How to Play Jazz and Latin Bass Guitar Grooves

Bass guitar can be used for a number of sounds, including Jazz and Latin grooves. Once you have mastered bass guitar basics and your genre, try some Latin and Jazz grooves to add dimension and variety to your bass guitar playing.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Learn to play the blues bass line. This will allow you to expand off this and create more rhythms. Play the following: C sharp, E, F sharp. Add in the seventh scale degree. Flat seventh G for the dominant, then F sharp, E, C sharp. So, the whole line goes: A, C sharp, E, F sharp, G, F sharp, E, C sharp.

2. Add on the last measures of the blues bass line and you'll have it under control. The last section is: D, F sharp, A, B, C, flat C, B, A, F sharp. Put the two together and you will have the blues bass line. Practice these immensely, as they are the foundation for most blues, jazz and even some Latin sounds.

3. Translate from blues to jazz by knowing how to read the chord changes. Start with the root note of B flat and go to F and G. This will give a much more interesting and faster pace to the blues music translating it into jazz. Blues is a lot slower than jazz, which is based on a 4/4 time signature.

4. Form Latin rhythms by adding extra beats with the basic jazz notes you are using. For example, in jazz you would play C and G on a four beat, but in Latin it is faster, and you would play on each count. Try this: C, G, G, C, C, G, G, C, C, G, G, C.