How To Play The Iconic ‘This Christmas’ Bass Lick

This Christmas Donny Hathaway bass lesson and tutorial. Learn bass guitar with a step-by-step breakdown of the famous This Christmas bass lick, tabs, groove, and soul phrasing for electric bass players.

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00:00 – Why this lick matters every Christmas
00:30 – Playing it on a 5-string (it works on any bass)
01:02 – Technique focus: muting + floating thumb
01:29 – Starting position: 12th-fret G
02:06 – Using the open D as a “jump-off” for shifting
02:48 – Main descending line (G → F♯ → open D)
03:50 – Second phrase (D → A → F♯ → G)
05:09 – Landing back on the tonic + groove context
06:01 – Final thoughts

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