This week’s question is a good one. Let’s have a look:
Question: Playing lead and rhythm? being part of a commercial band? knowing all the scales? being able to show off to an audience? being able to replicate any song on demand? Having a different colour guitar? Playing left-handed? playing a variety of styles? having an extensive fan-base? Being able to play any song by ear? Making your own solo on the spot? etc.
Answer: Most people have not answered the question. The practice practice and more practice is what it takes to become a good guitarist, but great guitarist ? I have known many guitarists and after the initial learning process, most simply accept their position in the order of things and do not get better or worse….25 years later they are still playing the same riffs. This leads me to believe that providing you have the basics and can play, being great is very much in the lap of the gods…..you either are or you aren’t !
A tough guitar players question this week. Let’s dive straight in
Question: Hi, am learning bass and would like to know the notes I can use in each scale eg…C which notes would fit when making a bass line and sound ok?? any ideas where I can get this info from please?? thanks in advance peeps!
Answer: Okay, it depends entirely on what key the rest of the band is playing in and whether it’s a major or minor key. It also depends if you’re playing bluesy stuff, straight rock, heavy rock or whatever.
The basic rule is, stick with the root note of the chord so if your guitarist or keyboard player is playing an E chord play an E and so on. If you want to get more adventurous, use the octave of the note you’re playing and the 5th as a fill in – for example if the chord is G, and assuming it’s a four string bass, put your first finger on the bottom E at the third fret, then move your ring finger or little finger to the 5th fret on the A and D strings. Pluck or pick the bottom string followed by the D string, then down to the A and back to the bottom string. You can move this shape all over the fret board and get some great results.
Best thing you can do is learn to know what chord your guitarist/ keyboard player is playing and work from there. You can sometimes play either the third or fifth note in the chord instead of the root note as that adds colour, but don’t go mad to start with. The main thing with all bass playing is tight, precise rhythm and for that I use Jim Dunlop Delrin 2mm picks, same as Flea!
