R & B, soul, Motown, and funk are all related terms, and indeed, related idioms. In fact, in some situations these terms might even be interchangeable.

However, rhythm and blues (R & B) should be regarded as the parent company to soul, Motown, and funk. In this chapter you will begin to learn about the bass lines, techniques, and theory that inform these styles. This includes slap bass and hammer-on techniques, walking bass lines, and funk riffs using pentatonics.