I’ve just received an email about a new course that Mark is planning over at TalkingBass:
So, in a recent email, I asked you all to send me your ideas for an ‘ultimate’ Talkingbass course. The kind of course that would answer all the questions you might have regarding learning the bass guitar.
Well, I fully expected a whole kaleidoscope of answers. I assumed some of you would be looking for courses for beginners, others would want more technique based lessons and maybe some extra topics for good measure.
But… I did not expect this!!!
I received A LOT of replies and the overwhelming majority of you asked for the same type of course. The requests were not exactly the same, but the underlying sentiments were very consistent.
So here are the main requests split into three main categories:
1) A course on jamming and bass line improvisation
2) A course on bass line writing
3) A course on improvisation. This could be bass lines or soloingFrom these requests I’ve brainstormed and quickly arrived at an outline for a new course that may prove to be the central hub of Talkingbass education.
The Creative Bassist
The new course will be entitled The Creative Bassist and will be presented in three eventual volumes:
- Volume 1: Bass Line Creation & Jamming Essentials
- Volume 2: An Introduction To Melody and Solo Improvisation
- Volume 3: Jazz & Blues Soloing Concepts
Volume 1 will provide a deep dive into bass line creation, comping patterns, jamming, riff writing, rhythm, how to make use of chord tones and scales in a bass line, how to create fills, how to analyse bass lines and use them as a basis for creating your own.
There will be a set of backing tracks allowing you to create bass lines on the fly while making use of all the information provided.
By the end of Volume 1 you will be able to jam with other musicians, play through chord progressions in a variety of styles on the fly, play interesting fills and write your own bass riffs.
Volume 2 will move into the realm of melodic playing. The main reason bass players generally ‘suck’ at soloing and creating fills (as a beginner/intermediate player) is because bass is not traditionally a melody instrument.
Guitarists, sax players, pianists and other instrumentalists play melodies all the time. They learn how to phrase a melody, how to add expression and all the other elements of creating a good sounding tune. We don’t.
So in this course we’ll begin by working on expressive ways of playing and creating melodies. We’ll then move onto melodic improvisation in a variety of different styles.
Then, in Volume 3, we’ll move into blues and jazz solo improvisation. We’ll start simple and gradually move into development of vocabulary, phrasing and more.
The Ultimate Talkingbass Course
This course will provide everything you need to know regarding ‘application’ of all the skills and information you gain from other Talkingbass courses.
In that sense, The Creative Bassist will help to bring everything together and also act as a springboard for moving into other courses.
For example, by working on the bass line creation exercises in The Creative Bassist, making use of a few arpeggios and scales, you will suddenly gain an awareness of how chord tones and scales can be used in your creative bass endeavours. This will possibly provide more reasons for working on a course like Chord Tone Essentials. You will understand how to apply the concepts.
I am INCREDIBLY excited about this course and I thank you all for sending your recommendations.
To those of you that asked for different courses, I have read every single email you’ve sent and made notes on everything you asked. After The Creative Bassist, I’ll be looking to create even more courses for you all, so expect to see your recommendations come to fruition in the near future!
I’m now going to plan the course out in more detail and I’ll be sure to keep you informed of all developments. This will be a big one so I could be a couple of months working on the structure and practice resources. But hopefully I’ll have news very soon!
Also, while I’m writing this email, remember we have the TalkingBass Spring Sale for the next week. If you want to check out some of the other courses on offer, there’s a 25% discount on all courses right now.
Click Here To Check Out The Discounted Courses!!
Thank you again for all your replies. You are the best!!!
Mark
Not sure I’m ready for it yet. But at some point in the future I want this! 
