Learn Bass Online with Ari

Opportunity to Receive 1 of 25 Pattern System Books for free! During our super successful Indiegogo campaign to launch The Pattern System for the Bass Player, one of my students (JJ) contacted me about buying two books and donating them to deserving students who aren’t in a position to purchase on their own.  Word got

Tapping is just for solo bass… right? Absolutely not! While tapping is certainly an integral part of a solo bass performance, it is and can be so much more. And as with any expansive bass technique (eg slapping, harmonics, etc), it can be viewed as another tool in your toolbox.  I recently did a live

Rhythm’s Gonna Get Ya! (Mini- Series Video 5) Two notes – many options! Swing feel math! It’s a bit like hitting the “quantize” button in your DAW: how shuffled do you want it? When I show this grid of options of just playing two notes with various rhythms and feels, it is usually a big

Rhythm’s Gonna Get Ya: How to Make it Swing! [Video 4] WALKING BASS AND SWING It don’t mean a thing… if it ain’t got that swing! Learn how to use phrasing (video 3 in this series), shuffle (video 1) and syncopation (video 2) to walk with the best of them! I demonstrate exactly how to

Phrasing! What is Phrasing? It’s everything! This under-appreciated detail can make or break a groove. Rhythmic phrasing is a vital piece of phrasing. Are you conscious of your note lengths and attacks? Together with dynamics and other aspects of music, they make phrasing. If you have a listening drummer it makes every jam ever so

Rhythm’s Gonna Get Ya! (Video 2 of 5) This happened to me at a rehearsal once. We were all giving the sixteenth notes a slight shuffle but one of us was playing them completely straight. Me: “Hang on, the rhythm isn’t clicking. Give it a bit of a shuffle.” Bandmate: “Shuffle? It’s not a shuffle.”

Practice Groups? How does this work? Maybe you have heard of our new teaching format: live on zoom ten weeks Practice Groups of various topics. We get it it’s a bit hard to imagine, so I wanted to share a screen grab view. (Actual view of the student will show a full screen size speaker’s

Rhythm’s Gonna Get Ya! But you’ll be ready if you watch my brand new Mini-Series on Rhythm. Five bite-sized, but info-packed videos that will take the mystery out of a few rarely talked about, but super important and sometimes tricky aspects of rhythm. First up is: Straight Versus Shuffle Afraid to stray from the straight

Which Book to get? Are they the same? A reader asked: I am looking at getting your new Pattern System book on Amazon. Would I also want to get the “Music Theory for the Bass Player” book? Or does the Pattern System book encompass everything in the previous book and more? This question makes a

I love questions. They reflect the state of understanding of our course participants and students. And I love watching the answers come in on our Facebook Group when the question is posted there. Some spot-on, but others adding more to the confusion revealing why precise and careful instruction is needed. After an epic thread that

Now Available on Amazon! Four years to write and 20 years in the making, my new Pattern System for the Bass Player – Sharpen Your Musical Mind through Fretboard Proficiency, Improvisation and Mental Practice is now available on Amazon! What is The Pattern System?  Is it just moving shapes up and down the fretboard?  Is

I get a lot of questions about our Cohort. What of all things is that? So let me take a minute to walk you through the answer. What is this Co-hort Thing? And how did it come about? It all started with my best-selling and highly-regarded book, Music Theory for the Bass Player – A

Rhythmic Revelations When a student of one of our Cohorts has a question and something is not clicking I cannot let it be. For instance: Natalie from our Cohort posted this question into our FB group (at 6:00 AM no less, a very eager student. Also, she lives in New Zealand!):        

The Amazing Marleaux Bridge and the Zero Fret It is no secret that I love my many beautiful Marleaux basses. I am blessed and truly lucky to have collected all these amazing instruments over the years. There are several reasons why I like them so much: Superior comfort and playability, absolutely amazing craftsmanship, the versatile

Skippy MacBeat Whether you call him the “metrognome” (Steve Bailey), the “basscot” (Forrest from our Facebook group), channeling Pete Townsend as “Skippy MacPete”, or by his real name Skippy MacBeat, this lovable little vintage metronome is the star of my new book – The Pattern System for the Bass Player – Sharpen your Musical Mind

There is a story to these two basses that grace the covers of my books.   Music Theory for the Bass Player Cover Girl It all started with being hired by my friends over at TrueFire to create my first teaching video with them. I was super excited about this opportunity and wanted to do

More Permutation Drills in Action? Chromatic Acrobatics 2!   You don’t have to have Chromatic Acrobatics 1 under your belt to tackle this one, but you surely want to have some permutation exercises  (or these permutation drills) under your fingers. These chromatic grooves are a great creative application of permutation exercises. Sometimes permutation drills get

Update September 2021 If you would like to donate to our Initiative please PayPal $50 for a domestic recipient to info[at]arisbassblog.com and put book donation in the subject line. We will confirm receipt. This donation campaigns ends on 10-10-2021       A Beautiful Story When I first launched my Indiegogo campaign for my second

Chromaticism in grooves is permutation exercises in action! Check out the groove that started the Chromatic Acrobatics series for my Talking Technique column on notreble. Learn it using my step-by-step approach that teaches you more than just the groove- but also how to approach and practice such a beast! Ready to check it out?  

When Performing doesn’t go as practiced… There is a reason. And a remedy! We likely have all been there… aced the tune in the practice room. Yet, when playing it for the teacher or wanting to show it off on stage, it’s doesn’t go as planned. What is up with this flummoxing phenomenon?   Please

Which Skippy should grace our T-Shirt? I’d like to tell you about the star of my new book “The Pattern System for The Bass Player – Sharpen Your Musical Mind Using Fretboard Proficiency, Improvisation and Mental Practice” (by Ariane Cap with Wolf Wein) His name is Skippy McBeat and he is a vintage metronome with