www.joehubbardbass.

com
 The Improvising Bassist’s
Pathway To

TOTAL FREEDOM!
by Joe Hubbard

You do not have the right to broadcast, reprint or resell any of

the information within this book. You may not give away, sell
or share any of the content herein. All rights are reserved
exclusively by the author (Joe Hubbard). No part of this book
may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, electronic or
mechanical, including social networking, email, internet file
sharing, discussion forums, photocopying or by any informal
storage or retrival system without the expressed, written,
signed permission and explicit consent from the author (Joe
Hubbard).

This Publication is Protected Through International Copyright Law

© Copyright Joe Hubbard Bass 2018 All Rights Reserved
 TESTIMONIALS

“Joe Hubbard is one of the very few truly great bass teachers that I know...which makes him
one of the rare gems of bass education.”

--Jeff Berlin

“When I wanted to learn more about jazz- I had lessons with a fantastic teacher Joe Hubbard.”

--Pino Palladino

“Joe Hubbard’s wide knowledge of harmony, composition and improvisational skills plays a vital
role in music education in London.”

--Jim Mullen
Internationally Aclaimmed Jazz Guitarist

“Joe Hubbard is one of the most influential bass guitar educators in the world!”

--Bass Player Magazine

“Joe Hubbard is the teacher to the stars- how do the names Palladino, Beggs and Turner grab
you?”

-- Bass Guitar Magazine

“The electric bass virtuoso!”

-- The London Guardian

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About the Author.............................................................................................i

Author

Joe Hubbard Endorsements.....................................................................ii

Endorsements

Introduction....................................................................................................................1

Chapter 1: The Five Pillars.............................................................................................2

Chapter 2: Discovering Your Five Pillars........................................................................3

Chapter 3: Joe Hubbard Books/Course Guide...............................................................4

i
About The Author

Over the last 35 years, Joe Hubbard has established himself as a bass guitarist, composer and
educator of considerable versatility and accomplishment. He has worked as a sideman with Jim
Mullen, Dick Morrisey, Mose Allison, Gary Numan, Richie Cole, Flip Nunez, Ian Carr, Ray Gomez,
Roger Chapman, Michael Giles, Dave O’Higgins and Denny Laine- among many others, who
were drawn to his imaginative and creative style of bass playing.

As a bandleader and composer, he has had the great pleasure to perform and record with jazz
greats such as George Whitty, Tom Brechtlein, Nigel Hitchcock, Frank Gambale, Patches Stewart,
Michael Paulo, Dave Garabaldi, Chris Hunter, Richard Niles, Dennis Chambers, Guy Barker,
Mark Craney, Neal Wilkinson and Mornington Lockett- firmly establishing Hubbard as a musician
of extraordinary ability and talent, both as a composer and a performer.

Joe is also a highly regarded university educator, presenting seminars and master classes
throughout the United States and Europe, as well as writing a bass curriculum for a reputable
music university in the United Kingdom. His former students read like a ‘who’s who’ of the music
industry, including Pino Paladino, Paul Turner, Nick Beggs, Dave Swift and Michael Mondesir,
among many others.

Hubbard is the architect and founder of Joe Hubbard Bass Videos- a popular online bass school,
as well as maintaining an active roster of serious students in his private teaching studio. He has
also authored nine best-selling bass guitar books and continues to grow his catalogue regularly.
In the words of the master bass guitarist and renown bass educator, Jeff Berlin: “Joe Hubbard is
one of the most capable and musically knowledgeable electric bass/music teachers in the world.”
ii
Joe Hubbard Endorses
1

Introduction
When learning anything, you must never go past a point that you do not fully understand!
This could be a word, where its meaning suddenly escapes you, or a musical concept you
are studying consisting of many different parts. The only reason that a person is unable
to learn something effectively revolves around the concept that he or she has tried to
push past the point that they do not fully understand. For this reason and this reason
only, many people end up becoming confused, disillusioned and frustrated, ultimately
giving up what they have set out to do.
When learning to become an ‘Improvising Bassist’, first start with a clear vision of what
you imagine as your ultimate outcome. This is what I call the ‘end game’, which basically
constitutes what you ultimately want to achieve as your long-term musical goals. This is
extremely important because if you do not start with the ‘end game’ in mind, as you begin
your journey, the minute the road on the pathway to total freedom starts to become a
little bumpy, then you will most likely stop experiencing the true value of why you began
your curious expedition in the first place.
The fulfilment of your musical goals requires your own personal dedicated participation-
as ONLY through one’s own effort and hard graft, will they ever be fully realised and
become a reality!

