30 Rock Grooves for Beginners | The TrueFire Collection

Lifetime Streaming Access on JamPlay with an Interactive Experience from TrueFire

We are excited to bring you top-ranked courses from TrueFire, our sister TrueFire Studios company. Your purchase includes lifetime streaming of the course here on JamPlay PLUS downloads of the course for desktop and mobile. Learn at your own pace with tab, video-sync notation, looping, slo-mo, play-along tracks, and many other learning tools! Join 3+ million music learners and pro musicians worldwide who practice smart and play hard with TrueFire Studios family of music education companies; TrueFire, JamPlay, ArtistWorks and FaderPro!

Andrew Ford's 30 Rock Bass Grooves for Beginners is a versatile collection of timeless rock bass lines and grooves. ”I’ve selected 30 bass grooves that cover the full range of rhythmic approaches and techniques that every rock bass player should know. We’ll work on driving eighth-note grooves, straight-ahead rockers, southern rock bass grooves, funky dotted quarter-note rhythms, implied eighth-note rhythms, 12/8 grooves, Latin-influenced rock bass line, leading chromatic tones, boogie feels, and much more! Learn more or start the course with membership

Course Details

32 Lessons

2 Hour+ Runtime

Tabs (gpx, pdf)

Playalong Tracks

HD+ Video Quality

90 day guarantee

Get All Access

Stream online, plus all other courses with membership.

Meet Andrew Ford

Andrew Ford is a bass player, composer, arranger, producer, and educator. He has performed with legendary artists in almost every major genre of music, while also having a Masters degree in Education. He has recorded, toured, or performed with Al Jarreau, Whitney Houston, David Crosby, Robben Ford, Chaka Khan, George Duke, Gladys Knight, James Ingram, Israel Houghton, Dianne Reeves, Peabo Bryson, Patti Austin, Lynne Fiddmont, Christopher Cross, Jerry Butler, Michael McDonald, David Pack, The Emotions, Melissa Manchester, Brenda Russell, Phil Perry, The Stylistics, Larry Carlton, Oleta Adams, Jeffrey Osborne, Jeff Lorber, Deniece Williams, Randy Crawford, Norman Brown, Graham Nash, Boney James, Paul Brown, Kirk Whalum, Michael Paulo and many others. Andrew has taught bass at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood(BIT), Citrus Community College, the Los Angeles Music Academy, and the University of La Verne. He has also taught Music Business at the college level. He has written or co-written many songs, including "Flame" which is on the 2013 Grammy Nominated Al Jarreau project. Andrew has also had success writing for TV, with a number of songs in regular rotation.

Explore the Course

Tools of the Trade:

Andrew provides everything you need to ROCK!

32 Video Lessons
30 Charts
30 JamTracks
Over 2hrs of Rock grooves

Grooves in the style of:

Andrew covers tracks in the style of legendary favorites!

Black Magic Woman
Jumping Jack Flash
Slow Ride
Do It Again

Rock JamTracks in the style of:

See Andrew perform in the style of classic rock staples made specifically for the beginner player!

White Room
Another Brick in the Wall
Summer Breeze
Ramblin’ Man and more!

30 Rock Grooves for Beginners

Grab your bass and let's rock out with Andrew Ford!

For each of the 30 grooves, Andrew will demonstrate the bass line over a rhythm track and then break it down note-by-note, emphasizing the right and left-hand techniques being used.

All of the bass lines are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can play, loop and/or slow down the tab and notation as you work through the lessons. Plus, Andrew includes all of the rhythm tracks for you to work with on your own. This course offers 32 lessons covering 2+ hours of material in step-by-step, digestible presentation.

Lessons in this Course

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners: Introduction

Hi, I'm Andrew Ford, and welcome to 30 Rock Bass Grooves for Beginners. A great way for any beginner bass player to start developing solid rock chops is to learn the bass lines and grooves from dozens of timeless classic rock hits, many of which are still being played on the radio today. Not only will you find yourself playing these songs with your friends, or at the local jam, they also provide a solid foundation to build on as you progress into more modern styles of rock bass. I've selected 30 bass grooves that cover the full range of rhythmic approaches and techniques that you'll need to know to build your own foundation. I'll break down each performance note for note, you'll get tab and notation for each, AND you'll get all of the rhythm tracks to work with as well. You can also loop and slow down any of the performances so you can work with the materials at your own pace. So, grab your bass and lets get started!

2:41 Runtime

0.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Quarter to Four: Groove 1

This driving groove is based on the song "25 or 6 to 4" by the band Chicago. It's a 4-bar phrase that repeats the same motif for the first 3 bars but with different notes. The focus here is driving those root notes and that repetitive but catchy rhythm. In Bar 4, we deviate from the rhythm with some straight eighth notes to end the phrase and set up the new phrase. In the first bar, we use A on the D string to play those roots, I like playing higher on the fretboard, it tends to be a little warmer. Next, we move down to the G in the bass playing that same motif, then with Gb, and lastly, we change up the pattern using all 8ths to finish out the phrase, four 8th notes on the root F, and then 4 other notes on the G.

