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Published:
July 21, 2020

Bass Guitar For Dummies

Overview

Way more than just the bass-ics

Whatever you're playing—funk, soul, rock, blues, country—the bass is the heart of the band. Bassists provide a crucial part of driving force and funky framework that other members of any and work off. From John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, to "The Pixies’' Kim Deal, to James Brown's favored bassist, Jimmy Nolan, bass players have made big names for themselves and commanded respect throughout music history.

In Bass Guitar For Dummies, Patrick Pfeiffer—who coached U2's Adam Clayton, among others—is your friendly guide to laying down the low end. Starting from the beginning with what bass and accessories to buy, the book shows you everything from how to hold and position your instrument to how to read music and understand chords. You'll develop your skills step-by-step until you’re confident playing your own solos and fills.

  • Sharpen skills with instructional audio and video
  • Discipline your play with exercises
  • Understand chords, scales, and octaves
  • Care for your instrument

Whether you're new to the bass or already well into the groove, Bass Guitar For Dummies gives you the thorough balance of theory and practice that distinguishes the titanic Hall of Famer from the just so-so.

P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you're probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Bass Guitar For Dummies (9781118748800). The book you see here shouldn't be considered a new or updated product. But if you're in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We're always writing about new topics!

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About The Author

Patrick Pfeiffer (New York, New York) is a professional bassist, composer and bass coach in New York City. Pfeiffer's former clients include Adam Clayton of U2, Polygram, Red Ant Records, Arista Records, and other major labels. He has recorded with George Clinton, Phoebe Snow, Jimmy Norman (Coasters), Paul Griffin (Steely Dan), Bernard Purdie (Steely Dan), Carlos Alomar (David Bowie), Mike Kissel's KMA All-Stars, and the Gary Corwin All-Stars to name a few. 

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bass guitar for dummies

CHEAT SHEET

The real fun and challenge of playing a bass guitar is that the patterns of the chords and scales never change, no matter what musical key you’re in. Memorizing the order of your bass’s musical notes can prepare you to tackle those chords and scales.Once you know the notes, you can master basic chords, 7th chords, modes, and solo scales and become a truly versatile bassist.

