McCartney bass style lessons

[Kimosabe]

I can’t say enough about how great Paul Wolfe’s bass courses are. I’ve worked my way through several and have greatly improved and in short time and while having fun.

He just released a new McCartney course wherein he begins where Mac began, with roots, fifths and root octaves.

Wolfe avoids copyright issues by using songs like Can Buy Me Love, Love Me Don’t, etc.

Great videos o all his courses and reasonable prices. I correspond with him often. He really knows how to teach and how to play.

You don’t need to read. Besides tabs he uses a great way where he gives the chord names and then spells out what the bass is doing by telling the chord tone name, e.g. R-3-5-R, or R-b7-5- 3. Obviously you learn how to find all these chord tones in various positions if you don’t already know them. Not that hard.

How Paul McCartney Learned To Play Bass | How To Play Bass

how-to-play-bass.com

 

[Joe T]

Really a good read and listen Kimosabe. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Kimosabe]

It might seem a little confusing at first but what he means by devices are common bass patterns which he systematically teaches.

For example R-R-3-5, which in the Key of C is C-C-E-G

If you know where the root D is you just play the same finger pattern to get the same pattern, device, in another key, D-D-F#-A, but you don’t need to know these note names. You don’t need to know the names of the blasted notes, other than where the root note lies. You just have to think in terms of where is the third and the fifth, and that translates the pattern into what to do for any chord you choose. You’ll learn different places where the third and fifth can be found, and later the b7 and the 6th, the 4th, the b3, the chord tones that make up chords. Bm7b5. You know a minor chord has a b3. You know where the 5 is for a B chord, so you flat it. A minor 7 has a b7. The b7 is just two steps away from the octave. Ain’t that hard. A little study and a lot of practice. But Mac and others started out very simply as Paul Wolfe shows as he teaches Mac’s style as it developed.

And then you learn later how nice that pattern is when used in a one four progression such as C to F, because the ending note, G, leads very nicely into the F root note. It a scalar approach. Shazam! You’re learning how to use approach notes. You’re learning walking bass. You’re learning what makes a bass line sound nice.

C-C-E-G to F and whatever pattern, device, you use for the F chord just as Mac and any bass player uses common patterns, patterns based on their sound and usefulness moving to the next chord in the progression.

 

[Kimosabe]

Really a good read and listen Kimosabe. Thanks for sharing.

I appreciate that. Paul Wolfe a bargain and a great teacher and a very nice and funny person.