Module 12 · Intermediate

Pentatonic and blues

Five-note scales are the most practical tools a bassist has: they avoid the notes most likely to clash, and they are the sound of blues, rock, soul and funk. This module ends with the 12-bar blues.

Before this module

4.7 Consonance and dissonance
5.3 Major scale fingerings
6.2 Relative minor and relative major
9.2 Root, fifth and octave
10.4 The dominant seventh
11.5 Swing and shuffle

Lessons

12.1
The major pentatonic scale
Build and play the major pentatonic scale and know why it is so "safe".
Requires: 5.3, 4.7
12.2
The minor pentatonic scale
Build and play the minor pentatonic and see its link with the major pentatonic.
Requires: 12.1, 6.2
12.3
The blues scale
Add the "blue note" to the minor pentatonic and use it correctly.
Requires: 12.2
12.4
The 12-bar blues
Know the standard 12-bar blues form and its common variants.
Requires: 10.4, 11.5
12.5
Blues bass lines
Build classic blues bass patterns from chord tones and the 6.
Requires: 12.4, 9.2