"Zero-Scale" Bass Solos: How To Start Improvising On Bass [No Scales Needed]
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- Опубликовано: 1 мар 2018
- Taking bass solos; improvising on bass - it can be scary, right?!? Nobody wants to take a bass solo and sound like a fool, but how do you even get started? Is it even possible to learn how to improvise on bass?
Do you have to learn a whole bunch of scales that don't make sense? Do you learn all of the arpeggios and use the notes in them? Do you just use the roots of the chords? Or just play the same bass line you've been playing the entire song?
No! You don't have to do any of these. In fact, there's a simple way you can start taking beautiful simple bass solos that you KNOW are going to sound good. You're guaranteed to never get lost and you can be sure that you'll never hit a wrong note.
After all, improvising on bass is supposed to be fun, right!? Using the method in this video will take all the stress out of it so you can have a ball making up your own bass solos and have the confidence to do it over and over again.
Now while you don't NEED to know any scales to improvise on bass, they can certainly help you to create more complex and more interesting bass solos.
It can be so confusing navigating all the scales and modes - especially if you're just starting out. That's why I created the Ultimate Guide To The Modes For Bass. It will show you exactly what you can play in nearly any situation, without confusing you with technical jargon. Having just a little bit of this knowledge can take your bass solos to the next level.
The guide also comes with 24 practice tracks you can use today to start your journey towards mastery over the modes and learn how to improvise on bass. To get started, just sign up right here:
becomeabassist.com/the-ultimat...
The guide will be sent straight to your inbox.
Of course if you have any questions about the lesson, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to help out.
Good luck and happy bass soloing!
Cheers,
Luke
P.S. The track that was used in this lesson can be found right here:
• Isn't She Lovely- Stev... 
Видеоклипы
![Advanced Bass Improv - Playing Outside The Harmony [Bass Solo Lesson]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vHcjI0HxN7o/mqdefault.jpg)
![Advanced Bass Improv - Playing Outside The Harmony [Bass Solo Lesson]](/img/tr.png)
One of the most common questions I got about this video was, _"How can I learn the melody of a song?"_ and a lot of the time, you may NOT be able to find tabs or notation for it. But what you *can* do, is try to learn it by ear and I show you how to get started with that process here: ruclips.net/video/K2zDO2ITmvs/видео.html
"Playing wrong notes gets everyone's attention"
-Victor W.
It's funny that in this context it is a bad thing, but outside it is quite desirable
@@ye_boi - Disagree. Each “bad” note resolves into a good one. This adds wonderful tension to a bass solo.
🤣🤣🤣
Watched his video where he said there are no wrong notes xD
at last someone who makes sense without confusing things (without feeding cats or talking to much about something completely different(sorry scott your amazing at bass but drag things out)) everything you say makes sense and isn't intimidating at all. taking out the stress of scales means a bassist can progress and get there as and when their ready while getting the confidence needed to move forward. good job buddy
Nice
Nice
Yes! This approach is more intuitive, IMO
Been playing bass on worship teams for many years (I don't consider myself a really great musician) but I must say that this is some of the best advice I've ever heard. What a great teacher!
2:30 "We're not going to use any of this, at all" Thank God!! :D
Haha! It makes way more sense to start at a simpler place and work up to using all the complicated stuff than starting complicated and working your way back to simplicity.
What an eye opener, thanks a million Luke. Now I feel like I can become a bass player, a musician even, and achieve my ambition to play jazz. What an inspiration.
Out of all the bass lessons on RUclips Yours have been the best Quality and most helpful
I Luke I've been whatching your videos for quite some times now , and I must admit that I love the way you explain the use of the differents components of music applied to the bass playing.
Stay as clear and simple as you are.
Luke, you've really helped me take my playing to new levels. I had to laugh on the second example, the "delayed melody". It's one of the only times I've seen your "bass face". We all have one. Mine is comical, frankly. But it always shows up when I'm concentrating really hard. Thanks for showing me that even seasoned pros, still strive to crush a groove. Cheers!
Haha! The bass face is so real!!! I’m always doing weird stuff with my mouth without realising it. I’m glad the video helped get your playing to new levels Tim - that’s really great news!
