Scott Devine

Pick/Plectrum Lesson (L#60)

Bass line at the start of the lesson

"You're not cheating if you are using a plectrum...don't limit yourself."

Ex.1 The Main Riff

°? 4 œ ‰ j nœ œ œ ≈ Œ nœ œ œ
œ œ œ œ #œ
4 œ œ #œ nœ œ œ #œ œ ≈ ¿ nœ

10 10 9 X 10 10 9 0 7 0 3 4
3 3 4 5 3 3 3 4 5 3
¢¤

°? nœ œ œ
œ œ #œ œ ≈ ¿ nœ ≈Œ œ œ #œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ #œ œ #œ ¿ œ
¿ ¿ ¿

X 10 10 9
3 3 4 5 3 3 3 4 5 X X X 5
¢¤ X 2 X 3 X 4 X 5

nœ œ œ nœ œ œ œœ # œœ
°?
œ œ #œ œ ≈ ¿ nœ ≈ Œ œ œ #œ œ ≈ ¿ nœ ≈ ‰

10 11
X 10 10 9 10 10 9 8 10
3 3 4 5 3 3 3 4 5 X 3
¢¤

Copyright © 2013 Scotts bass lessons

 2

œ œ œ#œ œ nœ œ
°? ≈ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™
¿ #œ œ ≈ ¿ nœ ≈≈¿ œ

12 10 11 10 9
X 10 10 9 X 5 12 10 0 9 9 7 7 5
X 4 5 3
¢¤

Practice alternating down stokes and up strokes

02:16 Ex.2 C major scale example
°? œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ

Down up down up down up down up etc

7 9 10 9 7
7 8 10 10 8 7
¢¤ 8 10 10 8

"By doing this you can get a lot faster".

03:30 Ex.3 Practice alternating on one note with the backing track
°? ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
™

™ ™
¢¤ ™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™
"Use your palm to dampen the string".

Copyright © 2013 Scotts bass lessons

 3

06:20 Practice alternating on one note with the backing track

°? œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ#œ œ

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 2 2 3 3 4 4
¢¤

°? œ œ œ œ#œ œ nœ œ#œ œ œ œ œ œn œ œ # œ œ
#œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ#œ œ
4 4 5 5 6 6
0 0 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7
2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5
¢¤ 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5

°? œ œ #œ œnœ œ#œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ#œ œnœ œ#œ œ œ œ œ œnœ œ#œ œ ˙ Ó

7 7
4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7
2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 2 2 3 3 4 4 5
¢¤ 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5

07:36 Practice locking in with the drums by playing quarter notes. then add 16th notes on beat 1.
Finally add the 16th notes to all other beats of the bar.
°? ™ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
™

™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™
¢¤ ™ 5 5 5 5 ™ ™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™ ™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™
"Concentrate on locking in with the drums".

°? ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
™

™ ™ ™ ™
¢¤ ™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™ ™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™

Copyright © 2013 Scotts bass lessons

 4

12:12 Ex.4 Combining Patterns

°? œ #œ œ #œ œ œ
œ œ #œ #œ œ #œ œ œ œ #œ

4 5 6 7
5 2 3 4 5 2 3 4
¢¤ 2 3 4 5

°? œ œ#œ œ nœ œ#œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ#œ œ
Etc
4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7
5 5 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 2 2 3 3 4 4
¢¤ 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5

Copyright © 2013 Scotts bass lessons

Pick/plectrum Lesson (L#60)

Your Action Plan

In my experience many bass players look down upon

using a plectrum (also known as a pick). They see it as
somehow cheating, or a lesser form of bass playing. I
expect this point of view has arisen via the
unfortunate 'bad guitar players become bass players'
misconception. As most guitar players use a
plectrum, if they get frustrated with their progress on
the guitar and start to try out bass instead, inevitably
they keep using the plectrum as that's what they're
used to and feel most comfortable with. This leads to
bass purists who look down somewhat on guitar
players moving to bass to view the use of a plectrum
as a negative.

They could not be more wrong!

First of all, there is no need to look down on guitar

players moving over to bass no matter what the
circumstances. But most of all there are some
fantastically talented bass players that play
exclusively with a plectrum.

Copyright © 2013 Scott’s Bass Lessons

 I want you to check some of these players out to
hear how great the bass can sound when played with
a plectrum.

• Bobby Vega
• Steve Swallow
• Carles Benavent

Strangely, selecting the right plectrum can effect the

way you use it. Finding the perfect plectrum for you
comes down to personal taste and what sound
you're trying to achieve. I recommend trying
different thicknesses at first. Personally I prefer very
hard plectrums that don't have any give in them at
all, while Bobby Vega uses thin plectrums and
actually doesn't even play with the tip of the
plectrum, he plays with the side. Once you have
selected a gauge that feels right, try experimenting
with different sizes. I prefer small plectrums whereas
as other players I know hate the small ones and
choose too use much larger ones as it feels more
comfortable for them.

Whatever you decide to go with at first, chances are

it's going to take a lot of experimentation to find
what's perfect for you. Take your time and enjoy the
journey.

Copyright © 2013 Scott’s Bass Lessons

1. Now let's look at the lesson! Work through each of
the exercises slowly starting with the simple
alternate picking exercises and progressing through
to using the chromatic approaches discussed and
demonstrated towards the end of the lesson.

Your main aim should be to completely 'lock in' with

the drum groove and feel comfortable moving
around the fretboard while doing so. To achieve this
you have to be constantly aware of the drum groove,
always listening to it and 'feeling' it. The drums and
bass should be locked together so tight they're
almost like one instrument.

Scott Devine

Copyright © 2013 Scott’s Bass Lessons