Bass: Jazz for the Beginning Bassist

Learn the building blocks of improvising on the double bass or bass guitar in a jazz style. Develop walking bass lines and improvised solos from chord charts and discover methods for instructing young bassists in a jazz ensemble setting. The course is done completely on your own time, there are no scheduled meetings. Six Units will be completed over our 12-week session. Assignments are due at the end of each unit. Students will watch the instructor’s videos and read the content, then make videos of themselves demonstrating the skills. The instructor will watch your videos and provide feedback, which students can then apply to your next assignments. Students can choose either upright or electric bass to take this course. No previous jazz or improvisation experience necessary.

This course will include:

• Playing accompanying bass lines in swing, straight-eighth notes and ballad styles
• Fingerboard/fretboard layout and fingerings
• Basic harmonic structures of relevant chord/scale relationships
• Navigating common jazz chord progressions
• Concepts in improvisation
• Learning six standard jazz tunes
• Concepts in jazz education

* This course is offered at two course levels. Students enrolled in the MMEd program at VanderCook are eligible to enroll for the 500 course number. Students not enrolled in the MMEd program who wish to earn graduate credit as a MECA Continuing Education student should register for the four digit course number. The difference in credits earned and tuition cost is attributed to the difference in tuition rates for the MMEd and MECA Continuing Education programs. If you are unsure which section is best for you, please contact us directly at [email protected].