Originally published May 16, 2014, lightly edited for clarity.
Raw lick material is a way to organize note groupings — like groups of two in triplets — into reusable vocabulary for your bass lines. One thing I spent a lot of time practicing years ago were exercises of all different types. Looking back, I would have liked to have had more of a balance between practicing exercises and practicing playing music. Having experienced the downside of too much exercise practice, I would like to suggest to those students of music that you do not neglect the quality time of practicing playing music, meaning that one should spend time applying what is learned from the exercise to musical material. That being said here is the 1st of a note grouping exercise, “Groups Of 2 In Triplets” that falls into a category I call “Raw Lick Material”. Enjoy, and don’t forget to throw down a groove before you put it away. Phrasing vocabulary is one of the fundamentals I teach. For personalized coaching on vocabulary-building, online bass lessons via Zoom are available.
