Congratulations on the progress you’ve made through the material we’ve covered in The Art of Groove, Level 3! Let’s take a moment to review and evaluate our progress. Work through the proceeding (answers below as appropriate):

1. True or False:

“Tumbao-style bass lines usually employ chromaticism.”

2. Which of the following is not typically a funk idiom?

(a) Staccato, fingerstyle 16th-notes 
(b) Parts (Repetition with variation)
(c) Major 7 Chords
(d) Slurs from the 6th to the b7th

In Exercises 3 through 5, improvise a bass part (no longer than a 4-bar phrase) that works effectively over the following relatively straightforward drum groove in the style indicated. Try to incorporate as many of the idioms of the genre as you’re able to by memory, then go back to your notes and/or the appropriate lesson and see if you missed any that might work with your line. Lastly, apply some of the “spice” to help the bass part emote.

Here’s the drum groove...

Audio Example 1

3. Reggae

4. Funk

5. Motown-style R&B

6. Let’s have some fun and work on combining some seemingly disparate musical styles. Over the accompanying country drum groove, improvise a bass line that merges country & jazz idioms.

Audio Example 2

 

7. Over the accompanying house-style drum groove, improvise a bass line that merges house & reggae idioms.

Audio Example 3

 

8. Over the accompanying ska-esque drum groove, improvise a bass line that merges ska & funk idioms.

Audio Example 4

 

9. Identify the different “spice” phrasing elements that are employed in this bass lick.

Audio Example 5

 

10. Why is a drum solo like a sneeze?

Answers

1. False. The typical tumbao bass line is diatonic, primarily employing the root and 5th.

2. (c) Major 7 Chords

3. - 8. Record yourself and listen back analytically while reviewing the list of idioms and “spice” (phrasing) considerations. Repeat and refine as appropriate. I encourage you to repeat each exercise a few times, improvising completely different bass parts to broaden your vocabulary of ideas.

9. Dynamics, slurs/hammers, vibrato and variations in note duration. See the transcription (Figure 1). 

FIGURE 1

 

10. You know it’s coming, and there’s not a thing you can do to stop it.


Thanks so much for joining me for The Art of Groove, Level 3!

I again want to encourage you to explore the multitude of other genres and subgenres of music, and assimilate what some of the defining characteristics of those styles might be from the bass perspective.

By the way, please don’t let the incredibly rich music from different regions of the globe slip by you undiscovered, simply because it doesn’t happen to get airplay in your area or fit within a prescribed commercial format. Seek it out! The internet makes it easier than ever...and your efforts will be rewarded with musical enrichment.

As with the preceding levels of this course, I’d like to emphasize that we’ve covered a lot of information: the material from this course is of limited value for your long-term musical development if it is only visited once, then relegated to the distant archives of your mind. Please spend time regularly re-immersing yourself in it until it is fully assimilated.

God bless you & your grooving!


CREDITS

I'm elated to have close friends who also just so happen to be world-class talents. Huge thanks to the following people whose contributions benefited this course enormously. 

Live drums for the audio examples were performed by Frank Reina and David Owens. For further info or to contact either of these amazing musicians for drum contributions to your own projects, please visit them online. 

Frank Reina

David Owens

Mixing and mastering of the majority of the audio clips was provided by Rod Lincoln (himself a fantastic drummer - hear him on "The Race" from my Pondering the Sushi CD). Contact Rod at rlincoln@kc.rr.com.

Norm Stockton enthusiastically uses and endorses instruments and products from the following: