Online Bass Guitar Lessons: Increase Your Playing Level
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009Are you serious about wanting to improve you bass guitar playing? If you are, then one of the most productive things you can do is work on your scales. It has even been said that the level of your scale playing pretty much determines the level of your bass playing overall! I have designed these exercises to help you to develop a more accurate sense of rhythm and to improve the speed and agility of your bass guitar scales.
Bass practice with fretboard patterns should include things such as the use of sweep picking with the 3 note per string pentatonic scale in the rock or blues bass style. You want to be able to practice with many different scales patterns as possible so that you are able to execute the runs and licks and lead lines of a wide variety of bass players and style of music that you personally are interested in.
There is little that proves more daunting for young bass players than realizing just how physically demanding it is to play bass. As novices watching our favorite bassists on video we think, “That doesn’t look so hard! I can do that!”
For instance, you’ve already heard about “slap bass” for sure. Slap is a very common technique and, because of the use in rock situation it has became one of the most popular technique in bass playing nowadays.
Besides, this will give you a chance to expand your instrument sound range, giving it more depth and compression. There are different variations of slapping the string. Slap bass techniques are commonly found in all types of music, but most notably in the funk, Latin and pop styles.
Hand Positioning: When playing the slap bass technique you must first make sure your hand is in the proper position or else it will be hard and awkward to play this style well. First, bend your arm at the elbow so it allows you to rest your thumb on the low E string.
Keep the end of the thumb of your left hand in the middle of the back of the bass neck. Keep your left thumb perpendicular to the neck. When reaching for notes, don’t let your thumb go parallel to the neck; shift position instead
A bass guitarist/bassist is like the anchor of a band. He/she outlines the harmony of the music being performed, while simultaneously indicating the rhythmic pulse of it. The bass guitarist is like the lifeblood of any band, and the bass guitar is his/her tool of choice, used to mesmerize audiences. A bass guitar is a bass stringed instrument that is played with the fingers.