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    Plectrum Technique for Bass Guitar
    Plectrum Technique for Bass Guitar
    Plectrum Technique for Bass Guitar
    Ebook229 pages3 hours

    Plectrum Technique for Bass Guitar

    By Stuart Clayton

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Plectrum Technique for Bass Guitar is the third book in the popular
    Bass Techniques Series and is a complete method for learning to play the bass guitar with a plectrum. Starting with the absolute basics, it covers logical applications of the alternate picking technique and demonstrates how they can be applied to play any bassline with a pick that can be played with the fingers. There are 201 exercises in the book, as well as four full-length study pieces. All exercises are supported by audio files which are free to download from the publisher's website.

    The book contains the following chapters:

    Chapter 1 - Alternate Picking - Part 1
    Chapter 2 - String Crossing
    Chapter 3 - Alternate Picking - Part 2
    Chapter 4 - Semiquaver Rhythms - Part 1
    Chapter 5 - Semiquaver Rhythms - Part 2
    Chapter 6 - Semiquaver Rhythms - Part 3
    Chapter 7 - Triplets
    Chapter 8 - Rock and Metal Basslines
    Chapter 9 - Pop Basslines
    Chapter 10 - Funk and R&B Basslines
    Chapter 11 - Plectrum Study #1
    Chapter 12 - Plectrum Study #2
    Chapter 13 - Plectrum Study #3
    Chapter 14 - Plectrum Study #4
    Chapter 15 - Carol Kaye
    Chapter 16 - Anthony Jackson

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStuart Clayton
    Release dateAug 8, 2017
    ISBN9781912126200
    Plectrum Technique for Bass Guitar
    Author

    Stuart Clayton

    Stuart Clayton has been a professional musician and writer for over ten years. He has worked as a staff writer for Bass Guitar Magazine since its first issue, written seven bass instruction books for Sanctuary Publishing, including 100 Tips For Bass Guitar You Should Have Been Told, Crash Course: Bass, Bass Xtreme, Basic Bass Workout and Giants Of Bass and toured the world with Carl Palmer. He now runs his own company, Bassline Publishing, which publishes transcription books for legendary bassists such as Mark King, Stuart Hamm, Bernard Edwards and John Entwistle, as well as an acclaimed range of tuition books such as Ultimate Slap Bass and Solo Arrangements for Electric Bass. He is also Head of Bass at the British Institute of Modern Music (Bristol) and is an artist endorsee for Zon basses and Aguilar amplification.

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    • 5/5
      Stuart Clayton is a reliable and proficient instructor. His books really make you progress if you do the exercice patiently. The audio files are a great resource too.

    Book preview

    Plectrum Technique for Bass Guitar - Stuart Clayton

    Plectrum Technique for Bass Guitar

    By Stuart Clayton

    Published by Bassline Publishing at Smashwords

    Copyright 2015 Stuart Clayton

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    Table of Contents

    Introduction

    Getting Started

    Technique

    Chapter 1 - Alternate Picking (Part 1)

    Chapter 2 - String Crossing

    Chapter 3 - Alternate Picking (Part 2)

    Chapter 4 - Semiquaver Rhythms (Part 1)

    Chapter 5 - Semiquaver Rhythms (Part 2)

    Chapter 6 - Semiquaver Rhythms (Part 3)

    Chapter 7 – Triplets

    Styles

    Chapter 8 - Rock and Metal Basslines

    Chapter 9 - Pop Basslines

    Chapter 10 - Funk and R&B Basslines

    Performance Pieces

    Chapter 11 - Plectrum Study #1

    Chapter 12 - Plectrum Study #2

    Chapter 13 - Plectrum Study #3

    Chapter 14 - Plectrum Study #4

    Closing Words

    Biographies & Interviews

    Chapter 15 - Carol Kaye

    Chapter 16 - Anthony Jackson

    About the Author

    Introduction

    Welcome to Plectrum Technique for Bass Guitar, the third book in the Bass Techniques series. Like all of our other books, this one is a complete beginner to advanced method for the technique, so whether you’ve been picking for years or are just getting started, there will be plenty here for you to learn.

    Although I’ve been playing the bass guitar for over twenty years, I only began to seriously work on my plectrum technique about five years ago. Like a lot of pro players, I had previously disregarded pick playing to some extent, considering it to be something only required by rock/metal bassists. As I rarely played much of either style, there seemed little point in me working on it. However, a few years ago I was asked to teach a plectrum class at the music college I work for. At the same time, I realised that I was being asked to use a pick more often in recording sessions. Although my rudimentary picking skills were just about sufficient for each situation, I decided that it was time to learn the technique properly.

