Barry Bales on the History of Bluegrass Bass

Interview and Band Performance with Barry Bales

In this interview, Barry Bales and I discuss his musical influences, favourite bassists, and the bluegrass bass scene. We cover a lot of ground and discuss many legendary players, but this is not a definitive list, but rather an informal discussion. We will have missed many greats, so please let us know your influences in the YouTube comments.

At the end of the video, we feature a performance of Wild Bill Jones by Barry Bales, Justin Moses and Jeff White.

I hope you enjoy this and if you want to learn more from Barry, please check out his course My Approach to Bluegrass Bass!

Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction and bluegrass beginnings
03:00 Roy Huskey Jr.
05:27 Who are the bass players who inspired you?
11:15 Recommended work of Barry’s
13:29 Performance of Wild Bill Jones (traditional)

Barry Bales’ Links:

Discussion Links:


My Approach to Bluegrass Bass

By Barry Bales

My Approach to Bluegrass Bass is an online course presented by Barry Bales, designed to teach you how to play bluegrass on the upright bass! It comprises 33 lessons over more than 2 hours and covers a wide range of topics on bluegrass bass playing, including walk-ups, runs and licks, bass lines, playing at fast tempos, playing with a band, intonation, playing waltz-time songs and ballads, basic upright bass techniques, and more! Barry is joined by his fantastic band in the course, and they perform eight classic bluegrass songs performed on mandolin, guitar, and bass. We've included transcriptions of Barry's bass lines so you can follow along and practice at home with our play-along tracks. Barry Bales is known in Nashville and beyond as the first-call bassist in country and bluegrass music. If you want to learn bluegrass and upright bass skills from a seasoned pro, you won't find a better fit!


Subscribe

Join the world’s largest online double bass school and be first to get weekly email updates on new courses, lessons, and interviews.

We never share your details & you can unsubscribe at any time.