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Blues bass YT channels

swooch

swooch

Jun 30, 2005
77
22
Sweden
#1
Hi!
Does anyone know any YouTube channel that focuses on blues bass? I can play well enough, I know my theory and my blues basics, but I’m after more inspiration.

Perfect for me would be a channel with one short video per bass line. Maybe showing off some classic songs with good, reusable lines, like “Black magic woman” or whatever.

Yes, I could listen to more blues and find these lines myself - I just don’t have the time to put in that effort (especially wading through all these 1 3 5 6 5 3 type lines.)
 
#2
Of course a deep dive into any style requires a lot of listening.

But, if I wanted to delve into blues, and had decided that I don't have time for research, I would get the Jon Liebman's Blues Bass: The Complete Method. This recommendation is based solely on my experience with the blues chapter of his Bass Grooves: The Ultimate Collection. I would expect a no-nonsense catalog of useful lines in various blues styles.

And I would practice on a southbound train to the delta, preferably passing a steel mill or smokestack, after my baby done me wrong.
 
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#3
@mambo4 thanks for the suggestion! From the description of the book in the page you linked, it sounds like just what I’m after.

since it’s the complete method, I’m assuming it’s useful also for an intermediate player like me. Would you agree?
 
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#4
mambo4 said:
Of course a deep dive into any style requires a lot of listening.

But, if I wanted to delve into blues, and had decided that I don't have time for research, I would get the Jon Liebman's Blues Bass: The Complete Method. This recommendation is based solely on my experience with the blues chapter of his Bass Grooves: The Ultimate Collection. I would expect a no-nonsense catalog of useful lines in various blues styles.

And I would practice on a southbound train to the delta, preferably passing a steel mill or smokestack, after my baby done me wrong.
Click to expand...

And you have to fall asleep on said train. Cuz everybody knows you can't have the blues until you "woke up this mornin."
 
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#9
antfarm said:
Not a YouTube channel and not free, but this course on TrueFire teaches 50 Blues bass lines, one short video at a time. There are some free samples as well.

50 Blues Bass Licks You Must Know - Bass Guitar Lessons - Jasper Mortier - TrueFire
Click to expand...
They also have a course called "Blues Bass Survival Guide" with Andrew Ford that was pretty good and covered a lot of ground beyond the basic R-3-5-6 stuff. When I did it there were lots of errors in the notation, but that may have been fixed by now. I wouldn't pay full price for the Truefire courses, but they have $5 sales fairly often.
 
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#10
If you want to get away from Elvis-style 1-3-5-6-5-3 walks over I-IV-V, you might want to funk it up rhythmically (like New Orleans style) or learn some jazz substitutions, esp. ii-V-I leading into the changes, like if you're in F, in measure 4 insert Cm7b5-F7 to land on the Bb7 in the 4th bar, etc. If you're playing with an educated pianist or guitarist, they might already be doing these, and you just need to recognize them and follow along.

Check out some Meters or Neville Brothers or Dr. John for the former, or Aebersold play alongs for the latter (like "blues in all keys").
 
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#11
swooch said:
Hi!
Yes, I could listen to more blues and find these lines myself - I just don’t have the time to put in that effort (especially wading through all these 1 3 5 6 5 3 type lines.)
Click to expand...

As another option you might consider is hanging out at your local blues jam. Every city has them. That's how I learned to play bass. I was a harmonica player, sometimes acoustic guitar hacker, and occasionally played a song on bass (just roots). So I started going to the local blues jams. I would get up and play harmonica, then the rest of the night I would sit and listen and watch the bass players. At a blues jam you can usually get up close and hear and see what the bass player is doing. Then I would go home and work on what I saw/heard played. Eventually after a long time, I got to the point where I felt like I knew enough to bring my bass to the jam and play. And that was the start of my blues bass education!
 
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#12
I look for clips like this, when you can really hear a heavy jazz cat walking the blues. If you listen to a lot of blues the "jazz" stuff will jump out at you right away and give you some new ideas to play with.

If you aren't experienced with tritone substitutions that would be a major thing to learn and explore as well.

To get outside the traditional blues world, listen to guys like Roscoe Beck (with Robben Ford) and Pino Palladino (with John Mayer) and you'll hear a lot of depth in their playing beyond the standard blues cliche walking lines. If you prefer the really funky stuff go get some Freddie King records and check out tunes like Pack It Up and My Credit Didn't Go Through, which aren't 12-bar songs but a lot of blues bands cover.

I've worked in the blues scene for over 20 years, most gigs come down to knowing about a dozen common forms and feels, and adapting those to fit the tune or players on stage. If you go see, or sub with, any working blues band the majority of their set list will fall into pretty standard categories: shuffles, box shuffles, 12/8 blues, jazz/uptown changes (I-vi-ii-V), minor blues (Thrill is Gone), etc.
 
#13
For a great reference may I suggest the Hal Leonard Bass Method, Blues Bass by Ed Friedland.
Covers the basics including starts, stops, turnarounds etc. along with a good representation of "the standards"
 

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