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The bass guitar, more than any other instrument, is at its best when tightly aligned with the drums. Together, the bassist and drummer develop the powerful grooves that drive the song by constantly listening and reacting to each other. Here are ten classic bass-and-drum combinations (sorted alphabetically by the bass player’s last name) that have enhanced a multitude of songs.
Certain bass players have made a lasting mark on the entire bass world, regardless of which genre of music they play. These innovators advance the instrument to new levels, influencing everyone who follows in their footsteps. Each of these bass players has a unique style; it isn’t easy to say how these giants have influenced one another, so they are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
In order to play bass guitar well, you need to acquaint yourself with some important chords and modes (scales). A basic understanding of music will help you master these approaches, but here’s an overview of what you need to know: Basic chords, or triads: These consist of the three most important notes of any musical scale: root (1st), 3rd, and 5th.
The real fun and challenge of playing a bass guitar is that the patterns of the chords and scales never change, no matter what musical key you’re in. Memorizing the order of your bass’s musical notes can prepare you to tackle those chords and scales.Once you know the notes, you can master basic chords, 7th chords, modes, and solo scales and become a truly versatile bassist.
The Beatles hold a special place in music as Sir Paul McCartney forever enhanced the role of the bass guitar in modern songs. When you're in a session or on stage and need to make a snap decision about what style to use, refer to the following list for inspiration on bass accompaniment. Simply choose the Beatles tune that most closely mirrors the style you're about to play, and then adapt that bass technique to your song.
Some items make your life as a bass player easier (and sometimes more fun), but often you can function without them. Bassists generally prefer a clean sound, so they aren’t as likely as guitar players to use all kinds of effects (gadgets that alter the sound). However, here are two useful effects items that bassists do often use: A chorus unit: A chorus unit makes your bass sound like two basses played simultaneously.
As a bass player, your job is to hold down the groove and keep the sound of the band tight, and that’s best accomplished with a clean sound from the bass. But for a little special effect during a bass groove or solo, you may want to audition some other pedals besides the chorus unit and the volume pedal. Here are examples of other effects pedals you may want to use: Flanger/phase shifter: These devices create a whooshy, swirly sound, similar to the Hammond organ.
Cooking up a successful practice session on your bass guitar requires specific ingredients. Otherwise, you may spend half a day noodling away without making much progress. Here is a list of drills and skills to include each time you decide to practice: Permutations: These exercises help limber up your fretting hand and increase coordination.
The single most important question to ask yourself before buying a bass is: “What do I want in a bass?” The following are some key points to consider when choosing your new instrument: Feel: The bass needs to feel good to you. Actually, it needs to feel good to your hands. You don’t have to be an expert to determine whether a bass is right for you.
When you strap on your bass guitar for the first time, sit down to do it. Adjusting the strap is easier this way. Ideally, the strings of the bass should cross over your belly button at a slight angle upward (up on the neck end). This position ensures optimum right- and left-hand coverage, and it works well regardless of whether you're standing or sitting.
Blending a bass line means choosing the notes you play so they support the song perfectly without being overly noticeable. It’s almost like the hidden beams in the ceiling of a modern house — you don’t see them, but if they weren’t there, the roof would collapse. A bold groove, on the other hand, has a much more obvious role in a tune.
Playing grooves on the bass guitar is an elusive art form. It takes a long time to figure out what makes a groove…groove. Yes, there’s a method to the madness, and a science to the art. A few basic guidelines The following list gives you a few basic guidelines to remember when you’re creating any groove: Choose notes from the appropriate scale for the chord.
Fills are mini-solos that give bass guitar grooves a little flash every now and then. It gives the bass guitarist a little bit of variety and individuality. The purpose of the fill is to Lead you back to the beginning of the groove Give your line (the bass part you’re playing) some variety Fill a little space when the rest of the band is quiet A fill works the same way as a solo: You use the minor pentatonic scale as a fill when playing a minor chord, the major pentatonic scale as a fill when playing a major or dominant chord, and the blues scale as a fill when playing any chord.
Double your pleasure when you double your bass line (musical phrase) with someone else, usually the guitar player or the keyboardist. Unison is very popular in hard rock and progressive rock styles, but it was also used much earlier by Paul McCartney in tunes such as “Day Tripper” (where he doubles the guitar line) and the more subtle “Drive my Car” (he doubles the guitar on that one as well).
