Hey, James here!
Today, I'm going to show you two bass lines that changed my musical life forever. Now I know the title of this video. “Learn Jazz Bass In 5 Minutes” is plainly ridiculous, particularly as a conservatoire-trained musician who spent four years studying this subject and knows full well it's a lifelong voyage of discovery, learning this style of music.
So let me give you the story and the context to these two bars. Years ago, when I was first starting out, I was playing the electric guitar and the bass guitar and nothing I would do or play on the instrument sounded like jazz. Jazz was just this complete enigma, which for years I felt I could never get anywhere near. So I listened to my dad, who is also a bass player, and his friend Mike, jamming, and I write down these chords like C7, Gb9, A13 For instance, I'd go to play them and they would sound nothing like what they were playing. And then there was this light bulb moment when my dad's friend Mike said, "Try this." And literally in less than 5 minutes I started getting the jazz sound in my head because I was using the correct voicings on the instrument. So what I'm going to show you today is these two bars, which I originally learned on the electric guitar, but then I realized they were just as well on the bass guitar, too.
Jazz bass is a complex and rewarding style of music to play, but it can be intimidating to get started if you're not familiar with the fundamentals. That's why I wanted to share this quick tutorial to help you learn jazz bass easily. In this video, I'll show you the two-bar bass line that started my jazz bass journey, and hopefully will start yours too! This bass line touches the concepts of walking bass, chromatic approach notes, tritones, and many more. Even if you're a complete beginner, this tutorial is designed to be accessible and engaging, so you can start playing jazz bass with confidence. Whether you're looking to expand your musical horizons or simply want to explore a new style of music, our 'Learn Jazz Bass In 5 Minutes' video is the perfect place to start. So grab your bass guitar and join me for a quick and fun jazz bass lesson!
How long did it take you to learn this bass line? Share it in the comments below!
Until next time, keep on jamming.
I'll see you next week!