Hold the bass with close body contact and a consistent strap height for both sitting and standing. Adjust the strap about six inches to keep the position steady while practicing.

Choose essential bass gear with an amp and reliable cables, then explore pedals—overdrive and fuzz—to shape diverse tones. Pack extra cables for gigs and stay curious about gear.

Learn the bass groove for with or without you by U2 at 110 bpm, using the low e string and an eight-note pattern across frets ten, five, seven, three.

Practice the three major scale versions at varying tempos on your couch with a drumbeat; memorize the shapes and notes to play them confidently in songs.

Explore major triad shape 2 on bass, using inversion to alter tonality while keeping the same notes; learn patterns for fifths, octaves, and two ways to play major triads.

Explore the minor triad by flattening the major triad's third by a half step, producing a one three five with a flat third. Preview the minor pentatonic and flat five.

improve fretting-hand dexterity with an every-other-finger exercise across the neck on all strings, using a metronome, while staying loose and warming up with stretches.

Master hammer-ons in bass guitar foundations by fretting a C and hammering to the E with a curved finger and no pick, shaping tone and avoiding stray strings.

Learn to perform bass pull-offs as the opposite of hammer-ons, using a down-and-off motion with the fretting hand to produce the next note and add a more aggressive tone.

Combine hammer-ons, slides, and pull-offs in a single riff from the fifth fret on the A string, with slow practice to build fluid bass technique.

Learn the bass line for another one bites the dust on the open e string (e, g, a). Focus on timing and muting, then practice slowly and speed up.

Explore pentatonic scale shape three on the bass, starting on the A string and identifying the root note, with the octave trick and a mix of steps and false steps.