Joe Hubbard
2

Chap ter 1: The Five Pillars

The 1st Pillar: Theoretical Understanding

Knowledge is power! There are many who assume that it is one’s own spirit or emotional
input towards the music they play, that naturally comes first in line to the chain of their
sound. This is a romantic notion indeed, however this observation is simply out of sync for
accelerated learning to take place. Although, your spirit, or YOU, defines your end game’s
originality and your overall musical personality within, without developing a clear under-
standing of how Western music works, will end up handicapping you severely in your quest
for total freedom as an improvising bassist.
The mind is the first link in the chain of your sound. From the moment you conceptualise
an idea by hearing a musical stimulus, to translating that idea with your hands (body) through
your bass guitar, it is the mind that ignites this creative process. If you have little under-
standing of how this is going to fit into the harmonic, rhythmic and melodic structure of the
music you are playing, this experience will become synonymous with attempting to paint a
beautiful picture while blindfolded. The more knowledge or theoretical understanding you
possess regarding music, the more your ability to survive as a complete musician is greatly
improved!
I’m sure you are very aware of the phrase, Mind, Body and Spirit. There is a reason this
saying is ubiquitous in so many universal cultures. The mind part is based on having a com-
mand or a knowledgebase for the task that you may seek to carry out. Without that knowl-
edgebase, you will very likely end up in a continuous trial and error loop that you may or
may not be able to come out of. It’s very important to understand that these three things
(mind, body and spirit) are intrinsically linked together. In other words, one cannot exist ef-
fectively without the other in the creative arts. Understanding the theory of music as a
standalone skill is useless. It must be combined with developing a technical command of
the instrument that you seek to play, which is the next step!
3

The Second Pillar: Technical Understanding

I want you to define what your ‘end game’ is right now. What I mean by this is: Why did you
decide to learn the bass guitar and what do you envisage as your long-term gains from doing
so?
I think that you will probably agree that most people who take up the bass guitar will have
an ‘end game’ strategy, or an outcome resulting in being able to perform music at a
high-level of competence with other likeminded musicians. Right? With that in mind, we
must acknowledge that all forms of creative performance create some form of creative
communication. This communication that I’m talking about is the music itself, where your
technique is there to serve the music- not the other way around. In other words, technique
is the servant, but not the master. The master is the music you play, but the technique that
you develop will determine the QUALITY of that musical message! This point is often
misunderstood!
When people embark on the task of becoming an improvising bassist, they are usually
interested in playing music first and foremost. Since music is comprised of rhythm, harmony,
melody, counterpoint and form, this question must be asked: How are you going to accom-
plish this? Well, if you choose the bass guitar to channel your musical message through,
then you will have to learn how to technically play your instrument, first and foremost. Imag-
ine what you would sound like if you didn’t know how to hold the bass, how to fret a note
to get a good sound, how to pluck a note properly, how to understand what notes you are
playing, how those notes function in context to the music, how to play in time, or how to
play dynamically? In other words, if you have no technical understanding of the bass guitar
- or it is extremely limiting - you will not be able to meet those long-term goals of performing
music with a high-level of competence along with like-minded musicians.
Once technical understanding is present, it is then necessary to understand how the
components of music relate to your instrument, as a tool for expressing your musical mes-
sage out into the universe.
4

The Third Pillar: Rhythmic Understanding

Rhythm is how music is organised within a timeframe. Rhythm was created long before
melody and harmony were codified, so for that reason, rhythmic understanding is extremely
important as a basic form of human expression regarding musical communication. Rhythm,
in and unto itself delineates the summary of pulse, meter, tempo and groove.
The pulse is the recurring beat that is equally spaced apart that is heard or not heard.
Meter is the organisation of pulses into bars or measures; the length of these bars constitutes
the time signature.
Tempo is the space or length of time between each beat. Basically, the measurement between
slow to fast.
The groove is the correct feel and overall interpretation of the rhythmic subdivisions that
are superimposed over the basic pulse, which becomes dictated by the style of music or
genre.
There are four different types of rhythm to consider:

Regular: Rhythms that are evenly placed throughout the measure. Regular rhythm
does not produce any accented beats.
Syncopated: Rhythms that are displaced from the regular even rhythms, by
accenting from a strong beat to a weak beat, or to weak parts of the beat. This can
also be accomplished using rests, along with dynamic variations that include note du-
ration, contrasts in volume levels and various forms of articulation.
Polyrhythmic: Polyrhythms are created by developing the ability to perform a
rhythmic figure over a contrasting rhythmic figure. Thus, it will create the illusion
that two or more rhythms are being played at simultaneously. Often, you can
conceptualise this as two different time signatures superimposed over one another.
Out of Time: This consists of rhythmic patterns where the note durations are not
perceived as exact fractions or multiples of the underlying pulse. For the
inexperienced, this can be difficult to understand. Playing out of time is a great
learning tool for accelerated learning, but is also a performance level concept where
there is a flow of movement throughout the time with no restrictions as to the tempo,
groove or rhythmic phrasing. This is especially effective used in the context of solo
bass performances.
The concept of having good time is defined by whether you have a good understanding of
rhythm. A metronome is a good example of this- it possesses great time and tempo, but
does not have the ability to groove. It is merely a time-keeping device that is awaiting a
groove! For this reason, a strong rhythmic understanding will provide you with rock solid
foundation to build upon!
5

The Fourth Pillar: Harmonic Understanding

Harmony, is usually interpreted by bass players as chords that guitar and piano players play,
where all the notes are sounded simultaneously. For our purposes as bass players - where
our primary function is to clearly outline the harmonic structure of a tune – is to learn how
to play chord tones to create the skeletal structure of supportive bass lines. This is a closely
guarded secret, and to be honest, few people understand this on a level to teach it to others
effectively.
The reason for this, is that many of the improvisational masters learned this concept through
what is called, ‘the aural tradition’ where they have spent years transcribing and performing,
while closely observed by more experienced masters through what is called apprenticeships.
Once this process has been inculcated by the student, there is no further need to be able to
explain this process to others. In other words, they worked hard on developing what it takes
to hang in a high-level improvisational environment, so their attention now focuses on
furthering their instrumental proficiency and overall musical creativity.
Learning how chord tones work across your fingerboard first (NOT SCALES) is essential to
get you on the pathway of total freedom. It doesn’t matter what key you are playing in or
what chord quality you are playing over- nothing else with define the harmonic structure of
a song in the way that chord tones do. The reason is simplistic, but often misunderstood.
As an improvising bassist, you have two clear goals- playing accompanying bass lines in
support of the harmonic structure and occasionally will be required to solo over the chord
changes effectively. The basic premise for your success in both areas, lies in your ability to
resolve your line to a chord tone. A resolution is constituted by landing on a note that lasts
longer than a quarter note, or landing on a note that is followed by a rest that lasts longer
than a quarter note. Therefore, scales are not suitable for this purpose as many scales contain
‘avoid notes’ which do not work as resolution tones over specific chord types. However,
scales are used frequently as melodic embellishments to enhance and expand lines based
on chord tones.
6

The Fifth Pillar: Melodic Understanding

Melody is comprised of a succession of single notes. A melody is also made up from the
other musical elements, such as rhythm, harmony and counterpoint. A melody can be
contoured and animated by using a strong rhythmic phrase. It can also be seen to perfectly
outline the harmonic structure of a tune, either directly or indirectly, with the use of both
chord tones and upper structure chord tensions, such as 9, 11 and 13. The combination of
two independent melodies heard together will create what is called counterpoint.
Melodic embellishment is also used to create great melodic statements. These include such
devices as scale approach notes, scale passing tones, chromatic approach notes and the use
of upper structure chord tensions. Just as we learn to process a complete sentence, rather
than just focusing on each individual word, we naturally hear the whole melodic phrase at
once, instead of listening to each note separately. Understood like this, a melody comes to
life and produces a communicative result that has power, direction and clarity. Both your
supportive bass lines and solos should have melodicism that run throughout. To really
understand this concept, you need to be aware of the compositional process when learning
how to create the lines that you play. To understand how to improvise on the fly, you need
to be prepared in advance for that specific moment in time. This is the hidden secret to
attaining total freedom as an improvising bassist!