3:34 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Drivin' Blind: Groove 2

This groove is similar to the song "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by Bachman Turner Overdrive. This medium tempo 2-bar phrase is an open melodic bass line that uses quite a bit of the range of the bass going from low G on the E string up to D at the 7th fret of the G string. The drum pattern with no snare allows for the bass line to really sing out. We begin with a quarter note playing the root A on the E string and then jump up to the octave on beat 2. We hold this A all the way up until the eighth note leading note, E on the D string, that sets up the next bar which is a quarter note on G (the root), which can be open or at the 5th fret of the D string. Next, we have another rhythm on Beat 2, but this time it is two eighth notes, with the first, D, serving as the 5 of G and the next one (D) serving as the root to the next chord, which anticipates beat 3. We again hold this note all the way up until our final eighth note passing tone, E, which leads us back to the beginning of the phrase.

3:46 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Free Now: Groove 3

Groove 3 is based on the song "All Right Now" by the band Free. For this groove, we'll use a concept called pedaling. When you're asked to pedal a note as a bass player, it means that you play the same bass note even though the chords are changing, so obviously it must be a note which works over the different chords played. If someone asks you to pedal, just keep playing that same note. This groove also has a strong quarter note pulse where the notes are more staccato, meaning shorter in length. In the first bar, we just hammer those quarter notes on A (the root). In the next bar, the band changes to a G chord but the bass will still drive that A for the first half of the bar. Next, we have a phrase with two eighths and a quarter note in which the last two notes (F# and E) get away from the pedal. We're still pedaling, this ending phrase just adds a little variation to the phrase. Bar 3 changes chords again to D, still with our A in the bass. After the 2 quarter notes, we have a similar phrase using the same 3 notes but sort of inverted: E, F#, A, instead of A, F#, E. In Bar 4, we return to the straight A chord, nailing those quarter notes on beats 1 and 2 but then using a full eighth note phrase as a pivot to get us back to the beginning. It's a 5-6-1-6 pentatonic lick starting on E to F# played on the D string, moving up to A on the G string before ending with the F# again.

6:10 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Grand Daddy: Groove 4

This groove is based on the song "American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad. This time, we'll use an 8-bar phrase to demonstrate the beginning, middle, and end of the motif. We need all 8 bars to see how it kind of rises and falls. This one will have all eighth notes each bar, except for the last one, sticking to the root for the first half of the bar and then playing a pivoting groove on beats 3 and 4. We start with D, playing four eighth notes on the root then moving to a D-G-A-G on beats 3 and 4. The next bar repeats this, then Bars 3 and 4 move to a C chord where we play the root for the first half of the bar using those four eighth notes and ending playing a similar C-F-G-F pivot. In Bar 5, we switch to a Bb chord again starting on the root (Bb) and then play a Bb-F-G-F pivot. It's basically the same pivot we used over the C chord, but the notes are functioning as 5-6-5 instead of 4-5-4 as in the previous 4 bars. We have a quick chord change in Bar 6, going back to C using the root and then a C-G-A-G pivot, notice we used a C-F-G-F on the previous C chord. Bar 7 repeats our D chord pattern from Bars 1 and 2, and we end with a C chord, but our first note is D for a little variety, creating an anticipation for the listener to look for the root C that comes up on the next eighth note. We end that bar with the G-A-G pivot, different from the Bar 3 and 4 F-G-F pivot.

8:03 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Stay Away: Groove 5

Groove 5 is in the style of "American Woman" by the band Guess Who. This is a funkier groove that basically has one chord, E5. The nice thing about those open 5 chords is that they don't dictate the notes you have to play like other chords do. This groove focuses on the popular dotted quarter/eighth note rhythm, featured in all 4 bars. The first bar is just the root playing the dotted quarter/eighth with another dotted quarter/eighth. In Bar 2, we start with that dotted rhythm again but a couple things happen: There is a G5 chord that happens on beat 3 which changes the harmony to more like E minor. The riff over that chord is a slurred rhythm indicated by the symbol connecting the notes together. To slur two notes, we play the first note but don't articulate the next note with your plucking finger, only fingering it with the left hand. These two notes are A and B. We end this phrase on a D giving it a minor type sound. The next bar is the dotted quarter and eighth rhythm twice on the root E. In the last bar, we again have the dotted rhythm but yet another variation also very E minor sounding over the G5 chord. These notes, as do the notes in Bar 2 also outline the G major chord. The notes for the second half of that phrase are G on the D string, E, and D. It winds up being a nice 4 bar riff that goes up in Bar 2 and the opposite direction in Bar 4.

