One of my absolute favourite Motown tunes here. The bass is just so undeniably cool, and I've always wondered about who's idea it was to come up with all the slash chords. Like in the chorus, you have to think the tune was originally written just simply Bb - Ebm. I really want to believe that Jamerson took one look at that and went "nah - it's Bb - Ebm/Bb now!!!" Anyone know? Is there a story there? It's just such a bold move but it really makes the song in my opinion.
Enjoy!!
2019-02-08 19:47:15 +0000 UTC
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Here you go Helio! The intro to Come On Come Over, at a bunch of different (slower) tempos.
Happy practcing!
-BennyTheBassman
2019-02-06 22:29:08 +0000 UTC
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How to play all the hard parts! I slow each of the licks down and talk about fingering choices etc.
2019-02-06 22:15:43 +0000 UTC
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Finally, some Vic on the channel! A very special Patron requested this one so it had to be done.
It was crazy hard to get this one anywhere near up to speed, so please enjoy 90% of the original tempo. Also the first three minutes of the tune are basically just long notes so I figured I'd spare everyone that. But at 3:01, things start to pick up in a hurry! You'll see what I mean. (I'll definitely show you Backstage Pass'ers how to play all the licks, slowed waaaayy down.)
I absolutely adore this band for being able to write beautiful melodies and still incorporate a lot of virtuosity into the tunes. It's harder than it sounds to do. Enjoy everyone!
2019-02-01 21:02:43 +0000 UTC
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A bit about how to emulate acoustic bass tone and style on the electric, and then we slow down the whole tune for sightreading...and then speed it up!
2019-01-31 05:15:05 +0000 UTC
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Time to get jazzy on the channel! I love this tune, and I love that it was requested by a Patron. Thanks Helio.
Nina is so cool here. The whole track is just so perfect in its carefree execution - such a beautiful, simple, warm jazz tune. Short of recording this on upright bass, I figured the best I could do would be to at least use upright fingerings - ie just the 1st, 2nd, and 4th fingers. I also used a bit of left hand muting to get a bit less sustain and hopefully emulate the upright tone a bit more.
Enjoy everyone!
2019-01-25 20:19:39 +0000 UTC
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Let's play the rest of the song! Each four-bar section is slowed down and dissected.
2019-01-23 16:46:15 +0000 UTC
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Well, here we are, back with part 2! Enjoy the madness. If you missed part one, it's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8JgUgtw4-M
2019-01-18 18:54:53 +0000 UTC
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I take you through the first half of this crazy tune. We'll talk influences, vocabulary, and I break down all the really cool bass fills - slow them down, and discuss fingering options, etc.
2019-01-15 20:26:14 +0000 UTC
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Well, Jonah Nilsson and Richard Bona. Now THERE'S a combination made in hell if you're not looking to quit singing/playing piano/bass. These guys are MONSTERS - Jonah from "Dirty Loops" fame (if you don't know, you better ask somebody), and Richard Bona from such little-know bands as Chaka Khan, Michael and Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Joe Zawinul, and Bobby McFerrin, to name a few. To top it all off it seems Jonah is being produced by none other than Quincy Jones these days... Anyway this track is fairly good, and also turned out to be too hard for me to get it all down for you in four days. SO, stay tuned for part two, next week :)
2019-01-12 02:50:56 +0000 UTC
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In this one we talk muting/ghost notes, that cool riff at the end of the bridge, and come up with a few engaging technique exercises on the fly.
2019-01-08 04:35:35 +0000 UTC
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Always been a big fan of this band. Frankie is of course a staple in this style of music but there was much more to the Four Seasons than him.. a perfect example being this track where Frankie only sings a small portion of the lead vocals - the rest of the band takes turns on the leads as well (including Don Ciccone, the bass player)!
Anyway, I picked this tune for a few reasons - one it reminds me of a new year's celebration, somehow (late December 1963); it's just got that celebratory emotion, and two, great bass playing on here! For those of you who are new to ghost notes, I think this tune would be a really good training ground to start working on your muting. (Patrons - I'll go over this more in the backstage pass video). Also a really cool fill at the end of the bridge. Enjoy!!
2019-01-04 21:32:51 +0000 UTC
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A little about James Jamerson's genius and the history of Motown. And for some fun rhythm reading practice - play along with this song at 75%, 90%, and 120% speed!