The Sixth Pillar & Beyond: Composition

Composition is far more important than is generally understood. In the traditional sense,
composition is known as being able to write music for all the different instruments in the
orchestra, but in a more modern context, is defined by using whatever instrumentation is
needed to serve and enhance the music you are writing for.
Composition requires a strong sense of musical creativity, along with having the skills to
understand all the different sounds of the instrumentation used- both singularly and in
combination. It also requires a complete understanding of how rhythm, melody and harmony
are applied in the process of orchestrating for an entire ensemble.
Composition is not just intended for the serious composer. The improvising bassist is not
only required to play well, but also to have an in-depth understanding of how the role of the
bass fits into a multitude of instrumental combinations. Understanding this not only enables
you to highlight the essentials, but also gives you the ability to suppress the nonessentials
when learning to apply rhythm, melody and harmony, and thus, by understanding
composition, will enhance your musical creativity and communication to a much higher
level!
7

Chapter 2: Discovering Your Five Pillars

Discovering Your Five Pillars

1. Theoretical Understanding
2. Technical Instrumental Understanding
3. Rhythmic Understanding
4. Harmonic Understanding
5. Melodic Understanding

Please engage in this exercise over the next few days. You will notice that there are 3-parts
to this training. Feel free to do this in whichever order supports you the most. You may
find that moving back and forth between the different exercises to be helpful.

1. Creating a Five Pillars Graphic Map

Start by doing a self-evaluation of your development in each of the Five Pillars. Using the
table below, put an ‘X’ into each column, indicating your honest sense of how well developed
each pillar is with 1 being a total beginner in that area and 5 being a world-class expert. After
you have put an ‘X’ into all five columns, draw a line from each ‘X’ to the next to see a graphic
view of your Five Pillars.

5-P GRAPHIC MAP

Scale Theoretical Technical Rhythmic Harmonic Melodic

1

5
8

Now that you can see where your strengths and weaknesses are in your 5-P Graphic Map,
answer the following questions:

Where are you the most developed and what does that tell you?

Where are you least developed and what does that tell you?

As you look at your 5-P Graphic Map, what patterns do you notice about your own musical
journey?
9

2. Five Pillar Recollections, current views and Aims

Now, start to reflect about your relationship with each of the Five Pillars and write a few
sentences describing your relationship with each pillar in terms of your past, present and
future aspirations.

PAST:

PRESENT:
THEORETICAL

FUTURE:

PAST:

PRESENT:
TECHNICAL

FUTURE:
10

PAST:

PRESENT:
RHYTHMIC

FUTURE:

PAST:

PRESENT:
HARMONIC

FUTURE:

PAST:

PRESENT:
MELODIC

FUTURE:
11

3. Climbing up the pillars

In the chart below, list various types of methodologies that you have done in the past,
currently working on and what you would like to work on in the future, to engage and
develop your Five Pillars. Please note that you do not have to fill each space with
information. Sometimes people will leave several spaces blank. The aim of this chart is to
help you to visualise which practices that you should keep doing, along with which exercises
you should start doing in support of your ongoing development along the path of total
freedom.

Pillar Past Present Future

Theoretical

Technical

Rhythmic

Harmonic

Melodic
12

Chapter 3: Joe Hubbard Bo

oks/Cousre Guide

Take the next step!

On the pathway to total freedom!
Your journey as an improvising bassist, seeking to achieve total freedom,
is the greatest journey of all, but you’re going to need a roadmap that
shows you where you are going and how to get there!
That roadmap is the JHB Book/Course Description Guide shown on the
next few pages It lists all of Joe Hubbard’s books and courses, with a
full description of their content and subject matter so that you can find
exactly what you are looking for and precisely what you need to get
started now.
Gaining access to these books and courses, will allow you to learn with
greater ease, while reaching higher states of total freedom each step of
the way!

Remember- you’re only one course away

from gaining total freedom!
13

How to Practice with Maximum Efficiency · This book deals with the single most
stumbling block that all musicians struggle with- the subject of organising and managing
the time and state of mind that it takes to become successful as a practicing bass player. Joe
combines both the art and the science of successful practice habits into an easy to under-
stand coherent system that features 61 practice hacks designed to fast-track your musical
skills to the next level.

Chord Tone Sudoku · Learning to play with chord tones as a primary methodology when
improvising over chord changes is essential for one crucial reason- when you resolve your
lines (either in your functional accompanying bass lines or solos) you must land on a chord
tone. More than just a method book, this unique conceptual study will take you deep inside
the bass guitar fingerboard where you will begin to understand how to use chord tone recog-
nition in real-world performance scenarios, along with a deepened understanding of the
theory required to master these principles once and for all!

