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A 10 week LIVE coaching program with Scott Devine & special guests.
The Art & Science
of Creative Bass Playing
A 10 week live
coaching program
Scott Devine
& Special Guests
Join my 10 week coaching program—included as part of SBL Membership—before we close enrollment.
You’ve practiced the scales, the arpeggios, the modes.
Ever wondered how all your favorite bass players are so creatively free on the bass?
Tell me if this sounds familiar.
You know a few scales and maybe some arpeggios, and probably even some fragmented shapes on the fingerboard that sometimes sound like they work, but however hard you try, you can’t pin it all together to make real bass lines, real grooves, and fills.
Instead everything feels totally fragmented and disconnected. Like none of the things you’ve spent so many hours working on in the practice room actually comes out when it’s time to play.
You’re spending hours-a-day studying a language, and you learn all the vocabulary and grammar (that you’ve been told to learn), but when you try to have a real conversation, you can’t figure out how the words join together.
And here’s what makes it worse…
You see other bass players, and it looks totally effortless for them. You keep practicing your scales, arpeggios, chord tones, and fingerboard positions, but it still feels a million miles away when you try to play in real world situations.
It’s like there’s a chasm between all the exercises you’ve been told to use and actually being able to use them when you play. And it’s extra frustrating if you’re more of an advanced player, with a lot of technique, and some years under your belt. “This is supposed to work! How come they can do it, and I can’t!?!?”
I used to feel the same way.
I’d practiced my arpeggios and scales, I kinda knew how modes worked… but when push came to shove, I just couldn’t really use any of that stuff when it came to actually playing bass.
There was what felt like a vast chasm between what I was practicing (and had been told to practice) and what I could actually use when I picked up the bass.
Until I discovered something that totally changed the game for me. It’s not one thing, actually; it’s five things. And once I knew what they were, I realized all the great bass players past and present, use them too! Whether it’s Gary Willis, Jaco, John Patitucci, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, or any of countless others.
It was a “forehead slap” moment. How could I have missed this!?!? And you’re probably dying to know what those five things are, and I promise I’ll tell you, but first, a word on why more practice doesn’t necessarily help.
More practice won’t
necessarily help.
Once I discovered the five things, I realized:
01. If I’d known about this earlier, I wouldn’t have struggled so much.
02. Many, many bass players are still getting this wrong.
So many bass players (in fact 99.9% of the students that I’ve personally worked with over the last 20 years) have suffered from the same problem.
I call it “the chasm”.
It means they know ‘a bunch of things’ in isolation, but what they don’t know is how it all really works together and, how to use those tools (yep, that’s what they really are) to create great sounding grooves, bass lines and fills.
So there’s a vast chasm between what they’ve been told to focus on, what they already kind of know and being able to use all of that stuff seamlessly within their bass playing. That’s why more practice won’t necessarily help. Unless it’s the right practice.
So….How do you get out of this rut without spending months and in many, many cases even years feeling like you’re going around in circles, and seeing no improvement in your bass playing whatsoever?!
Well, it all comes back to those Five Principles I discovered:
And over many years of teaching the bass - we’ve taught over 70,000 students here at SBL - I’ve developed a system that leverages those five principles to stop feeling fragmented and disconnected and start playing instinctively and effortlessly.
And it’s a system so refined that if you follow it step-by-step, and practice it just 30-minutes-a-day, it’s nearly impossible to fail.
This is a LIVE 10-week coaching program with me and special guests Adam Blackstone & John Patitucci.
This coaching program works for any style & any level.
I’m going to be teaching you a system that will allow you to unlock your creativity and demystify Your Bass Playing in Just 10 Weeks, with as little as just 30 minutes-a-day of practice.
And get this, if you’re a member of ScottsBassLessons.com, this program is FREE for you to join! But this program is only open to people who join before we close enrollment.
To grab your free 14-day trial and hold your spot, just click below.
Reserve my spotOver the 10 weeks, we’ll be covering 5 primary skills that pro bass players use to play the bass creatively, and knit together their fundamentals into beautiful instinctive bass playing:
Every week we’ll do a 2hr live interactive seminar together, where I’ll be teaching you the specific frameworks and systems I’ve developed, to help bass players unlock their bass playing and become creatively free on their instrument.
Every week we’ll give you a beautifully designed workbook and backing tracks to practice with.
You’re also going to be joined by two of my absolute heroes, John Patitucci and Adam Blackstone, who will help me guide you from being in your head and getting in your own way, to making music effortlessly on the bass.
John Patitucci is one of the most respected and recorded bassists in jazz, having been a member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet for the past 20 years, as well as playing in Chick Corea’s Elektric and Akoustic bands. John will be hosting a live class in week 4.
And in week 7, we’ll be joined by Adam Blackstone. Adam is a hit songwriter/producer, and Emmy nominated music director to Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Eminem, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, and numerous other global superstars.
In week 1, we’ll be jumping into the rhythmical grid (what it is and how to use it), which is the foundational element that everything you ever play on the bass is built upon. Get it wrong, and everything else will be a struggle.
In week 2, we’re going to be focusing on chord tones - specifically what they are (notes of a chord) are, why they’re important to bass players, and the synergy between chord tones, arpeggios and scales.
You’re going to learn the specific exercises I think every bass player and musician should be using each and every time they pick up their instrument.
In week 3, we’ll be expanding on our chord tone foundations and discussing the use of extensions. Yet again, we’re going to be careful to take things out of the abstract and actually use these concepts in the context of bass line and groove creation.
In Week 4, you’re going to be joined by one of my absolute favourite bass players, John Patitucci. John is one of the most respected and recorded bassists in jazz, having been a member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet for the past 20 years, as well as playing in Chick Corea’s Elektric and Akoustic bands.
