The Bass Player's Guide to the Trio
Master playing the double bass in any rhythm section.
Enrol in CourseDanny Ziemann's 'The Bass Player's Guide to the Trio' is an online course that comprises 3.5 hours of HD video across 50 lessons. It explores the role of the bassist in a jazz trio, starting with the basics and progressing to advanced materials.
All of the lessons feature a live band so you can see how to apply these concepts and ideas.
Detailed transcriptions of the exercises, solos and bass lines are included with 81 pages of downloadable sheet music.
Optional subtitles in English are provided for each video.
This course is available to view online, exclusively at Discover Double Bass.
Artist
Bassist, educator, and author of the jazz bass method books, The Low Down Vol. 1 & 2, Danny is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and was the 2018 bassist in the Focusyear Artist Diploma band in Basel, Switzerland. Danny currently teaches at The Eastman Community Music School, SUNY Oswego, and is a visiting professor of jazz bass at the Eastman School of Music.
In this course, I'm privileged to share what I've learnt about playing in a jazz trio to help you on your own musical journey
Who's this course for?
If you are a jazz bassist who wants to learn about playing in a trio, or as a rhythm section then this is a great fit. Danny Ziemann shows you how to shape your music, improve communication with your band-mates, play common introductions and endings and much more.
What will I learn?
The 50 video lessons are presented in a step-by-step order giving you a clear and logical route through the course material. Starting with the fundamentals the course progresses all the way to an advanced level.
Each concept or technique is demonstrated using commonly played jazz standards such as The Days of Wine and Roses, Blues Progressions, Body and Soul, Bye Bye Blackbird, I'm Old Fashioned, Invitation and more.
Topics Include:
- Song Introductions.
- How to play with different drum patterns.
- Bass lines with different feels.
- Tags and endings.
- Pedal Points.
- Playing Out.
- ...and much more.
Check out the full lesson list below:
Contents
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Start02. Chapter Introduction (2:10)
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Start03. Rudimentary Dominant Pedal on Two & Four (2:05)
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Start04. The “Loose” Dominant Pedal (2:26)
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Start05. Adding a Two Bar Solo Break (2:11)
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Start06. Bluesy Bass Riff (1:56)
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Start07. I VI ii V (2:06)
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Start08. Starting with the Last Eight Bars (3:38)
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Start09. Solo Walking Bass Line (2:29)
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Start10. Common Ballad Introductions (9:23)
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Start11. Songs with a Pickup in the Melody (1:42)
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Start12. No Introduction/Creating Explosive Energy (1:30)
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Start13. How to Effectively Count Off A Song (3:18)
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Start14. Starting Straight Eighth Tunes (5:44)
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Start15. Up Tempo Intros Pt.1: Eight Bars Drums (1:23)
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Start16. Up Tempo Intros Pt.2: The Dominant Pedal Revisited (2:22)
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Start17. Iconic Introductions Every Bassist Needs to Know (2:35)
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Start18. The Neverending Tag Pt 1: Basic tag and Chromatic Substitutions (7:02)
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Start19. The Neverending Tag Pt 2: Substituting the iii Chord (2:57)
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Start20. The Neverending Tag Pt. 3: Adding Diminished Sounds (3:41)
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Start21. The Neverending Tag Pt. 4: Listening for Cues (3:09)
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Start22. The Short Tag (5:27)
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Start23. Specific Endings: ‘Beatrice’ (2:49)
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Preview24. Blues Fills (3:51)
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Start25. The Short Stop (2:14)
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Start26. The Basie Ending (1:52)
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Start27. The Ellington Ending (Take The A Train) (2:09)
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Start28. bV - I Walk-down (2:38)
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Start29. bII - I Ending (3:41)
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Start30. I - bII Ending with a Latin Feel (3:42)
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Start31. The Blues Ending (4:11)
Want to check out a free preview lesson? Click here.
Transcriptions
Transcriptions of the exercises for those who would like them (81 pages of sheet music). These PDFs are displayed on the lessons pages and can be downloaded if required.
Meet the band
Danny is joined in every lesson by two of the U.K's best jazz musicians, Jamil Sheriff on piano and Caroline Boaden on drums. Their tasteful and supportive playing will help you to hear how these concepts sound in context.
"This is really well done. Danny Ziemann is concise, articulate and a real artist. Can’t beat that combination!!! The sound and video production is also first class."
- Lloyd Goldstein
"An absolute 'must' for anyone that plays in a small jazz group. Danny Z is really engaging to watch and listen to. Highly recommended!"
- Stephen Harrison
"Excellent course!!! I'm an intermediate player from Germany. This course is a very good bridge from my practising room to the bandstand! At home, I can practise a lot: Arpeggios, scales, changes, standards. This course develops an understanding of how I can use all this stuff in a musical way within my band or at a jam session. Once I will know all the stuff internally, it will be possible for me to react to all the things that will happen on a session in a musical way. This will be a long journey but this course is a goog guide along the way, so I will walk on...!"
- Dirk Amon
"Completing the full course for a first time was such a great pleasure: many simple and clear ideas, absolutely great trio to learn with, outstanding sound recording: I could not stop hitting the next button at the end of each video, and I am now ready to dive into a more detailed run. Great! Thanks Danny & team!"
- Laurent Six
"Danny gives each lesson with the musical sensitivity and perspective of an experienced player, and the heart of a teacher. The use of high quality video and audio, combined with .pdf transcriptions, is especially effective and makes crystal clear each concept addressed. I am enthusiastic about this course, and have made it a required supplemental text for all jazz bass majors at my school, Shenandoah Conservatory."
- Donovan Stokes
"I've played in a handful of gigs with some really experienced professionals and this course has really given me a clearer glimpse of the things those players expect me to know. "
- Robert Ham
"I was able to learn many aspects of bass playing that usually are given for granted. Thank you DDB and Danny Ziemann for the excellent work!"
- Gabriele Trabucco
"Danny's "Bass Player's Guide to the Trio" is chocked full of great insights."
- Eric Meyer
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Frequently Asked Questions
Our courses are only available on DiscoverDoubleBass.com and include a 30 day, full refund policy.
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