INTRODUCTION The Bass Hanon Variations eBook is a part of the Bass Hanon Volume 1 Multimedia premium package. There are no ‘specific exercises’ in this book - the value of this book lies in looking at the mindset of isolating problems in your technique, or finding areas you want to develop in, and then using the Bass Hanons as the core musical element in a self-designed program aimed at either remedying the perceived problem, or learning a new skill (or technique). If you’ve read the introduction of the Bass Hanon Volume 1 book itself then you'll know that I like to try and make exercises do double duty. That principle applies with the variations too. For example, if you work on one of the 16th note muting variations, you'll find that as well as working on muting with your left hand, you're working on 16th notes in general, left and right hand co-ordination, finger independence, you can add in an element of time as well, or you can play with a chord drone and get some ear training in as well. Oh and you'll get some subcon- scious fretboard familiarity as well. Not bad for one variation eh? 2 | Bass Hanon Variations] how-te-play-bass.comHOWTO USE THIS BOOK This book should be used in conjunction with Bass Hanon Volume 1 (and its successors - Volumes 2 and 3, due out later in 2009). The 30 Variations have been categorized under the heading of the pri- mary technique or skill that they address. So all you do is simply work out what technique or skill you want to improve, pick a variation from the relevant section, and then start applying it to Bass Hanons from Vol- ume 1 (or 2 and 31). As discussed in the introduction, as well as the primary technique/skill these variations address, there will also be other benefits too. The main lesson to be learned from this eBook is not from any of the variations contained herein, but the fact that when you reach a certain standard (which I would call intermediate) to continue improving at the fastest rate possible you need to be able to identify your areas of weak- ness and then design exercises to work on them. That's so important I’m going to repeat it: ...to continue improving at the fastest rate possible you need to be able to identify your areas of weakness and then design exercises to work on them. Ifyou find it hard to self audit then take a lesson with a more experi- enced player, tell him what you're trying to achieve, and have him help out. ONLY BE CONSISTENTLY PLAYING OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE WILLYOU MAKE CONSISTENT PROGRESS ON THE BASS GUITAR. All of the variations illustrated here use the Bass Hanon 1 in C. I only no- tate out the first 4 bars or so...it’s up to you to take these variations and play them through ALL the Hanons! Good luck! 3 | Bass Hanon Variations] how-to-lay-bass.comRHYTHMIC VARIATIONS The first set of variations are rhythmic. You can use these to work on your appreciation and playing of different rhythms. Variation No 1) Swing 8ths If you play blues or jazz you're gonna play an awful lot of shuffles or swing 8ths. Swing 8ths are notated like this: ne} The best way to play this rhythm is with a swinging drum track! Either program a loop yourself, or use one of the many commercially available ones (Garageband have some cool loops if you're a MacHead) and play the Hanons in a swinging 8th style! ne} Variation No 2) Triplets Here's another rhythmic variation - this one uses triplets (that’s where each beat is divided into 3 equal 8th notes, rather than 2!). To make the pattern work we've ‘doubled’ up the first note from each pair of notes. It looks like this: 4 | Bass Hanon Variations) how-to play-bass.comVariation No 3) More Triplets Here's a variation of Variation 2 - this is a triplet rhythm again, but in- stead of the first note or each pair being played twice, we're going to play the second note of each pair twice. Like this: Bape pat tate ee = —S 7 7 3 opps 3 3 a a 2 a 3 a Variation No 4) 16th Notes Here's the first rhythmic variation in 16th notes. This is identical to the normal 8th note Hanons - except the exercises are played in 16th notes so go by twice as quickly! (so practice this SLOOOOOWWWWWLY) 2 2 gerpititereect ote p peti oeee Variation No 5) More 16th Notes These variations are good for you guys working on 16th note basslines - in the vein of Rocco if you're a funkateer or Steve Harris if you're more of a rocker - this variation is identical to the normal hanons, but each 8th note is replaced by two 16th notes: F corre te teree 2 SS te '5 | Bass Hanon Variations] how-to-pay-bass.comVariation No 6) More 16th Notes Here's a variation of a variation - to show you how you can take every- thing you're working on to the nth level if you need to. In this variation we're looking at 16th notes, this time we play 3 16th notes of the first note of every 2 note grouping, and just 1 16th note of the 2nd note: op eet etre ee ee er Variation No 7) More 16th Notes Here's Variation 6 turned backwards, 1 16th note for the first note of the grouping, and 3 16th notes of the second note: eeteeette cree Ser Variation No 8) 16th Note triplets Variation 8 works on 16th notes triplets...you’ll guess the drill by now, the normal Hanon but the Ist 8th note is replaced by 16th note triplets: 3 34 35 35 35> rite bite SID 2 ee 3 6 | Bass Hanon Variations] how-o-play-bass.comVariation No 9) 16th Note triplets Variation 9 is more work on 16th notes triplets...the same as Variation 8 but flipped around, so a combinatinon rhythm of an 8th note and 3 16th note triplets. 