If you got here, you can play. Open strings, scales across the neck, root notes locked to chord changes, eighth-note grooves, walking bass lines, the Seven Nation Army riff. You're a functional beginner bassist.
What you can do
- Tune the bass
- Hold it with good posture
- Fingerstyle alternate-plucking (I-M-I-M)
- Pick playing (down-up)
- Major scale across the neck in any position
- Find any root note on the E and A strings
- Play 1-3-5-octave walking bass over any chord
- Lock eighth-note grooves to a metronome
- Play a real bass line (Seven Nation Army)
- Read bass tab and chord charts
The three habits
Same as guitar:
- Tune every session. Bass strings drift overnight, same as guitar.
- Practice slow. Eighth notes at 80 BPM are harder than they look. 80 BPM tight beats 120 BPM sloppy.
- Record yourself weekly. Listen back. Your phone is fine.
Add a bass-specific fourth: play with drums whenever possible. A metronome works. A real drummer is better. A drum machine is OK. Bass without drums is half the instrument.
Where to go next
The Bass Intermediate track picks up here: slap technique, funk grooves, modes for soloing, the 12-bar blues bass line, reading walking bass charts, composing your own bass lines.
If you want to broaden: try a guitar track in parallel. Bass and guitar reinforce each other; you'll understand the harmony better if you can play it on guitar.
The bass player's truth
The best bass players are the ones nobody notices, until you remove them. Then the song falls apart. Be that player.
You finished a track. Keep going.