Learn Guitar - Bass - Drums

Learn To Play Bass Guitar - 10 Steps To Success

No Music Theory - No Scales - Simple To Follow - Complete With Tracks - Another Freebie By Busk'n Servant!

• When Loading On A Mobile Device, Do 2 - 3 Rapid Swipes Up

Step #2

Learn The Notes On The "E" String For Each Fret Position

• Commencing At The Open "E": (See This List)

  • "F", "F#", "G", "Ab", "A", "Bb", "B", "C", "C#", "D", "Eb", "E" etc.

• Play Each Note, The Fretting Hand Index Finger Just Behind Each Fret

• The Fretting Hand Thumb Slides Along The Back of The Fretboard Near Top

• Sound The Name of The Note As You Play It

• Play Each Note Several Times Then, Select Notes At Random

Now, Time To Learn Note Control

• When You Play Open Strings, You Hear That The Notes Keep Ringing

  • Most Bass Lines Would Sound "Muddy", If Only Open Notes Are Used

  • The Fretting Index Finger Can Be Used To Control The Length of The Note

    • Full Note, Hold For 4 Beats

    • Half Note, Hold For 2 Beats

    • Quarter Note, Hold For 1 Beat

    • Eighth Note, Hold For 1/2 Beat

    • Sixteenth Note, Hold For 1/4 Beat

    • Staccato Note, Hold Briefly & Dampen

    • Use The Picking Index Finger To Dampen The String As Required

Practice Note Control

• • Hold An "A" Note, 5th Fret, "E" String

  • Tap Your Foot Slowly

  • Pick The "A" Note & Hold For 4 Beats

    • Play Each Note Length, As Above

    • Again, Use The Index Finger To Dampen The String As Required

Practice To A Backing Track

• Stream The Following Backing Track

  • The Hi Hat Is Playing On Beat Count: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4

  • The Kick Is On Beat Counts: 1 , 3

  • The Snare Is On Beat Count: 2 , 4

• Play The "A" Note

• • Practice These Note Lengths

    • Full Note: On The Count of 1

    • Half Note: On The Count of 1, 3

    • Quarter Note: On The Count of 1 2 3 4

    • Eighth Note: On The Count of 1 & 2 & 3 & 4

    • Practice This Exercise Regularly

Step #5

Time To Turn On The Bass Amp & Practice Playing This Blues Bass Progression

• It Takes A Moment To Get Use To The Sound But, It Should Sound Good

Bass Amp & Guitar Controls

• Keep The Volume Down, Tone Controls Centred, Add Bass If Required

• If You Have A Gain Control Place At The 9 o'clock Position For Now

• On The Bass Guitar, Turn Tone Control Nearly To Max, Similar With Volume Control

Blues Progression

• Bass Notes Are "A", "D" & "E"

  • 4 Bars "A", 2 Bars "D", 2 Bars "A", 1 Bar "E", 1 Bar "D", 1 Bar "A", 1 Bar "E"

  • Tap Your Foot To Maintain Tempo

  • Play On Beat Counts 1, 3

• Congratulate Yourself For Playing A 12 Bar Blues In The Key of "A"!

• Keep Repeating This Progression

• When Ready, Practice To The Above Backing Track

• Stream Your Mobile Device To Blue Tooth Speakers or Use PC Speakers

• Repeat This Exercise Regularly

Step #6

Let's Learn A New Blues Bass Line, This Time In The Key of "E"

• Using What We Learnt In Step #4, The Notes Will Be "E", "A", "B"

  • We Could Play The "E" & "A", Open Notes & "B", 2nd Fret, 2nd String

    • This Is OK But, It's Difficult To Control Those Open Notes

  • We Can Play Our Pattern Notes From The "E" Note, 12th Fret, "E" String

    • They Might Sound Too Higher Pitch For Your Song

  • What We Will Play Is The "E" & "A" Notes From Above &, "B" Note (2 Frets Up From "A")

• Play The 12 Bar Blues Progression With These Notes

  • 4 Bars "E", 2 Bars "A", 2 Bars "E", 1 Bar "B", 1 Bar "A", 1 Bar "E", 1 Bar "B"

  • Tap Your Foot To Maintain Tempo

  • Play On Beat Counts 1, 3

• Practice To Our Backing Track - Here It Is Again

Step #7

It's Time Now To Learn Playing Additional Notes

• So far, We Have Been Playing With The Kick Drum On Beats 1, 3

• We Will Now Add 1 Additional Note

  • Play A Staccato Note On The "&" After Beat 3

    • Use Your Picking Index Finger To Dampen The Note After Playing

  • Our Bass Line Is On Counts 1, 3, &

  • Tap Your Foot To Maintain Tempo

  • Vocalised It Sounds Like This: Dah Da Dit

  • See How This 1 Note Gives A Different Feel To The Beat

• Stream & Play Along To This Next Track

  • It's Our 12 Bar Blues Progression Again

  • Add That Extra Note On The "&" After Beat 3

Let's Create Another Different Feel

• • Play The 1 Additional Note On The "&" Before Beat 3

  • Our Bass Line Is On Counts 1, & 3

  • Vocalised It Sounds Like This: Dah Di Dat

  • This Gives A Completing Different Feel To The Beat

  • Stream The Next Track & Play Along

Let's Change That Note Position Again

• • This Time Put The Note On The "&" After Beat 4

  • Vocalised It Sounds Like This: Dah Dah Dit

  • This Works Well When Single Notes Are Played On Counts 1, 3

    • Also Play Before Changing Notes, Say "A" To "D", "D" To "A", "A" To "E"

