How To Play Bass

Learn songs not scales

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What Bass Problems Are You Trying To Solve?

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This is a ‘feedback wanted’ post.

Reply by adding a comment – or a Facebook comment – and tell me what problems you are having in your bass guitar playing?

This will help give me an idea of articles/videos to create….so fire away below!

 

Comments

    • Hi James

      Metal isn’t my forte I have to admit…it’s not something I listen to, nor play. However bass playing is bass playing, and music is music, irrespective of genre.

      So can you be more specific – what precise problems are you trying to overcome?

      Paul

  2. Hi Paul,

    I used to practice a lot without a metronome, but recently I got to it. It came as a shock to me to find out how bad my timing actually was. I’d like to see some more tips and excercises to really ‘click’ into the beat.

    Another thing is that I would love to practice a bit more with a drum computer. I guess most drum computers are software these days (even emulated software from real ‘classic’ drum computers). I got Garage Band on my iPad. But I always get daunted by the programming part of drum computers. Perhaps you have some tips on how to get a simple beat out of regular drum computer software (or perhaps some free online version) for bass practice purposes.

    Cheers from Holland,
    Jerry

  3. What the easiest way to memorize all the pentatonic positions on bass, is it by the notes name, or count the frets. Thank you
    Louis

    • Louis

      Quick question: why do you want to learn and memorize all the pentatonic positions on bass? I’ m intrigued…what problem will this solve for you?

      Paul

      • Hi – Concur with Paul on this one… i took the time to learn all that stuff and while it has “some” value it does little for you when you sit in with a group and start to learn songs or worse you get a chance toplay a gig with a band and you sit on the root note all night because the ability to play songs is not quite there – just my opinion for what its worth……

      • Well Paul I have been playing bass for many years since the age of 14. I am now 58 yrs old, all the band that I have with in, like my bass playing. I have joined big band as well with 16 musicians and singers. I have taught myself to play bass by ear, lately I found out about the pentatonic scale, I do understand it very well, now I realise that pentatonic is exactly what I have employed in my bassplaying all the time, and major and minor scale, the only part that confuse me is the 5 positions they talk about, that is why I ask if they are very important to memorise them or is it worth concentrating on pentatonics.
        Thank you
        Louis

        • Louis

          The pentatonic scale is just ONE tool that should be in your toolbox for creating bass lines. The ‘5 Positions’ that are being referred to are basically scales formed by starting the pentatonic scale from a different note in the scale. So instead of starting at C, you could start at D. this would give you a scale (or position) of D, E, G, A and C. That’s what’s meant by the 5 positions.

          As to whether you should memorize all the positions….I’m not a great fan of rote memorization of scales as such. Pentatonic scales are good tools for fills, and runs – but bass lines made ONLY of pentatonic scales will get pretty boring pretty quickly. Ed Friedland’s book on Pentatonic Scales is a great one to study this one particular tool of the bass player’s toolbox.

          Paul

  4. HI Paul,
    Next to getting feel & routine again – and your video’s are helping a lot!- I followed your advice to take lessons. Learning the theory and learning to read notes and notations will help me to make real progress. After only 2 lessons I know this is what it takes to get my playing skills to the next level. Great advice and I enjoy your video’s! Thx. Ren

    • Rene

      Thanks for the comment. It’s definitely true that learning more – and more importantly, applying that learning – are a big part of what it takes to get better! Glad you’re enjoying the videos.

      Paul

  5. Hi Paul I sent an email from your contact page of your site asking about why you do not have the video for Amy Winehouse – Valerie on your site. As I did get it from you some time back but I can’t find it now. Thanks

    • Hi Brad

      The Amy Winehouse lesson was the monthly lesson for July. The monthly lessons get taken down when they next month is published. The only people who get access to the archives are the subscribers of First Bass And Beyond.

      paul

  6. Hi, Paul – I’ve really taken to your approach to bass guitar; learn songs rather than study theory. Here’s my question: what tips can you offer to help train the muscle memory in my fingers? I’m learning Paul McCartney’s great riffs in “Day Tripper”, and it seems like I can get the groove down only by endless repetition.

    • Tom

      As you get more accomplished you’ll find that you learn lines with fewer repetitions…but as you’re building upi your ability level you will need to put in lots of repetitions. And how many repetitions will depend on your ability level AND the difficulty level of the tune. I use ‘Daytripper’ as an example of building muscle memory in my bass for beginners course. (That 30 lesson course is a bonus for annual subscribers to my weekly magazine First Bass And Beyond).

