Fillins? Licks?

[spikesstickies]

I've been playing bass now for a good 2-3 years, and most of the time when i'm playing i'm usually stuck with the same lick of fillin and the tendency to use it wrongly, for example using a major fillin on a minor song, is relatively high. I've tried learning modes and pentatonics and all those kind of stuff but can't seem to get down to creating a good fillin or riff. Most of the time i'm just forcing the lick into the song without knowing the proper stuff to do. Any ideas or advice on how to develop fillins or licks?

Cheers, Spike

[cschenk78]

Listen to some CDs and such that have fills you like and Trranscribe them (figure them out)...

[Correlli]

When I'm playing in a band situation, I only have 4 patterns I use.

Try and practice your rhythm more.

Trick of the Trade: don't tell this to anyone.
- Put a CD on of your favorite music.
- Turn it up the volume so you CAN'T hear the sound coming from the instrument.
- Listen closely and follow the drums - nothing else!
- Pick out a couple of patterns and pretend to play drums on your instrument.
- Concentrate on RHYTHM only.
- Take your eyes off the fretboard, so you can't see what you're playing. It doesn't matter anyway, because you can't hear your instrument in the first place. Get it.
-Forget about the notes you're playing and just concentrate on RHYTHM, pretend to play drums on your instrument.



It's not what you've got, but how you use it. That's where rhythm comes in.