5:40 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Latin Magic: Groove 6

Now here's a Latin rock style groove in the style of "Black Magic Woman" by Carlos Santana. Here is yet another use of that dotted quarter/eighth note but in a different context. We have a Latin flavor with a little more edge and emphasis on beats two and four like you find in rock and roll. We have a 4-bar pattern with the same rhythm throughout. In the first two bars, the rhythm and bass notes stay the same, not uncommon for this style of music in order to establish a solid foundation for dancing, for all the other instruments, and the soloist. So, in Bar 1, we have the dotted quarter on the root D, followed by the 5 (A), playing an eighth note, then we have a rolling sort of four eighth note pattern that uses the notes C, C again, D, and back to C. We call that C the minor 7th, which is used a lot when we have minor chords like we have here. As I said, the next bar repeats, and then we have a new chord (A minor) in which we play the same exact pattern but using the notes that make up the chord. That is the root (A), the 5 (E), and then that b7 riff using 2 G's, an A, and another G. In the last bar, we go back to G and do a slightly different pattern still starting the same with the root (G) and the 5 (D), but then flipping the riff a little by starting on the b7 (F), and going down to the 5 (D), up to the root (G), and then going up higher to the 2nd (A). This actually leads us nicely back to the D chord, since the A leads nicely to D.

5:41 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

View this Lesson

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Jumpin' Jacks: Groove 7

Groove 7 is based on the bassline in "Jumping Jack Flash" by the Rolling Stones. This is a nice medium tempo groove with a strong quarter note driven bassline that is pretty funky but rocks. It's a 4 chord, 4-bar groove starting on D. The first bar starts with a couple of quarter notes on D, then we hold that second D past beat 3 and have syncopated rhythm using eighth notes on the up beats, which are the "ands" when we are counting. The C# and G# are on the "ands" of 3 and 4 respectively. The next bar changes to an A chord where we again reiterate that strong 1, 2 rhythm with the quarter notes. We follow that with another upbeat type of rhythm even though all 3 notes are not on up beats. They fall on the "and", 4, and with the notes C#, D, and D#. This last D# transitions nicely to the E chord in the next bar. On this chord, we give the bassline and the song some space, nice use of what we call dynamics, ways to make things come alive, not be so static. So, we have the root E playing a half note, in the same bar we follow that with a couple of quarter notes, the first one repeating the root and the second using that b7 which can be used with a major chord like E to give it a bluesy sound. The last bar has our old reliable dotted quarter eighth rhythm where the eighth is tied to a quarter note so we hold the note for that duration. Then, we finish with another quarter note all on the root B.

7:56 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Decelerated: Groove 8

This next groove is in the style of "Slow Ride" by Foghat. This is a straight ahead rocker with a cool bass riff. Basically in A, it combines eighth and quarter notes to give a nice bouncy feel to it. The first bar starts with two eighth notes on the root A. You'll notice we have a rest or silent note next. Rests are just like notes, but instead of playing them, we are quiet for the duration of the rest. So, with this eighth note rest, we're quiet for an eighth note duration. This rest puts more emphasis on the two eighth notes and lets them stand out a little more. The next half of the phrase has the whole band accenting beats 3 and 4 with quarter notes. The chords here are D and C, as are the bass notes. This next bar is all A5 chord, all eighth notes, and all A bass notes. The notes become more syncopated and dynamic because of the rests that are there. As a matter of fact, we leave out two down beats, 3 and 4. Now bar 3 becomes more downbeat oriented with the four eighth notes on the root A and then the quarters on D and C. Then, in the last bar, we go back to the more syncopated rhythm using rests with the eighth notes ending with an "and" - 4 - "and" rhythm using the notes A, A, the root, the b7 again, and G to make it a little more bluesy sounding.

5:20 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Deja Dan: Groove 9

Groove 9 is based on the groove for "Do It Again" by the great band Steely Dan. This is another one of those Latin tinged rockin' grooves with frequent use of that dotted quarter rhythm again along with some other eighth notes for contrast to keep things driving like a rock and roll song. The first bar starts with C minor for two beats, just playing the dotted rhythm with an eighth using the root C. For the next two beats, we do the same thing with D, all roots. Now, Bar 2 starts to add quite a bit more melodic movement and syncopation using all eighth notes. It starts with an Eb chord where we outline the first three notes of the Eb major scale, Eb, F, and G, before going down to D, the root of the next chord Dm7. On this chord, we push or play it on the up beat, the "and" of 2. Now, we hold this D indicated by the tie, and follow it with an eighth note phrase using D, F, and G. The next bar kind of flat lines with G pumping that dotted rhythm. The same chord holds for the last bar with us also continuing the dotted rhythm and ending on an eighth note run that outlines the G minor chord, C, D, F, and ends on G.