To be honest, I prefer bass solos where the bassist still keeps the groove.
Different styles of music though
If the solo doesn't match or fit the groove the bassist is only showing off.
A great bassist will always think he is just ok. Stay humble and remember the bass is to fill in the octaves the guitar can't reach. Fill the spectrum before the ego.
@@silencedones4421yall putting rules on music
It’s crazy how we are all different right. I prefer to keep playing the bass line, but maybe with a little extra sauce. I love hearing other cats go crazy tho
Watch my nerd ass play the groove and a solo at the same time
Long time bass player and I say salute to you for taking the mystery out of good solos
Thanks Luke for another lesson that makes Bass playing much easier
That's great information. Thanks for taking the time to make this video Luke. This helped me immensely to understand how to begin constructing a solo. AWESOME STUFF keep it coming!
Wonderful as always Luke! You have a natural teaching style that simply explains things and makes them easy to understand. And I love how you leave your mistakes in there. Cheers!
Love this lesson and your humility, being able to laugh about making mistakes while learning!
I can feel how you love it..it makes the video really instructive..thank you
great work buddy, I am gonna understand all the videos you made, improve my bass skills and my English :) keep enjoying the bass, greetings from Turkey
This approach was super useful to know which notes to play and then remixing them. Thank you!
Fantastic to hear! I'm glad to hear you found it useful!
Hey Luke! I just want to say thank you to your awesome technique for making bass solo.
It is super helpful, keep on the great work
What a bunch of cool ideas to work with! I will try them immidiately.. Thank you so much!
Awesome Anne! Let me know how you go with them!
You’re a great teacher-great delivery, and you take what others would complicate, and simplify it- great channel!!
Glad you think so Jason! I always try to make things simple to follow and get started. I can't tell you how happy I am to hear this from you!
Become A Bassist - truth is truth: you know your stuff, you’re a player, and you teach the way it should be taught- hope you reach a million subscribers!
Thanks for your videos - very helpful. Great stuff
Wooten: if you hit the wrong note, either add it to the loop; or move up/down just 1 fret and you're back in key
Thanks for these vids, Luke. I knew some of these concepts but this s great, real-world stuff that I can use within days.
That's awesome William! Let me know when you're able to apply some of it. I'd love to hear about it.
Wow ! You just open up the door to soloing for me , thank you so much .
Great work and inspiration, am an intermediate bass player. I can identify with your advice, actually after all this theory we learn, the most appealing this we can do is to have a great melody going.
Totally - Melody is the key. Nothing works without it!
Pure genius the writing is right there on the wall
Very informative lesson. And anyone that's played live has to appreciate the story at the end :) Thanks for being so straightforward and honest Luke, as a teacher and a human being. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the free content and for explaining the topic so clearly!
So far so good,you are the best I have encounter so far.Keep it up
Great alternative.Thank you!
.
Thank God
I've gotten so frustrated looking for the right bass lesson channel and had been watching another very popular ( full of suck up subscribers and comments) teacher whom spazzingly yacks your ears off for the first 3/4 of the video about nothing to do with learning bass which damn near had me ready to smash my bass into my iPad or stoke the fire pit!!
2 minutes into your lesson I have happily subscribed! Thanks for your content! I am again inspired!!!!! Whew!!
Haha! Awesome Richard - so good to hear! I'm happy my approach works for you.
You are awesome. Thanks a lot for your great work. I love ur videos.
This is great. I've been scratching my head, trying to work out how to improvise solos. The way that you gradually took us from the idea of playing the basic melody through to the true improv ideas at the end really gave me a light bulb moment. I'm really enthused about trying out this method to some of the songs I love. Cheers!
Great video Luke, thank you!
Thank you for this video!! Tonight at church, I was put on the spot for the first time in my short bass playing career. I just kept playing the bass line, lol, but next time I’ll be ready!!
You can do it @AL The Free Man!
Love it! Very helpful
Cracked it Luke , thank you , been learning the Modes , so not only did I get the solo , I saw the modes you put up and even though you said we are not using scales , I ran the track , saw the modes you had used " Bingo " all fitted , bass solo fitted , got the whole thing . Thank You.
