Charles Berthoud

What do you want to learn in 2025?

My fellow bassists,

Now that I'm back from tour, I can finally start to plan things here on Patreon! I hope you enjoyed the exercises and updates I posted throughout the tour - now it's time to figure out a plan for the year.

Let me know what you want to see in 2025! You can pick multiple options and also please leave a comment if you want something that is not listed here.

Lastly, please let me know in the comments if you prefer short exercise videos or longer 10-20 minute ...

#137 - Slapocalypse Bridge Practice Video (Advanced Slap)

My fellow bassists,

I already did a practice video for the main slap sections of Slapocalypse, but now here's one for the bridge! This one is also pretty advanced and involves some strummed/popped triplets which might be a new technique for you, since it's not very common.

To play those triplets you strum down and then double pop. It feels very weird at first but with enough practice it starts to become easier and is a great way to add some fast bursts to your slap bass lines!

Interstellar Collab w. Zander Zon (Early Access!)

Hey everyone, tomorrow I'll be releasing a collab with the great Zander Zon! But as patrons, I wanted to give you access to this video one day early 😊 I've also attached the mp3 and wave files for you below.

This one involves a range of techniques and basses including fretless, six-string, e-bow and more... Hope you like it!

See you in the next video!

Charles

#136 - Hysteria Practice Video (Advanced Tap n Slap)

My fellow bassists,

I've been seeing some requests for more tabs, and practice videos of my YouTube videos, so here you go!

This one starts off with some chordal tapping and then goes into a pretty tough slap section. As always, let me know if you have any questions at all and I'll make sure to answer ASAP!

Also, we have a few shows left on the Escape The Internet tour. Utrecht, Vienna and Munich are sold out but there's still tickets for Paris, Zurich, Birmingham, Milan and...

Backing Tracks And Tabs - Hysteria

My fellow bassists,

I've been seeing some requests for more tabs, and practice videos of my YouTube videos, so here you go!

This one starts off with some chordal tapping and then goes into a pretty tough slap section. As always, let me know if you have any questions at all and I'll make sure to answer ASAP!

Also, we have a few shows left on the Escape The Internet tour. Utrecht, Vienna and Munich are sold out but there's still tickets for Paris, Zurich, Birmingham, Milan and...

mp3 and wave Download - Hysteria

Hey everyone, here's the mp3 and wave files for my cover of Hysteria! This has always been one of my favourite bass lines, so it was especially fun to create this cover 😊

This bass line is already pretty hard but I decided to make it extra funky and unnecessarily complicated 😅

Have a great weekend and I'll see you in the next video!

Charles

#135 - Funky Fingerstyle, Rocco Prestia Style

My fellow bassists,

As you've probably seen, I'm on tour at the moment but I still want to provide you with your fix of bass exercises! In the December poll you told me you want funky fingerstyle exercises so here you go!

This one is in the style of one of the godfathers of funk bass, Rocco Prestia (Tower of Power). He was known for his constant 16th notes, chromatic runs and occasional syncopated accents (often going up the octave or flat 7th).

It's a good workout for your ...

#135.1 - Backing Tracks/Tabs for Rocco-Style Exercise

My fellow bassists,

As you've probably seen, I'm on tour at the moment but I still want to provide you with your fix of bass exercises! In the December poll you told me you want funky fingerstyle exercises so here you go!

This one is in the style of one of the godfathers of funk bass, Rocco Prestia (Tower of Power). He was known for his constant 16th notes, chromatic runs and occasional syncopated accents (often going up the octave or flat 7th).

It's a good workout for your ...

Tour highlights so far!

My fellow bassists,

Tour is going great so far! 3 shows done, I think 14 more to go?

It’s been amazing to connect with so many of you in real life - thanks to everyone who came to Prague, Warsaw and Berlin, the crowds were amazing 😊

Doing these live performances is so fulfilling. Sometimes being a mostly online musician makes everything feel surreal - we only see your comments and then views, subscriber numbers etc… Seeing you in real life reminds me what this is all...

