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View Full Version : Lesson 101 - How to play "Black Sheep" (from the Deeper Blues Album : "Dig the Hole")



Patrick
01-07-2013, 10:47 AM
NOTE : The PDF Sheet Music was edited on 01/22/2013 if you downloaded it before this revision, please download again to make sure you have the most recent and correct version.

Here is lesson 1 of what we hope will be a long range of monthly bass lessons.

How to Play Black Sheep :

Greetings and welcome to a new lesson series - Teach Me Blues Bass.

I’m thrilled to work with Thunder Row and the fine folks at The Learning Dock, publishers of Roy Vogt's Teach Me Bass Guitar, to create this new lesson series and I hope you’re excited, too. (Read my review of TMBG here (http://basslessonshq.com/TMBG/).)

This first lesson is on my song Black Sheep, from my 2008 CD Dig the Hole, with my old band Deeper Blues.
If you aren't familiar with the song, check out the first video below. Also, if you'd like to download an MP3 for easy reference/listening, you can get it on CD Baby (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/deeperblues) and iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dig-the-hole/id359939436).


Black Sheep original music video :

http://youtu.com/GUQsg9IyuCY

Now that you're familiar with the song, skip to the bottom of the lesson to download and print the chart so you can refer to it as we move forward.

Once that's completed, check out the lesson video below.
Lesson Video

http://youtu.be/QHOg-VW09U0 (http://youtu.be/QHOg-VW09U0)

Here are the main points to remember:
1. Swing the Eighth Notes - Although the chart is written in straight eighth notes, they should be swung in a shuffle rhythm. This is a standard notation trick I learned from Jazz charts. It's just easier to read the notes this way. So, whenever you see eighth notes, remember to shuffle them.
2. Watch for 2/4 Bars - While the main parts of the song are 12 bars each (verses, solos), the bridge is a ten bar phrase that ends with a bar of 2/4. This is not uncommon in Blues. Writers often used only as many bars (or beats in a bar) necessary to get their point across. Sometimes, adding the extra bars just to make it fit a certain count would leave a gaping hole in the lyrics. Therefore, many writers would just omit those extra bars. I've gotten a lot of mail asking for help on this, so take special note - it will help a LOT!
3. Quarter Note Triplets - Those 2/4 bars I mentioned are comprised of a quarter note triplet. Simply put, this is three notes across two beats. Watch the lesson video to see what I mean.
4. It's a Downtown Blues Shuffle - I learned the basic riff as under this name, although I'm sure there are others. (If you know it by a different name, leave a comment, OK?) I explain this in the lesson video, and show you the notes for the riff.
5. Start With The Basics - Beginners may find it easier to first play the basic Downtown Shuffle straight throughout the song, ignoring the fills and turn-arounds. That way, you get a good, strong feel for the song, and for the basic riff on which it's based, before tackling the frills and fills that flesh out the bass part.
6. The Flourishes - Watch the lesson video for explanation of the flourishes and fills that complete the bass line.
7. Start Slowly - If you have difficulty staying on tempo, s l o w d o w n ! Make sure that you aren't playing a lot of mistakes, because if you do, you'll will actually teach yourself to play the song incorrectly. Instead, slow down enough that you can play the part accurately, then speed up a few beats at a time until you reach the correct tempo.
After you have studied the chart and become familiar with it, watch the play-along video below to see how the part is played - at least by me! ;)

Play-along video

http://youtu.be/GPCeWwgpJvc

Above all, have fun with this!

Playing bass is fun, right?
And learning should be fun as well. So enjoy the process, and remember to slow down if you need to. Speed will come, I promise you!
If you have any questions or other comments, please leave them below and I'll do my best to answer all of them in a timely manner.

Until next time, God Bless and...

Keep Thumpin'!

Lane

Black Sheep Chart PDF
Download here (http://users.skynet.be/bs131175/Lane_Baldwin/Blues_You_Can_Use/Lesson_001/Black Sheep Bass - 2013 - rev 1.pdf)

Black Sheep Cart PDF (With TABS)
Download Here (http://users.skynet.be/bs131175/Lane_Baldwin/Blues_You_Can_Use/Lesson_001/Black Sheep Bass - 2013 - TABS - rev 1.pdf)

Note: Lane did not completely check this version, he checked an older one and told me what to fix so I cannot guarantee that the tabs are 100% accurate but I'm sure Lane will inform me as soon as he has time to check the TABS.