23 s pepteos 5 £2°5 sors ee ee = 3 a a 3 3 a 3 3 Po ee eS cay pets 3 3 3 3 3 Variation No 10) 16th Note triplets Variation 10 is more work on 16th notes triplets...this time the normal Hanon, with each 8th note replaced with 3 16th note triplets. VARIATIONS WITH MUTED NOTES The next group of variations work on Muted Notes. There are several ways of ‘muting notes’ - in this study we're looking at muting notes with the left hand. Variation No 11) Muted Notes with triplets In this variation we're using a muted note instead of the ‘middle’ note of the triplet: 3 ; ox etie i 95a Se 3 7 | Bass Hanon Variations] how1o-play-bass.comVariation No 12) Muted Notes with triplets In this variation we're using a muted note on the first note of the triplet: s 3 3 o 3 s 3: por te at a — 3 3 a 3 Variation No 13) Muted Notes with triplets In this variation we're using a muted note on the last note of the triplet: 3 3 3 3 3 7 é a gS epee Eee Variation No 14) Muted Notes with 16th notes There are loads of variations you can do with muted notes, I’m just going to look at 2 here. The first one puts the muted notes on the 2nd and 4th notes of each 16th note grouping: : re ae Dp et et EE ee = = Lseanneran . oxen tiene exer Pertti tte xe Dt * so Zt SSS == 8 | Bass Hanon Variations] howto-play-bass.comVariation No 15) Muted Notes with 16th notes This variation is the same as Number 14 - but the muted notes are put on the 1st and 3rd notes of each 16th note grouping: a * Poe Dae pet EE tein et EF ef te ; ok ee tne FSS SS VARIATIONS TO HELP WITH EAR TRAINING The next group of variations use the Hanons to help with ear training. Variation No 16) Say it, Sing it, Play it - Brain Training for Bass! The Say It, Sing It, Play It exercise is an exercise I first read about in an article by legendary bass player Jerry Jemmott in Bass Player magazine - if you do this version of the exercise (I try and do it every day) you should track down the original issue of Bass Player magazine or much better, buy Jemmot's There’s Music In Everyone eBook. This exercise works like this (and we're using Bass Hanon 1 in C remem- ber). Play the very first note of the pattern to orient yourself. In this case it’s C - so play C on your bass. Now sing that note. That's right, sing it. Don't worry about the sound of your voice, only worry about making sure that you are singing in pitch. Then say to yourself: ‘This is C, root note of this pattern. The next note is E, and it's a Major 3rd away from C.’ Then sing E with no pitch reference other than the original C that you played. Once you're happy that you've sung it, play the note on your bass to check that you sang the pitch correctly. 9 | Bass Hanon Variations} how1o-pay-bass.comThen repeat the process starting from E. So sing E, then say: “The next note is F - the 4th note of the C scale - which is a minor second higher than E. “ Then sing E When you are hap- py you've sung it, then play the F note on your bass to check the pitch. Then go the next note, which is G. And on and on, right through the Ha- non you're working on from start to finish. This is an unbelievably powerful access - you work on your ear training (if you can sing an interval, you can hear it), you work on your brain's recognition of sounds and where they occur on the bass, you work on scale knowledge, you work on fingerboard familiarity etc etc. Ifyou think this exercise sounds strange, or weird, or new-agey, or any- thing like that - don’t. For most bass players reading this book, this is the most powerful exercise in here! ‘Nuff said? Variation No 17) Sing the Bass Hanon whilst you play it If you can do this at tempo - and sing accurately - that’s great. If not, then play through the Hanon and sing carefully as you play, working on the accuracy of your tuning. This makes a great warm up exercise too. This is another exercise that works on your ears and your brain's recog- nition of where sounds are on the fingerboard. Variation No 18) Sing the Bass Hanon with Solfege - either without playing it or whilst playing it. This is like Variation 16 - but this time you sing with Solfege. If you don’t know what Solfege is, it’s a system of assigning sounds for different notes of the major scale. Eg The 1st note of a major scale is always ‘Do.’ (rhymes with dough). The 2nd note is ‘Ray.’ Starting to sound familiar? The rest of the notes are ‘Me,’ ‘Fa, ‘So, ‘La’ and ‘Te.’ The beauty of singing using Solfege - ESPECIALLY if you're using a chord drone - is that your ear will subconsciously start to recognise the sound ofa 2nd, or a 3rd, ora 6th, etc etc. And this will make your ability 46 | Bass Hanon Varations| how-toplay-bass.comto pick up bass lines from records, or to play lines you hear in your head that much better. Also you can make recordings of the Hanon, put them ona CD, and sing them in the car! Make use of dead time where you can! Here's what the first 4 bars of Hanon 1 in C looks like with Solfege symbols: Me So So Me Fa La La Fa So Te Te So La Fa Ray Do Fa La Fa So Te So Me La Do La Fa ae DA eer trrioert free frets —— VARIATIONS TO HELP WITH ‘CONTROL This series of variations sound easy - but be warned, they're actually not! It's crucial that you record yourself doing these and listen back and be prepared to critique yourself ruthlessly. You'll find that working on - and perfecting them - will add a degree of control to your playing that you never knew existed. Variation No 19) Playing soft to loud then loud to soft. In this variation of the Hanons, start off by playing softly. Gradually in- crease your volume level at the start of each bar, then sound the final note in Bar 8. Then - when descending - reverse this. Start out loud, then get progressively quieter with each bar until the last note is back at a soft volume level again. If you’ve got DAW (digital audio workstation) software, you can use this to REALLY critique yourself. Play this exercise without a metronome and see if you can do it without speeding up when getting louder, or slowing down when getting softer. Seriously, it's harder than it sounds! Variation No 20) Playing loud to soft, then soft to loud. This exercise is the reverse of Variation 19. Start off playing loudly, then play progressively softer until you the held note in Bar 8 of each Hanon. 11 | Bass Hanon Variations| how-to-play-bass.comThen continue playing at this volume level as you start descending, get- ting progressively louder until you reach the last note of the descending pattern. Again, the focus is on not speeding up or slowing down. Variation No 21) Slowing down and keeping consistant volume For this variation, split the Hanon into two parts - the first 8 bars where the pattern ascends, and the second 8 bars where the Hanon descends. Then play the first part - ascending - without a metronome. Gradually decrease the tempo as you're playing through these 8 bars - the goal is to keep your volume level consistant. Then start off at the original tempo and play the descending part of the Hanon and repeat the process. KEEP YOUR VOLUME LEVEL CONSISTENT! Variation No 22) Speeding up and keeping consistant volume This is the same as Variation 21 - except this time you're going to be speeding up. Start slowly with the ascending part of the Hanon, then gradually speed up as you're playing through it. When you reach the end of the first 8 bars, start the second 8 bars at the original slow tempo and gradually increase the tempo as you play through these 8 bars. Again, the goal is to KEEP YOUR VOLUME LEVEL CONSISTENT! VARIATIONS WORKING ON ‘TIME’ If Time is something you've identified as a problem, here are some great ways to use the Hanons to work on your time, or add that element to whatever it is you're working on. Variation No 23) Play with a drum pattern where you get a ‘click’ on Beats 2 and 4 only. There's an article on my website that goes into greater detail about this. 12 | Bass Hanon Variations] howto-play-bass.comBut basically what you need to do is this: program a drum pattern where you get a count in, and then you get a click (or a snare, or whatever) on beats ‘2’ and ‘4’ only. By having the clicks on 2 and 4, this shifts the responsibility over to you to make sure you're nailing 1 and 3. This exercise is especially power- ful if you play all 12 keys on a Hanon exercise in a continuous stream (there’s ways of doing this outlined in the Bass Hanon Vol 1 book). Ifyou can get through all 96 bars without losing the beat, then you're do- ing well and you're ready to move onto: Variation No 24) Play with a drum pattern were you get a ‘click’ on Beats 2 only. This is like Variation 23 - only this time you only have a click on Beat 2. So now you have responsibility to nail Beats 1, 3 and 4 in each bar. Again, try and play through all 12 keys of a Bass Hanon in a continuous stream. If you can do that, then you're read for: Variation No 25) Play with a drum pattern were you get a ‘click’ on Beats 2 only, on alternate bars! In Variation 25 you can program yourself a count in, and then you've got the responsibility for keeping steady time for 7 beats in every two bars of the pattern. Ifyou can do this one for 96 bars and keep playing, your internal sense of time is pretty damn good! These exercises with time are - strangely enough - one of the few exercises for the bass guitar where you get better the slower the exercise is! Seriously these exercises are only just slightly behind Jerry Jemmot’s Say It, Sing It, Play It exercise in what they can do for your bass playing. I try and play for at least 10 to 15 minutes every day doing this exercise - it will have a profound impact on your sense of time. 43 | Bass Hanon Variations] how-to;play-bass.comVARIATIONS THAT HELP WITH FRETBOARD FAMILIARITY The next series