Paul Wolfe: It's Paul Wolfe from How-To-Play-Bass.com here. This lesson, we are going to look at Bob Babbitt's bassline to "ball of confusion" by The Temptations. Now, this bassline and this lesson is ideal for beginners because, the tune is very simple. There are only two parts of the tune. Is a basic groove and then is like a bridge. So if you are just starting out and looking for songs to actually play, this one is a good one to get going. Rhythm wise, it's not too complex or technically demanding. You just, it's actually is a great lesson in just playing some notes and just making them groove through out the tune.
I have some more thoughts on that in the outer of this lesson. Before we get started, I recommend if you haven't already head over to my website, sign up to my free ezine every month. We'll look at how to play through a song in detail, usually it's accompanied by YouTube lesson and you will forget the bassline and music notation and tab. Having said that, this one is not one of those, so there isn't any notational tab. So please don't email asking for that. Then all around, but it simply not that if you watch this video closely, may be make some notes, you have more than enough information to play through this tune and play through along with the record. So without further do, let's have a look at the first section which is the verse.
Okay the basic verse pattern is just a two bar riff that plays throughout tune and any variation each bar on the very last two notes. I will play the riff. Obviously, I was playing that slowly. So, let's look at the notes first. The first two pick up notes which also end up being the last two notes of the two bar pattern are G first fret of the E string, B flat first fret of the A string, and now in to the main pattern of the bar and those notes, that part of the pattern just comprise of C third fret of the A string and B flat, the first fret of the A string and this is the rhythm. So we have got C C, B flat CC, B flat C, A flat C and then the first time through, that's the pick up which is E flat first fret of the D string to B flat first fret of the A string, then back in to the pattern. Then you go back, pick up which we looked at, G third fret of the E string, B flat, first fret of the A string. So I will play all again slowly. Two, three, four. I am going to play even slower. Two, three, four. okay and that's the best pattern, and that two bar sequence repeats right the way through the tune until you get to the bridge, which happens twice and we will look at that in the next section.
Okay the bridge is some fairly straight forward. You just to have to play it with the middle file. It's basically the way you can look at it. It's comprised of three major triads and then you got that fill at the end. If you don't want the major triad is, is this shape, so if you play the note with your first finger and using one finger per fret, then play the note on the string above it with the second finger, then on the same string playing that with fourth finger, that's a major triad. I will talk through the notes when we go through it. But the first three parts or the first six bars of the bridge section literally could just comprise of three major triads. So it's, you see that pattern was repeated, but it was a string up and that's repeated again, but then its two frets up.
Before we go and the look the fill at the end, let's look at the notes. So the first triad is C, just a third fret of the A string, then A which is the second fret of the D string, and the G which is the fifth fret of the D string. You can pick the rhythm up from the actual song, but I will count through so that you can hear it. Two, three, four and you hold that note. And then to the next triad which is F and those notes are F, the third fret of D string, A the second fret of the G string, and C fifth fret of the G string.
Then you move it up again, not the G major triad, the notes of G, which is the fifth fret of the G string, B at fourth fret of the G string, and D the seventh fret of the G string. So, I will count through and just play these six bars; two, three, four; one, two, three, four; one, two, three, four; one, two, three, four. Okay and that fill at the end, I am not going to count that out and if you are beginner, its very syndicated very own off beats in a 16th note pulse, but if you listen The Temptation's original, you'll hear how that pattern goes and note wise, what you are doing is you are playing F most of that fill is in F, which is the third fret of D string. You can use the open G string and then the very last two notes of that pick up again to get you back into the pattern.
So it's G the third fret of the E string, B flat at the first fret of the A string. So, that whole fill is, so as I said, if you listen closely to the original, you'll hear that rhythm and you'll be able to apply those notes which are basically just F and then open G string and down to the low G on the E string and B flat and then back in to that riff again.
And that's the bridge. So that was Ball of Confusion by The Temptations. As I've said, it's an easy tune, fairly straight forward for beginners. One thing that you can do with that group which is quite a funky exercise and really would help you work on your timing, is set a metronome going, but set it going, so its clicking on two and four and see if you can play the groove with that mentioning I am clicking on two and four. Because then you'll have to provide a lot of the time fill because, of mention clicking on every beat. That's a really good exercise to with a lot of tunes, this one in particular.
So, depending on how advanced your time feel is, that is a good exercise that you can apply to what we have just learnt to really work on grooving and getting your groove happening.
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