Imagine that you’re getting together with a bunch of other musicians or bass guitarists to play some music. The guy in charge says, “Let’s jam in D7.” (He’s talking about playing in D dominant.) Don’t panic. The following list gives you some guidelines for determining what notes to play during a D7 jam.Determine the root of the chord.
Creating a fitting groove to a song is what bass guitarists do most often. It’s also the most complex accompaniment technique and could fill an entire book. But, since you don’t have time for that, check out these quick tips. All you have to do is choose the style of the groove and decide whether to make your groove bold or blending.
Say you’re jamming away with the band as a bass guitarist on a minor groove, when all of a sudden the guy in charge yells (with uninhibited enthusiasm), “Let’s jam in D major!” Hmmm, does he really mean major? Here’s the way to respond to that enthusiasm.Determine the root of the chord.In this case, the chord is D major (D Maj or D Maj7), so the root of the chord is D.
You’re playing with the band as a bass guitarist, jamming on a dominant groove …but wait …what if the guy in charge yells, very enthusiastically, “Let’s jam in D minor!” Uh, oh…a minor adjustment is in order. Relax. Here’s the process:Determine the root of the chord.In this case, the chord is D minor (Dm or Dm7), so the root of the chord is D.
Tunes are divided into phrases. Bass guitarists can recognize a phrase by listening to singers — they tend to take a breath between each phrase. Phrases are divided into measures (bars), and measures are divided into beats (or clicks of the metronome). In most tunes, four clicks of the metronome equal one measure, and four measures equal one phrase.
After you understand the four types of musical notation, the next step to playing the bass guitar is to find out where the notes are located on the bass neck. It’s also good to know what these notes look like on paper. Finding notes over the entire bass range can be challenging (but not impossible), because each note occurs in at least two places on the neck of the bass.
Any of your patterns (except for the open E and A scales) work in all keys on the bass guitar. Because you can transpose these patterns to any key, all you have to do is nail the root with the proper finger of the left hand (usually the middle finger for the major patterns and the index finger for the minor patterns), and you're in position.
An interval is the distance between two notes on a bass guitar. For example, in the scale of C, the distance from the root C up to F is four notes (C, D, E, F), so the interval is called a 4th. When you identify an interval, you count the original note (C in this example) as well as the final note (F). Musicians communicate with interval terminology: “Hey, try a 4th instead of the 5th on the G chord,” which means: Play the G with a C (an interval of a 4th) instead of the G with a D (an interval of a 5th).
Bass guitarists often play several notes of a chord simultaneously, but first, you must start with the triad. The triad is the basic chord form, consisting of the three most important notes of any scale: the root, 3rd, and 5th. This structure is called a triad because it has three notes. You can find the notes for the triad by playing any scale up to the 5th note, skipping every other note.
Country rock tunes tell a story — and the story needs to be heard (just think of Garth Brooks). This means that you, as the bassist, take a back seat in country rock. In the bass groove for country rock, the root and the 5 dominate. Here is a root-based groove for country rock. Even though it’s a simple groove, it’s one of the most popular grooves used in country music.
You may need to enhance a simple groove on the bass guitar rhythmically, but none of the notes, chromatic or modal (from the mode), seem to be quite right. You may feel that the bass line needs something more to really bring the music to life. Enter the dead note. A dead note is a note that’s heard as a thud without any pitch.
Bass guitarists can really mix it up with funk shuffle grooves. Funk shuffle (also called shuffle funk) is a hybrid groove style, which means that it combines several elements of other styles — funk, blues, and jazz. When funk, which normally uses straight sixteenth notes, is combined with blues and jazz, which use triplets, the resulting combination is a lopsided sixteenth-note groove (a combination of long and short notes) — a very cool combination.
Fusion is the merging of two or more styles of music, and can be applied to grooves on the bass guitar. Fusion generally refers to the combination of rock rhythms and jazz harmonies, but any combination of styles is possible. Fusion-style bass playing is intricate and complex, and full of nervous energy and fast notes; its deep grooves allow you to really rock the joint.
Hard rock, which includes progressive rock along with metal and its numerous offspring, is the fastest category of rock you can play on the bass guitar. The rhythm is hard and driving, and the tempo can be downright wicked (as in superfast). You may frequently encounter sixteenth notes and odd meters in this style.
Hip-hop entered the music world in the 1990s. This style features a fat (“phat”) bass groove that sounds more laid-back than some of the other funk styles. Hip-hop is all about the message; the bass groove provides an important but unobtrusive accompaniment to the vocals. Although the bass line isn’t busy, it’s well timed and repetitive.