About Lane – Lane Baldwin is an internationally acclaimed bassist, singer and songwriter with over 40 years of touring and recording to his credit. Dig the Hole, his 2008 CD with Deeper Blues has been called some of the best new Blues in decades. Bass icon Johnny B. Gayden (Albert Collins, et al) calls Lane “one of the best bassists in the world of Blues today, and a gifted storyteller.” In 2013, he will release his first solo CD, The View From Here, a major leap forward in Lane’s career. The Blues veteran has been teaching the fine are of the groove for more than thirty years, and continues to do so on BassLessonsHQ.com (http://basslessonshq.com/). A close friend of Roy Vogt for twenty-five years, Lane was instrumental in the launch of Teach Me Bass Guitar (http://basslessonshq.com/TMBG). For more on Lane’s career, visit LaneBaldwin.com (http://lanebaldwin.com/).



(C)Copyright 2013 Lane Baldwin

TroyJames
01-07-2013, 11:05 AM
This is a great resource. Thanks Lane, Patrick, and TMBG.

TobiasMan
01-07-2013, 11:05 AM
Eggselent stuff Lane!!!! ;)

Lookin' forward to this series.

T Bucket
01-07-2013, 12:50 PM
Lane Thank You, I'm not ready for these lessons , but the album Dig the Hole is really good. So I bought it. Love the Blues.

TLDTR
01-07-2013, 01:07 PM
Great stuff, Lane and Patrick! Love the blues! Love the tune! I'm going to play the fool out of this!:cool:

bassischill
01-07-2013, 04:23 PM
Any chance we can get a tab version?

Ditto
01-07-2013, 04:50 PM
Videos are not working for me? :(

tallcoolone
01-07-2013, 06:41 PM
Great lesson! Excellent presentation and great tips. Thanks for Lane & Patrick for taking the time to put this together!

line6bassman
01-07-2013, 07:28 PM
Any chance we can get a tab version?

I was going to ask that question but I'm glad you asked it first!! Not that I would need it for sure but for some around here it might be
helpful.

Patrick
01-08-2013, 09:51 AM
Any chance we can get a tab version?

Well Lane told me he is not a big fan of Sheet Music in general so I don't know how he feels about TABS but I'll shoot him a mail and ask about a TAB version.

Patrick
01-08-2013, 09:54 AM
Videos are not working for me? :(

What O/S and Browser are you using ?
and what (if any) error message do you get ?

Lane posted his videos on YouTube in a "private" section so not available for people browsing YouTube but they should work if you have the URL.

Here are the links to the video's on YouTube, let me know if these work :

Black Sheep Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUQsg9IyuCY&feature=player_embedded


Video Lesson : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUQsg9IyuCY&feature=player_embedded


Play Along Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUQsg9IyuCY&feature=player_embedded

TobiasMan
01-08-2013, 12:26 PM
Videos work fine here on a computer with "Windoze" Vista and IE8 or Chrome, as well one with Win7 and IE9

Elmeaux
01-08-2013, 05:37 PM
What O/S and Browser are you using ?
and what (if any) error message do you get ?


I already spoke to Ditto. He got the videos working OK.

Patrick
01-09-2013, 08:19 AM
I already spoke to Ditto. He got the videos working OK.

Glad to hear that !

From what I understand if you use Windows 8 with their "Metro" explorer (that's the one you can launch from their new start screen) you get no Flash support. Because the YouTube video's require Flash to work you might get into trouble viewing the video's.

If you start the Explorer from the "Desktop" Flash (when installed from Adobe) does work

I remember reading somewhere that Flash is becomming "outdated" and is to be replaced by HTML5 in the future (which the Metro Explorer) does support.
BUT that's what I remember reading on it.

Patrick
01-09-2013, 08:22 AM
Any chance we can get a tab version?

Well I have some good news for you.

Lane agrees with a TAB version of the Sheet Music so we'll try to provide one ASAP.

Realistically this will be somewhere in the beginning of next week. I will try to do the TAB version during the weekend so IF I have the time for it they will be done soon.

Stay tuned !

bassischill
01-09-2013, 05:26 PM
Well I have some good news for you.

Lane agrees with a TAB version of the Sheet Music so we'll try to provide one ASAP.

Realistically this will be somewhere in the beginning of next week. I will try to do the TAB version during the weekend so IF I have the time for it they will be done soon.

Stay tuned !

Thank you!

Lane
01-12-2013, 01:13 PM
Hi, T Bucket, and glad to hear you like the CD. I'm interested to know why you feel you are not ready for these lessons. Is there something we can add that will make it easier for you? Or, are you very new to the bass?

Thanks, and Keep Thumpin'!

Lane

Lane
01-12-2013, 01:20 PM
Hey, all y'all! I'm really pleased to see the response to the lesson. I can almost guarantee that the presentation will get better as we go along.

I want to clarify my opinion on sheet music. I **prefer sheet music to TAB, because it imparts more information, and is the standard for studio and some live work. Now, most of my work in both arenas has required NO music at all. However, when a page is put in front of me, it's either in Nashville Number System (95% of the time) or standard notation (5%). For someone like Roy, the amount of sheet music is much higher, and you really need to know how to read.

