Every song on this site shows its chords as they go by, and that is all you need to start playing bass with it. Take the first letter of the chord, plus any # or b right after it, and play that note. Am means A. F#m means F sharp. The m does not change your note.
Where the notes are
With a standard four-string bass, tuned E A D G from the thickest string:
- E: open E string
- F: E string, 1st fret
- F#: E string, 2nd fret
- G: E string, 3rd fret
- A: open A string
- B: A string, 2nd fret
- C: A string, 3rd fret
- D: open D string
Open the chromatic tuner
Tunes by ear via your laptop or phone mic. Pluck a string, watch the indicator center.
Try it now
Play one note on every click: two clicks of G, two of D, four of A, then two of G, two of D, four of C. Those are the root notes of Knockin' on Heaven's Door. That's the whole song.
Why this works
Most of the time, the root is what the rest of the band expects from you. A bass player on the root makes the chord sound right underneath everyone else. Real bass lines add other notes, and we will get to those, but they are built on this.
You're done when: you can find any note in that list without looking it up.