In the bass world, what do Johann Sebastian Bach, Procol Harum, Percy Sledge, Elton John and, oh, yeah (or rather “yeah, yeah, yeah”), The Beatles have in common? Highly successful songs that take advantage of inversions via a descending bass line. Quite an assortment of genres, isn’t it? Bach’s “Orchestral Suite No.
Here, you will be walked through playing the inversions for the C major chord on the bass guitar. You can use these same patterns for any major chord inversion. In these examples, the octave is added to the C major triad, so you play four notes — root, 3, 5, and octave (C-E-G-C) — rather than three. Here, you see the major chord with C as the root, called the root position.
Minor chord inversions on the bass guitar work on the same premise as major chord inversions. Here, you will be walked through playing the inversions for the C minor chord. You can use these same patterns for any minor chord inversion. In these examples, the octave is added 1to the C minor triad, so you play four notes — root, ♭ó3, 5, and octave (C-E♭ó-G-C) — rather than three.
For pop rock, the bass guitarist needs to support the vocals. The term pop is short for popular music, which refers to a style of rock that’s popular with a wide range of the general population. For example, have you ever heard of a band called The Beatles (with Paul McCartney on bass)? How about Elton John? (Several bassists play with Sir Elton, but the great Pino Palladino and Dee Murray stand out.
Bass guitars are versatile instruments. They fit in with almost any style of music, including R & B. R & B (rhythm and blues) originated in the late 1940s and is often referred to as “R & B/Soul.” It’s still one of today’s most popular styles of music. R & B is dominated by session players — musicians who record with numerous artists.
You can play reggae style grooves on the bass guitar. Reggae music is most often associated with Jamaica and the Caribbean islands. The trademarks of reggae bass are a thuddy sound (short, dark notes) and syncopation — offbeat rhythms (usually spelled and pronounced “riddims” by reggae musicians). Aston “Family Man” Barrett (who played with Bob Marley) and Robbie Shakespeare (who played with Peter Tosh) are two giants of reggae bass.
Rock ’n’ roll refers to the style of rock that originated in the 1950s and ’60s (think Elvis Presley or Buddy Holly). The bassist maintains a quarter-note or eighth-note rhythm and a distinctive melodic bass line that spells out the harmony for the band and the listener. The example uses one note — the root — with an eighth-note rhythm.
Swing style grooves can be accomplished easily with the bass guitar. Swing style originated in the late 1920s and early ’30s. The style of the Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman bands typifies the music of the early swing era. Bands like The Brian Setzer Orchestra bring swing to today’s music scene. In swing style, the first note of the two eighth notes in each beat is slightly longer than the second — long, short, long, short — and it gives the feeling of…swinging.
Two of the most common approaches to a killer bass line are the straight and syncopated rhythmic styles. In both cases, the harmony of the bass part stays pretty much on one note, usually the root. Where they differ is in their rhythm. In straight rhythm, the notes are played on the beat; in syncopated, some of them are played between the beats.
It's about time to apply all the theoretical stuff and play some music on your bass guitar, wouldn't you say? With sheet music, you usually get one or two different notational devices to work with, such as notes and tablature, or a chord chart and a vocal chart. Behold, here is a special treat for you. You get to read and play “Two Too Tight Shoes Blues,” using all four notational systems in the same song.
A metronome is a device that helps bass guitarists and other musicians develop good rhythm. Metronomes come in many shapes and colors, but they all have one thing in common: They give you a steady clicking sound on which to base your timing. Like a very loud clock tick, the metronome produces a steady beat. You can adjust the speed of the click to suit your needs.
You want your left hand to cover one fret per finger without causing any undue stress. By using one finger per fret on your bass guitar, you set up your hand to execute almost any musical figure without shifting, or moving your hand position to reach a note. (A figure is an independent and self-contained musical phrase, sort of like a sentence when you're speaking.
The name finger-style refers to your striking the strings on your bass guitar with the index and middle fingers of your right hand. You can hear this style in country, rock, jazz, and funk — and just about any other type of music. Jaco Pastorius, James Jamerson, and Francis Rocco Prestia are only three of the multitude of bassists who use this technique.
Some players prefer to use a pick rather than their fingers to produce a note. Because the strings on a bass guitar are much heavier than those on a guitar, your bass pick needs to be heavier as well. You can hold the pick in one of two ways: closed or open. To set your hand properly for closed-hand pick playing, follow these steps: Hold your pick between your index finger and thumb.
The technique of playing slap-style or thumb-style on a bass guitar is to strike a low string with the side of your thumb, giving it a percussive sound (a sharp attack and decay of the note, like a drum), and then to snap (or pop) a high string with your index finger. Here's how you do it: Make a light fist with your right hand.
