Welcome to the monthly issue of the How To Play Bass Dot Com newsletter.

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2 INTRODUCTION Welcome to the monthly issue of the How To Play Bass Dot Com newsletter. In this month s issue I ve resurrected a detailed note by note tutorial from my hard drive. It s for the Bryan Adams tune SUMMER OF 69. This tutorial dates back to the very early issues of what is now First Bass And Beyond (in fact it featured in the second issue in September 2009!). You can tell the tutorial is historic because: 1) I had less grey hair! 2) I hadn t learn how to crop my movie files. (There s an irritating white line to the right of the introductory shots. 3) When I playalong with the metronome it s a really irritating electronic beep. (This was from the CD version of the Tascam bass trainer). That being said, the tutorial is still highly detailed and definitely worth clearing the virtual dust off it and putting it back out there. I hope you enjoy it, and I ll see you next month! Paul Wolfe London May Free How To Play Bass Monthly Ezine May 2012 how-to-play-bass.com

3 TRANSCRIPTION - SUMMER OF 69 by BRYAN ADAMS This song originally appeared on Bryan Adam s 1984 Album called Reckless.; According to Wikipaedia the bassline was played by a guy called Dave Taylor. I can t tell you much about him other than that - probably he was the guy in Bryan s band at the time. This is one of Bryan Adams most well known songs and it s a good one to learn as it s played a lot by bands and at jams. Here s how the sections of the song work out, with approximate timings: Letter A: Intro Letter B: Drums Enter Letter C: Pre Chorus Letter D: Verse Letter E: Pre Chorus Letter F: the best days of my life Letter G: Bridge Letter H: Breakdown Letter I: Verse Letter J: Pre Chorus Letter K: Summer of 69 /Outro/Repeat and Fade As with all transcriptions I ve presented the trainsciption in both music notation, and music notation with bass tab. Please note that the bass tab I ve used is how I would play it. It s not how I think Dave Taylor played it on the record - but the most logical places for ME to play this sequence of notes on my fingerboard. There are other ways you can play it depending on your finger size, the scale of your fretboard and what fingering system you use for your left hand (right hand if you re a leftie!). So don t be afraid to change the way it s played to suit your own set of circumstances. 3 Free How To Play Bass Monthly Ezine May 2012 how-to-play-bass.com

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9 FIRST BASS AND BEYOND As well as the free monthly ezine, I also publish a weekly magazine called FIRST BASS AND BEYOND. First Bass And Beyond is published every Friday, usually weighs in at around 50 to 55 pages and follows this format: 1. Main Transcription: The main transcription each week is featured in notation, and then in notation and tab. Recent transcriptions have included basslines like Jewel Of The Summertime (Audioslave), 7 Rooms Of Gloom (James Jamerson), Graceland (Paul Simon) and more. 2. Beginners Corner: The beginners corner is a bass line/lesson that is suitable for beginners/intermediate players to play. The beginners corner lesson is also turned into a video - a basic version goes on YouTube, and a High Def version is available for the members to download. (This version features extra content including playalongs to the original recording at normal speed and also slowed down). Currently the Beginners Corner is featuring a mini series of Doors bass lines. 3. The Two Tone Bass Zone This is a guest column by a guy called Gordon Clayton and is scheduled to run for around 15 columns. And it will draw heavily on Gordon s recent experience where he had to cover a friend in a ska band at short notice - and had to learn a ton of Ska/2 Tone type songs (Specials, Madness, The Beat, and so on). Each column will feature at least one bass line along with Gordon s commentary on when you can step away from the original line and build on it, and when you have to stay faithful to the original line. 4. Blues Bass For Beginners This is a new column for beginners in the weekly magazine that will build on the 30 Module bass for beginners course that s available to all annual subscribers. There will be a song tutorial in every column. 9 Free How To Play Bass Monthly Ezine May 2012 how-to-play-bass.com