of variations are ways of varying the Bass Hanons to try and help you overcome the ‘learning by rote’ factor, and actually get you playing all over the fingerboard. Variation No 26) Reverse the pattern, start with the descending figure Turn the Bass Hanon on its head. Start with the descending figure, then finish with the ascending figure. The goal here is to break you out of any ‘learning by rote’ approach to the Hanon, and get you to really ‘hear’ the sound of the Hanon. Variation No 27) The Ascending-Descending Sequence This variation will need a bit of juggling depending on what key you're in. Basically it works like this. You play the ascending sequence of 8 notes starting on the first note (in this case it’s C), then play the descend- ing sequence of 8 notes from the next note in the pattern, in this case D! For some of the Hanons you might need to shift octaves at various points of the exercise - that’s cool. Here’s what the first 4 bars look like: SP eres Variation No 28) The Descending-Ascending Sequence This variation will need more juggling depending on the key, and the interval distances in the Hanon that you're working on. This is the reverse of No 27 - and you can play it as a ‘counterpoint’ to no 27 to make a full 16 bar exercise - but be warned, it will give you brain ache to start with (does wonders for your fingerboard familiarity though!). So, as with 27, start on the first note of the pattern - in this case G and play the descending sequence of 8 notes. Then play the ascending se- 14 | Bass Hanon Variations) how-o-pay-basscomquence, starting from the next note down, which is E THEN play the de- scending sequence starting from E. And so on. The first four bars look like this: o,c22 & opekt: ‘i oot SSS Seriously, persevere with this one - it will do wonders with your famil- iarity with the fingerboard - and will stretch you mentally. But that’s all good, that’s the beauty of these exercises. If you think No 28 was the bass equivalent of a tongue twister, wrap your fingers (and your brain) around this one: VARIATION 29) The Super Hanon Ascending This is the great old grand-daddy of the Bass Hanon world - The Super Hanon. Basically the Super Hanon is a variation of each Hanon that starts on the lowest note of your bass that's in the key you're working in, and then works all the way up to the highest note of your bass. So for example, Bass Hanon in 1 being converted to a Super Hanon - the lowest note in on your bass that's in the key of Cis the open E string. So that’s where you start. Here’s the first 8 bars of the Super Hanon ascend- ing: Da a a tte - Y partir erie eee 45 | Bass Hanon Variations] how-toplaydbass.comVARIATION 30) The Super Hanon - Decending You knew this was coming, right? Use the descending form of the Ha- non you're working on, find the highest note on your bass that’s in the key you're working on, and go down until you can’t go any further! I'm not going to notate this one out - partly because every bass has a dif- ferent number of frets - so you should be able to work it out from here! 46 | Bass Hanon Varations| how-to play-bass.comComing SoonCOMING SOON Got something else on your wish list? Ifyou liked Bass Hanon Volume 1, or you've been subscribing to the ezine at the how-to-play-bass.com website, there’s a good chance you'll want more. As you can see there's more goodies heading down the track - there's a catch though. None of these products are ready yet. But they will be - and sooner than you might think! To make sure you get these products the moment they're released, make sure you stay on the How-To-Play-Bass Ezine. If there’s anything you'd really like to see, drop an email to: paul@how-to-play-bass.com. ae Oe El St w cl [cee cut Deliberate Practice Bass Hanon Vol 2 era) EAI era chy On me ecu Eee 18 | Bass Hanon Variations] how-to-play-bass.com.about the authorABOUT THE AUTHOR Paul has played the bass since he was 15 (a LONG time ago!) and has made a living from music since 1992. In 1994 Paul co-founded CARTE BLANCHE, one of the UK’s most popular party/ function bands, which he now manages. In addition to Carte Blanche, Paul has played with numberous tribute bands covering Abba, Robbie Williams, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Blues Brothers, Freddie Mercury, Kylie Minogue, Seventies Disco, Eighties New Romantic, Britpop, Bee Gees and more. Paul has played at the business end of nearly 2000 gigs since 1990 ranging from jazz duos in pizza bars to open air festivals for 10,000 people. Paul has played all over the UK and Europe - plus the odd couple of times in the middle east - and fits in the odd gig here and there with Carte Blanche. His last gig was for a party at the Ritz where guests played over £1000 a head! In March 2008 Paul set up the website www.how-to-play-bass.com - a website aimed at teaching the bass guitar to beginners, with a particular emphasis on song based learning. The website - and this unique approach - came about as a result of Paul's dissatisfaction with how the bass guitar is taught. 20 | Bass Hanon Variations| hov-te-play-bassicom