2019-01-02 23:53:11 +0000 UTC
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Hi Patrons! Just a quick note to say that I've given myself a week for some R+R over the holidays. I'll be back with another cover this coming Friday, and I'll get the Backstage Pass for Darling Dear up either Monday or Tuesday. Just really needed some "me time" this week! I was up in the country with my girlfriend and her family.
Hope you're all having a really great holiday season as well. Thank you as always for your support and wishing you all a very happy, healthy, and funky, 2019.
<3
BennyTheBassman
2018-12-29 15:05:02 +0000 UTC
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Never ever enough JJ. One of the things I love about Motown is its affinity for odd-bar phrases and non-standard song structures. A tune like this could be pretty weird to navigate through, but not for JJ... It's nothing but pure mastery here. Just listen to how he connects all the different chords and sections. And the diversity of rhythmic ideas is astounding. JJ was the king. Enjoy!
2018-12-21 20:11:16 +0000 UTC
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The differences between this stellar live arrangement and the original tune, breaking down all of Jamareo's cool licks, "suggested" alternate chords - all here!
2018-12-19 14:46:45 +0000 UTC
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My 2nd Patreon priority request in as many weeks!! Thanks Aaron (and Marvin the week before). Hope you guys are getting a lot out of these. They've been an absolute blast to make. What great requests. Really appreciate you!!
Enjoy.
2018-12-14 20:09:40 +0000 UTC
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I talk about some right-hand warmups to help get your chops to a place where they might be able to tackle this tune. Also, I look at how to play the few funky bass fills we find throughout the tune, and finally take a look at what it means to be a bass player while someone else is soloing, and we study some of the ways that this rhythm section supported the individual solos in the tune.
2018-12-11 05:31:54 +0000 UTC
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My first Priority Request from a Patron ($1/video tier)!!
Thanks Marvin. This one kicked my ass!! But it was real fun... :D
2018-12-07 21:03:27 +0000 UTC
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I get deep into the vocabulary Jaco uses in this little jam, as well as talk about the context of the recording and the emotions it brings up in me.
2018-12-05 15:54:17 +0000 UTC
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Always happy to attempt some Jaco but this one is a bit emotional to do. This is from the instructional video Jaco did fairly near to the end of his life; he is clearly not well here and is rumoured to have been homeless at the time that they shot this video - in addition he had destroyed the beautiful fretless neck of his bass, so for this video shoot they bolted on a fretted neck to his bass' body, just to get him something to play. He is clearly in a bad way, but he creates this gem, on the spot - just improvising away. An absolute genius, but just as tortured. Had he only lived now, with our advances in mental health awareness, I'm sure he would have been able to continue innovating on the bass for decades to come...
I'll get into more of this in the Backstage Pass video.
2018-12-01 07:00:13 +0000 UTC
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Hi Patrons!
I've created your priority request list. When you request a song for this list, I'll add it here, so that you can always see where your request is in the que, and know around when you can expect your video.
As always, thank you for your Patronage!!
Best,
BennyTheBassman
2018-11-28 17:44:01 +0000 UTC
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I talk about playing Live vs. on an Album, the obvious James Brown influence, and walking bass lines in Bruno Mars tunes?
(also, yes, how to play the two sweet riffs in the song, and how they might have come about)
2018-11-27 05:22:11 +0000 UTC
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This one was a complete blast to do. Some really sick lines from Jamareo Artis. Really looking forward to breaking this one down in my behind-the-scenes video :)
2018-11-23 14:42:30 +0000 UTC
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I break down some of the iconic bassline choices that John Deacon made on this track, and also talk some alternate positions for playing a few of the parts.
2018-11-19 21:41:40 +0000 UTC
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Took a step back and attempted something *playable* this week. Been in a Queen mood all week - doing in the musical I'm playing and also really wanting to go see the movie, so this felt like a natural choice. Enjoy! All the epic-ness.
2018-11-16 18:11:26 +0000 UTC
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My first behind the scenes video for $4/creation patrons! It's a long one but I guess I had a lot to say... Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions!
2018-11-11 04:20:45 +0000 UTC
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This one was hard!!! But super fun. How-to-play video for $4+ tier patrons coming later this weekend.
Enjoy!
2018-11-09 12:49:30 +0000 UTC
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2018-11-02 18:25:16 +0000 UTC
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