That's amazing work @Russell Smith! Huge congratulations!
Thank you sooo much!! You really helped me. I got stuck preparing a solo for Treasure by Bruno Mars which contains slap-style. You gave me some great inspiration.
this is sooo good, even the solo you pulled off in the vid
I was always afraid of how complex soloing is, but now I see that it can be quite simple and fun! Thank you for this video💪👌😊
Thanx a lot! Another great lesson! 😀👍
Excellent video as always.
Really usefull example. Thanks!
A well done video that's well worth watching. - Thanks for your 'Honesty' as well(well,...well,...well,...).
Epic video! That note “A” actually can work if it is sustained and depending on what follows the note. At that point in the song, if I’m not mistaken, the note “A” is in the next chord or at least the next phrase etc. So sustaining the note, though “wrong”, can be a leading tone to the next phrase.
You are a very good and a talented teacher and a good mentot
You just have This calmness humbleness in your voice lol 💖🙇♀️
Good job dude .... and thanks!
Interesting; when I did a run through of a guitar on scales when I was 13, it helped know where every note’s at on the fretboard. Ever since that day improv has been a strong suit & best friend to my playing today!!
Just wondering how did you go about it? For me pentatonic shapes are easy. I'm looking to get all mode shapes down.
ionian starts in the 1(tonic) dorian starts on the 2 etc...major scale starting on the different degrees of the scale
Luke you're great! Thanks from Argentina!
You’re welcome Christian. Thanks for checking out the video
Awesome lesson!
thanks for sharing! good lesson...
You are so great Luke.Because of you, i had my first fan , on my solo.🤪
Really? That's awesome @PapCoin! Congrats! Tell me the story of this fan though - what did they like about your solo?
Thanks for the tip. I never actually thought about that, I'm working on a bass solo at the moment for a song that already have a 2min bass solo. Due to technical reason I couldn't play the whole solo exactly the same so I have to improvise something to make it sound good but not too sluggish. I dig myself a hole to try learn all the chord scale and link them together without thinking how it sound. Maybe I should look at all the notes on the existing piece that I can play and mix them to try things out.
Its easy overthink things all way around until You arrive at the solution You ruled out as being too easy in the first place . Anyhow, you’ll figure it out! Good luck
That’s very useful! Thanks!
It took me a minute to realize but I’m playing this same song and trying to improvise a solo for it right now
thanks for the lesson on walking bass line .it help m
THANK YOU SO MUCH
It's time for a rousing Tuba solo!
As i progress in learning to play bass .. I come back to more advanced stuff like luke's and that AHA moment where the last time it may have been too advanced for me at that time but it makes sense now .. And now im ready to learn this lesson as my understanding of the bass over 7 mos allows me this..i have memoried and can find the notes...say a Bb ... I can move to a higher or lower Bb string sizewise. A C for instance may not sound correct or deliver the emotional in the wrong octave so when im learning strictly by chords i can get to another octave as nesessary to make practicing a true learning experience mood
thanks its great.
Great concepts .... Liked & Subscribed!
thanks Luke McIntosh Your approach sure sounds good to me since I want to get started playing a bass. Great knowing there are ways to learn without making it so mentally stressful or not attainable. .
I'm glad you like it - and you're 100% right. It doesn't have to be complicated to get started. In fact, a lot of the time, the simpler it is, the more impact it has!
What I like about this guy is he gets straight into the lesson. Other guys on here talk too much or clown around too much.
Thank you so much for the video
You're welcome! I'm glad you like it.
Yeees, it's one of the best way!
The wedding gig story gold! Happens to the best of us! Well done to get one clap. I reckon even Jaco would struggle to get a clap during the dinner set hahaha
You help me a lot
That shirt is too funny! Really great tips on these videos. Thank you.
Glad you like the shirt AND the videos! Haha!
Yeah! Yeah? Great lessons yeah. I’m glad I found this channel yeah.
Yeah?
Took me the whole video to finally get the t-shirt reference... 🙃
Great video too... I've got a long way to go...