      Paul

  7. Hi Paul, I love listening to funk and this is why I picked up a bass about 8 months ago, when I copy a simple funky riff I can get into it quite well for my level of playing but whenever I noodle about and come up with my own patterns I revert to more a “white” style of playing. Any ideas on some beginners funk basics or how to overcome my white musical heritage, a video on this would be perfect if other people have expressed the same problem. Keep up the good work, I have learnt a lot already from your tutorials, Cheers, Kev

    • Hey Kev

      Well what will be interesting for you is my next 5 or 6 tutorials – which are going to be disco/funk basslines. If you’re a beginner – and as you’ve been playing for only 8 months or so I’m assuming I know – then you’ve got these challenges to master:

      1. The rhythmic feel of the music (often notes are placed on off beats)
      2. Any physical demands in the actual playing.

      Often when you are getting your fingers around something you’re concentrating so much on the notes that they rhythmic aspect suffers. Working on improving your feel and rhythmic accuracy can be done by learning more tunes and playing them along with the original recordings. ‘Feel’ bass players worth listening to help with this include Bernard Edwards (Chic, Sister Sledge), Paul Jackson (early work with Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters) and Pino Palladino’s work with D’Angelo (a more contemporary, hip hip kind of feel…but still oozing with groove).

      So I’d say learn as many funk style bass lines as you can is the best way you can get started.

      Paul

  8. Hello- I am really having problems with off beats and slapping. i can’t seem to get the timing down and I just really dont understand the whole slapping thing. Thank you

  9. I get two different sounds when I strum the string at the same note depending on which finger i use to create the note. The notes from the string sound different when using my index finger than they dp when I use the middle finger. Thus, the song has two different tones when playing even the same notes. It abounds odd to have softer sounds mixed in with more twangy sounds in the same tune….suggestions?

    • David

      You’ll need to spend some time in the woodshed. Just focus on playing streams of 8th notes on the open strings – concentrate on strict alternation of the middle and index fingers and concentrate on trying to get the same volume with both fingers.

      It shouldn’t take too long to work that out. My suggestion is to play the middle finger on the downbeats.

      Paul

  10. Hi paul! I am from Holland. You now i play the Basgitar for ? time now and i like to learn how to slap and pul on mij gitar.

    • Hey Jude

      I don’t totally understand the question – but I don’t teach a lot of what would be called ‘current’ music. Mostly that’s because the bass parts are pretty crap from a musical perspective. Of course there are exceptions…but I don’t hear a lot of young bands with great bass players. Maybe I’m just a grumpy old fart and someone could post some examples that prove me wrong???

      Paul

      • Paul I am even older but find plenty of good new music; have you heard the two albums by “The Duke and the King”? Not especially hot bass, but interesting and great music.
        What about Wilco? John Stirratt (bass) is excellent imo on their latest album “The Whole Love”

  12. hi paul – i took up bass playing very late in life ,im 57 and i started 2yrs ago – i have never played any type of instrument before – i would like your opinion with regard to effects pedals etc – I feel i could do with a more fuller/fatter sound . i enjoy the lessons and the on-line magazine keep up the good work . cheers ray

    • Hey ray

      Before moving to effects pedals to try and ‘complete your sound’ I’d first try seeing if you can get closer to it with just your fingers. If you play nearer the neck and away from the bridge you’ll get a rounder and fuller sound.

      Also fretting notes with your fingertips can make a big difference too, without seeing your playing it’s difficult for me to say exactly.

      Paul

  13. Hi Paul, I have a problem playing by ear and trying to find notes to song i like to learn to play, this is a struggle for me. I have been playing bass for a long time, self tough and you would thank i play better than i do, but i love the bass so much i can’t give it up. I had a teacher about two yrs. ago, he just took my money and now i can’t afford one, so what should i do.

    • Hey jeffery

      I hear ya….and that thing about the teacher really annoys me. There are too many guys out there teaching as a gig – and often not doing a great job of it.
      Here’s the first question you need to answer in order to make progress:

      What do you actually want to achieve on the bass?

      Leave an answer and we’ll move forward from there!

      Paul

  15. I love jazz and r&b and that’s what i am trying to learn. There’s not a lot of bass music for jazz or r&b, I bought the r&b bass bible and it seems that some of the tabs in that book is wrong.

    • Hey Jeffery

      Are you trying to learn specific R&B songs? Or the stylistic elements of R&B?

      And what style of jazz are you trying to learn?

      (I ask another question because these are both BIG topic areas and the answers you give will affect advice I can give).

