How To Play Bass to La Grange - Beginner's Lesson

Hi, in this video we’re going to look at how to play La Grange by ZZ Top. Good tune for beginners to get their fingers around. The song has got four different sections. Let’s get straight onto it and look at the first section. [Demonstration] Okay the first section of La Grange is in A and it's where the bass comes in at approximately 35 seconds into the track. Here is how it is played with the metronome. Metronome sets are 100 which is considerably slower than the original. [Demonstration] Okay turn the metronome off. Quickly talk through the notes, first bar is just shuffle the 8th notes— [Demonstration] On the open A string— [Demonstration] Then the 2nd bar has got four shuffled 8th notes on the open A string and then it's C— [Demonstration] And the 3rd fret— [Demonstration] D 5th fret, that’s both of the A string then back to the open A. So the 2nd bar is— [Demonstration] So that’s pretty straight forward. Let’s move on to the 2nd section. [Demonstration] Okay the 2nd section of the track occurs underneath the 1st guitar solo and it's around the one minute 12 mark. So in some ways the key of C, I'll play it through and then we will talk through it— [Demonstration] Okay again, this is simple section of the tune. First of all, it's a bar of swing 8th note, shuffled 8th notes— [Demonstration] So the first bar is just on C which is the 3rd fret of the A string. Then the second bar, it plays this— [Demonstration] So what you’ve got is C-C-C-C-C-E flat— [Demonstration] C— [Demonstration] F— [Demonstration] E flat— [Demonstration] E flat is the 1st fret of the D string— [Demonstration] F is the 3rd fret of the D string. So the 2nd bar is— [Demonstration] So, when you put tat together in the first bar— [Demonstration] So that’s a pretty simple section too. [Demonstration] Okay after the first guitar solo, an interesting little eight or nine bars where there are some stabs and then an interesting little fill that takes you back to the stabs. I'll play it with the metronome. I'm going to talk through it. [Demonstration] Okay and then the bass drops out and then we get to the 2nd guitar solo. It comes in very shortly afterwards. Okay, to the first stab— [Demonstration] G— [Demonstration] 5th fret of the D string, the 2nd stab is like—it's kind of like I'm doing it as a slide. You could do it as a hammer as well but I'm sliding from F to F# which is the 3rd and the 47th frets of the D string. [Demonstration] So you got tat little slide— [Demonstration] You could it as a hammer, whichever way you find sounds better or you're more comfortable with. The 3rd stab is an F which is the 3rd fret of the D string— [Demonstration] And then in the 4th bar, you’ve got this little run. And it's— [Demonstration] And then you're back to the stabs. So let’s just look at that little run. First of all, it's shuffled eight no pair on the open A string— [Demonstration] Then you’ve got a triplet and the triplet notes are C at the 3rd fret of the S string— [Demonstration] Then I'm sliding up to C# at the 4th fret of the A string. Then the octave of A the 7th fret of the D string and then you’ve got a little figure, it's a finish set off which is a shuffled 8th note and then a triplet all on the open A string. And then, you hit the G which is the first note of the stabs repeated again. So let me play that 4th bar and then finish off with the G really slowly so you can hear what I'm talking about— [Demonstration] Okay the last section of the tune is underneath the 2nd guitar solo. We’re going back to the key of A. This is like a variation of the very first pattern we looked at. I'll play it with the metronome. Let me talk through— [Demonstration] Okay, so it's very straight forward. The first bar, then you actually got the open A string and C, the 3rd fret of the A string and it's in this kind of configuration— [Demonstration] So you’ve got— [Demonstration] Two open A’s— [Demonstration] C— [Demonstration] Open A— [Demonstration] And just repeat that— [Demonstration] And then the 2nd bar is that pattern again— [Demonstration] And then C— [Demonstration] D— [Demonstration] A— [Demonstration] So the two bars, A-A— [Demonstration] C-A— [Demonstration] A-A— [Demonstration] C-A— [Demonstration] A-A— [Demonstration] C-A— D C-D— [Demonstration] A— [Demonstration] And this kind of rhythm— [Demonstration]