10 5. Bass Book/DVD Review There is a detailed bass book or bass DVD review in each ezine too - recently I ve been reviewing books from other musical instruments and disciplines that we can use to create interesting new exercises for the bass. 6. Monthly Ezine Archive Annual Subscribers will also get access to the archive of all previous monthly ezines. (So far that s 20 Video/PDF lessons) 7. Bass For Beginners Course Annual Subscribers also get access to the 30 Module Bass For Beginners Course that s been running over the last 7 onths in First Bass And Beyond. There s a detailed overview below. Here s the First Bass And Beyond page- for more information if you re interested in joining: The Bass For Beginners Course I used to teach an interactive series of lessons for beginners - but I got full up pretty quickly. So I started a waiting list. That got full up too. And I hated ing people and telling them that I was full. So I decided to revamp my course and turn it into a series of lessons that a beginner could follow and go from just picking up the bass to being able to play though a bunch of songs, to have a simple yet robust left and right hand technique, and be aiming to ramp up to a low intermediate standard by the end of the course. That course is 30 lessons long. Here s the syllabus: Lesson 1 Lesson 1 is about plucking hand technique. The technique I teach is called the 2 Finger Rest Stroke and I go into how it works, anchor points for your thumb, and some simple exercises to get you to start working on this technique. 10 Free How To Play Bass Monthly Ezine May 2012 how-to-play-bass.com

11 Lesson 2 Lesson 2 is a further development of Lesson 1 - we re still working on plucking hand technique. In Lesson 2 we re looking at how the plucking hand deals with string crossing. Lesson 3 So far we ve been working on our right hand technique in an ascending fashion - now we re adding the rest to the rest stroke and working on descending as well. Lesson 4 In Lesson 4 we introduce the fretting hand and look at basic fretting hand exercises. We talk about finger independence and digital exercises. And then we get to the heart of my method - applying this information to songs. In Lesson 4 we re learning one of the easiest bass lines in history - With Or Without You by U2. Lesson 5 In Lesson 5 we re going to start systematically learning the notes on our bass guitar fretboard. We re going to use an exercise called The Notefinder to learn every location where you can play the notes E or F on your fretboard. In the song tutorial part of the lesson we re looking at the first part of a simplified version of Every Breath You Take by The Police. Lesson 6 In Lesson 6 we re continuing our explorations of the fingerboard - we re learning all the locations of the notes F# and G. And in the song tutorial section of the lesson we re learning the rest of Every Breath You Take. Lesson 7 In Lesson 7 we re adding two more notes to our palette of learned notes - this week it s Ab and A. And in the song tutorial we re learning So Lonely by The Police. Lesson 8 In Lesson 8 we re moving further up the fretboard and learning the location of Bb and B. And we re having an introductory look at rhythm. Lesson 9 In Lesson 9 we re learning the locations of C and Db. And we re looking at a bassline that uses whole notes and eighth notes - that s Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. 11 Free How To Play Bass Monthly Ezine May 2012 how-to-play-bass.com

12 Lesson 10 In this lesson we re going to learn the last two notes we need to learn to complete our 12 note palette - Eb and E. And we re spending some time looking at quarter note bass lines - we re looking at some bass line snippets like Moondance and My Baby Just Cares For Me and then we have a detailed song tutorial and we re using Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley as our quarter note rhythm tune. Lesson 11 In this lesson we re doing two things with the note finder exercises we ve been working on. Firstly we re creating a composite exercise with all 12 notes. And we re using a pack of playing cards to randomize what we play so that we can be sure we truly know it. We re also looking at how you can use a Tascam Bass Trainer to slow a piece of music down to learn it, and why this is important. We re doing this with an 8 bar section of Superstition. Lesson 12 In this lesson we re developing on our left hand technique with some digital permutation exercises, we re learning a specific rhythmic pattern and how to count it, and then we re learning a song based on that rhythmic pattern. That song is My Girl by The Temptations. Lesson 13 In this lesson we re got another set of left hand technique/ digital permutation exercises, we re learning a specific rhythmic pattern and how to count it, and then we re learning a song based on that rhythmic pattern. That song is Tramp by Otis Redding. Lesson 14 In this lesson we re got another set of left hand technique/ digital permutation exercises, we re learning a specific rhythmic pattern and how to count it, and then we re learning a song based on that rhythmic pattern. That song is Tramp by Otis Redding. Lesson 15 In this lesson we ve got a composite set of rhythmic exercises and we re looking in more detail at straight 8th note rhythms - and the song we re using to illustrate this is Dancing In The Dark by Bruce Springsteen. Lesson 16 In this lesson we ve got some more rhythmic exercises and the song we re using to illustrate this is New Years Day by U2. 12 Free How To Play Bass Monthly Ezine May 2012 how-to-play-bass.com

