and playing my friend
@vansullivan236 3 жыл бұрын
Great, thanks!
@alessandroarcuri209 4 жыл бұрын
One of the first I saw doing chordal comping on the bass was the late Dave Carpenter. He was playing in duo with Andy Summers in a music tv program in an Italian TV channel, many years ago, and it blew my mind!
@TDB97 4 жыл бұрын
Oddio ti ricordi come si chiamava il programma?
@alessandroarcuri209 4 жыл бұрын
@@TDB97 uhmmm... oddio, era una rubrica su Videomusic, mi pare (pensa quanti anni fa!) in cui chiamavano artisti a presentare i loro lavori e fare due chiacchiere... e quella volta c'era appunto Andy Summers, accompagnato da Dave Carpenter.
@vladimirmadera3248 4 жыл бұрын
I totally dig this.
@boreallifts2042 Жыл бұрын
Amazing video.
@NyxDiscordia33 4 жыл бұрын
As somebody who's going to be picking up bass very, very soon I was honestly kinda worried about the harmonic capabilities of the bass, but now that I've seen some people play chords on one they just sound beautiful to me~! It's like writing an entire song in the lowest register of a piano, y'know? It's really rich and full of flavour, but not muddy.
@thegreatestbassist 4 жыл бұрын
AWESOME!!!
@iamalpharius9483 4 жыл бұрын
Love the Modulas.
@Benevolentbasses 4 жыл бұрын
i thought Scott you have interview Andres Rotmistrovsky oneday Good job;)
@cgarrote92 4 жыл бұрын
It seems Oteil Burbridge is using some kind of Jon Damian's Palette - Three Note Motifs. I strongly recommend to have a look on that!
@cambridgebasslessons 4 жыл бұрын
Great video Scott : )
@atilagmb 3 жыл бұрын
Amazing video
@metalman8733 4 жыл бұрын
Hello Scott thanks a lot for such a nice video. I have just started learning Bass and got a 4-string version. Just wondering if you kindly suggest the chord playing skills on 4-string bass. Thanks in advance.
@MalucoLapin 4 жыл бұрын
thank you so much ! i play on an acoustic ubass, and a lot of things just does'nt work. she had buzzes, slapping is aweful, she does'nt stand in tune, and chords are so odds... slides are fun, but i can't play with my guitar, and finding a chord takes forever something i just realised : my ubass is not meant to be tune EADG, but ADGC ! it explain so much of my troubles ! you are really handy ! ps: confirmed : in EADG, my A cord was buzzing. In ADGC, not anymore. Thank you sooooo much ! What hte hell ! now i can SLAP it !!! You've just changed everything ! i'm in "accord" (sorry, froggys are lame in english) with my ukulele and my guitar, i can use my ubass in all the way it is meant to be used, slapping, slides, fingerpick... etc, etc... and you show me chords ? wahoo ! Are Bass i key of F ???? i mean, we write the bass of piano in F key, so is it naïve to think bass guitar is set in F key ? My bassist journey really begins today. Thanks alot, sir.
@meemo4556 4 жыл бұрын
That sustain on that E dayum
@jared338 4 жыл бұрын
Otiel butter bisciut in studio jams has been one of my favorite jams. Scott, you ever been asked to be part of the studio jams sessions?
@KevinOMalleyisonlysmallreally 4 жыл бұрын
Everyone secretly wants to do what Joe pass does. He's the greatest (IMO)
@dhakabassist 4 жыл бұрын
Andres is amazing!
@conorkeane4665 4 жыл бұрын
Awesome 👍
@jeffroberts_tunes 4 жыл бұрын
Really nice lesson! Might wanna give a heads up that the guy has a five string with a C string on top rather than a low B (which is a nice way to do it for this more melodic style of playing).
@nathanpapazzoni6754 Жыл бұрын
man your fodera is so gorgeous ! can you tell us whats the model and/or the colorway ?
@wolframeickerestinpeace2562 4 жыл бұрын
Scott. I love your breath noise. :D
@DavinPetersen 4 жыл бұрын
Your best video on bass chords yet. Or maybe I just got it this time...
@davidhammers9708 4 жыл бұрын
would have loved for Scott to have broken down Oteil's approach some more: as Oteil said, he doesn't analyze it much. it sounds great, but it largely goes against what I've learned about conventional chord structure
@theloniouszappa 2 жыл бұрын
I love oteil burbridge's chord technique
@simonpieman1653 4 жыл бұрын
This inspired me. I now have a ponytail on top of my head!
@leofont6026 Жыл бұрын
Holy shit, this video has opened up my chord playing to another level! The most chords I incorporated into my playing were random 4ths, but dude it never even occured to me to stack from root on top downwards
@devinebass Жыл бұрын
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
@newscrews11 4 жыл бұрын
Awesome
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