I mentioned Andy Fraser of the band Free in another video comment section. Have you ever heard the bass solo at the end of the live version of Mr Big by Free? It’s my all time favourite bass solo. Another favourite is the bass solo intro to N.I.B by Black Sabbath. Simple but effective. Good on ya Luke. Keep it up. 👍
method #4, i. e. playing notes from melody in different order is 100% playing scale notes
however it's true that many teachers don't explain what are scales for and how to use them and which notes are more universal (1st, 5th, 3rd, 4th) and which are more "specialized" (2nd, 6th and 7th)
My eyes opener was to learn that when a song is in key C-Major, I can use any high register note from C-major scale at any time and it will fit, no matter what chord is being played - as long it's diatonic (i. e. consists of C-major notes, like Gmaj7 or A minor or B diminished etc)
Good video anyway
This is a powerful concept. Should be obvious and common wisdom but it's not. Tim Pierce gives the same advice for his quite musically advanced audience, but most lessons on improvisation will focus on scales and arpeggios. Needless to say, learning to play iconic melodies is an effective way to learn how to write your own, on the spot.
Definitely! The scales and arpeggios can be useful, but the goal for me is to make melodies. They might contain scales and arpeggios, but a lot of the time, I'm not thinking in those terms. I wish I'd listened to the 'learn to play melodies' way earlier in my life. It would have made a huge difference to the younger me.
I will learn bass with you
Thanks a lot ... please continue that videos
Can u plzz make a video on how to choose notes (scales) for a bass solo/groove.
Thank you. Very good teacher.
Cheers Stefan. Hope the video helps!
Very good video. Keep it up. :D
Thanks Thomas! Will do!
Great lessons. Good pace, good information, well executed 😎😎👍🏻👍🏻
Awesome to hear! Thanks so much for watching!
I know what your saying Luke, I tell students to learn the melody like you said but know it inside out. Then embellish it rhythmic ideas etc. Also use the bassline of the song and mess with it. Ultimately learn the chord tones and the scales that apply.
i love this lesson , ps u look good with beard
Haha! You're too kind!
Nice Beatles shirt!
I've liked and subscribed. Do not take this the wrong way. Do a video on bassplaying farmers in Australia. Maybe skip over to New Zealand as well, yeah? Bungyjumping. Or Basejumping!
Do you know a lot of bass playing farmers in Australia? I don’t think I know any.
nice bass! :)
Thanks! It was my first 'serious' bass.
The scruff suits you, Luke. Thanks for the lesson and stay righteous!
Haha! Thanks Scott. Glad you like it! (The scruff - I guess the lesson too!)
Great lesson, and what a simple but powerful idea!
I think you should be playing a Beatle Bass though.
Thanks Phillip - glad you enjoyed the lesson! Why a Beatles bass though?
Because of the beetle t-shirt!
Haha!!! Of course! I almost forgot I was wearing that shirt in this video.
Thanks Luke, makes sense - now when I think about, doesn't the bass solo in 'Brown Eyed Girl just mainly play the melody?
If I remember right, the bass just plays the regular bass line rather than the vocal melody, but that’s also an option if you’re really stuck and don’t know what to play. It’s already a part of the song, so you know it’s going to work well.
That's a beautiful bass you've got there!
What brand is it?
it looks like an ibanez and those pickup shapes appear to be bartolini. Not 100% tho
bravissimo
Do you have any idea how awesome you are?
I knew it would be a mistake I got that the , I got the numbers on the tab board , 3rd fret fine 4th fret fine but in between there’s number 10 don’t get it . Could you help cheers Greg
Wow, that's a nice looking bass! What kind is it?
I see a problem here. The bassist is hot, but he's also a bassist. So does he get chicks or not?
Sorry friend - I'm taken.
so you get... chick
Bassest are the hottest!
@@CuteSceneChic good to know lmao
Ask Bill Wayman too.
well that's one nice quick way to get started. I must try it, improv is a problem for me.
The first song is called Isn't she lovely by the way. i love that song lmao
When he said “Calm your farm” I laughed
What's the meaning of it?
this guys fucking awesome shiii
Are octaves good for inprovising?
🤯
what kind of bass is that! it very nice
In this video, it's an Ibanez SR1000