sweep arpeggios
DESCRIPTION
MUSICATRANSCRIPT
Play Da Bass!
Advanced Lesson: Sweep Arpeggios
Emq=100-150
Em Em/G Em/B
q=100-150
Sweep arpeggios are typically done on the guitar by brushing the pick down the strings as you finger an arpeggio straight acrossthe neck with your left hand. This technique can be transferred to the bass very effectively, and can sound really great in a lot of different contexts. A couple things to consider:
- We only have 4 strings, so to get as many notes as a typical guitar sweep will involve some shifting and hammer-ons/pull-offs. To get a smooth, sweeping sound, I don't pluck if I can hammer or pull off instead.
- Most of the sweeping I do (at this point) is triad arpeggios. It's totally possible to apply this technique to 7th chord arpeggios or other patterns, but for now we'll stick with basic triads.
The first pattern we'll look at is in E minor. It starts with the root of the triad and goes up to the tenth and back down.
1 2 1 1 4 1 1 2 1
The numbers below the top staff are left hand fingerings. I bar the B and the high E to keep it sounding smooth. All the slursmarked are places where my right hand doesn't pluck. Once you work out the pattern, you can get this going up to the suggested q=150, or even faster.
The next thing to do is take triads through all their inversions.
You'll notice that all three patterns - root position, 1st inversion and 2nd inversion - all have the same basic skeletal structure:2 notes on the A string, 1 note on the D string, and 2 different notes on the G string. (You can also move this pattern to the E, Aand D strings) This is key, because keeping that same skeleton allows you to use this idea to move through complex chord progressions with smooth voice leading, keeping as many common tones as possible.
Reality Check: So far, this is pretty simple conceptually. However, you can extrapolate these ideas to an immense amount of material: All four types of triads (major, minor, diminished, augmented), and all three inversions. You can do this in any key, and you can play most of the patterns either starting on the A or the E string. You can also start at the top of the arpeggio instead of the bottom. A lot of the fun of this technique is in the infinite possibilities!
Now that you've practiced moving through different inversions in one key, let's try some voice leading. We'll start with a circleof fourths progression, which is typical in many genres, from jazz standards to neoclassical shredfests.
1 2 1 1 4 1 1 2 1 2 3 1 4 1 3 21 3 2 1 4 1 2 3
7 109
9 12 99
10 7
7 109
9 12 99
10 10 1414
12 16 1214
14 14 1917
16 21 1617
19
Copyright © 2010 joshfossgreen.com
2
Am D/A G C/Gq=150
F#º B/F# Em E
Dm Bb/D Gm/D A/C#q=100
Dm Bb/D Gm/D Eb
Dm/A Am
e=200
B±b9E/G#
Am A
Here's a progression with root movement mostly in 3rds, using the same voice leading principles. Notice how smoothly thesechords fit together - only one note changes at a time from chord to chord (excluding the Gm/D to A/C# in bar 3-4).
To finish off, here's an excerpt from my original composition "The Waltz." Here I use thumb technique instead of fingerstylefor the sweeps. The thumb pattern is directly inspired by Victor Wooten's "Classical Thump" (adapted to the time signature). Some advice from bassist Mark King of the band Level 42 on playing fast: "Start slow and get faster." Enjoy!
T H P1 P2 T↓ H
HT↑ P T↓ H T↑ P T T H
HP1 P2
T↓HH
H T↑ P T↓HH T↑ P TT H
HP1 P2
T↓HH
H T↑ P T↓ HH
T↑ P T T HH
P1 P2T↓
HH
H T↑ P T↓ HH
T↑ P
TT H
HP1 P2
T↓HH
H T↑ P T↓ HH
T↑ P T T H P1 P2 T↓HH T↑ P T↓ H T↑ P TT H P1 P2
T↓HH T↑ P T↓ H T↑ P T T H P1 P2 T↓ HH T↑ P T↓ H T↑ P
12 1514
14 17 1414
15 12 1716
14 19 1416
17 10 1412
12 16 1212
14 10 1514
12 17 1214
15
9 1210
11 14 1110
12 9 1413
11 16 1113
14 7 109
9 12 99
10 7 119
9 13 99
11
5 87
7 10 77
8 5 88
7 10 78
8 5 108
7 12 78
10 4 77
6 9 67
7
5 87
7 10 77
8 5 88
7 10 78
8 5 108
7 12 78
10 6 108
8 12 88
10
12 171514 14 19 19 14
15171514
12 171514 14 19 19 14
15171514
12 151414 14 17 17 14
14151414
12 151414 14 17 17 14
14151414
14171514 14 17 17 14
15171514
111414
13 13 16 16 1314141413
12151414 14 17 17 14
14151414
12 161414 14 18 18 14
14161414
Copyright © 2010 joshfossgreen.com
3
Dm/A Am
B±b9 E/B Am
TT H P1 P2
T↓HH T↑ P T↓ H T↑ P T T H P1 P2 T↓
HH T↑ P T↓ H T↑ P TT H P1 P2
T↓HH T↑ P T↓ H T↑ P T T H P1 P2
T↓HH T↑ P T↓ H T↑ P
If you got value from this free ebook, I encourage you to show your appreciation!
You can support my offerings by donating at: http://joshfossgreen.com/books/
Notation legend:
T,T↓
T↑
P, P1
P2
H
TT H P1 P2 T↓
Thumb downstroke (slap)
Thumb upstroke
Index finger pluck
Middle finger pluck
Left hand hammer-on
HH T↑ P T↓ H T↑ P T T H P1 P2 T↓ HH T↑ P T↓ H T↑ P TT H P1 P2 T↓ HH T↑ P T↓ H T↑ P P T T
12 171514 14 19 19 14
15171514
12 171514 14 19 19 14
15171514
12 151414 14 17 17 14
14151414
12 151414 14 17 17 14
14151414
14 1715
14 14 17 17 1415
1715
14
14 1918
16 16 21 21 1618
1918
16
12 1514
14 14 17 17 1414
1514
14 14
125
Copyright © 2010 joshfossgreen.com
4