Beginner Bass Guitar
14 lessons. Root notes, walking lines, your first bass groove by week two.
Pick up a bass and start grooving. Fingerstyle plucking, the major scale across the neck, locking with chord changes, walking bass, eighth-note grooves, and the Seven Nation Army bass line. Built for the four-string in standard E-A-D-G tuning.
Meet your bass guitar
Anatomy of a four-string bass, the role of the bass player, and what makes the instrument different from a guitar.
Tuning the bass (EADG)
Lower than guitar. How to tune by ear, by tuner, and what each open string sounds like.
Holding the bass + plucking basics
Strap angle, hand position, and the index-middle alternating motion that powers fingerstyle bass.
The major scale on one string
Whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half. The pattern of every major scale, played up one bass string.
Major scale across the fretboard
The two-octave box pattern. Same scale, but spread across four strings to play it faster and easier.
Root notes: locking to chord changes
The single most important skill in bass. Find the root of each chord, play it on beat 1.
Walking bass lines: 1-3-5-octave
Four notes that turn a static root note into a moving line. Used in jazz, country, blues, funk.
Eighth-note grooves
Two notes per beat instead of one. The bass equivalent of moving from a walk to a jog.
Locking with the drummer
The kick drum and the bass should sound like one instrument. How to listen, lock, and lay the foundation.
Pick playing vs fingers
Most bass players use fingers. Some use a pick. The differences, and when to use each.
Seven Nation Army bass line
White Stripes' "bass line" is actually a guitar tuned low. We'll play it on real bass. Five notes, instant glory.
Bass with a band: your role
When the guitarist is going wild, when the drummer is busy, when the singer is in front. Where do you sit?
Bass tabs and chord charts
How to read a bass tab line, a chord chart, and a lead sheet. Three notation systems for three contexts.
Putting it all together
Recap of beginner bass, what to drill, what to learn next.