On the other hand, I have never - and I mean NEVER! - been given a sheet of TAB, even for personal use, such as prep for a gig.

Now, several of you have asked for the TAB, so we're going to provide it moving forward. I would HIGHLY recommend, however, that you use it only as much as you absolutely have to... and use the standard notation as much as possible, even it if means going slowly in the beginning as you learn the notes. The more you read notation, the easier it gets. Honest! :cool:

I am very interested in comments that will help us improve our presentation, as well as any questions anyone has about the lesson. I will do my best to drop in every few days to check the threads. If I don't, I'm sure someone will let me know if there's anything waiting for me.

Thanks again for your support, and Keep Thumpin'!

Lane

Patrick
01-12-2013, 01:48 PM
Lane,

Can you clarify your "Nashvill Number System" for us ?
What is it and what's the difference between that and standard notation.

As for the TABS, these seem to be a new thing and they show up in a lot of "Method Books" I've seen (in Guitar, Bass AND Drum book for beginners). They are also popular on sites like Ultimate Guitar.
just to let you know :-D

Oh, and if you can set a "subscription" for a thread so you'll get an email when a new reply is made, you won't get another warning until after you visited the thread after receiving that mail. (just F

BluesWalker
01-12-2013, 02:03 PM
Hey Lane, nice lesson and I enjoyed the blues tune/video. I like the use of the quarter note triplets and octaves..

bassischill
01-12-2013, 03:52 PM
I appreciate that a tab will be provided.

I'm sure real musicians that read think that's a bad thing but I'm well into my 40s, not interested in doing studio work or playing in a band. I just want to play bass. I guess at this point I am more interested in "how" rather than "why" and adding layers of additional learning on top of actually playing impacts my desire to play. I guess I'm a paint-by-numbers kind of gal.

I tried the Gibson Learn and Master Guitar and LOVED it until the third lesson or so when they removed the tab probably because they thought it was for the players own good doing so. For me, and people like me, it had the opposite effect.

I'm really looking forward to these lessons now. Thank you for putting them together!

bassischill
01-12-2013, 05:28 PM
I've been playing around with this for about 45 minutes now and am having a blast playing along with the video above. It's cool because it's very similar to Shuffling Along in the course so it's not unfamiliar. Lots of fun.

TobiasMan
01-12-2013, 08:30 PM
Nashville Number System?

Look ahead in your DVDs. Roy has talks about it and its use in DVD #10, Lesson #19.

Without going into detail, it is basically a numbering system that identifies the notes in the scale to play. Because it is a number system relative to the root, it can be applied to any key as long as you know the root of the key.

So . . . , if the lead singer says, "That's too high for me today, let's drop it down a full tone", there's no transposing to do on the page, just move to the new root and play.

DaveB
01-12-2013, 10:02 PM
Can you clarify your "Nashvill Number System" for us ?
What is it and what's the difference between that and standard notation.


Roy provides an explanation of the Nashville Number System in lesson 19 of TMBG. This is one case where peaking ahead is not contraindicated. I really think that he wouldn't mind as it is not directly related to actual playing technique. Also, a quick search on google will obtain a plethora of articles explaining the NNS.

Patrick
01-13-2013, 11:14 AM
I'll have a look at those lessons when I have the time for it.

for now I added the TAB version of the Sheet Music to the original post so you can now download the TABS if you want it.

Note: Lane did not completely check this version, he checked an older one and told me what to fix so I cannot guarantee that the tabs are 100% accurate but I'm sure Lane will inform me as soon as he has time to check the TABS.

DaveB
01-13-2013, 02:44 PM
Thanks, Patrick. That was a great job. The only thing that I'd change is that instead of playing open notes I would play the fifth fret of the the lower (in tone) string. This is a chord pattern that can be moved around the fret board. Lane describes this pattern as "going downtown." This is a commonly used pattern in Blues and consists of playing the root of the chord then the octave then the dominant seventh and finishing with the fifth. For a G chord (I chord) the pattern is second finger on the third fret of the E string, fourth finger on the fifth fret of the D string, second finger on the third fret of the D string, and the forth finger on the fifth fret of the A string. For the C chord (IV chord) use the same pattern starting on the third fret of the A string. For the D chord (V chord) use the same pattern starting on the fifth fret of the A string. The only time you need to use an open string in this song is the low E in measure 56 (unless you have a 5 string or 6 string bass then you can use the fifth fret of the B string). By the way, this same pattern is used in "Shufflin' Along" in lesson 6 of TMBG, only it starts on the fifth fret of the E string (A chord).

