Inspired by one of Chuck Rainey’s iconic grooves, this one instantly made playing bass a lot more fun!
By Jon Liebman
April 10, 2025
When you’re playing bass, how do you balance the “taking care of business” part with throwing in some really cool licks that enhance the overall sound of the music?
Very carefully, I hope! 🙂 But there is room for you to make your bass lines fancier, as long as what you play is genuinely helpful to the song.
There’s one bass lick in particular that was an incredible eye-opener for me (and a lot of other people) that I heard in one of Chuck Rainey’s bass lines.
In this week’s video I share that lick with you, along with the theory behind it and tips for where and when to use.
Take a look and let me know your reaction and if you’ve ever tried it. Either way, leave a comment and share your thoughts. I’d love to hear from you.
Let’s play bass!
Jon
The CR lick that I like more is the one from the intro the Steely Dan tune, Peg.
Yep. Another great one, also Chuck! Thanks, David.
That Brubaker bass looks and sounds amazing!!!! Chuck Rainey is one of my all-time favorite bassists and one of the most original, versatile, and accomplished in the history of music, and he blew my mind with his tasty use of his signature double stops! Thank you for a great tutorial!
You’re welcome, Keith. And thanks so much for your comment!
Hey Jon
I really enjoy this series of lessons but could you possibly include tabs for the licks and exercises you show us in the videos?
Thanks, Danny. Great suggestion. The problem is, I’m generally improvising, just “winging it,” so I don’t have anything written out that I can share.
You’ve given me a good idea, though, to provide some more structured lessons that also include notation (and tab). Thanks again!