Uploaded January 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
BECOME A PATRON: patreon.com/joshfossgreen
FREE PDF FOR THIS LESSON: joshfossgreen.com/hit-me-with-your-rhythm-stick-bass-lesson
Well, what better way to start the New Year than with an obscure British funk tune from the 70's? I hadn't heard of Ian Dury and the Blockheads until one of my Patreon patrons hipped me to it a few months ago, and thought it would make a great cover/tutorial for you guys!
To try to cop the tone from the recording, I just rolled a little bit toward my neck pickup on my Peavey Cirrus. I think the original bassist Norman Watt-Roy probably played a Fender Jazz bass on the track.
This bass line is nothing if not 16th note heavy, so it involves a good deal of right hand dexterity and stamina to get through the song. Which makes it a great opportunity to practice our rhythmic accuracy with 16th notes!
Also dig the cool chord inversion during the verse; in the second bar of the Fm chord, Watt-Roy lands on an Ab, the third of the chord, which makes the harmony sound more interesting than repeating the same figure twice.
Please keep in mind that this tune is fairly advanced, so if you can't get your hands around it, just take a deep breath and wait for next week's lesson!
patreon.com/joshfossgreen
joshfossgreen.com/onlinebasslessons
BECOME A PATRON: patreon.com/joshfossgreen
FREE PDF FOR THIS LESSON: joshfossgreen.com/hit-me-with-your-rhythm-stick-bass-lesson
Well, what better way to start the New Year than with an obscure British funk tune from the 70's? I hadn't heard of Ian Dury and the Blockheads until one of my Patreon patrons hipped me to it a few months ago, and thought it would make a great cover/tutorial for you guys!
To try to cop the tone from the recording, I just rolled a little bit toward my neck pickup on my Peavey Cirrus. I think the original bassist Norman Watt-Roy probably played a Fender Jazz bass on the track.
This bass line is nothing if not 16th note heavy, so it involves a good deal of right hand dexterity and stamina to get through the song. Which makes it a great opportunity to practice our rhythmic accuracy with 16th notes!
Also dig the cool chord inversion during the verse; in the second bar of the Fm chord, Watt-Roy lands on an Ab, the third of the chord, which makes the harmony sound more interesting than repeating the same figure twice.
Please keep in mind that this tune is fairly advanced, so if you can't get your hands around it, just take a deep breath and wait for next week's lesson!
patreon.com/joshfossgreen
joshfossgreen.com/onlinebasslessons
