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05/31/26
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Bass Cafe: Foundations
Learn How to Get Creative with Bass Chord Progressions from Popular Songs
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About this course
Bass Cafe
In this Foundations edition of Ryan Madora’s Bass Cafe, you’ll learn how to establish a solid groove that inspires conversation between band members, enhances the experience for the listener, and best serves the songs you happen to be playing across a variety of popular styles.
You’ll focus on fretboard dexterity, technique, applying diatonic harmony to popular music, and get comfortable identifying chord progressions, applying patterns such as arpeggios, and playing in different registers.
”Most importantly, we’ll do a lot of playing—the backing tracks are inspired by well-known songs and are all played by live musicians. These progressions show up in tons of songs, from classic soul and rhythm and blues to reggae, rock, and modern country. We’ll highlight variations, play along to the examples, and talk about the best ways to get creative with them.”
Since moving to Nashville in 2012, Ryan has worked with working with some of Music City’s most talented artists and producers, including Bobby Bones and The Raging Idiots, Robben Ford, Garth Brooks, Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Marren Morris, Hanson, and many others. You may have even seen Ryan on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th seasons of the hit TV show “Nashville.”
We’re thrilled to welcome Ryan to the family with her first TrueFire course, the Foundations edition of Bass Cafe. You will likewise be thrilled as you grab your bass and play your way through Ryan’s illuminating and highly engaging curriculum!
Ryan will explain and demonstrate all of the key concepts and approaches along the way. You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the key examples and performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson. You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are included to work with on your own as well.
Grab your bass and let’s jump in the pocket with Ryan Madora!
In this Foundations edition of Ryan Madora’s Bass Cafe, you’ll learn how to establish a solid groove that inspires conversation between band members, enhances the experience for the listener, and best serves the songs you happen to be playing across a variety of popular styles.
You’ll focus on fretboard dexterity, technique, applying diatonic harmony to popular music, and get comfortable identifying chord progressions, applying patterns such as arpeggios, and playing in different registers.
”Most importantly, we’ll do a lot of playing—the backing tracks are inspired by well-known songs and are all played by live musicians. These progressions show up in tons of songs, from classic soul and rhythm and blues to reggae, rock, and modern country. We’ll highlight variations, play along to the examples, and talk about the best ways to get creative with them.”
Since moving to Nashville in 2012, Ryan has worked with working with some of Music City’s most talented artists and producers, including Bobby Bones and The Raging Idiots, Robben Ford, Garth Brooks, Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Marren Morris, Hanson, and many others. You may have even seen Ryan on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th seasons of the hit TV show “Nashville.”
We’re thrilled to welcome Ryan to the family with her first TrueFire course, the Foundations edition of Bass Cafe. You will likewise be thrilled as you grab your bass and play your way through Ryan’s illuminating and highly engaging curriculum!
Ryan will explain and demonstrate all of the key concepts and approaches along the way. You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the key examples and performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson. You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are included to work with on your own as well.
Grab your bass and let’s jump in the pocket with Ryan Madora!
What you'll learn
- Apply Nashville number system to find chord tones
- Play the classic Stand By Me bass line accurately
- Execute proper thumb plucking technique with palm muting for R&B tone
- Create contrast using different registers on the neck
- Understand how to construct bass lines using scale degrees
Release date: 12/19/2019 • 2h 48m runtime
Sample lessons
Major Scale Workout 4
Scale with Arpeggios
Major Scale Workout 4
Practice Session 1: 8ths & 16ths
Major Scale Workout 4
Practice Session 2: Swing & Triplets
Workout the Entire Neck
Transposing Exercises
What's included
58 lessons • 38 charts • 11 Jam Tracks
Bass Cafe: Foundations
Hi, I'm Ryan Madora. Welcome to Bass Cafe: Foundations!
In this course, we'll be focusing on practicing strategies, technique exercises, and applying basic theory knowledge to popular songs. Additionally, we'll focus on playing in different registers, enhancing the dynamics of the music, and navigating common chord progressions.
Grab your bass and let's get started!
In this course, we'll be focusing on practicing strategies, technique exercises, and applying basic theory knowledge to popular songs. Additionally, we'll focus on playing in different registers, enhancing the dynamics of the music, and navigating common chord progressions.
Grab your bass and let's get started!
Practice Tips
Here's a few tips for working with a metronome so that you can monitor your progress and get the most out of your practice sessions. We'll discuss the importance of three types of tempos: warm-up, threshold, and goal. By working through exercises in a structured manner, you'll be able to build muscle memory, track your progress, and develop good habits.
SECTION 1: Major Scale Workouts
In this section, we'll learn how to play the major scale with different fingering patterns, how to transpose the pattern to different keys, and how to apply it to classic chord progressions.
Major Scale Workout 1
We'll start by learning a basic fingering pattern for the C major scale and rhythmic variations to integrate your plucking hand. We'll stay within the "four fret span" so that we can play the scale across three strings and stay in one position on the neck. We'll refer to this as a "horizontal" position.
Major Scale Workout 1
Here we'll practice the major scale with a straight time feel. We'll alternate playing the scale with 8th notes and 16th notes.
Major Scale Workout 1
Now, we'll practice the major scale with a swung feel. We'll alternate playing the scale with swung 8th notes and triplets.
Major Scale Workout 2
Now that we've got the horizontal position down, it's time to learn another fingering pattern for the major scale and rhythmic variations to integrate your plucking hand. We'll play scale in G and incorporate a bit of a stretch, playing across five frets to take a more "vertical" approach. This will help you further visualize the scale and develop better dexterity.
+ 51 more lessons
Reviews
30 results
arpeggio5
Verified buyer
09/02/25
explains all lessons very good plus exercisers in lessons.
JLoerzel
Verified buyer
05/30/25
Ryan Madora gets you goin'!
Ms. Madora's course dives right in and gets you going right out of the gate. What I really appreciate is the fact that there's no, "Here's what a headstock is" or "Here's how you tune your bass. " She assumes you know that stuff and wants to get you playing the basics. The self-paced lessons are key for me so i can fit them in to my schedule as i see fit. The looping options are very handy for difficult portions (the 16th note exercises kicked my butt for awhile!). So far, I am really glad I purchased this inexpensive course. Thank you TrueFire and thank you Ryan!!
docleeg
Verified buyer
12/15/24
Solid bass course for beginners
Not completed course yet, but Ryan has a relaxed easygoing style with clear explanations & demonstrations giving me confidence I’ll be mastering all the skills being presented.
Creamy
Verified buyer
12/07/24
Great course
This course is great for someone who is in between the beginner and intermediate level. Very easy to follow and well structured. I have learned a lot from this course. Thanks Ryan
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