Introduction

I have divided these classes into three levels of performance because it has been my experience that most clinics attract musicians that fall into one (or in some cases all three) of these categories.

These materials are from actual classes that I taught at The Los Angeles Music Academy to bassists from all over the world. At the academy, I tried to encourage every musician to strive for excellence and seek the answers to their questions through being curious and keeping their eyes and ears open.

Every musician is encouraged to take this information and use it as a source of inspiration to increase their skills towards becoming a professional musician. If you have any questions regarding this master class, and didn't get the opportunity to ask me in person, please feel free to leave me a message on the Ask Alphonso page. Or you can write me at:

Embamba Music Productions
P.O. Box 937
Manhattan Beach, CA 90267

Objectives

What we need to do is establish some clear goals for ourselves every time we pick up the instrument. This can be as simple as always making sure that we tune up the instrument before playing it or warming up the hands by playing a scale in the key of the composition that you are going to perform. Once we start applying these "good habits," we'll start eliminating some of the "bad habits" that we may have developed in the past.

In each group listed below you should set aside an amount of time to achieve your objective. Make sure that you are realistic in allocating your time so that you can gain a sense of accomplishment at the end of every class. If you don't have self-discipline to do these on your own then get a private teacher to help you get started and try to stay on task!!

The goal is to: 1) Learn the specific skill; and then 2) Apply it to a song to make sure that you fully understood and can execute what was being taught. You can play with the website soundtracks that will be provided or better yet, get together with other musicians and play these songs with a live rhythm section.

Beginner Group

In this class we will concentrate on learning two skills: Reading chord changes in basic 12 bar blues form and Playing eighth not grooves. The focus will be on learning to apply these skills during the performance of two songs:

"The Thrill Is Gone" by B.B. King and "Every Breath You Take" by Sting

Intermediate Group

In this class we will be learning three skills: How to play syncopations that are "locked" during slow tempos, Following a song that has an arrangement and Playing a shuffle groove. The focus today will be on learning to apply these skills during the performance of two songs:

"Devotion" by Maurice White & Philip Bailey and "Freeway Jam" by Max Middleton

Advanced Group

In this class we will be learning three skills: Playing in odd meter, Creating strong bass patterns, and Soloing concepts for playing through jazz chord progressions. The focus today will be on learning to apply these skills during performance of two songs:

"Adrian's Tent" by Larry Steelman and "Nothing Personal" by Don Grolnick

Warm-Ups for All Groups

I've designed some warm-ups that are designed at helping you to get around the fingerboard and memorizing certain patterns that are frequently played.