Intermediate Lesson

Ready to take the next step in your bass journey? Phil Mann is here to guide you along the way, but be prepared for a dose of fingertip abrasion...

- PHIL MANN

As you progress through your career as a bassist, a number of unexpected abilities will develop along the way. Woodwork craftsmanship is such a skill, acquired from various attempts to bolster loose strap-button holes with matchsticks. Some of you may obtain some flair with a paintbrush after applying clear nail polish to the heads of grub screws in an effort to stop tired bridge saddles from collapsing. My favorite is the copying skills gained from painstakingly tracing the outline of neck pockets onto old credit cards. On more than one occasion, our flexible friends have been modified to become a homemade neck shim. This month is an opportunity for you to become a scholar in blister maintenance, so protect your fingers with plastic wrap.

Example 1

Once your fingertips are ready for deployment, take a look at our opening eight measures. As you know, 16th note triplets are essentially three individual notes of equal value occupying the same space as a single 8th note. On the third beat of bar one, you’ll need to pluck the first dead note with the underside of your thumb before attempting to play the coinciding pitches with your index and middle fingers.

Example 2

Example 2 takes the rhythmic components of Example 1 and applies pitch. For the first four bars, you will focus around an E minor tonality, before moving up a fourth to A minor in bars five and six. Melodically, there’s not a lot to report, as the phrases only use root and octave intervals. However, 16th-note triplets present themselves in a flurry of dead notes, so keep an eye on the situation and manage it accordingly. Rest is your friend!