As I’ve stated on the homepage, I am a musician and one of the first instruments I started playing was the bass (piano was my actual first instrument, but I sucked so hard at it). One of the things that helped me improve was learning the basics. So here is a little info to help you get going.
4 Sting Bass basics
Strings and Notes
Fingering and Exercises
- Position your hand on the neck of the bass so that your index finger (1) is on low G (the 3rd fret on the E string).
- Spread your fingers so that each one covers one fret.
Cover one fret per finger.
- Press the notes that are under your fingers, one finger (fret) at a time, in order: 1 2 3 4 (the right hand strikes the string to sound each note).
- Repeat the process on the A string (the next string), the D string, and the G string.
- You are now finished with the first combination. Now you are ready to begin the next. The table shows you the complete list of left-hand permutations (all the fingerings starting with 1, and then 2, 3, and 4). Practice one column at a time, and repeat the steps until you do all the combinations (yes, all of them).
Something I’ve neglected to mention was that I play mostly by ear. It has only been in recent years that I have started diving into the theory aspect of music. I am one of those people, I would just here something and would follow along, but if you asked me “what note is that?” or “what key are you in?”, I could not tell you. So, I made a conscious decision to change that.
I am still learning and have so far to go but, I am honestly glad I learned the way I did. I have a greater appreciation of the knowledge of theory now than I believe I would have if I had learned it as a child. For those of you who are like me and started out playing by ear, I’m sure you too will agree.
As for our full fledged beginners, don’t be intimidated by all the information. Take it slow and go at your own pace. Let your instrument be an extension of yourself and the theory the coating that binds it to you. If music is truly your passion, it will stick one way or another.
Enough of my babbling. Enjoy the lesson and check the link.
Jai-prestige signing off
See the link below for more on this exercise.