8:07 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Ivory Place: Groove 10

This groove is in the style of "White Room" by Cream. It's another cool rocker that is mostly quarter note based with some eighth note rhythms mixed in. The first bar has the D chord pounded with those two quarter notes. Then, we have a slight variation with two eighths and a quarter on the root, C, for beats 3 and 4. The next bar is all quarter note roots on B for 2 beats and then on Bb and C, which we'll play with a little less length than a normal quarter, indicated by the dots on top of the notes. They're meant to sound more like eighth notes. In Bar 3, we stay with the quarter note theme on the root D for two beats and then play this melodic rhythm over the F chord that consists of the root F, down to E, the major7, back to F, and ending on F# which transitions to the G chord in Bar 4. In our last bar, we start with the root G played on the D string, going down to the octave G to A using a couple of eighth notes then ending with a couple more staccato quarter notes on beats 3 and 4.

7:41 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Floyd's Bricks: Groove 11

Groove 11 is based on Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall". This groove is more staccato, a tighter bass groove, almost feeling a little bit like an 80's rock groove, probably because it was released at the end of the 70's. It's a 4-bar phrase starting in D minor, in which we'll play the D minor for the first two bars. In these bars, it's a slightly modified dotted quarter groove, same rhythm but a little more staccato. On the first D, the root is not held as long as a normal dotted quarter note. Then, you have the rest, or silent note, then we go down to C which is the minor 7, which we already talked about being useful to outline a minor feel. After that eighth note, we go back to the root on beat 3, and take notice of the dot on top of the note, which always denotes playing notes a shorter duration than normal. Then, there's another rest and back to the b7, C that leads to the root D in Bar 2. In Bar 2, we play the root on beat 1 like the previous bar, then another root, and then we're transitioning to the next chord on beats 3 and 4 by using the quarter notes A, the 5, and G, which walks nicely to our F. Anytime we can connect chords using a whole step or half step it is a good thing. Next, we let it air out holding the F for 3 beats (notice the dotted half note), remember the dot increases a note's value by 1/2, so instead of two beats, the length of a normal half note, this dotted one is 3 beats. On beat 4, we have an eighth note phrase using F, and then G leading into the 4th bar (our C chord). This final bar starts on the root with a half note and then does a back and forth type sequence of notes starting on C, going down to B, back up to C, and ending on C#, a very effective a colorful riff.

4:12 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Jasmine Winds: Groove 12

This next bassline is in the style of "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Crofts. This is a mellow groove with an eighth note pulse and drive to it. There are 2 chords per bar, so the notes seem to change a fair amount. In the first bar, we start on the root F using two eighth notes, we hold the second one, and move to a G on the "and" part of beat 2. This connects us to the Ab chord that happens on beat 3. We do the same rhythm on beat 3 with the eighth notes on the new root Ab, hold the 2nd one and then after our last Ab eighth note we go to an Eb chord, same rhythm here as previous bar two eighth notes on the root Eb, hold and another eighth note Eb, down to Bb which is our chord for beats 3 and 4. Then, in our last bar we have a traditional dotted quarter note on the root F, then our only real push on Bb, the eighth before 3, hold that note, and then play a little transition phrase going back to F using Bb and C.

3:13 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Neil's Spice: Groove 13

Groove 13 is a fun groove based on Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl". This one has the eighth note flavor without being straight eighth notes all the way through, but after the normal 4 bar phrases it has an extra two bar unison lick played with the guitar. Let's take a look. The first bar has a D chord, and we play the root D using two eighths, holding the 2nd one, a motif we've used before. We follow it with another root note and then go to the 5 (A) on beat 3 using the same eighth note rhythm. We hold the 2nd note and go up to E on the D string which is the 5 of A minor. That leads to the high A on beat 3 using two eighths, same rhythm as Bar 1 ending on D as a whole tone transition to C. The C chord in bar 3 has the exact same rhythm starting on the root C for two eighths, holding the C and playing G on the D string going up to the octave C. We call this 1-5-1 movement, the root to the 5 to the octave. After the octave, we have a D to transition to our new chord G. Here again we have the same rhythm, a couple of eighth notes on G, the root, and then a D for a 1-5 movement, and then finishing that bar with the root G. Next, we have the riff starting on F using a quarter note, it moves to a climb up the scale with two eighths playing F and then G, moving up to A with our scale motion on beat 3. This is where we skip to C on the "and" of 3, and end this bar with a quarter note using the note D. These are the notes of what we call the major pentatonic scale in F. Then, in our last bar, we have a melodic riff that starts on C, goes down to B, keeps going down the scale to A and finally back to F as a push into beat 3 and holding for the rest of the bar.