In week 5, we’ll be jumping into one of my personal favorites - chromatics. We’ll be using these to expand the work we’ve already done with chord tones which will take your bass line creation skills to a whole new level.
In week 6, we’re going to be delving into the world of dynamics and articulations - this is where your bass lines and grooves will really start to come to life as we explore the 10 specific groove-tools each and every bass player needs to have at their disposal.
In week 7, we’ll be joined by Adam Blackstone. Adam is a hit songwriter/producer, and Emmy nominated music director to Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Eminem, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, and numerous other global superstars.
In week 8 we’re going to be diving into scales and modes, with the goal of giving you a full understanding of what they are, and how they relate to everything else you’ve been learning, before using them in context in week 9.
By the end of week 9 you’ll also be able to use scales and modes in context, to make beautiful bass lines and runs. Nothing abstract here - you’ll be able to use them to create great sounding bass lines and grooves.
And finally, in week 10, we’ll look at how to put everything together, and use all the concepts we’ve learned up to this point to create the “ingredients” of creative bass playing: bass runs, fills, and everything else that takes chordal exercises and turns them into living, breathing musical expressions.
After you’ve completed this program, you’ll no longer have that vast chasm between the information you think you should be using, and what you actually use each time you pick up your bass.
You’ll have learned and thoroughly absorbed my specific formula of using chord tones, arpeggio’s, scales & modes, chromatics and more to create great sounding bass lines and grooves - and you’ll have used everyone of these things in context!
This is NOT just another online course.
This is an exclusive coaching program.
When we start the program, we’re all going to be starting together, just like a college class. And, because we’re going to be doing this together, this coaching cohort is going to be your community over the next 10 weeks, and as friends always do, we’ll be keeping each other accountable each and every step of the way.
And don’t worry, if for any reason you can’t make one of the live classes (because I know, sometimes life gets in the way - I’ve got 2 small kids!), each one is also filmed in 1080HD, and will be uploaded to the learning platform within 24hrs of the live class.
Over the past few years, we’ve launched several “Accelerator” 10+ week courses outside of the SBL Membership. These courses have been incredibly popular and helped thousands of bass players improve their skills. But there’s no live component, everything is pre-recorded and we sell them at $199 per course.
The Art & Science of Creative Bass Playing is available for no additional cost once you’re a member of SBL.
$199 Included in SBL Membership
BUT! We have to close enrollment Wednesday May 26th, at midnight. If you don’t want to miss out, make sure to grab your free trial to SBL before then.
Claim your FREE trial now and reserve your spot in The Art & Science of Creative Bass Playing.
Reserve My Spot
THIS IS
PART OF
Also included in Membership:
STUDENT FEEDBACK
Here’s what just a few of them have had to say about the SBL Membership:
I know it can be scary to try something new. That’s why I want you to try the entire SBL Membership for two whole weeks — without paying a single penny.
Try SBL Risk Free
We’re so proud of SBL, we guarantee it.
If after your trial ends, you’re not completely satisfied with SBL, you’ve got 30 days to get your money back.
Just send an email to support@scottsbasslessons.com, and we’ll refund every penny.
Here’s the complete schedule of the live workshops (all times are in UTC):
May 28th – Fri – 6-8pm
June 3rd – Thurs – 3-5pm
June 9th – Wed – 3-5pm
June 16th/17th – Guest – John Patitucci
June 27th – Sun – 3-5pm
July 1st – Thurs – 3-5pm
July 6th/7th – Guest – Adam Blackstone
Jul 15th - Thurs – 3-5pm
July 22nd - Thurs – 3-5pm
July 29th - Thurs – 3-5pm
For all but the first session, we chose 3pm UTC, because that’s 10am on the east coast of the US, and 7am on the west coast, so all sessions should be easy to attend.
Additionally, all sessions will be recorded and easily accessible within the academy, so if you’re not able to attend, you can always catch the playback.
Unless you’re a complete beginner, this program will help you — whether you picked up a bass for the first time last month or you’ve been playing for decades. Plus we also have courses for bass players of ALL levels — including total beginners. And we have one-click filters that make it easy to find courses that match your skill level.
I’ve designed the coaching cohort so that, even if you’re not able to make some of the live sessions, you won’t miss anything, since all the sessions are recorded in high resolution audio and video, and we’ll stick to the curriculum in the workbook.
Plus, if you can spend just 30 minutes-a-day practicing, that’s enough time to absorb this material.
Your SBL Membership dues depend on your payment plan.
Right now Membership is $32/month when you pay monthly or $16.58/month when you pay annually.
So ask yourself, is it worth less than 56 cents a day to become the bass player that you’ve always wished you could be?
Because that sounds like a fair deal to me…
Especially when you remember that you’ll be securing a spot in a live coaching cohort with yours truly, where you can ask me questions, and we’ll learn together, like a college course.
So claim your free, 14-day trial now.
First, you have nothing to lose when you enroll in the SBL Membership now. You can try the entire Membership — with absolutely no restrictions — totally free for two full weeks.
And once you see how game-changing the lessons, seminars, and community are inside the Members’ Area I bet you’ll forget all about needing a guarantee.
In fact, one of our Members said…
“I feel very fortunate to have found this site to learn from. I have tried books, DVD’s,
YouTube, and nothing has helped me like this site. It really feels like Scott is my personal bass tutor! What a steal for $32 per month.”
But in the event you decide the SBL Membership is not for you, you can cancel your subscription — no questions asked — with one quick message to our friendly support team. You won’t be charged as long as you do so during your 14-day free trial.
So claim your free, 14-day trial now.