Something that I never think to post about here is the savings you can find on courses such as Teach Me Bass Guitar, or other online music lessons such as guitar and piano by using coupons offered by the official merchant websites. For instance, Teach Me Bass Guitar frequently offers a 5% off coupon code. It doesn’t save you hundreds of bucks, but it can basically cover the cost of shipping for the course.

This popped into my head because recently I’d been searching for a Jamplay coupon code to use for my own personal membership renewal. I wad been on a month-to-month membership over there but the credit card I had on file expired so my membership was cancelled. When I went back to renew it I decided to search for a coupon code to see how much I could save. What I found were two different codes. One was 25% off for the first month and the other was 10% off your entire purchase. It made sense to me that if I was going to use the 10% off coupon I’d use it for the full year membership, but I wanted to do the math first to see if it was worth it.

It turns out I was going to save over $100 bucks by doing the annual membership and using the 10% off coupon rather then paying on a month-to-month basis for a full year. Seemed like a no brainer to me?

So what’s my point in all this? Well before you buy or join any online music lessons or purchase a DVD course check to see if there are any coupon codes available. You might find that you can save yourself a few extra bucks along the way.

If you’ve been following along with the last 7 days or so of videos you’ll know that we covered the 12 bar blues, Dorian and Mixolydian modes and minor chords. We’re going to see a demonstration of all these combined today with a jam track.

There’s nothing for you to necessarily learn so you can sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy the demo today. If you did watch the previous videos then you should be able to pick out the different pieces he’s playing through out. It’s really neat to hear how he pieces it all together to create a full blown jam that you can play with.

If all this seems a bit advanced for you then you may want to start at the bottom with some beginner bass lessons. There are some fantastic courses you can use for self study that we compared on the home page of our site. Any of these 3 courses will provide you with a solid primer and education on the electric bass guitar.

If you watched yesterdays video on walking bass lines over the C 12 bar blues and got that under your fingers then you’ll enjoy todays video. We’re going to take it all one step further today and introduce some passing tones to the mix.

A passing tone is simply a note that doesn’t fall into the exact scale or mode you’re playing. However by adding it things sound smoother or cleaner as you play the walking bass line over the progression. This is a frequently used technique to make the bass line sound smoother especially with blues.

The instructor gives a nice example with a backing track. Pay close attention I think you’ll enjoy this.

For more detailed bass lessons beyond walking bass lines and the 12 bar blues consider getting a premier self study course on DVD or online. We’ve compared and reviewed the top courses on the home page of our site.

In this video you’ll learn how to take the modes you’ve learned from the C major scale and combine that with the I IV V progression for the 12 bar blues and play a walking bass line over the progression. If you’re not familiar with what a walking bass line is you’ll know it as soon as your hear it. It has a certain groove to it that you associate with blues bands and songs.

This is a key skill to have on the bass guitar, especially if you’re planning on playing the blues, rock or country music in a band.

For more bass guitar lessons or a home study course check out the main page of our site. We have a variety of bass guitar lessons we’ve covered and reviewed that are ideal for beginners and intermediate players.

In today’s video tip you’re going to learn how to play a minor chord which is based on the Dorian mode we looked at yesterday.

RECAP: The Dorian mode is a sub scale of the major scale which starts on the 2nd degree of the scale. In yesterday’s video we looked at an example done on the C major scale.

Chords aren’t always thought of as something you play on the bass guitar. However if you’re serious about becoming a well rounded player then you’ll want to know some chords and they’re a great thing to help you expand your understanding of musical theory on the instrument. For this lesson you’ll only be learning the one minor chord, also note that he is playing on a 5 string bass.

To learn more bass guitar now consider one of the top rated bass guitar lessons we compared on the main page of this site. These courses are designed for beginner and intermediate bass players looking to sharpen their skills and do it on their own time at home.