      Paul

      • Hi Paul
        Killer online content – HUGE thanks. Ok i,m with jeff on this one as well. We all know the blues feel and hook, with the signature 1345 ..so whats the Jazz equal signature…i have been experiments with 16#8 and the likes sometimes it feels like its close but mostly not….happy to learn more in this space

        • Rob

          The best book out there to learn walking jazz bass is Ed Friedland’s BUILDING WALKING BASS LINES.
          (And then when you’ve mastered that book, move onto the follow up EXPANDING WALKING BASS LINES).

          My only issue is that each topic is not explored in the breadth that it needs….I created a 30 Column Workbook to fix this called THE BUILDING WALKING BASSLINES WORKBOOK. I plan to add some video elements to it and make it a bonus for subscribing to First Bass And Beyond.

          But that’s for later in the year.

          Paul

  16. the bass playing problem i want solved is learning how to be more funkyer in using pentatonic runs and licks in my playing can u HELP!!

    • Hey Thomas

      My advice would be to model what works. Go through the funk repertoire and find the kind of licks and fills you like….then extract them from the songs and practice them in every key and in different chord qualities too. And then practice simple variations. And try transplanting one idea onto another idea….that should give you a good library of ideas to choose from.

  17. Hey paul, i have some trouble with putting all mij vingers (pink) on THE frets. What i mean is when i play my pink is always up in the air, but when i look at pro. players they are all there near the frets.
    Is there e training/exercise to master it.

    Carlo

    • Carlo

      Someone else posted a similar question on this. The answer is to some simple finger drills – but the key is to play them super slowly. I play them in whole notes (i.e. each note lasts for 4 beats) at 40 BPM. That is paint dryingly slow.

      But it allows you to focus on what you’re doing iwth your technique – and teach your brain what you want your fingers to do. Once your brain starts to learn this, then you deepen the learning with repetitions. And over time you will find what you are doing in ‘slo motion practice’ starts to naturally appear in your playing.

      There’s much greater detail on this – in both PDF and Video format – in my Bass For Beginners Course (30 Lessons) which is a bonus for subscribers to my weekly magazine First Bass And Beyond. (I do recommend checking it out…it works out at less than $2.50 a week).

      paul

  18. Hi Paul,
    I have played guitar, both acoustic and electric for 40 years (yikes!) and recently took up the bass which I always really wanted to play. I love it and am enjoying your videos and lessons – thank you! Do you have any specific lessons or suggestions to help with suppressing unwanted sound from strings that I am not playing? I think I’m doing better with it, as I just have a natural feel for what to do as I practice, but some tips would be most helpful. Thanks!

    Paula

    • Paula

      Thanks for dropping by. How do you ‘pluck’ the strings? As often, unwanted noise is a plucking hand problem? Let me know and I’ll give you some pointers.

      Paul

      • I started out playing as I often do on my 6-strings, with my thumb and index finger pinched together as though I am holding a pick, but using my index nail softly as a plectrum. I am now getting more comfortable with traditional bass fingerstyle with my index and middle fingers. Sometimes unwanted sound seems to come from my left hand inadvertently touching a string, or when unfretting a note.

        • Paula

          The technique of playing with your thumb and index finger pinched together is called ‘chucking’ in the bass world. If you search on the blog section of the website you’ll find a link to a video where a guy (forgot his name) explains how Bernard Edwards uses it on a tune called Everybody Dance. Very cool – my suggestion is that you keep that in your armoury!

          It’s possible that some of your ‘left hand problems’ are caused by guitar style fingering where you play much more with the ‘flats’ of your fingers. With bass, you get the clearest sound if you play with the tips of your fingers (like a cellist would). The natural arc of your fingers to play with the fingertips will take the rest of the finger out of the ‘contact’ area and should clean the sound up.

          When you ‘defret’ a note you do sometimes get a small clunk. If you listen to some isolated real world bass tracks you can often hear this…the minute you mix a track recorded like this in with some drums that tiny clunk will be inaudible.

          So you can either ignore it. Or if it really annoys you, then you can do muting with your right hand. This will require you to spend some time rejigging your right hand technique. Ultimately it will depend on what your bass playing goals are!

          HTH.

          Paul

          • Thank you very much, Paul. And I’m glad to discover that I have been “chucking” and not “cheating” as I always thought of it!

  19. Hello Paul—my goal is to play in a what is often called a power trio. Hendrix, SRV, ZZTop. I am currently playing in a 60’s-70’s cover band but it is mellow stuff. Besides learning the songs, any advice for getting better with that style??? Really enjoy your website and your teaching style. thanks, jay

    • Hey Jay (in Texas)

      Bet the weather is warmer over there than we’ve got over here!