Backstage in Warsaw

My fellow bassists,

First show in Prague was great! We have a pretty nice backstage area in Warsaw today so I thought I’d give you an exclusive tour 😊

Tour is about to begin!

My fellow bassists,

As you can see, we are ready for tour 🤣 This bus will be our home for the next 3 weeks!

Rehearsals are going well so far - Bernth always practises the songs like crazy so we already sounded pretty good on the first run through.

Tonight we drive to our first show and masterclass in Prague! I hope to see some of you there and on the rest of the tour 😊

More updates to come!

Charles

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

My fellow bassists,

I hope you're all having a great holiday! I'm trying to get some good rest and sleep in before the madness of tour begins 😅 That means I won't be uploading a lesson this weekend, but throughout the tour I'll be making sure to keep you all updated with behind-the-scenes videos and even some lessons!

Thank you for an amazing 2024, your support has been incredible and I hope I've provided you with some high quality bass education and entertainment in return! 2024-12-29 13:10:30 +0000 UTC View Post

#134.1 - Beginner Ear Training 2

My fellow bassists,

Back for some more ear training! Somebody asked what the benefit of doing ear training is. The main benefit is that, if you do this enough, you will gain the ability to be able to play whatever you hear in your head. So the next time you are trying to come up with a bass line, if you hear an idea in your head you will be able to play it immediately.

It also lets you figure out the bass lines for songs quickly without having to rely on tabs which are rarely 100%...

#134.2 - Intermediate Ear Training 2

My fellow bassists,

Back for some more ear training! Somebody asked what the benefit of doing ear training is. The main benefit is that, if you do this enough, you will gain the ability to be able to play whatever you hear in your head. So the next time you are trying to come up with a bass line, if you hear an idea in your head you will be able to play it immediately.

It also lets you figure out the bass lines for songs quickly without having to rely on tabs which are rarely 100%...

#134.3 - Advanced Ear Training 2

My fellow bassists,

Back for some more ear training! Somebody asked what the benefit of doing ear training is. The main benefit is that, if you do this enough, you will gain the ability to be able to play whatever you hear in your head. So the next time you are trying to come up with a bass line, if you hear an idea in your head you will be able to play it immediately.

It also lets you figure out the bass lines for songs quickly without having to rely on tabs which are rarely 100%...

#134.4 - Ear Training 2 Tracks

My fellow bassists,

Back for some more ear training! Somebody asked what the benefit of doing ear training is. The main benefit is that, if you do this enough, you will gain the ability to be able to play whatever you hear in your head. So the next time you are trying to come up with a bass line, if you hear an idea in your head you will be able to play it immediately.

It also lets you figure out the bass lines for songs quickly without having to rely on tabs which are rarely 100%...

#133.1 - Beginner Ear Training 1

My fellow bassists,

This ear training exercise uses only notes from the G Minor pentatonic scale - G, Bb, C, D and F. Listen to the guide track, and try to play back what you hear, and just bear in mind that every note you hear will be one of those in the pentatonic scale! So no shifting is needed at all, if you're using one finger per fret.

Have fun!

#133.3 - Advanced Ear Training 1

My fellow bassists,

This ear training exercise uses only notes from the G Minor pentatonic scale - G, Bb, C, D and F. Listen to the guide track, and try to play back what you hear, and just bear in mind that every note you hear will be one of those in the pentatonic scale! So no shifting is needed at all, if you're using one finger per fret.

Have fun!

#133.2 - Intermediate Ear Training 1

My fellow bassists,

This ear training exercise uses only notes from the G Minor pentatonic scale - G, Bb, C, D and F. Listen to the guide track, and try to play back what you hear, and just bear in mind that every note you hear will be one of those in the pentatonic scale! So no shifting is needed at all, if you're using one finger per fret.

Have fun!

#132 - Fingerstyle Ghost-Notes Exercise

My fellow bassists,

The winner of this month's poll was funky fingerstyle exercises, so here's the first one! This exercise focuses mostly on practising ghost notes, which are an essential part of many funk bass lines.

There's quite a lot of syncopation in this one, so you might want to look through the tabs first and try playing some of the more complicated sections before you play along with the whole video/track.

