How To Play Bass

Learn songs not scales

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Bass Lessons For Beginners

Most of us who pick up the bass guitar do so for three reasons:

  • We Want to Emulate A Bass Playing Idol
  • We Want To Play In A Band With Other Musicians/Our Friends
  • A Combination of (1) and (2)

Most of us realize that trying to learn the bass without a teacher is reinventing the wheel. So we look for a teacher – either face to face, or online.

There’s a problem though with a lot of teachers

Most teachers start off by teaching beginner bassists how to play scales and arpeggios. And then two octave scales and two octave arpeggios. And once beginners know how to tune their bass and the correct plucking and fretting hand positions there are four topics they really need to get to grips with to start making progress on the bass.

Those four topics are:

  1. Fretting hand technique
  2. Plucking hand technique
  3. Learning ALL the notes on the bass for the entire fretboard
  4. Learning songs that provide practical applications of the above three items combined with rhythm

That’s it!

Now the first three items on that list is covered thoroughly in my How To Play Bass in 50 Songs program – currently closed but read this article and the ones that follow it:  https://how-to-play-bass.com/htpb50-6-things-practice.

If you’ve got a grasp of fretting hand technique, plucking hand technique and where the notes are on the bass and are looking for song tutorials as practical applications of this then don’t worry, we’ve got beginner level tutorials Here are the most popular, beginner level tutorials on How To Play Bass:

  • How To Play Bass To Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes
  • How To Play Bass To Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream
  • How To Play Bass To Walking On The Moon by The Police
  • How To Play Bass to House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals

Also there are beginner level bass lessons – as well as sight reading etudes, more song reading tutorials and other bass goodies –  in the free Members area here and you can register here (just costs your best email address):

How To Play Bass Free Members Area

 

Free Members Area

If you’re not registered for the free members area featuring song tutorials, sight reading etudes and more…here’s where to do it: https://how-to-play-bass.com/register/free-bass-lessons1

The Only 6 Things Bass Beginners Should Practice…

If you’re a bass beginner….check out the only 6 things you should be practicing: https://how-to-play-bass.com/htpb50-6-things-practice

How Paul McCartney Learned To Play Bass…

….and how you can too!

More here: https://how-to-play-bass.com/mccartney-bass

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