In this lesson, we’re breaking down the beautiful intro from Stevie Wonder’s Overjoyed. You’ll learn how the bass line outlines the underlying chord progression using arpeggios, chord tones, and smooth voice leading. We’ll  explore why the harmony sounds so connected, and show how you can apply these concepts to your own bass playing, fills, and improvisation.

Practice Challenge

For each chord:

1. Play the arpeggio ascending.
2. Play the arpeggio descending.
3. Connect each chord to the next using the closest available chord tone.
4. Create your own melodic variation using only chord tones.