• Practice These Exercises Regularly

• Notice That The Drum Beat Is The Same But, We Have Created Different Rhythms With 1 Note

Stream The Next Track & Play Along With Me

• It's A 12 Bar Blues Progression In The Key of "A"

• Play On The Counts of 1 2 3 & 4 &

• Vocalised It Sounds Like This: Dah Dah Da Di Da Dit

• Eighth Notes Are Played Using The Picking Index Finger To Dampen

  • Dampen On Counts 1, 2

• The Note On The "&", After Beat 4, Is Played Softly Sometimes

• Practice This Exercise Regularly

Step #8

Playing Other Bass Lines

• So Far We Have Used Just 3 Notes or Positions From Our Pattern

  • We Have Also Used Just 1 Note Per Bar Either, "A", "D" or "E"

• Lets Create A Walking Bass Line By Playing Other Notes In A Bar

  • We Will Play Each Note of Position 1 4 5 4

  • Each Note Is Dampened Slightly After Playing

  • The Thumb Dampens The "A" Note

  • The 3rd Finger Lays Across The Strings When Playing The 4 Position

  • The Index Finger Moves To The 5 Position, Lifting The 3rd Finger, When Its Played

  • Lower The 3rd Finger Immediately Back To Position 4 & Play

  • Repeat This Exercise

  • Tap Your Foot To Maintain A Slow Even Tempo

• Now Play The "D" Bass Line

  • Keep Playing The Same Pattern But Go Up 1 String

• Now Play The "E" Bass Line

  • Keep Playing The Same Pattern But Go Up 2 Frets From The "D" Pattern

• Practice This Walking Bass Line Regularly

• Stream Walking Bass Example #1 To Gain An Idea

• Then, Stream The Same Track But, You Play Bass

• For Extended Practice Stream Our Drum Track

  • Practice Playing To A 12 Bar Blues Progression

Locking Into The Rhythm Section

• The Drums, Bass Guitar & Rhythm Guitar Form The Rhythm Section of The Band

• It's Important To Lock Into The Rhythm Section

  • The Easiest Way Is For The Bass To Follow The Kick Drum

  • That Is, The Bass Notes Play With The Kick

  • In Walking Bass Example #1, The Bass Played, On The Beat

    • On The Counts of 1 2 3 4

• Now, We're Going To Lock Into The Rhythm Guitar

  • It's Playing On Beats 1 2 3 & 4 &

• We Will Play The Walking Bass, To The Guitar

  • Use These Positions

  • Position 1 4 5 5 4 3

• Stream The Walking Bass Example #2

• Play Along, Still Using Our 12 Bar Blues Progression

• When Ready, Stream The Track For Walking Bass Above, & You Play The Bass

Step #9

Playing To A Swing Groove Is Our Next Challenge

• A Swing Groove Is A Straight 1/8th Beat Like We Have Been Playing But, Modified

• The Hi Hat or Snare Hit On Each "&" Between Beats Is Swung

• This Means It Is Delayed Slightly, Giving A Skipping Feel

• Vocalised It Is Dit di Dit di Dit di Dit

• Often Referred To As The Shuffle or Boogie Beat

• Play The 12 Bar Blues Bass Progression In The Key of "A"

  • Bass Notes Are "A", "D" & "E"

    • 4 Bars "A", 2 Bars "D", 2 Bars "A", 1 Bar "E", 1 Bar "D", 1 Bar "A", 1 Bar "E"

    • Play on Counts 1, 2, 3 & 4, The "&" Note Is Swung

• Stream The Following Track & Play Along With Me On The Bass

  • The "&" Note Is Played Softer Than The Other Notes

  • Also, A Soft Note Is Played Regularly On The "&" Count, After The 4 Count

• Repeat This Exercise Regularly

Step #10

It's Now Time To Practice Other Bass Lines, Beats & Progressions

• Learn The "G C D" & "C F G" Bass Progressions Following All The Above Steps

• Practice Using Different Notes From Our Pattern on Each Progression

• Use These Positions 1 3 2 3 or 1 3 4 5 etc.

• Repeat These Bass Line & Progression Exercises Regularly

• Stream The Following Bass Track Example

  • Playing In A Different Key, Beat & Tempo

That Completes This Introductory Lesson On Bass Guitar. From Here, Learn Other Pattern Positions & Extensions.

To Practice To Other Tempos & Keys, Checkout The Freebies Section In The Song Pack Store.

To Download For Off - Line Use:

To Download The Practice Tracks, Tap The Download Icon On iPhone Devices or, On Android Devices, The 3 Dots, Top of Screen, Scroll & Select Download. The Track Will Be In Your File or Download Folder.

Read More About Music Backing Tracks & Backing Tracks For Guitar, Bass Guitar, Keyboard, Drums. Also Read More About Busking, On Line Busker, Looper Pedal Backing Tracks & Busking Music Backing Tracks. Listen To Busking Music & Busking Loops. Checkout Musician Resources & Jamming For Beginners.