Bass Mechanics: Crucial Groove

Andy Irvine’s Bass Mechanics: Crucial Groove

Essential Approaches for Constructing Commanding Bass Grooves

Whatever style of music you play and whatever the setting — original band, covers, recording session, or just jamming with your buds — establishing the perfect groove is crucial. And behind every perfect groove is a framework of technical and harmonic mechanics.

In this edition of Bass Mechanics, Andy Irvine shows you how to construct and play 12 of what he considers to be the most versatile and crucial grooves that you must have full command of to succeed on stage or in the studio. We’re very proud to welcome Andy to the family with his first TrueFire course, Bass Mechanics: Crucial Groove.

Andy is an internationally known bassist, author, educator and band leader. His playing is recognized by driving bass grooves, a huge tone, ferocious soloing, diverse song writing and producing skills. Andy has been featured in UK’s Bass Guitar Magazine, Top Bass Magazine and Bass Player Magazine who heralds Andy as a “soloist sensation.”

Andy organized his Bass Mechanics curriculum into two sections. In the first section, Andy guides you through 12 crucial concepts and techniques designed to help you develop a well-rounded playing vocabulary for the stage, studio, and creative process: Palm Muting, Soft Touch, Note Duration, Adding Expression & Emotion, The Dog House Technique, Dead Notes, Double Thumb Technique, Leaving Space: Using Restraint, Slap Bass Basics, Glissando Approaches, The Funky Grease, and Vocalizing Your Bass Lines.

In the second section, Andy guides you through 12 Groove Applications, organized into 7 groups, where you’ll dive into practical applications of all the techniques and concepts discussed and demonstrated in the first section of the course. All of the Groove Applications are demonstrated over rhythm tracks, which Andy recorded with his band so that you can explore a variety of crucial grooves, song styles, and bass line characteristics.

GROUP 1: The Round Soul Tones – The Funky Boogaloo, Rumba and The Jump Shuffle. ”In this group, I’ll describe and demonstrate three examples of grooves and styles which I use often. They each offer a warm full foundation and groove bedrock to any track. Producers love them, and they go “to tape” perfectly, supporting the pulse and sonic space where the bass effectively drives the song.”

GROUP 2: Soft Touch & Note Duration – Slow Blues & Soul Ballad. ”In this group, I’ll demonstrate and describe two highly functional methods of playing harmonically supportive bass lines which also fill in the track with longer notes and introduce tasteful melodic counter melody.”

GROUP 3: Fingerstyle – Slow Finger Funk & Funky Fingerstyle, and Fast Finger Funk/Bubbling. ”In this group, I’ll demonstrate and describe my own approach to funky right hand muting as well as the use of dead notes, muting, and the necessary left hand techniques to create a bouncy percussive groove. We’ll be working at both medium and fast tempos.”

GROUP 4: Box Pattern Blues – The Chicago Shuffle. ”Here, I’ll describe and demonstrate methods of deliberately establishing time and feel with aggressive right hand finger style playing.”

GROUP 5: Funk Era Bass – Old School Octave Fingers and Super Fly Slap. ”In this section, we’ll explore different styles of slap bass, from old school methods to the more modern approaches for soloing.

GROUP 6: Double Thumb Picking – Driving Rock Groove – Double Thumb Groove. ”I’ll give a description and example of my double thumb picking technique, which emulates the attack and driving force of playing with a pick.”

GROUP 7: The Country Train – Bouncing Double Time. ”I’ll describe and demonstrate the driving 2 beat feel that supports typical country train grooves and up tempo chicken pickin’ song styles.”

Andy demonstrates over rhythm tracks and then breaks all of the Groove Applications down by stepping you through the key concepts, techniques and creative approaches that he used to perform the bass parts he demonstrates.

All of the performances are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can play, loop and/or slow down the tab and notation as you work through the lessons. Plus, Andy generously includes all of the rhythm tracks for you to work with on your own.

Grab your bass and lets get into a few crucial grooves with Andy Irvine!