How to play gypsy jazz bass

The most important thing you can do with this instrument is not playing fast, not playing solos, but get a good sound, play in tune. This is where you will get your job from.   

This quote comes from arguably the greatest bass player ever, Ray Brown. Surprisingly, he doesn’t mention time. But hey, for a bassist of Ray Brown’s caliber, playing in time is like breathing – why bring up something so natural?

What counts for Ray Brown’s approach of playing bass, counts for playing gypsy jazz bass. Play in tune. Play in time. Get a good sound.

In one essential way, gypsy jazz is different from straight-ahead jazz: in gypsy jazz the rhythm is provided by a rhythm guitar instead of drums. This calls for a different feel of bass playing, a different way to ‘lock in’ with your band or fellow musicians.

If you’re new in the genre, or you’re new in playing bass in general, these gypsy jazz bass instructional courses could be very effective. If you’re an experienced gypsy jazz bassist looking to get inspired by some new ideas, also be encouraged to have a look.

How to play Gypsy Jazz Bass  

In this course Arnoud van den Berg, who’s one of the most experienced bassists in gypsy jazz, dives into details on certain things you should and shouldn’t do when you’re trying to become a solid factor in a gypsy jazz band.

For those who are coming from electric bass, Arnoud covers basic upright bass techniques. He talks about scales and exercises to play in tune and build strength and tone. Then he covers subtleties of bass playing that are particular to gypsy jazz – how to get a good sound ‘in the style.’

Finally, the bulk of this course focuses on playing a variety of basslines on standard tunes in the repertoire. The goal there is to give you plenty of specific basslines to practise.

The intended audience for this course is beginner to intermediate upright bass players, or advanced players who have never before played gypsy jazz.

This 55 minutes course is fully transcribed, with interactive notation synced with the video.

Basslines  

Are you new to gypsy jazz bass playing and need guidance on what basslines to play? Or perhaps you’re experienced but feel like you always play the same thing?  

Gypsy Jazz Bass vol. 2 (48 minutes) and Gypsy Jazz Bass vol. 3 (51 minutes) consist a total of 31 standard tunes. Featuring only bass and rhythm guitar – no soloist.  

For each performance, three to four choruses are spent on different bass styles, including ‘two feel,’ basic walking bass and advanced walking bass. All the tunes are carefully selected from the gypsy jazz songbook and provide a diversity of feels, tempos and keys within gypsy jazz. Both courses are fully transcribed, with interactive notation synced with the videos.