Date: 25/02/08 (J Kosminsky)
Planning Time: 2hrs
Lesson Time: 1hr
Lesson Footage:
(1O MINUTE VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE HOUR LESSON)
With all the talk of major scales throughout the lessons, it was time to introduce the pupil to their first major scale. The scale of C major was the first to be taught, as this was the simplest of the scales to learn because it is the only major scale to contain no sharps or flats. This will become the foundation to learn other scales, both major and minor so that the pupil can become one step further in understanding their instrument.
Interval notes and ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’ will be attempted again until the pupil feels confident with these and finally two new songs will be introduced and played along to, if time allows.
Lesson Objectives:
1.) To introduce the scale of C major, with the intention of the pupil learning to play the scale on the instrument.
2.) To recap on unison (root note), fifth and eighth (octave) interval notes so the pupil fully understands this subject. After this the pupil will demonstrate their knowledge by playing fifth and eighth interval notes of a specific root note.
3.) To persist learning ‘The Ballad Of John and Yoko’ by The Beatles.
4.) To introduce a new genre and song, in the form of ‘Cold Sweat’ by James Brown to teach the pupil new rhythms and bass styles.
5.) To introduce soul music to the pupil, as the bass lines associated with this genre incorporate both bluesy and funky bass patterns. The source material for this is ‘Sure As Sin’ by Soul artist Candi Staton.
Introduction:
The pupil will be asked how he/she thought the previous lesson had gone and whether they are anxious about anything during this week’s lesson. After this the lesson ahead will be explained with some aims set so that the pupil has specific goals to reach.
Lesson Material:
1.) Learning a scale can be confusing and frustrating, especially when there are both fifteen major and minor scales to learn. However to make this slightly less troublesome, every major scale has a relative minor scale, i.e. C major (Figure 1) has the same note make up as A minor (Figure 2), they just begin with different root notes.
(Figure 1 - original gathered from www.thinkquest.org)
(Figure 2 - original gathered from www.thinkquest.org)
For this very reason the subject of scales will begin with the scale of C major. This scale has no accidental notes ~(sharps♯ or flats♭) – meaning that all the notes are natural (♮). To simplify the term scale, a demonstration will be made on the bass guitar itself and explained with the use of solfège - Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do. Solfège is the technique, which utilises syllables as a reference to notes and in this case - scales.
The pupil will be shown the universal pattern for all basic major scales (refer to figure 3) and will be instructed to learn and play this pattern. While progressing through the scale, the pupil should name the notes and even sing them, if feeling confident enough, as this will begin to train their ears. The scales will be played in chromatic form and can therefore be used by the pupil to warm up, as they will be exercising their hands while learning musical scales.
G -|---------------------------2--4--5------5--4--2----------------------------------------|
D -|----------------2--3--5----------------------------5--3--2-----------------------------|
A -|---------3--5--------------------------------------------------5--3----------------------|
E -|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
--------------2--4--1--2--4--1--3--4------4--3--1--4--2--1--4--2----------------------
------------------------------Fingers used to fret notes-----------------------------------
(Figure 3)
2.) For this objective the pupil will be asked whether he/she fully understands the concept of interval notes, if the pupil is unsure then past objectives on this subject will be utilised to help the pupil comprehend interval notes.
Hopefully the pupil will be able to give a brief and basic explanation of interval notes, while being able to demonstrate their understanding on the bass. The pupil using the root note of A, will then play the interval note patterns known, as in Figure 4 below.
G -|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D -|-------------------------------------------------------7---------7---------7----------7------|
A -|--------7----------7----------7----------7---------------------------------------------------|
E -|--5----------5----------5----------5-----------5---------5---------5----------5-----------|
----[-----------fifth interval notes----------]--[-------------eighth interval notes-------]
(Figure 4)
3.) The pupil will persist practicing The Beatles’ ’The Ballad Of John and Yoko’ and should aim to be able to play through at least one verse without making a mistake. Setting small and manageable objectives for the pupil helps them to realise their achievements and encourage them further.
**’The Ballad Of John and Yoko’ tablature**
4.) Once the pupil has shown improvement and confidence with the bass line of ’The Ballad Of John and Yoko’, a more complex and groove based pattern will be introduced, (refer to the tablature link below). This is James Brown’s funky ‘Cold Sweat’ and utilises many familiar interval notes and new ones too, all taken from the structure of a major scale.
This song will be an example of why it is important to learn scales. If scales are taken seriously and practiced then there is no reason why the pupil will not be able to play bass lines like this. Although it is probably a little too early for the pupil to play this pattern due to the rhythm of the bass and the increased fret board activity, so a basic bass line will be shown if this is the case.
**’Cold Sweat’ tablature**
5.) A third and finally song will be introduced to the pupil, which will demonstrate a blend of simple and melodic bass patterns, which use root notes to uphold the beat and improvised interval notes to add a little life and excitement. Candi Staton’s ‘Sure As Sin’, (refer to the tablature below), was chosen because of its slow tempo, its beat driven root notes and its use of major scale note intervals. The song is a good example of everything that has been learnt so far in the lessons.
The bass line has a lot of fret activity with more of the fret board being covered than the pupil will be use to. This is why a basic pattern will be taught so that the pupil is able to build up to the actual bass line. The pupil will be encourage to persevere, as a lot of satisfaction can be found from the ability to learn and play a new song.
Candi Staton - ‘Sure as sin’ bass tablature
Introduction
G¦ --------------------------------------¦-------------------------------------------------¦
D¦ --------------------------------------¦-------------------------------------------------¦
A¦ --------------------------------------¦-----------------------3---6------2---5--------¦
E¦ -8----------------6------8------6--¦-5-----------------4-----------3----------------¦ X2
Verse
G¦ --------------------------------------¦--------------------------------------------------¦
D¦ --------------------------------------¦--------------------------------------------------¦
A¦---------------------------------------¦-----------------------------------2---5---------¦
E¦ -8-----------8----6------8------6--¦-5-----------------4-----------3----------------¦
G¦ --------------------------------------¦---------------------------------------------------¦
D¦ --------------------------------------¦---------------------------------------------------¦
A¦ ---------------------------------------¦-----------------------3---6------2---5---------¦
E¦ -8----------------6------8------6---¦-5-----------------4-----------3----------------¦
G¦ ---------2---5-----------------------¦---------------------------------4---------------¦
D¦ -3----------------3-------------3---¦-5------------------5----5-----------5----------¦
A¦ -----------------------------3--------¦------------5-------------------------------------¦
E¦ ---------------------------------------¦--------------------------------------------------¦
G¦ ---------------------------------------¦-----------------------4---7------4---7--------¦
D¦ -3----------------3--------3-3------¦-5---------5-5----5-----------5----------------¦
A¦ -------------3------------------------¦---------------------------------------------------¦
E¦ ---------------------------------------¦---------------------------------------------------¦
Chorus
G¦ --------------------------------------¦---------------------------------------------------¦
D¦ --------------------------------------¦---------------------------------5-----------------¦
A¦ --------------------------------------¦------------------------3---6-------5-------------¦
E¦ -8------------6---8--------8\-------¦-4------------------3-------------------7--------¦
G¦ --------------------------------------¦---------------------------------------------------¦
D¦ --------------------------------------¦---------------------------------------------------¦
A¦ --------------------------------------¦---------------------------------------------------¦
E¦ -8------------6---8--------8\-------¦-3--3-3--3--3-3--3--3--3--3--3--3---------¦
Back to Verse
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