You can play slap, walking bass, modes, funk grooves, blues, and a Stevie Wonder masterclass riff. You're an intermediate bassist. Most players stop here, frankly, because intermediate gigging is satisfying. But if you want more, three directions:
Direction 1: deeper into funk/fusion
- Marcus Miller: slap funk + jazz fusion. Power is a good starting point.
- Jaco Pastorius: fretless bass, jazz fusion, the most influential bassist of the modern era. Continuum, Donna Lee.
- Victor Wooten: thumb-double-thumb technique, modern slap. More Love, Norwegian Wood.
Direction 2: deeper into songwriting / theory
- Learn to read standard notation (not just tab). It unlocks every score ever written.
- Study chord-tone soloing: improvising with the 3rds and 7ths of each chord, not just roots and fifths.
- Compose bass parts for original songs. Bass-driven songwriting (think Money by Pink Floyd, Come Together by The Beatles) is a unique skill.
Direction 3: a different style entirely
- Upright bass: jazz, country, bluegrass. The technique is totally different (no frets, plucking position changes), but everything you've learned about feel and groove transfers.
- Bass for worship/gospel: gospel chops are a whole world. Drop-tuning, syncopation, soulful playing.
- Metal bass: drop tunings (Drop D, Drop C, even lower), fast picking or fingerstyle, often follows the guitar rather than the kick.
Three habits, still
Same as guitar:
- Tune every session.
- Practice slow.
- Record yourself weekly.
Plus the bass-specific fourth: play with drums whenever possible. And a fifth that becomes critical at intermediate: listen to bass-heavy records. Studying recordings is half of intermediate growth. Motown sessions, James Brown's band, Sly and the Family Stone, Tower of Power, Pink Floyd, Tame Impala, Vulfpeck.
The bass player's secret
Most musicians notice bass only when it's bad or absent. That's a feature, not a bug. The best compliment a bass player can get is "the band sounds great." If you hear that, you sound great.
Welcome to a long career.