BEGINNER BASS FORMULA

In this section we'll cover;

. Choosing a bass

. Choosing an amp

. Positioning

. How to play the on-screen exercises

. and playing finger-style

Exercises covered in this section are;

. Finger-style finger strengthening

. Tuning the bass

Choosing a good bass will make it a lot easier for you.

Some bass guitars are badly made which makes it a lot harder for you to play and will put you off continuing to learn.

Bass amps vary in size, shape and power outputs.

It's a good idea to start with the smaller, less bulkier amps when starting out.

The way you hold your bass will affect your technique.

Make sure you're holding it in a way that agrees with your posture in as comfortable a way as possible.

When you play the exercises on the screen the appropriate position of your finger placement will usually be displayed on the screen .

For example, when you see the letter E followed by the number 3 it means that you would play the E string on the third fret (G note). E (open) means that you'd just play the open E string on its own.

more examples;

• D 2 -- 2nd fret on the D string = an E note
• A 5 -- 5th fret on the A string = D note
• G2 -- 2nd fret on the G string = A note
• D (open) -- D string only = D note

Most of the notes are stated until you get to the latter part of the course in the arrangements section (5) where the letter E would mean that you play the E arpeggio riff or a B means play the B arpeggio riff, etc..

This course uses the finger-style technique. There are other ways to play the bass but we will be using this technique as it is widely used and very popular in music.

This is a good exercise for strengthening your fingers.

Useful for the finger-style technique.

Tuning up the bass guitar will be essential to playing the riffs accurately

points covered -

1. choosing a bass

2. choosing a bass amp

3. positioning

4. how to play the upcoming exercises

5. fingerstyle

6. tuning your bass

When I first started playing with other musicians I didn't know where the notes were, so I struggled to play anything. I didn't feel confident enough. I'd feel embarrassed when i didn't know where an F# or Bb was So the more I studied where the notes were on the bass the easier I could interact and play stuff with others. So when someone said lets play E, A and then Bb I'd know where the notes where and what to do.

In these exercises you will locate E, A, D, G, and B notes on the four strings up to the 12th fret.

Its always useful to know where they are on the fretboard. The exercises will help you find them.

also you'll locate and play the first five notes on each string.

Find all the E notes up to the 12th fret

Find all the A notes up to the 12th fret

Find all the D notes up to the 12th fret

Find all the G notes up to the 12th fret

Play all the B notes up to the 12th fret

Play the first five notes on the E string

First five notes on the A string

First five notes on the D string

First five notes on the E string

Play the second five notes on the G string

So now you should have an understanding of where the notes are on the first few frets. The more you know where to locate the notes the easier you can play the following exercises.

In these exercises you will locate sharpened/flattened notes....

In these exercises you will locate sharpened/flattened notes.

Sharp notes are located after the F, G, A, C and D notes but not after E and B. i.e. F#, G#, A# etc.

Flat notes are located before the B, D, E, G and A notes but not before C and F. i.e. Bb, Db, Eb etc.

It's useful to know where they are on the fretboard.

These exercises will help you find them on the first few frets.

Play the ascending sharp notes F# G# and A#

Play the ascending sharp notes A# C# and D#

Play the ascending sharp notes D# F# and G#

Play the ascending sharp notes G# A# and C#

Flat notes are played when you play down the neck and the scale making them flat notes as opposed to playing up the neck and scale making the notes sharp.

So a Gb can also be called F# and an A# is a Bb etc..

It can be confusing using both shaps and flats but it doesn't strictly matter what you call them as long as you remember one or the other.

It can be confusing using both shaps and flats but it doesn't strictly matter what you call them as long as you remember one or the other.

Coming up - Your first few riffs....

You now have a better understanding of where sharps and flats are on the fretboard.

Exercises in the coming lectures;

• slides
• trills
• hammer-ons
• arpeggios

In this section your first few riffs will consist of a slide a trill, hammer-ons and arpeggios.

They will form the basis of your introduction to the bass guitar.

Use the previous exercises on note recognition to find where the notes are in the next few exercises.....

In this section your first few riffs will consist of a slide a trill, hammer-ons and arpeggios.

They will form the basis of your introduction to the bass guitar.

Slides can be used as fills at the beginning of a phrase in a song i.e.

• intro
• chorus
• verse
• or mid 8

Trills add rhythmic character to phrases consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone(one fret) or tone(two frets) apart.

A hammer-on is like a trill but slower.

They are used to make a riff more interesting and fluid-like.

Hammer-on exercise

Hammer-on exercise

Understand walking baselines.....

The following exercises are made up of walking basslines.

Walking baselines are played with your left forefinger and index (right for lefties) finger.

The first note is always the root note of the arpeggio.

Starting with your dominant forefinger on the first note and then your index finger on the second note alternate the two creating a walking pattern bass line.

They are used a lot in popular music especially when playing arpeggio riffs.

Arpeggios are groups of notes that are played one after the other.

They are the components of a chord.

Practice these exercises and get used to playing them as you will be using them extensively in all types of music.

Play and practice the E arpeggio riff

Play and practice the E arpeggio riff

Play and practice the A arpeggio riff

Play and practice the A arpeggio riff

Play and practice the B arpeggio riff

Play and practice the D arpeggio riff

Play and practice the B minor arpeggio riff

Play and practice the G arpeggio riff

Now you have your first few riffs, you're set up for the next section.

Armed with your arpeggios you will be able to play the following arrangements....

points covered -

In this section we'll cover;

. 12 bar blues arrangements

. Turnarounds

. play-a-long exercises

The 12-bar blues chord progression is the basis of thousands of songs, not only formally identified blues songs. The vast majority of boogie-woogie compositions are 12-bar blues, as are many early rock songs.......

Play the 12 bar blues arrangement using

• E arpeggio
• A argeggio
• and B arpeggio

Play the 12 bar blues arrangement using

• E arpeggio
• A argeggio
• and B arpeggio

Play the 12 bar blues arrangement using

• C arpeggio
• F argeggio
• and G arpeggio

A turnaround is a group of chords/arpeggios that repeat at least twice in a section of a song.....

A turnaround is a group of chords/arpeggios that repeat at least twice in a section of a song.

Quite often a whole song is made up from a turnaround.

Normally groups of three or four chords are used for turnarounds, this example is a four chord pattern or a 'Vamp'.

examples of a four chord turnaround are;

• Stand by me,
• Dianna,
• Oh Carol and
• This boy by the Beatles.

Play the Turnaround arrangement using

• D arpeggio
• Binor argeggio
• G arpeggio
• and A arpeggio

points covered -

1. 12 bar blues

Try this pattern in different keys

2. turnaround

This popular pattern can also be played in different keys.

Variation of a 12 bar blues arrangement in B.

You can also play a long to it using these arpeggios.

• B arpeggio
• E argeggio
• and F# arpeggio

Take a look The Slap Bass Formula. If you want a go at slap bass, here's a preview of whats in store in the course.

All you need to get off the ground from the basics to the more advanced part of slap bass.

Take a look The Funk Bass Formula. If you want a go at funk bass, here's a preview of whats in store in the course.

All you need to get off the ground from the basics of funky bass grooves.