      Learning the songs is a good start!

      The other thing I’d look at is how the bass players in those situations handle what happens when the guitar goes for a walk. How do they fill the sound when that happens?

      Here are some quick ideas (all of which I learned from Geddy Lee of Rush):

      1. For solo sections set up a unison riff that the solo leads from. That way when YOU Play the riff, but the guitar is soloing, the audience will ‘complete’ a fuller picture in their head of the sound because they will have first heard the riff played by you and the guitar.

      2. Use Important Chord Tones to state the harmony in a linear fashion. We’re talking 3rds, 5ths, 7ths. And maybe 6ths too.

      3. Consider going up an octave for solo sections – this moves your bass line into the sonic space vacated by the guitar.

      4. Double Stops and Chord sounds. You can also fill out the sound by adding some double stops or chords.

      But – and I emphasise this point – learn a good selection of the power rock repertoire first and as you’re doing that watch out for these ideas.

      HTH

      Paul

  20. Hi Paul,

    Oftentimes I have difficulty hearing and distinguishing certain notes that an electric bass is playing, especially those lower notes on the e-string when there are a succession of them played fairly rapidly!

    • Dude – we all have that problem!

      I’m assuming you’re talking about transcribing? If so, then use either Software or a Tascam Bass Trainer to slow everything down.

      And you can also use the software to transpose everything UP an octave – which makes the pitch easier to identify. (The technical reason those low notes can be difficult is due to the ‘clash’ of their overtones. When you pitch them up an octave the overtone series changes totally).

      Paul

    • Hey Lez

      Try this combination of things:

      1. Roll off the treble from your tone pots and boost the bass.
      2. Play closer to the neck and away from the bridge for a deeper tone.
      3. Use a strip of bath foam underneath the strings at teh bridge. (Watch some of my videos to see this).

      Just these three things – total cost, less than a dollar – will make a big difference. They work for different genres too.

      Paul

      • Hi Paul, would it be possible to have a few more reggae lessons? I’ve really enjoyed the Bob Marley lessons. Could i suggest Prince Fatty with Hollie Cook or toots and maytals but its all good

  22. Paul,
    Since most of the tab or transcriptions online are sketchy at best. (excluding yours of course), I think an issue worth discussing is “ear training”. Its an area I know I need work on and from the stuff out there, others would benefit from it also.
    Tom
    (From The States)

    • Tom

      I agree 100%. I started creating a course called ‘How To Transcribe’ as one of the columns in my weekly magazine First Bass And Beyond.

      But I abandoned it as I was unhappy with aspects of it….and i haven’t yet worked out how to redo it.

      Paul

  23. I first want to learn the elements of r&b and then how to create r&b songs. As far as jazz goes, I like smooth jazz, so i need to learn the elements of smooth jazz and how to create my own smooth jazz. I really hope you can help me. Jeffery

    • Jeffery

      Well….those two things are more interconnected than you think!

      The language of R&B was brought to us by James Jamerson with Motown. And I created a course – which you can find on the main website – called Cracking The Detroit Code. That course teaches you those elements in a systematic, step by step fashion.

      And the last lesson of the course looks at using those elements in different genres…one of which is a smooth jazz style version of the Marvin Gaye tune Mercy Mercy Me. I honestly believe that this course will teach you both of those things.

      (Also, the language that Jamerson brought to the electric bass IS the language of the electric bass. You can use it for all genres, not just Motown or R&B or smooth jazz).

      Email me if you have any questions about this.

      Paul

  24. Greetings,
    I was wondering if you had any songwriting tips. Once I find a riff that I like, I cannot find a worthy second riff. It just feels like one cool idea, then another part tacked on that is somewhat second-rate. I cannot get that magical great verse/great chorus combination. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
    Thanks

  25. Not a ‘problem’ as such but more a query. Often my playing stagnates and I don’t seem to be able to get to the next level of proficiency, however if I take a complete break away from the bass for a week or so, my playing seems to have improved immeasurably?

  26. I have two problems! My biggest problem is trying to read bass notes on sheet music. i get the basics of it but it just seems hard for me to flow during it. i feel like i have to look at the sheet music before i play it and write a letter next to it to know what it is if i want to read through it fast.

    My second problem is sitting with my bass and i want to play around with it and make some of my own bass lines but i find them to be boring and nothing that will flow right with my friends when we jam out. what can i do to get better at making my own basslines?