Also the Nashville Numbering System does not tell the bass player what specific notes to play in the bass line. It tells the bass player the chord progression for the song and the bass player develops the bass line in accordance with the chord progression, the genre, the melody, the feel of the song, etc. Apparently, note for note transcriptions in either standard notation or tabulature usually only occur after a song is recorded if/when it becomes popular.

bassischill
01-13-2013, 05:26 PM
I scanned the pdf of the notation sheet into Sibelius and generated a tab. I got the open notes as well but manually changed them to the 5th fret on the lower string and it's perfect.

Patrick
01-14-2013, 12:07 AM
I scanned the pdf of the notation sheet into Sibelius and generated a tab. I got the open notes as well but manually changed them to the 5th fret on the lower string and it's perfect.

Yes, for some reason notition software decides to use open strings.

Anyway, I modified my file so I HOPE it's correct now (let me know if I still need to edit it).

bassischill
01-15-2013, 06:15 AM
Does anyone have any suggested fingerings for measure 34? The only one that semi-works is 2-2-1-2-1-2-4-2 but moving from the second 2nd fret to the 3rd with my first finger while having the 2nd finger on the G, I am hitting the fret way way back and sometimes get buzz.

I have tried several and watched the video over and over and over and over again and there is no way I can tell what is being used. I'm amazed that anyone can watch Roy in the course or this video and figure out which frets are being pressed. I've tried time and time again and just can't do it.

DaveB
01-15-2013, 04:32 PM
Bassischill, I've looked at the video and it looks like the fingering that Lane is using is 2-2-1-2-3-2-4-1. The chord intervals are 1-1-6-1-b7-1-8-1. This appears to be one of the exceptions to his normal pattern of using the first finger on the third fret and the fourth finger on the fifth fret. It seems that he has to use this pattern because of the 6 note on the second fret. Then he uses the second and third fingers on the 1 note and b7 note, respectively. Notice how he uses his first finger for the final 1 note of the measure to set up his normal 1-1-4-4-1-1-4-4 finger pattern in the next measure. By the way, he explains why he uses that pattern here:

http://basslessonshq.com/blues-lessons/basic-blues/

I usually have the same problem seeing what Roy and Lane (among others) are doing with their fretting hand. Really good players that can play really fast have developed an economy of motion in their fretting hand that means that, unlike in my case, their fingers are not flying up and down all over the place. Their fingers hover right over the strings and it's hard to actually see when they are fretting a note because their fingers move such a short distance.

Hope this helps.

bassischill
01-16-2013, 06:09 AM
Dave, thank you so much for this! Wow, my fingers are like deformed pretzels doing it the above way. I'm still in the "fingers won't stay in the hovered position all the time" mode so my pinky flies away from the fretboard when I hit the 3rd fret with the 3rd finger. I'm gonna work that for a while.

Thanks again for the help! This song is an absolute blast.

bassischill
01-17-2013, 03:56 PM
Is anyone actually working on this song with plans to post audio or video?

Patrick
01-18-2013, 11:04 AM
I've been working with Lane on the sheet music, there were some minor problems with his original files.
He's reviewing my edits now so I hope to be able to upload the corrected edits soon.

TroyJames
01-20-2013, 09:52 PM
Is anyone actually working on this song with plans to post audio or video?

I've been enjoying learning/playing this song alot. The little extras he throws in there are very fun to play and have really expanded my ability to make up my own stuff. Hadn't planned on making a video though.

Patrick
01-22-2013, 11:25 AM
I just uploaded Revision 1 of the sheet music (both WITH and WITHOUT the TABS) so if you are using the old sheet music please download this corrected version.

Lane and Patrick

Lane
01-22-2013, 12:28 PM
Hey, everyone! Glad to see such great response to the first lesson. I've been away a few days and was very surprised by the number of responses. Trying to remember everything I read, and reply:

I'd LOVE to see others do videos of their progress, so feel free to do one.

As for the fingering on the "jump" phrase... yes, it's 2 2 1 2 3 2 4 2... and yes, it's because of the 6 note, which needs to be played with the first finger.

A quick run-down on Nashville Number System. Instead of writing out note LETTERS - C D E F G A B C, you replace them with numbers - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 (8). It not only makes it easier to transpose from on key to another, it's a LOT easier to hear FOUR over a jamming band than it is to hear GEE... or CEE... or DEE, which all sound the same.

Blues bands use this a lot. "It's just a 1 4 5 tune, with a 2 5 turnaround." (I'm doing a lesson on this; don't sweat it for now.)

I think I hit all the high points. If not, please ask/comment again. And thanks again for all the great response. I'm already at work on the next lesson, and we're doing some tech things to make them look better. Onward and upward!!

line6bassman
01-22-2013, 07:25 PM
Hey Brother Lane I still can't get past your mama hanging up the phone on you!!!! How can I learn this song when I can't stop laughing
past your mama??? Still to funny for me!! HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And a Heeeee!!! Heeeee!! Seriously to much for my heart!!!

Line6bassmanTR Still laughing!!!