Tips on Learning Bass Guitar?

Posted in learn guitar on 25. Jul, 2010

A tough learn guitar question this week. Let’s dive straight in

Question: Any tips for a beginner learning bass guitar?
Answer: Bass is a very instinctive instrument, since good bassists tend to be very rhythmically inclined. Many if not most of us learn by ear and start out by playing along with music that has prominent but simple bass lines. First, focus on the rhythm more than the notes. The simpler the song, the better. That will enable you to get comfortable with holding the bass and your role in the rhythm section. Repetition is absolutely essential, so play the same songs over and over until they become second nature to you. That will subconsciously make you familiar with where the notes are on the fretboard, as well. When you start adding songs to your repertoire, you’ll increase your familiarity with the fret positions and find it’s much easier to play without looking at your fretting hand. It just sort of happens naturally as you become more comfortable with your instrument. Once you’re able to match notes you hear within a few tries, you’ll be able to tackle more complicated songs in pretty much the same way.

Even if you get frustrated, stick with it. Most of us have a strange moment of epiphany when everything very suddenly falls into place. I played very simple, repetitive bass lines for a few months before my bass felt natural to me, but once it did, I found it relatively easy to learn more intricate songs. The biggest obstacles beginning bassists face is the desire to overplay. Adding too many notes to a song actually makes it sound worse, since bass isn’t a melodic instrument. But if you listen to the bass drum and use that as your guide, you’ll be able to lock into a rhythmic groove and then noodle around to match the chords of songs.

If you’re looking for an instructional program, Musician’s Friend has one that’s supposed to be great. I haven’t used it, but I have used the same company’s guitar DVDs and they’re phenomenal. I’m guessing the bass DVDs are structured similarly to the guitar ones, which contain everything you’d learn from years of private instruction but cost what you’d pay for two or three lessons. Here’s a link:

http://books-videos-music.musiciansfriend.com/product/Rock-House-Learn-Rock-Bass-Beginner-DVD?sku=501086

2 Responses to “Tips on Learning Bass Guitar?”

  1. umm179 says:
    July 25, 2010 at 12:19 pm

    The golden rule for learning any instrument is to just practice practice practice. If you don’t know the first thing about bass guitar or music in general you should probably get private lessons. There are also many helpful sites out there as well as youtube videos.

  2. mike says:
    July 26, 2010 at 1:21 am

    Practice, practice and more practice. If you can play with a drummer it really helps!

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