Exploring Left-Hand Basses

We're going to look at tons of left-hand basses, focusing on:

• Common Boogie Woogie Basses
• Creative Ways to Develop Your Own Basses

After all, those original basses came from somewhere; they didn't just appear by magic. It's always good to move the music forward and do your own thing with it.

Basses in the Key of C

What we're going to do is look at basses in the key of C. I will provide you with some bass lines. While I won't always show you these on the different chords within the key of C, you need to be able to transpose the basses from the chord of C to the other chords in the 12-bar structure, which would be F and G.

Transposing Basses

I suggest trying to play these basses in as many keys as possible. I have actually written all these bass lines down in the accompanying PDF, so they're all available for you to check out.

The Importance of Practice

Now, we need to talk about the practice of these basses. It's very important that you get your left hand as solid as possible, and I'm afraid that just comes with repetition.

Developing Independence

You have to be able to play these bass lines while your right hand can be independent. As a fun analogy, think of it like scratching your head or rubbing your tummy!

Smooth Chord Changes

A common place where people get stuck is during the chord changes. They might have the bass going great, but when it comes to changing chords, they hesitate and then fall back in.

To improve this, getting those chord changes as smooth as possible is vital. Here are some tips:

• Think Ahead: Anticipate where your hand needs to go.
  • Moving up to G
  • Coming down to F
  • Returning to C

Try to achieve fluency, even if that means literally going around the same 12-bar progression with just the left hand for 15, 20 minutes, or even half an hour, until it feels totally comfortable and natural.

It's so important for this style!