Guitar 101: Bass Guitar | Blog
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Let's take a glance at the fundamentals of the bass guitar, its history, and its various types prior to examining the methods you can follow to master the instrument.
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What Is an Bass Guitar?
Bass Guitar Origin
Different types of bass Guitar
Bass guitars are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Here are a few points to take into consideration when selecting your bass guitar:
Electricity vs. Acoustic
The most well-known type for bass guitar is the electronic bass guitar. It is a body that is solid with a number of pickups that convert the strings' vibrations into electrical signals. Bass guitars that are electric produce low levels of sound and must be connected into an amplifier.
There's also the acoustic guitar, which can be played with or without an amplifier.
The number of strings
Most bass guitars have four strings, but there are also 5-string and 6-string choices. They offer greater flexibility however, they can be difficult to learn, and so many beginner players stick to four strings.
Scale Length
The length of the scale refers to the length of the vibrating part of the string. There are bass guitars that have larger scale lengths that others. This difference not only affects how comfortable they feel to carry and play as well as the bass guitar sounds they produce.
Fretted vs. Fretless
A majority of bass guitars are fretted, that is, they've got bars of metal that run vertically across the fretboard, helping to aid in finger placement. Fretless guitars don't feature these bars and bass players have to depend on their muscles to decide which strings to be pressing down.
How to Play a Bass Guitar
Step 1: Tune the Bass
The bass guitar with four strings is tuned to the same notes as the bottom four notes on a standard guitar, namely E-A-D-G. G being the bottom (top string) and G as the top (bottom string).
Step 2: Practice Picking Strings
If you're a right-handed person, your right hand will be the pick hand, while the left hand is the one who frets.
Put your thumb on your right hand on the leftmost pickup , and begin picking the E string, alternating your index and middle fingers.
Utilizing your left hand, make sure you are pressing your fingers along the E string in various locations along the fretboard in order to alter the pitch.
You can do the same on the other three strings.
Step 3: Try to practice muting Strings
One of the most important aspects to master is to play a string with out getting in the way of the other strings or causing interference. Bassists do this by muting the strings they don't want to use.
- If you're on with the string E, the chances of hitting the lower strings are quite low.
- If you're playing the A string place your fingers over the E string to muffle it.
- If you're on the D string place your thumb on the A string, and then tilt it so that it touches the E string.
- If you're on in the G chord, rest your thumb on A and E while placing your ring finger onto the string D.
You'll also need to mute the same string you just selected if you don't wish the note to continue to play.
Step 4: Master Theory
Start by getting familiar with where the notes are located on the fretboard. Take for instance, the E string, without touching anything on the fretboard to play the note E. Use your finger onto the fret that is first in order to play the F then move to the second fret and play, and the third fret to F# then on and on.
Step 5: Practice Scales
If you're ever improvising alongside other musicians Your knowledge of scales can help you discover the right notes that enhance what they're playing.
Step 6: Learn Additional Techniques
Step 7: Learn to Read Tabs
If you're ready to start playing the real thing, you'll need to look up tabs. They are simple drawings which include the four strings and show where they should be pressed onto the fretboard. They can be found in books and online. The tabs don't show the length of each note, so you need to know the rhythm of the song before you try to play the song.
Step 8: Try Learning via ear
You won't always be able to access tabs or sheets of music for each track you'd like to study Learning to play by ear is a great skill to have. Listen to the bass lines of your favourite tunes and then try imitating the bass lines.
Do as much practice as you Can
Learn to Play the Bass Guitar
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