Behind the Player: Mike Inez: Bass Guitar DVD

This DVD captures something most instructional materials don't: the candid perspective of a working professional bassist who has survived multiple decades in high-demand bands. Rather than abstract technique, Inez walks through two Alice in Chains tracks with full VideoTab animation alongside jam footage with an accomplished drummer, showing exactly how his lines function in context. The rare photos and behind-the-scenes material add real-world dimension to what it actually takes to sustain a career in rock.

Heavy, groove-centered, and deceptively intricate. Both Alice in Chains tracks demand precision in the pocket while leaving room for character and feel. The bass lines sit solidly beneath the songs without showboating, yet close listening reveals smart harmonic choices and dynamic control that elevate them beyond straight accompaniment.

Rock bassists at the intermediate level or higher who want to expand their vocabulary by learning from an established pro, and students curious about how professional musicians approach signature songs and live performance. This material works equally well for self-directed learners and for instructors who want to demonstrate real-world application of bass technique.

• Watch the VideoTab animation while listening to the original recording first; let your ear lock into the groove before you look at individual finger positions.
• Pay close attention to where Inez sits rhythmically relative to the kick drum in both songs. The pocket matters more than the notes themselves.
• Study the jam session footage alongside the tablature. Notice how his lines respond to dynamic shifts and how he communicates musically with the drummer.
• Work through the tabs slowly with a metronome at 60 percent of performance tempo; the VideoTab system will show you accuracy, but muscle memory comes from methodical repetition.

Assign this as supplementary study material when your jazz or contemporary ensemble covers rock repertoire, or use it as a model for how to analyze and recreate professionally recorded bass parts. For solo bass students, the VideoTab system offers an alternative learning method that some players find more intuitive than traditional notation or standard TAB. Consider screening segments during ensemble rehearsals to illustrate how bass choices in a mix are made and why certain techniques carry more weight than others.

• Playing pocket-driven bass lines in drop-tuned rock contexts
• Coordinating with kick drum patterns in grunge and hard rock styles
• Reading and interpreting animated tablature systems
• Analyzing bass approaches through jamming and multi-camera footage
• Building dynamics and feel within repetitive figures