dream of capturing the powerful rhythm and
Captivating Sound Of African Bass?
A common saying in western pop and rock music is that you don’t notice the bass guitar until it’s gone. In Africa, this statement couldn’t be further from the truth. The African bass is not a background player – it’s the driving force that dictates whether the crowd dances, takes a break, or heads home for the night. Congolese nightclubs are famous for 5-hour marathon concerts, and the bass player is who makes that happen. The importance of the bassline to African music is easy to identify, but the techniques and skills used are much more difficult to conquer. The thought process behind the bassline is an art form in itself, and you’d have to spend the next 20 years traveling the continent town to town to ever stand a chance at fully grasping everything.
You need an experienced pro to show you the way.
make instant progress
The African Bass Curriculum
Click below to preview the blue highlighted lessons
Module 1 - Learn Soukous And Sebene Bass - 49.39
- Lesson 1 – What We’ll Be Covering 2.40
- Lesson 2 – A Brief History Of Congolese Music 4.23
- Lesson 3 – Learning Soukous and Sebene Basslines 2.31
- Lesson 4 – The Congolese Thumb Technique 7.12
- Lesson 5 – The Formula For Adding Variations 5.40
- Lesson 6 – Putting Variations Together In A Live Context 3.07
- Lesson 7 – Practising Your Own Basslines 5.23
- Lesson 8 – Soukous Bass Style On A 1 4 5 4 Chord Progression 4.32
- Lesson 9 – Going Deeper Into Congolese Bass 8.18
- Lesson 10 – Try Creating With The Backing Track 5.51
Module 2 - How To Play Zimbabwean Music - 27.21
- Lesson 11 – My Journey In Zimbabwean Music 3.04
- Lesson 12 – How To Play Sungura Basslines1.48
- Lesson 13 – Arpeggios in African Music 3.36
- Lesson 14 – Experiment With Your Own Basslines5.23
- Lesson 15 – Learn Sungura Grooves In E Major2.28
- Lesson 16 – Staccato Zimbabwean Basslines And Variations7.27
- Lesson 17 – Put It Into Practice Yourself5.23
Module 3 - Study Zouk Basslines - 33.26
- Lesson 18 – How Zouk Came Back To Africa 3.04
- Lesson 19 – Playing Zouk With Bouncing Basslines3.29
- Lesson 20 – Varying The Chordtones To Keep It Interesting7.50
- Lesson 22 – Playing Two Chord Zouk With Flowing Basslines6.27
- Lesson 23 – Attempt Your Own Zouk Grooves With The Band 6.27
Module 4 - Translate Pop Basslines - 16.45
- Lesson 24 – Billie Jean – Michael Jackson3.28
- Lesson 25 – Come Together – The Beatles5.11
- Lesson 26 – Under Pressure – Queen 8.06
Module 5 - Basic Techniques & Ear Training - 32.34
- Lesson 27 – Basic Techniques And Dexterity Exercises8.29
- Lesson 28 – Learning The Scales Throughout The Fretboard5.00
- Lesson 29 – Ear Training Ab Major5.31
- Lesson 30 – Ear Training Bb Major2.55
- Lesson 31 – Ear Training C# Minor4.47
- Lesson 32 – Ear Training Rhythms3.45
- Lesson 33 – Thanks For Learning With Us2.07
The Ultimate Learning Experience
free bonuses below
interactive on-screen notation
Learning new skills is easier with our innovative, interactive tools. Access on-screen notation, tablature, animate fretboards, variable tempos, and more.
african backing tracks – volume 1
Put your new techniques into practice and Jam on recordings by the World Music Method tutors over different African grooves including Soukous, Zouk and Afrobeat.
live masterclass
and q&a
Stream the latest Zoom masterclass and join the next session live to get your questions answered by Edd Bateman.
sebene heaven – andy morgan
The bitter-sweet paradox of Congolese Rumba. Andy Morgan’s eBook details the gripping history of the countries main musical export.
edd bateman’s west african love affair
Download the debut album featuring Edd’s compositions in African genres including Mbalax, Soukous, Afrobeat and more.
now you finally can
Become Fluent in African Bass
Register today and get immediate lifetime access to the following
the african bass masterclass – 2.5 hour online course
£97
interactive on-screen notation
£77
live masterclasses and q&a
£17
african backing tracks – volume one
£17
sebene heaven – ebook by andy morgan
£10
edd bateman’s west african love affair – album download
£10
Elevate Your Musicality
lifetime access to the course and all bonuses for only
£97
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You don’t need to travel across the continent. In fact, you don’t even need to leave your house. Build up your African bass literacy risk-free today – with a 30-day money-back guarantee, there’s never been a better time to get started.
Take your African bass skills to the next level with the World Music Method today.
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Hear Our Students
Scott Gleason
USA
Roberta Leono
Colombia
Cheyenne Clark
USA
Koni
UK
Precious Mpundu
Zimbabwe
Helmut Baltzer
Germany
Bass Academy
Group Class
Richard Hill Jr
USA
Meet Your Teacher
At age 14, in the rural Devon countryside town of Tavistock, (UK) Edd Bateman was sitting in his bedroom playing heavy metal basslines. Suddenly his Mum arrived and said you need to go to the next-door neighbour’s house right now and take your bass amp. ‘Chimanimani’, who were a Sungura and Chimurenga dance band from Harare, Zimbabwe had just arrived in England and were there auditioning for a bass player to join their upcoming national tour. Despite Edd’s youthful inexperience and limited knowledge of theory he got the job and did the first 2 hour show just 11 days later. Within a month the band played together at African nightclubs in London, universities and then Glastonbury festival. Edd worked with Chimanimani for 6 years.
In his early 20s he took the first of many trips and tours to West Africa and instantly fell in with the famous Cissokho family of griots from Southern Senegal and began his deep training performing regular 5 hour shows with Solo Cissokho, Seckou Keita, Sadio Cissokho and the whole Dialikunda family as well as on-stage guest spots with Cheikh Lo, Orchestra Baobab and Super Diamono.
Now back in the UK and with thousands of concerts under his belt with bands from all over the world he developed his skills serving as bandleader for ‘London Astrobeat Orchestra’ and ‘Edd Bateman’s West African Love Affair’. In the lockdown he saw the need to begin documenting the brilliant African bass guitar styles he’s dedicated his life to learning and so founded the World Music Method to share this knowledge with the world.
Edd Bateman Through The Years
Chimanimani
2001
Bulawayo
2009
Sadio Cissokho
2016
London Astrobeat
2020
Become African Groove Confident
lifetime access to the course and all bonuses for only
£97
….. your African musical repertoire with melodic Sebene basslines.
….. the traditional Congolese right hand thumb approach with accuracy.
….. your rhythm section relationship with contextual groove examples.
….. your entire musicality with new authentic African bass techniques.