Functional Harmonic Concepts · In this book, Joe outlines the definitive blueprint for
understanding the subject of harmony and how it relates to the bass guitar and the music
that you want to play. This book fuses all these harmonic principles together into a vast, but
coherent body of both theory and practice, enabling you to systematically create the results
that you truly desire! Different to many books on this same subject, ear training MP3 practice
tracks are included to train the student to hear the harmonic concepts presented.

The Sight Reading Compendium for Electric Bass · Just imagine what it would be
like if you couldn’t read in your spoken language? More and more, bass guitarists are re-
quired to be more diverse, which has increased the demand for being able to sight read.
This book is four books in one, broken down between Fingerboard Familiarity, Nomenclature,
Rhythm Systems and Sight Reading Etudes. This makes up a complete and concise inventory
of elements that will increase your odds for success enabling YOU to improve your
sight-reading skills immediately!
14

Walking Bass Lines · In this book, Joe unpacks the closely guarded techniques of the jazz
bass masters, outlining easy and simple to use concepts to create great walking bass lines
over common chord progressions. Additionally, you will learn to put it all together using
Joe’s ‘Golden Goose’ principle, where you will never run out of ideas, learning to create over
100,000 different walking bass lines!

Killer Finger Funk Grooves · This innovative book has been broken down into two
sections- the first consisting of an inventory of articulations and phrasing needed to play
finger funk groves, while the second sections contain 26 important finger funk etudes re-
flecting the styles of Anthony Jackson, Marcus Miller, Will Lee, Meshell Ndegeocello, Francis
Rocco Prestia, Gary Wills, Chuck Rainey and many more. All etudes are available on MP3
tracks, along with drum track play-alongs!

50 Essential Jazz Funk Lines · Containing 50 etudes reflecting the soloing style of players
like Jaco Pastorius, Hadrien Feraud, Jeff Berlin, Matt Garrison and John Patitucci, this book is
a must for those seeking to improve their soloing skills! Musical concepts contained within
these lines include Pentatonics, Triad Pairs, Coltrane 3-Tonic Systems (Giant Steps changes),
Tri-Chord Patterns, Chromaticism, Intervallics and much, much more! Also includes 50 MP3
tracks demonstrating all etudes from slow to fast

Alien Nation Bass & Drums Play-Along Bundle · For advanced players only! This
package is comprised of the original Joe Hubbard track, Alien Nation, featuring Tom Brechtlein
(drums) and George Whitty (keyboards) and delivered to you in its original form, along with
a music minus one version available for both bass players and drummers. Joe’s original
charts are included, plus the actual composite score for those who wish to study the com-
positional elements of this challenging musical piece. Not for the fainthearted, learn what
it really takes to be able to play-along with these great musicians!
15

Bass Foundation Course · In this 24-week course, beginning bass students will finally
get the opportunity to study online with the ‘teacher to the pros’- bass guitar legend, Joe
Hubbard. Each weekly lesson is filled with new lesson videos, accompanying PDF worksheets,
practice tracks, self-assessment exercises and more; carefully guiding each student through
the beginning stages of their bass development that Joe Hubbard is so famous for. Once
the course is completed, each student will be awarded a coveted JHB ‘certificate of achieve-
ment.’ Next course begins August 1, 2018!

Joe Hubbard Bass Videos Membership · Comprised of the highly acclaimed, 2-Year Bass
Mastery Course, this membership site has several different tears of membership. The Silver
Membership is made up from a series of ongoing ‘mini-master classes’ that make up what is
called The Lesson Lounge where all the videos available are there for immediate access.
The Gold Membership consists of 48 weekly lessons per year that are drip fed to the student
via email on a weekly basis. These weekly lessons continue for 2-years making up the 2-
Year Bass Mastery Course. The Premium Membership includes both the Silver and Gold into
one powerful learning tool. A feedback forum is also available to students wanting to ask
questions along their musical journey!

Advanced VIP Inner Circle Club · Coming soon!

Skype 1-to-1 Lessons with Joe · Joe has a very limited amount of spaces available for pri-
vate study through Skype. Join hundreds of other bass players who seek out Joe’s profes-
sional help each year including such bass luminaries as, Pino Paladino, Paul Turner, Mike
Mondesir, Dave Swift, Nick Beggs, Stefan Redtenbacher, Stuart Clayton, Oytun Ersan and so
many more!

To Gain Access to Courses & Books, Please Visit:

www.joehubbardbass.com