I introduced you to modes in a previous video this week. We talked about the Mixolydian Mode which was a sub scale of the major scale starting at the 5th degree (the 5th note of the major scale). Today we’re going to show you another Mode within the major scale. Again we’ll be using the C major scale as an example since it has no sharps or flats and is the easiest to start with.

Today’s mode will start at the 2nd degree of the scale and is known as the Dorian mode.

Pay close attention to the suggested fingering he shows you to play the Dorian mode. Starting off on the wrong finger will end you up in a bad place trying to play the final note.

You’ll see in an upcoming video how you can take this Dorian scale and apply it to the 12 bar blues and also using the Mixoldian scale at the same time.

For more advanced bass lessons consider a home study course like Teach Me Bass Guitar which will give you everything you need to master the instrument.

I love todays video. While the concept of a mixolydian scale might seem a bit over whelming it’s not that bad. It’s the name that’s long

If you watched yesterdays video which was a primer on the 12 bar blues then you know how the 12 bar blues progression works and you should have a basic idea of the I IV V concept. Today you’re going to see how you can use the mixolydian scale in C to solo over the 12 bar blues in the key of C.

While this video won’t teach you exactly how to solo it will give you a visual demo of how you must break up your rhythm and not just play a walking bass line but rather use eighth notes, sixteenth notes and more to create a unique feel and express yourself in your playing.

While this concept is a bit intermediate and may not be easy to pick up for beginners we have some learn bass guitar courses compared on the home page of our site. The Teach Me Bass Guitar course is ideal for beginners and takes you from a beginner to intermediate player in just a few months.

The 12 bar blues is one of the most popular patterns you’ll play on the electric bass, the guitar or any other lead instrument. Understanding not just the sound and how to recognize it but also the musical theory behind the concept is a key to your learning progress.

In today’s video you’ll learn the progression not just how to play it in a particular key on the bass but the theory behind it. The I IV V (or one four five) technique that the instructor talks about is an important lesson that you’ll carry with you through out your bass guitar career. The same chords are generally what fit together in most rock, pop and country music you hear today on the radio. So if you intend on playing popular music you’ll want to know these chords and how the progression works.

Keep in mind I’m not suggest that every song is a blues tune, how ever most songs do use some of the blues to create their chord changes.

If you found this lesson interesting stick around and check out the main bass guitar lessons page of our site. We have a few home study courses compared that can help you take your bass skills to the next level.

A musical mode is basically a scale within a scale using more or less the same notes. In this video the instructor gives you an example of how this works within the C major scale. You can think of Modes as a variation of the major scale, not using different notes but starting at a different position.

In the video you’ll see an example using Mixolydian Mode in the major scale. I’ll be posting another video in the coming days using the Mixolydian Scale for soloing over a 12 bar blues progression, but for now just remember that modes are a scale within a scale. Using the same notes but starting at a different degree of the scale then the first.

If you like the idea of comprehending more about musical theory on the electric bass guitar then check out some of the beginner and intermediate bass lessons we’ve reviewed and compared on the home page of our site. With a course like Teach Me Bass Guitar you can go from being a complete beginner to intermediate player in just a few months all by just following the lesson plan laid out for you in the course.

I know I’ve posted a previous video on major scales before. That video was by Roy Vogt of the Teach Me Bass Guitar course. What I’ve got for you today is a different instructor giving you his take on the scale and also teaching it to you.

The important part that you should take from this video is that he gives you the exact pattern that the major scale follows no matter what root note you start on.

That pattern is:

Whole Step – Whole Step – Half Step – Whole Step – Whole Step – Whole Step – Half Step

Now since the electric bass is a fretted instrument (or at least most of the time non fretted versions are available) you can move the same pattern any where on the neck, start at any root note and you’ll still be playing a major scale. Of course knowing the note you start on and then learning the notes that follow is what will really propel your playing to a new level.

In the video pay close attention to how he explains the fingering for the major scale and then how that transports all around the neck. For more bass guitar lessons check out the main page of our site where we review and compare the top self study programs for electric bass guitar.