4:33 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Keep it Goin': Groove 14

Here's a different style groove, based on "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac. This is one of my favorite types of groove: the shuffle feel. Many times, you'll see this feel notated with triplet rhythms as we see here. If you're not familiar with this rhythm, it can be counted a few different ways, one of them is using the word tri-ple-let, or any 3 syllable word. Each eighth note triplet group equals one beat counted tri-ple-let, tri-ple-let, tri-ple-let, tri-ple-let, equaling one bar. The figure we see here has a quarter note with an eighth note triplet. So, the tri and the ple is played by the quarter note and the let is played by the last eighth note. The result is a galloping groove with a swing to it. Here we have a 2-bar groove here starting on E, the root, using that triplet figure for the first two beats and then switches to the D chord playing the root for one beat and then skipping down to A using C# then B. In Bar 2, we just play the triplet shuffle pattern using the root (A) until the last note which is D on the A string.

3:05 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Talkative Dude: Groove 15

Groove 15 is a country flavored groove inspired by "Ramblin' Man" by the Allman Brothers. One of the things I love about the basslines from the 70's era in rock is that they were inspired by a variety of styles of music. This is a 4-bar phrase in the key of Ab. Again, a different use of our dotted quarter rhythm. Our counting on this groove moves fast because of the tempo, so practice slow and work up to tempo. The first bar is the chord Ab and starts on the root with the dotted quarter and moves to C playing the eighth note, we hold that C and follow it with an Eb. That combination of 3 notes is called a triad. We end that bar with F playing on beat 4. The next bar has two chords (Gb to Db), starting with the Gb chord, but instead of playing the root, we play the 5 (Db) with a half note rhythm, a melodic twist, and then on beats 3 and 4 over the Db chord we play the root Db and Eb. In Bar 3, we return to the exact pattern from Bar 1, but this time it hangs on the Ab chord, allowing us to play a nice quarter note pattern using the root's octave (Ab) on the D string for two beats and then a common pattern using the 6 (F) and the 5 (Eb) to bring us back around to the Ab. This is another major pentatonic style pattern using the 1, 3, 5, and 6 of the chord Ab.

3:39 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Nocturnal Visions: Groove 16

Groove 16 is a feel good groove that just puts a smile on your face, based on the Fleetwood Mac song "Dreams". It's a simple 2 chord groove that alternates between F and G playing the same rhythm up until the last bar. Over the F chord in Bar 1, we play a familiar dotted quarter to eighth note rhythm for the first two beats, that same rhythm repeats again for beats 3 and 4, all on the root F. We keep going with that same pattern in Bar 2 for the G chord, still pumping that root note G. Simplistic and foundational, yet very cool and appropriate. In Bar 3, we go back to the F chord and the same rhythm. In Bar 4, we start with the same rhythm for the first 2 beats of the G chord and then there is an eighth note rhythm that sets up the beginning of the 4-bar pattern. This is a very common and effective pattern used at the end of a phrase that brings the listener back to the start of a section of music. The notes used here over the G chord are the root (G), the 5 (D), back to the root, and then F# at the end, which walks us right back to F, which is the start of the groove.

3:21 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Black Dress: Groove 17

This is a groove based on the Hollies song "Long Cool Woman". The bass in this groove has a sort of two beat feel, like each bar is divided into two sections, giving it this strolling quality. It's not pushing or driving the steady quarter or eighth notes, it's a whole different groove. It's mainly centered around half notes until Bar 4 where it again sets up the beginning as it comes back around. We start on E minor for the 1st two bars, and the half notes alternate between the root E, and go down to the 5 (B) - same fret, just one string lower. In Bar 3, we have two chords, G for two beats and A for two beats, using the roots for each. Then, in Bar 4, we begin with a half note over the root, E, then a pattern that turns us back around by using eighth notes using the 5 (B) for the two eighth notes and for the last two eighth notes we use D, that b7 we've talked about, and then a half step, chromatic note that leads back to E. So, the change in rhythm and note choices gives us the variety we need to indicate something new is about to happen.

2:58 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Sweet Southern Home: Groove 18

Groove 18 is another one of those implied eighth note grooves in the style of "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Here we have a 4-bar phrase with two chords per bar. The first two chords are D to C, both starting with two eighth notes tied to a quarter note using the root of each chord. So, the rhythm is 1 "and", then holding through beat 2, then the same thing on 3 "and", and then holding through beat 4 on C. Bar 2 starts the same way for beats 1 and 2. You'll notice in Bars 2 and 4 a chord with a slash mark. As a bass player, our main bass note is the note below the slash, in this case B in Bar 2 beat 1 and E in Bar 2 beat 4. So, on beat 1 we play the B using the eighth notes and hold through beat 2, on beats 3 and 4 we have quarter notes to break up the pattern. In Bar 3, eighth notes again on beat 1 with the D chord, but this time we only hold it for an extra eighth note and add a low E on the "and" of beat 2 before getting back to the pattern over the F chord with two more eighth notes. In Bar 4, we have a mashup of the patterns in Bars 2 and 3, starting with the two eighths, holding for an eighth and playing another eighth on the "and" of 2 like Bar 3, all using the root G. On beats 3 and 4, we have quarters like Bar 2 using the roots B and C.

