Blues backing track for bass:
A, 100 BPM

A blues backing track without bass, in A, at 100 BPM: the drums and the band play, you lay down the line. The chart, the scales to use and bass line ideas are below the video.

Length: 3:55 · Tempo: 100 BPM · Key: A · watch on YouTube

The chart

The 12-bar blues loops 8 times, on screen.

Bass line ideas

The classic boogie pattern, root, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, then back down, moved to each chord; watch out for the D7 in bar 2 (the "quick change").

A 12-bar blues is often played as a shuffle, with swung eighth notes. Change chords right on the downbeat, and on the last E7 (the turnaround), set up the return to the top.

Scales to use

• The blues scale
• The minor pentatonic scale
• The Mixolydian mode
• The dominant pentatonic scale

Played with UnitBasse

This backing track is played by BackTrack, the backing band of UnitBasse 2.0 for Mac: real recorded drums, keys, guitar and horns. In the app, you can change the tempo, the key or the style of the chart, and add the bass if you want to hear it first.

Frequently asked questions