Learn How To Play Bass Guitar Fast!

This is the first in a series of lessons whose focus is on constructing bass lines.

The main series of lessons presumes a small but amount of musical knowledge on the part of the listener; mostly some things about notes and time.

It also presumes you know how to read TAB. This pre-lesson is designed to teach that knowledge to anyone who doesn't already have it.



If you know how to find a C# on your bass, know what a quarter note rest is, and can read TAB, then you can skip the rest of this.

1. If not, or if the review will do you good, then read on!

A piece of music is composed of a series of notes. These notes are organized into sets of 12 notes called octaves, and each of these 12
notes has a name.

If you sit down at a piano, you'll see that it has 88 keys, 52 white and 36 black, and that each of these keys produces a different note.

The white keys all have one-letter names; the first one on the left (lowest note) is called A, the next one up is B, and so on. The seventh white key is called G, and the next white key, the eighth, is also called A; it begins the second octave. The ninth white key is B, the tenth C, and so on, until the 52nd and last white note, which is a C.

The black keys are named by their relation to the nearest two white keys,so each one has two names. First, they may be called "sharp", with the name of the white key below them: eg, the lowest black key is called A sharp, as it's immediately above A. There is no black key immediately above B; the second black note is C#, and so on up the keyboard. Second, black keys may also be called "flat", with the name of the white key above them: thus, the lowest black note can also be thought of as B flat, since it's immediately below the B.

Similarly, the black key between D and E can be called either D sharp or E flat. For now, you can treat the two names as interchangable.
An octave runs from A to G#, 12 notes (7 white keys and 5 black keys)and then the names repeat for the next octave.
Actually, the starting point doesn't matter: any 12 notes in a row (which will always contain 7 white keys and 5 black keys) are called an octave.
The strings of a bass are tuned to produce the 4 notes E, A, D, and G
(from thickest string to thinnest).

Thus, if you play an E on the piano,and the open E string on your bass, you'll get the same note.

If your hands are small and your fingers just don't reach, can't span four frets without having to jump all over the place, you might want to consider a bass with a smaller scale (string length).

For example, a regular sized bass has what is called a 34-inch scale. There are smaller basses, ones with a 30-inch scale and even smaller. These all make the same sounds as the regular size especially when they're played through an amplifier as are all electric basses so I'd recommend trying smaller ones at a local music store.

There's also a much smaller and incredibly unique bass with unusual latex rubber strings which is said to have a really good sound. It's called
the Ashbory made by DeArmond. It's very small (an 18-inch scale) and extremely lightweight. But
you have to have a lot of nerve to play it with other musicians because their teasing will never end.

There's also the Fernandez bass called the Nomad with a 25 1/2 inch scale. Very nice.

I have an Epiphone EB-O with a 30-inch scale and a single pickup and it sounds excellent! I've played Fender Precision basses and Jazz basses with 34 inch scales. They are the 'standards' of the Rock music industry because their sound is very punchy. But I never really liked them very much.
I just played them because other musicians wanted me to use them.



I recommend trying lots of basses at a music store and go with your own feelings about what feels best to you. It's better to have an instrument that's comfortable and easy to play rather than the biggest, baddest block of wood with strings around. Also, as you develop better and better technique you'll be able to make any bass sound good.

If you don't feel confident that your interest in music and bass playing will last, you might consider
buying a cheapo electric bass or renting one at your local music store instead of buying. I would not recommend buying or renting any other instrument that's cheap because when you are learning, a cheap instrument will hurt your learning process very much. However, I make an exception with basses. Cheapo basses can be found in the mail order catalogs or at your local music store. Buy one whose description catches your interest for around a hundred dollars. It won't sound bad at all. The difference in value between the sound of a thousand dollar bass and the sound of a hundred dollar bass is nowhere near nine hundred dollars. This isn't true for any other instrument.