Raking across the strings of your bass guitar is a great, natural way to incorporate dead notes into your playing. Raking means striking a string with your right-hand index or middle finger and then striking the next lower (thicker) string with the same finger. You can rake across several strings with the same finger in one rake.
As you read this sentence, notice that you're not reading letter by letter; you're reading words. When playing the bass guitar, you read music the same way. Music notation is recognizable in chunks of notes (or musical words).Certain chunks tend to be repeated again and again, and you can train your eyes to recognize these patterns.
Reading music is nothing for bass guitarists to be afraid of. You don't even have to read music to be a good (or great) bass player, but it certainly enriches your musical experience and opens doors that otherwise may remain shut. When you solve the mystery of reading music and discover the joy in it, you may find yourself reading Bach preludes instead of a novel before going to sleep.
The 5th-fret tuning method is the most common method for tuning bass guitars. If you're playing with other people, be sure to get a reference pitch for the E string (the lowest and thickest string) from one of the other tuned instruments, and then tune that string before tuning the others. The following steps explain how to tune your bass by using the 5th-fret method: Using one of the fingers on your left hand, press the tuned E string down at the 5th fret.
The 7th-fret method is similar to the 5th-fret method for tuning a bass guitar, but it works in reverse (from high to low). You need to tune your G string (not your bathing suit, but the highest, or skinniest, string on your bass) to a reference pitch from a tuned instrument (if you're playing with others). When you have the G string in tune, press it down at the 7th fret.
Harmonics are notes that sound naturally on a string when you lightly touch it at certain points on the bass guitar and then strike it with your right hand. Because the bass strings sound so low, the higher harmonics are much easier to hear. The strongest and clearest harmonics can be found at the 12th fret, the 7th fret, and the 5th fret.
When you play a bass line, you’re not limited to the notes in the main modes; you can supplement them with notes outside the mode. The extra notes that fall within the box — the chromatic tones — are the most convenient notes for supplementing your modes.Chromatic tones normally refer to any sequence of notes moving in half steps, either up or down, one fret at a time.
A good groove on the bass guitar can make you tap your feet, bob your head, and snap your fingers. A groove is constructed of several elements, the first being the groove skeleton, and you can use these different elements to create your own earth-shaking grooves. Groove skeleton basics The first two notes of any groove are referred to as the groove skeleton.
The six-note blues scale is one of the most commonly used scales in bass guitar soloing — and with good reason: It’s comfortable to play, it’s easy to move from chord to chord, and it sounds great. The blues scale is a one-size-fits-all scale, no matter what the chord tonality (major, minor, or dominant). However, as with those one-size-fits-all pieces of clothing, the blues scale doesn’t always give you a perfect fit; you may have to move a note or two by a fret.
Luckily for the bass world, Paul McCartney was one of the lead vocalists in The Beatles, and he learned to take the entire song — melody, lyrics, and all — into consideration. Most people want to hear the melody and lyrics of a song; they don’t want the bass in the way. Sir Paul developed an uncanny feel for when to get busy on bass and when to just support the vocals.
The job of your left hand is to press down on the string at the appropriate fret on the bass guitar, which gives you the desired pitch, while the right hand strikes the same string simultaneously, producing the sound. Get ready for one of the best exercises you'll find for bassists. The finger permutation exercise gives you a workout for every possible combination of finger sequences on your left hand.
The following steps take you one step closer to creating music on your bass guitar and introduces accents into your playing. For musicians, accents refer to making some of the notes you play stick out from the rest. Accenting a note means making it slightly louder than the others. To accent a note, just strike the string slightly harder.
When you play notes on the same string of the bass guitar, you need to be able to alternate between your index and middle fingers so you can play notes in rapid succession and with an even tone. The following steps show you how to practice these same-string strokes: Using the index finger (i) or middle finger (m) of your right hand, strike the lowest string.
The final stage of the right-hand warm-up for the bass guitar is called string crossing. How do you cross the strings? It's really, very straightforward. Just remember the following rules: Alternate the middle and index fingers of your right hand when you're striking the same string. Alternate your middle and index fingers when you're crossing from a lower to a higher string (that is, the lower to the higher string in terms of pitch).
