If you finished Bass Beginner, you can do the mechanical work: roots, walks, grooves, locked to a click. The next level isn't playing more; it's playing the same notes better.
Three things change
1. Tone matters. A C played with a fingertip is different from a C played with the side of your finger. A C plucked over the bridge pickup is different from one plucked over the neck pickup. Intermediate bass is about hearing these differences and choosing them.
2. Dynamics matter. Beat 1 is louder than beat 2. The chorus is louder than the verse. The bass breathes with the song. Beginner bass is even-volume. Intermediate bass shapes the volume.
3. Feel matters. "Behind the beat" is slightly late, lazy, jazz/R&B feel. "On top of the beat" is slightly early, urgent, rock feel. Both work; choose with intention.
What this track covers
- Slap and pop technique (the funk fundamental)
- Ghost notes and sixteenth-note grooves
- Walking bass for jazz/blues
- Modal bass for funk and fusion
- 12-bar blues bass solo
- Composing your own lines
What stays the same
The metronome is still your friend. Tuning every session is still mandatory. Recording yourself is still how you grow.
The intermediate trap
Many bass players, having gotten past beginner, fall into "playing busy." Lots of fills, lots of slap, lots of notes. Don't. The best bassists in the world still play simple most of the time. The mark of intermediate isn't more notes, it's better notes.
Let's go.