Also, I tend to use some raking to play those groups of thr...

Tabs and Backing Tracks - Fingerstyle Ghost-Notes Exercise

My fellow bassists,

The winner of this month's poll was funky fingerstyle exercises, so here's the first one! This exercise focuses mostly on practising ghost notes, which are an essential part of many funk bass lines.

There's quite a lot of syncopation in this one, so you might want to look through the tabs first and try playing some of the more complicated sections before you play along with the whole video/track.

Also, I tend to use some raking to play those groups of thr...

What do you want to learn in December?

My fellow bassists,

Once again, we gather to determine the fate of this month's bass education... What do you want to learn in December? Remember you can pick more than one option and comment anything that's not listed here!

#131 - Two-Octave Major Scales Exercise

My fellow bassists,

One-octave major scales are definitely a great thing to know in all keys. What I would say is even more useful is knowing two-octave major scales!

Practising two-octave major scales in all keys will give you a great intuitive knowledge of the fretboard in both the high and low registers, and will allow you to connect the two registers seamlessly.

If you haven't practised two-octave major scales much, or you've had trouble with it in the past, I'd strongly...

Tabs and Backing Tracks - Two-Octave Major Scales

My fellow bassists,

One-octave major scales are definitely a great thing to know in all keys. What I would say is even more useful is knowing two-octave major scales!

Practising two-octave major scales in all keys will give you a great intuitive knowledge of the fretboard in both the high and low registers, and will allow you to connect the two registers seamlessly.

If you haven't practised two-octave major scales much, or you've had trouble with it in the past, I'd strongly...

#130 - Beginner Bassists! How To Learn Bass In 30 Days

My fellow bassists,

One of the most common questions I get is whether I have a course for beginners. While there are some beginner lessons here on the BassCamp Patreon, I've always felt like I could do more!

That's exactly why I created 30-Day Bassist, my brand new online bass course for beginners! This course is perfect if you're taking your very first steps on bass, or if you have a few months of experience but wa...

#129 - 7 Cool Licks You Can Use In Any Bassline

My fellow bassists,

The winner of this month's poll was "cool licks you can throw in any bass line", so here it is!

These licks start pretty simple but get quite complex and dissonant by the end. I wanted to give you a range of flavours to work with - the earlier ones you can use pretty often whereas the ones at the end are more unorthodox and you might want to use more sparingly unless you have a very open-minded band!

Remember, these licks are all in C Major meaning you'll...

Tabs and Backing Tracks - 7 Cool Licks You Can Use In Any Bassline

My fellow bassists,

The winner of this month's poll was "cool licks you can throw in any bass line", so here they are!

These licks start pretty simple but get quite complex and dissonant by the end. I wanted to give you a range of flavours to work with - the earlier ones you can use pretty often whereas the ones at the end are more unorthodox and you might want to use more sparingly unless you have a very open-minded band!

Remember, these licks are all in C Major meaning you...

#128 - 10-Minute Fingerstyle Workout

My fellow bassists,

The top two choices for this month's poll were - 10-20 minute practice sessions and cool licks you can throw in any bass line. So while I work on the cool licks you can throw in any bass line lesson, here's a 10-minute fingerstyle workout!

This workout covers rapid string-crossing, octaves, arpeggios and pentatonics. Do this at the start of your practice sessions and you'll be warmed up and ready for pretty much anything!

As always, let me know if you hav...

Tabs And Backing Tracks - 10-Minute Fingerstyle Workout

My fellow bassists,

The top two choices for this month's poll were - 10-20 minute practice sessions and cool licks you can throw in any bass line. So while I work on the cool licks you can throw in any bass line lesson, here's a 10-minute fingerstyle workout!

It's actually a compilation of two pre-existing exercises plus one new one. So if you already practised those other two, you've got a head start 😎

This workout covers rapid string-crossing, octaves, arpeggios and pen...

What Do You Want To Learn In November/December?

My fellow bassists,

We assemble once again to determine the fate of upcoming bass pedagogy... Make your voice heard! (You can pick more than one option - leave a comment if you don't see it listed here!)