Tell Your Story

Soloing concepts for the jazz bassist.

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Ready to learn how to solo and tell your story?

Check out this short video to learn how we can help.


'Tell Your Story: Soloing concepts for the jazz bassist' is an online video course by the acclaimed bassist and educator, John Goldsby.

The course comprises 50 highly-effective lessons over 5 hours and covers a wide range of topics on soloing which will make a real difference to your double bass playing! It's suitable for intermediate to advanced bassists who wish to learn John Goldsby's approach to improvisation.

Many of the videos feature piano and drums accompaniment. We also provide play-along tracks with three mixes of each recording:

  • Full band
  • Piano and drums
  • Solo double bass

Detailed transcriptions of John Goldsby’s original exercises, solos and some classic bass solos are included in the course. There are 150 pages of sheet music, so you will have everything you need to practice at home.

This course is available to stream online, exclusively at Discover Double Bass.

Your Tutor


John Goldsby
John Goldsby

John Goldsby is a member of the WDR big band, a renowned bassist, educator, author and featured columnist for BassMagazine.com and Bass Player Magazine for three decades. His hugely popular 'The Jazz Bass Book' has become required reading for any serious student of jazz bass.


 

Do you want to learn how to play melodic bass solos that your bandmates will love?

What will I learn?

The 50 video lessons cover a wide range of topics on creating jazz bass solos. These include:

  • Melodic soloing
  • Cycles and patterns
  • Rhythm
  • Modal improvising
  • Thumb position technique
  • Bowed solos
  • ...and much more!

Many of the topics are demonstrated using chord progressions to commonly played jazz standards such as 'All the Things You Are', 'Giant Steps', 'I Remember you', 'Rhythm Changes', 'There is no Greater Love' and more! In addition, John has included analysis and performance of bass solos from some classic recordings.

After Completing this Course You'll Be Able to:

  • Improvise melodic bass solos over many of the most commonly played jazz standards.
  • Play with ease in thumb position.
  • Create better solos with the bow.
  • Perform your original ideas with confidence.

Lesson Index


  Course Introduction
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  Bass Line to Solo
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  Melodic Phrases and Patterns
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  Going in Circles — Cycles and More Patterns
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  Navigating Rhythm Changes
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  Steppin’ Up to Giant Steps
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  Minor and Modal Tunes
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  Get High! Improvising in the Thumb Position
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  Tunes with Changes
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  Course Conclusion
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  Bonus Content
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Want to check out a free preview lesson? Click here.

Transcriptions

Detailed transcriptions of John Goldsby's solos and the exercises are included. These PDFs are displayed on the lesson pages and can be downloaded if required. There are 150 pages of sheet music in this course, so you won't run out of new music to learn!

Play-Along Tracks

We have provided play-along tracks performed by John's trio, so you can practice with the full group, piano and drums only, or solo double bass. These MP3s can be played from the lessons pages or be downloaded.

- Dan Wheildon & Caroline Boaden.

 
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Here's what's being said about the course:

"Another incredible course from DDB! John is a master bass player and educator. His books are standard literature for anyone learning how to play jazz bass. This video is amazing in scope of information and how it is presented. John is very clear in his descriptions of each technique or subject presented. This course teaches us how to “tell our stories” when improvising and inspires us to tell better stories each time we play. I highly recommend this!!!"

- Geoff Neuman, Bassist with the Las Vegas Philharmonic

"John Goldsby’s course, Tell Your Story, is perfect for the aspiring bassist who wants to up their soloing game. John relies on his extensive playing and teaching experience to walk the student through the basics of soloing on jazz tunes. Every student should be able to find a pace that works for them to efficiently learn these concepts. And then, he goes beyond the basics to more challenging tunes and aspects. One of the aspects I always enjoy about John’s teaching is how his extensive knowledge of the history of jazz and jazz bass provides a meaningful context for the concepts he teaches, which is so critical to sounding authentic in the genre – we stand on their shoulders."

- Tom Lane

Brilliant course on learning how to bass solo! John Goldsby is a master musician and teacher and here is a step-by-step logical way to work on your bass soloing. The materials are well though-out and structured, amazing value for all the videos, audio, pdfs, and materials.

A lot of material to practice here, very inspired!

- Jim Rintoul

 

Invaluable advice, guidance and instruction that will make a real difference to your bass solos!

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
Will the course work on a tablet?
Yes, all of our courses can be viewed via an internet browser on any device. However, please note an up-to-date operating system and/or browser may be required for video playback.
Can I download the videos?
No, the videos are only available to view online. However, PDFs of the transcriptions and MP3 play-along tracks are available to download.
Can I ask John Goldsby questions?
John isn't available to answer questions, but we do include membership to the 'Study Group'. A private Facebook group which you can ask Geoff Chalmers and our community of double bassists questions.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
I’m sure you will love the course, but if you’re not completely satisfied we offer a 30-day, money-back guarantee.
Is Tell Your Story suitable for beginners?
No, it is designed for intermediate to advanced bassists who have a basic understanding of improvising in a jazz context. We do publish a course called 'Soloing' by Geoff Chalmers which is more suitable for students who are new to jazz.

Start Learning!



Our courses are only available on DiscoverDoubleBass.com and include a 30-day, no questions asked, full refund policy.

Have questions or need help? Contact us.