3:16 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - City by the Bay: Groove 19

Here we have a new set of rhythms called the 12/8 feel. It sounds complicated, but it's really a lot like our triplet figures from earlier. The notes are in groups of 3 just like the triplet and you can count the eighth notes 1, 2, 3...1, 2, 3, etc. It's a very common pop, blues, R&B, and jazz rhythm. This particular one is in the style of the song "Lights" by Journey. In Bar 1, we start with a dotted quarter, which in this feel is equal to a complete 1, 2, 3 count. So, we hold our first B for that full beat plus the first 1, 2 of the next beat. Then we have an A, the b7 as a passing tone going to our next chord G. Over G, we again have a dotted quarter, but this time only hold it for an extra eighth note and play the last 2, 3 count using the notes B and C#. In Bar 2, we continue with this feel with D as our only chord, starting with the root held for our first 1, 2, 3 count then again played for 1 and 2 of the next beat moving to the 5, A for 3 count. We then have another held D note for a full beat and end this bar with a triplet style walk down counted as 1, 2, 3 using the notes D, C#, and C. Those notes walk us right into our B root of Bar 3, which is held for a 1, 2, 3 count plus the 1 count of the next beat. For our 2, 3 count we go down to the 5 in B minor (F#), and then back up to our root, B. Our next two beats are over a C chord, so we play the root C for a 1, 2, 3 count plus 1, with counts 2 and 3 using the notes D and E. Our last bar is a total triplet feel with all eighth notes over a D chord, the first group of 3 notes starting with the root (D) and go down to the 5 (A), and back to the root. The next 3 beats just pound out the root (D) using that 3 note rhythm: 1, 2, 3...1, 2, 3, etc.

5:03 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Around the Corner: Groove 20

Groove 20 is in the style of "Up Around the Bend" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It's a straight eighth note groove that really drives forward with those eighths. The chord changes are basically G to D, and then A for a full bar. Over the first D, we have a slash chord that has F# below the slash as our bass note. In Bar 1, we have 4 eighth notes on our root G, then move to four more eighths over our D with the F# chord. Then, we have our bar of A where it is all eighths but not all roots. There are 3 roots (or A's), then on our 4th eighth note, we move up to B on the "and" of beat 2. We continue with beat 3, playing a C#, the major 3rd, with the "and" of 3 going back down to B, and finally beat 4 plays our root A and we end with B. The next bar is just straight eighths using roots for the G and D chords. Our last bar has a nice walk down starting on the root A for two eighths, down to G for two eighths, walking down to F# for 2, and finishing on E for 2 beats.

3:42 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Nap Time for Sally: Groove 21

Here we have another 2-beat country flavored feel in the style of Eric Clapton's "Lay Down Sally". We're mixing the quarters and eighths again to get that space and movement dynamic. A simple chord progression starting on A for a bar, our first note is the high A on the D string, then moving down to the 5 (E) in combination with F# for a common 5-6 type movement. We then go back up to the high A followed by 3 more eighth notes, the first one going all the way down to the octave (A) before walking back up in a scale like fashion using B and C#. The next bar has that 1, 2 strolling feel using the root (D) and the 5 (A). Then, starting on beat 3, we have a group of four eighth notes starting on the root (D), going down to C#, then climbing back up using D and then D# before settling on E of the next bar. Bar 3 starts with our root E using a quarter, goes down to the 5 (B), then does a different eighth note pattern using the root E, down to the 5, back up to E, and walking up to F#. Our last bar is similar to Bar 1, but starts with two eighths on the root (A), then goes down to the 5 (E) for a quarter note, and ends with a group of eighths using the root A and our familiar 6-5-6 pattern with the notes F#, E, and F#.

4:49 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Hear the Tunes: Groove 22

This one is in the style of "Listen to the Music" by the Doobie Brothers. It's written with 4 bars, but almost feels like 2 because the bars are counted so quickly. It has a galloping feel using our old friend the dotted quarter/eighth rhythm. The first bar just moves back and forth between the C# root for beats 1 and 2 and the 5 (G#) for beats 3 and 4. Bar 2 is similar, but ends with two quarters using the 5 (G#) and back to the root, C#. Next, we have two bars of A with a steady climb. Two beats using our dotted rhythm, two beats of the note B, and continuing to move up we have C#, the 3rd in Bar 4. It continues moving up to D, then we move only a half step to D# and finally to E on beat 4.

