Hi...I'm very interested in learning
Bass playing techniques (accompaniment and soloing) for various styles of music such as jazz, blues, funk(especially funk) pop,etc...Can anyone recommend ANY type of source material( books, videos, CD's) that can get me going in this direction.

------------------

Thanx,
demitch

Good question. I also want to improve my techniques and welcome good suggestions from our senior players/the pros. So far I have been using simple techniques that works quite well - basically just using the same notes as in the chords. In the beginning of a measure I will use the note that is the main note of the chord. So if C is the chord in a particular portion of the song then I hit C at the beginning of measure. But during the measure, for variety/interest, I use different notes in the same family of the chord. For the rhythm of the bass, just listen to various types of music and notice the way the bass player hits the notes.

A bass run I use alot is 1st finger and thumb on 1 and 8(C and C octave up)
Sequence is 18 38 58 68 repeating. This with different emphasis is useful for a variety of styles eg swing, shuffle, johnny be Goode type of stuff. Hitting chord with right hand. Alternatively for Johnny be Goode I use Piano 1+5 1+6 repeating plus right hand .

demitch,
Checkout out the book "Building Bass Lines", by Chuck Archard. It can be purchased from: http://store.yahoo.com/playmusic/bass.html

The BEST way to pick up different bass playing styles and bass line ideas is to listen to some of your FAVORITE CD recordings (Jazz & Funk are my personal bass favorites) and LISTEN to WHAT the bass player is doing. Then work on playing this bass line on your keyboard WHILE playing the CD. Have FUN !
- Scott

Hello everyone.... Good topic I agree with scottyee. The best thing to do is to listen to regular CD's and pay close attention to how the bass parts are played. Also it would be good to talk to someone who is a bass or guitar player. They can give you some good hints on how to play the bass. What people have to keep in mind is that you can't select a bass preset and then play the keys like a piano. You have to think like a bass player. There are differnt fingering styles to learn. Also I think one of the best bass sounds to practice with is a good slap bass. I'm talking about a keyboard that has a slap bass, but uses velocity curving. A good one will have both a fingered bass and a slap bass that are layered... Even some of the lower end boards will do this. When you play the board lightly you get the fingered bass, and when you hit the key harder you get the slap bass. This is a great sound to practive with because once you master the techniques you'll be amazed at how good it sounds....

Squeak