13 Lesson 17 In this lesson we start a mini-series on practice thoughts. Plus there s a new set of rhythms and song that illustrates them. That song is Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen. Lesson 18 In this lesson we re continuing with our thoughts on practicing. Then we re moving on with our rhythmic studies - and looking at the simple bass line to Stand By Me as our song tutorial. Lesson 19 In Lesson 19 we ve got more thoughts on practicing, and we re continuing our rhythmic studies and our song tutorial is a song that blends two different rhythmic styles together - that song is Roxanne by The Police. Lesson 20 In Lesson 20 we ve got more thoughts on practicing and we re looking at a rhythm that has a rest on the downbeat. The song tutorial that illustrates this unique rhythm is Addicted To Love by Robert Palmer. Lesson 21 In Lesson 21we re starting to move towards the goal of the course - being able to play driving and dynamic 8th note based lines. The tutorial this week is Living On A Prayer by Bon Jovi. Lesson 22 Lesson 22 focuses on practicing and a song tutorial called Keep On Running by Spencer Davis. This is a great bass line and willenhance your left and right hand techniques. Lesson 23 Lesson 23 has some more thoughts on practicing - and the song tutorial we re looking at is that hoary old rock classic Smoke On The Water. Lesson 24 Lesson 24 includes information on the Deliberate Practice concept of Comfort Zone/Learnign Zone and Panic Zone. And the song tutorial introduces the slow learning method of mastering a song or bass line - and we re using the Riff from Daytripper by the Beatles as our practical example. Lesson 25 Lesson 25 looks at how to use the principles of Deliberate Practice to audit your practice sessions and make sure you are practicing efficiently. The song tutorial part of the lesson is a complete note by 13 Free How To Play Bass Monthly Ezine May 2012 how-to-play-bass.com

14 note tutorial for Daytripper by The Beatles. Lesson 26 Lesson 26 looks at a really powerful exercise that I learned from Jerry Jemmott - this exercise is called Say It Sing It Play it. The song tutorial is Jamerson s driving 8th note line on This Old Heart Of Mine by The Isley Brothers. Lesson 27 In Lesson 27 we re looking at simple exercises that will increase your facility in playing in every key. The song tutorial for this lesson is another Jamerson 8th note line - it s Get Ready by The Temptations. Lesson 28 In Lesson 28 we re continuing to look at increasing your facility in every key. And the song tutorial for this lesson is Nowhere To Run by Martha And The Vandellas Lesson 29 In Lesson 29 we re finishing up at our look at increasing your facility in every key. And the song tutorial for this lesson is I Saw Her Standing There by The Beatles/Paul McCartney. Great finger burner! Lesson 30 In the final lesson of the course we re looking at where to go from here, and the final song tutorial is Shake A Tailfeather by Duck Dunn/The Blues Brothers. NOTE: all of these lessons are available to annual subscribers irrespective of when they join. All the lessons feature notation and tab. All of the lessons feature the teaching in PDF and Video Format. There are downloadable backing tracks for most of the lessons at different tempos to help you practice and learn. If you figure what the cost of 30 lessons with a private instructor would be then this resource on its own justifies the $127 Annual Subscription fee. And don t forget that you d get another 50 Video Lessons on top of this course. And the Blues for Bass Beginners column. 14 Free How To Play Bass Monthly Ezine May 2012 how-to-play-bass.com

15 And a whole lot more too. Here s the link to the First Bass And Beyond page again. Contact If you ve got any other questions don t hesitate to me via the contact form on the website - or leave a comment on my Facebook Wall. Have a great month, and enjoy. Paul 15 Free How To Play Bass Monthly Ezine May 2012 how-to-play-bass.com