    To my surprise, I found that whilst there are a number of tutorial books written for the guitar, very little has been written about how to learn to use a plectrum on bass! This speaks volumes to the fact that many bassists seem to consider the technique to be something you ‘just do’, rather than learn to do. But as I began to work with the plectrum myself, I encountered many hurdles regarding technique, picking patterns, muting and more. To overcome these, I consulted other bass players, students of mine more adept at picking than myself and several guitarists. Further research, including consulting forums and watching videos helped me to begin filling in the gaps, but of course, as with anything, opinions on how best to apply the technique vary wildly. I spent a lot of time consolidating the information that I found, dismissing that which was inaccurate or misleading and refining it all into a logical approach. Along the way I also transcribed and learnt many pieces that are noted for their picked basslines: Carol Kaye’s lines on ‘Hikky Burr’ (Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby) and ‘Games People Play’ (Mel Tormé), as well as Pat Badger’s parts on Extreme songs such as ‘Cupid’s Dead’ and ‘Get the Funk Out’ were undeniable highlights. Eventually I began making good progress with the technique and the pieces began to fall into place. Over the next few years I was able to use what I had learnt to refine my approach through my teaching, along the way helping other bassists to overcome the same hurdles that I had faced.

    This book - the result of my own studies - represents what I believe to be the most logical route to plectrum proficiency. The information has been presented here in a cumulative manner, meaning that regardless of your ability, you should start at the beginning and work through the chapters in order. The book is split into four main parts. The first part - Technique - does precisely what it says on the tin: this is the largest part of the book and is a step-by-step method for learning the picking technique effectively. The second part of the book - Styles - is a further selection of exercises, broken down by style. Here you’ll find rock and metal grooves, funk basslines (including some complex semiquaver-based lines) and a selection of pop basslines. The third part of the book - Performance Pieces - contains some longer studies for you to work on. These are challenging pieces that should be worked on slowly and carefully over time and used as practice material to keep your picking chops in shape.

    The fourth and final part of the book is Biographies and Interviews, which features two important bass players who are known for their plectrum work: Carol Kaye and Anthony Jackson. Over the course of their long and distinguished careers, they have each played on countless recording sessions, with many well-known artists. Therefore, for each player I have included a selected discography containing songs that I strongly recommend that you check out. Doing so will be enormously beneficial to your studies.

    Audio Files

    All of the exercises in this book come with an accompanying audio file to listen to and where appropriate, a backing track. All of the required audio files can be downloaded FREE from the Bassline Publishing website. To do so, simply log in to your account and click on the Free Stuff! link on the main menu. You’ll find the audio files in a zip folder listed with the bonus content for this book. Right click and select ‘Save as’ to download.

    I’d like to thank a few people for their help and support during the writing of this book: legendary bassist Carol Kaye for agreeing to be interviewed for this project and for being so gracious with her time, Ebet Roberts for the photograph of Anthony Jackson, Martin Sims for turning my old Starforce bass into a picking machine, James Uings for help with mixing and mastering the audio, Paul Kaufman at IK Multimedia, Joel McIver at Bass Guitar Magazine, Corey Brown at NoTreble.com, Nick Wells at iBass Magazine, Joe Zon for his amazing basses, Dave Avenius at Aguilar, Adrian Ashton, all of my private students and of course all of my students past and present at BIMM Bristol. Finally, I’d like to thank my wife Laura for the fantastic cover design, as well as her love and support.

    I hope that you enjoy working through this book and that it helps you to master the picking technique. As ever, I would be delighted to hear your thoughts, as well as answer any questions that you might have. Please feel free to send emails to stuart@basslinepublishing.com.

    Stuart Clayton

    December 2014

    Getting Started

    Before you make a start on playing with a plectrum, there are a few practical matters for you to consider and experiment with. In this section we will look at each of these in turn - hopefully this will help you to make the right decisions about how to proceed.

    Holding the Plectrum

    Some players hold the plectrum differently, but most will grasp it between the thumb and tip of the first finger as shown in the photographs below - I recommend that you do the same. Aim to have about 3-4mm of the plectrum protruding from your fingers. This is something that you should experiment with - if you allow too much of the pick to strike the string you will increase the risk of snagging as you play. Be careful not to grip the plectrum too firmly - if you experience discomfort in your thumb muscle, it is likely that you are gripping the plectrum too tightly. Hold it firmly, but not too hard.

    The other fingers of your picking hand can either be curled up into your hand, or remain extended slightly where they will rest against the upper strings. Either is fine.

    Although you may have seen bassists or

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