4:31 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Bostonian Affection: Groove 23

Groove 23 mixes and matches a few of the rhythms we've been working on in this course. It's in the style of the song "More Than a Feeling" by Boston. It's another 4-bar pattern with 2 chords per bar. In Bar 1, we have the classic dotted quarter eighth rhythm using the root, G. We continue on to a quarter note on our next chord change, C, using the root followed by two eighths using the root again and walking up to D in preparation to land on E in Bar 2. We continue with two quarters in Bar 2 using the root (E), then on beats 3 and 4 we have two eighths and a quarter rhythm on the root of our next chord, D. We have some unusual movement in Bar 3, starting with a quarter on the root G followed by two eighths using the root and the 3rd (B). Now, in beats 3 and 4 is where it gets interesting: We play all eighths but we start on the root (C), move down to B, move down to the 5 (G), and finally throw in an F# that is a bit odd, but transitions us to the E in Bar 4. Finally, Bar 4 starts with a couple of quarters on E, then has an eighth note rhythm that starts on D for the 1st 3 notes and moves down to F# for the last eighth.

3:22 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Forever Infinite: Groove 24

In this groove, we'll play some octave patterns along with some syncopated rhythms using quarters and eighths in a classic rock vein. This one is based on a song by the band Boston called "Long Time". We start in Bar 1 with a couple of eighths and a quarter note on the root, low F on the E string, then we quickly bounce up to the higher F on the D string for two more eighths, in which we hold the 2nd one for the duration of another quarter to finish the bar. Notice how the tie or hold brings emphasis to the last F played. We have 3 chords in our next bar, the last two played on up beats, or "ands", which makes them syncopated. We start with three eighth notes on C, which gives it some forward motion, then on the "and" of 2, we have our first syncopation with Eb, playing the root, holding that note for beat 3 and then we have another syncopated note for the "and" of 3 using D. Even though the chord here is Bb, the major 3rd (D) is still a strong and melodic note to substitute for the bass. We hold this D for beat 4 and have one last syncopation in this bar using the note C, which is part of our Bb scale and also gives us a strong transition to our F chord coming up. Bar 3 is a duplicate of Bar 1, and Bar 4 has the same rhythm and chords as Bar 2, but slightly different notes. We start off with the same three eighths on the root C, but on our Eb syncopation we substitute G for Eb, again a strong bass note being the 3rd, and then instead of the Bb root, for our next syncopation on the "and" of 3, we use F, the 5, another good note to substitute for the root on occasion. We end this bar with an Eb syncopated note just acting as a transition note back to F to finish the phrase.

4:57 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Eagle Flight: Groove 25

Groove 25 is an 8-bar groove in order to accommodate the full phrase and hear how the bars work together to make a full phrase. It is based on the iconic song "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. This one also has a faster count, much like our other songs in "2". This groove is interesting, the first part is syncopated and then moves into a smoother part near the end. It makes for a more dynamic bassline. The first chord is G, we play the root as a dotted quarter/eighth rhythm, but it sounds atypical because of the held and syncopated notes that follow it. After the high G root, we go down to the 5 for that eighth note, hold that note for another eighth, and bounce back up to the G on the "and" of 3, holding this note to give it a bit of emphasis. We have the same rhythm in Bar 2, but use the 3rd, 5th, and root of our next chord, D. We use all the notes of the chord in that bar giving this passage a very melodic quality. Our groove straightens out in Bar 3 with a more standard dotted quarter rhythm starting on the root E, going down to the 5 (B), and then ending on an eighth with the b7 (D). Bar 4 really airs out the bassline with a whole note on the root E. Bar 5 has a standard dotted quarter/eighth half note rhythm all on the root F. Next, we have a bar of C where we start with a half note, then get a little busier with a quick 1-5-1 eighth/quarter pattern with C, going down to G and back up to C. More space is given in Bar 7 with half notes being played for, the root (D) and the 5 (A). It climbs all the way up to the octave D in Bar 8. These two bars work together as a rising and falling 1 to the 5 pattern. The last bar has the half note on the octave D, followed by downward movement to the 5, A, and finally to the root, D, both as quarter notes.

4:34 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Do I Know You?: Groove 26

This groove is based on the song "Who Are You" by The Who. It has a syncopated groove using eighths and quarters but still rocks. The bassline emphasizes the 4th beat for most of the pattern. It also has that pedaling technique we discussed, so as the chords change, we still play E in the bass. The first bar starts with two eighths playing low E and going up to the octave on beat 2. This is notated as a quarter note, but it also has a dot over the note so that we don't give that quarter its full value. Next, we have a rest on 3 and play a syncopated low E on the "and" of 3 and ending with the octave E on beat 4. The next bars are the same, but the chords change, giving it a different sound to each bar. The chord changes to D in Bar 2 while we still play E and changes to A in Bar 3. The last bar gives the line extra flavor by playing a bluesy syncopated riff over the open E chord. We'll play on all the up beats in this bar and use the bluesy notes G, A, D, and back to the root E.