You can do your own minor repairs to your bass guitar to keep it in top-notch playing condition — tweaking a few screws, touching up a bit of finish, soldering a couple of electronic connectionszzzzzzzzzap!...well, maybe not the electronics. The screw(s) The parts of the bass guitar are held together in two ways: with glue and with screws.
You can buy a multitude of bass guitar gadgets, but the question you always want to ask yourself is, "Will this make me a better bass player?" One gadget that's guaranteed to make you a better player and can certainly enhance your practice session is a phrase sampler, also known as a looper. The looper is a great tool to incorporate into your practice routine.
When you're playing alone, it doesn't matter whether you're bass guitar is in tune with the rest of the universe, but you do need to have all your strings in tune with each other if you want your music to sound harmonious. You can use any of the following sources to tune your bass. A tuner Using an electronic tuner is by far the easiest way to tune your bass.
When you play with other musicians, you need to get your bass in tune with their instruments. You can tune all your strings by comparing them individually with the appropriate note of the same pitch from an instrument that's already in tune, such as a piano. However, you should consider getting just one string in tune with the reference pitch and then using your tuned string as a reference pitch for tuning your other strings.
Bass guitarists choose notes from a scale, an orderly ascending or descending sequence of notes, to create their music. The most commonly used scales have seven notes, beginning with the root (the first note). The eighth note (the octave) in the sequence sounds similar to the root, but it's a higher root. A chord is a combination of three or more notes taken from a scale.
For bass guitar players, a strong and limber left hand makes playing the bass more comfortable and enjoyable, and it helps in tackling complex chords and scales. A good exercise for the left hand is the following permutation exercise: 1 stands for the index finger. 2 stands for the middle finger. 3 stands for the ring finger.
When the electric bass guitar became a commercial success with the introduction of Leo Fender's Fender Precision Bass in 1951, musicians were trying hard to find a unique niche for the voice of this revolutionary new instrument. Is it a guitar with lower pitch? Is it a small upright bass? What exactly does it do that's so different?
Knowing the sequence of musical notes is basic to understanding how to play music. On a bass guitar, each note (including sharps, #, and flats, ♭ó) is one fret, or a half step, away from the note next to it. Knowing how to read music is not nearly as important to bass players as it is for classical musicians. However, if you have a basic understanding of chords and scales and memorize the order of the notes for your bass guitar, it will go a long way toward helping you know how to place your fingers when someone shouts for an “E” or an “A.
With all these scales at your fingertips, you get more choices in terms of flavor, or color, when playing your bass guitar. Or you can think of it as starting with the same basic cooking recipe but adding different flavors (different sounds) to change it slightly. In almost every song, one mode predominates. (Mode is simply a fancy word for scale.
The amplifier (or amp for short) is the unit that boosts the electronic signal of your bass guitar and sends it to the speaker, which takes the signal and converts it into sound. The speaker is just as important as the amp. In fact, if you don’t have a speaker attached to the amp, nobody will be able to hear you.
Thanks to the Internet, you can be in Seattle reading about a very cool bass guitar that’s patiently waiting in southern Florida for someone just like you. However, don’t buy a bass on the Internet without trying the model in a local store first. When you have a pretty good idea which bass feels and sounds the best to you in the store, concentrate on that model when you shop online.
Visiting the biggest music store in your area, where you can look at the most bass guitars in one place, is the best way to start your search. You can check out the small music stores after you’ve settled on a bass. You can always ask for recommendations. Just remember, you’re the one who’s going to play it, so make sure you choose what’s best for you.
You need to decide how much money you can afford to spend on a bass guitar so you still have some left for an amp, a cable, and a few other essentials. You can certainly play a bass guitar without an amp — you just won’t be able to hear it…and neither will anyone else. If you feel that your commitment level is strong, buy a bass that can keep up with you throughout your playing career.
Keeping your bass guitar happy is really quite simple. If you’re comfortable, your bass will be comfortable. You want to keep it out of direct sunlight, and you want to keep it out of the snow — at least for any extended period of time. The safest place to keep your bass is in its case, but then it can be kind of a hassle to get to when inspiration strikes.
You can call it a bass guitar, an electric bass, an electric bass guitar, or just a bass. All these labels crop up in discussions of music and musical instruments, and you may encounter individuals who believe that only one of these labels is correct. But it doesn't matter which term you choose, because they all refer to the same instrument.
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