3:52 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Big Ol' Plane: Groove 27

Groove 27 is based on the Steve Miller Band's song "Jet Airliner". It has a boogie woogie vibe to it, using all eighth notes, but melodic, not always driving the roots. This is a 4-bar pattern with a recurring chord progression of Bb to F and C for a bar. We start with two Bb's, move up to the third (D) on beat 2, and then melodically use E to transition to the root of the next chord, F. We play two F's, and then drop down to the 3rd on beat 4 before playing a B to melodically get us to the next chord, C. In Bar 2, over the C chord, we play a more common bluesy walk down starting on C to Bb, to A and finishing with G, each one uses two eighth notes. Bar 3 is a repeat of Bar 1, but Bar 4 has a pentatonic quality, playing three eighths on the root C before moving up to the 5 (G), and doing our 5-6-1 type of pattern using A, the 6 (C), the root (A) again, and finishing with the 5.

4:22 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Ocean Fire: Groove 28

Groove 28 is based on Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water". This is another one of those grooves mixing eighths and quarters with a syncopated line to lead you back to the beginning of a phrase. The main motif is like a bass player emulating the drums. The first two eighths are like the bass drum and the octave quarter note is like the snare. This whole groove is mostly G minor. It goes to F for a second, but it is pretty much G minor. We start off with two eighth notes on low G, then we move up to the octave for a quarter note on G on the D string. We repeat that riff for beats 3 and 4. The next bar begins with the same phrase for beats 1 and 2, but on beat 3 we do an eighth note run outlining G minor starting on Bb, going up to C, D, then down to F the b7, a very bluesy riff. Bar 3 begins the same way as the previous 2 bars except there is a chord change on beat 3. It goes to F, so using the same rhythm, we do a 1-5-1 pattern starting with the higher F on the D string, down to C on the A string, and lastly to F on the E string. Now in the 4th bar, we have a riff that starts on beat 1 but then uses all upbeats which creates syncopation. We start with the root and then start walking up with Bb on the "and" of 1, we hold that over beat two and play a C on the up beat of beat 2, we hold that again for an eighth note, and play a D on the "and" of 3. Lastly, after holding the D, we play a Bb on the "and" of 4, completing the bar.

3:44 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Break Time: Groove 29

This groove is based on the song "Take It Easy" by the Eagles. This is another upbeat, dotted quarter style groove that seems to have influenced contemporary country music. This is a 4-bar phrase with 3 chords, simple but effective with a good feel. We start the first bar with a G chord and a simple dotted quarter, eighth, half note pattern using the root, G. We then go to a D chord in Bar 2, same pattern using the root (D) only. The next two bars use the chord C, so over that we can build a motif. It starts with the same dotted quarter rhythm on beats 1 and 2. Then, we have an eighth note pentatonic phrase that starts on the 3rd (E), moves to the 5 (G), the 6 (A), and back to E. Our last bar gets simple again and plays a dotted quarter/eighth rhythm using G, which is the 5, then it goes down to the E using a quarter note and finishes with another quarter using D.

3:19 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

30 Rock Bass Grooves For Beginners - Teenage Wasteland: Groove 30

Groove 30 may be a little challenging for beginners and intermediate level players, but it's something to work towards. There are many familiar rhythms, but uncommon notes and intervals. This one is based on a section of The Who's song "Baba O'Riley". The chord progression is basically F# to B with a C# on beat 4 of the F# bars. The first bar starts simple with two quarter notes on the root, F# on the D string. On beat 3, there are two eighth notes, the first being that same F# and the 2nd eighth going down to the octave F# and then coming up to catch the root to the new chord on beat 4 (C#). Next, we have a B chord where we again start with two eighths on the root B followed by a quarter note playing B. Now on beats 3 and 4, it starts moving along. We have a four eighth note sequence that finishes the bar starting on the 3rd, D#, going up to E, then F# the 5, and then back down to E. Next bar we go back to the F# chord, instead of the quarters we start with three eighth notes on the root, high F#. On the "and" of two, we go to B, and then on beat 3 we play the 5 (C#), go down to F# on the "and", then end it by playing a F# even though the chord is C#. The F# bass note still works. In the last bar, we're back to the B chord and all eighth notes. We start with two B's on the root, then we play two eighths on the octave B. We then play a b7 (A), go down to the major 3rd (D#), and climb up using E, then F, a tension note that leads to F# in our new phrase.

3:32 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

Course Conclusion

Hey guys, thanks for picking up this course, I had a great time putting it together for you. It's just scratching the surface of all the bass grooves that are available to you. I have some courses here on TrueFire that I'd love for you to check out. If you want to learn more about me, you can go to AndrewFordBass.com. See you next time!

0:27 Runtime

0.0 Difficulty

Lessons

Membership

Company

Resources

2500 Emerson Ave S St. Petersburg, FL 33712
1-877-999-4-JAM
jpsupport@truefirestudios.com