Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
By Patrick Pfeiffer
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. And while
you’re working on those chords and scales, use playing exercises to strengthen
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
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
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
Basic chords, or triads: These consist of the three most important notes of
any musical scale: root (1st), 3rd, and 5th. You can find the notes for the
triad by playing any scale up to the 5th note, skipping every other note.
7th chords: A 7th chord has one more note than the triad — the 7. The
sound of a 7th chord is a little more complex than the sound of a triad, and
predominates. Mode is simply a fancy word for a musical scale. Know the
mode you’re playing in, and you’re well on your way to providing great bass
Solo scales: A solo scale is exactly what it sounds like — a scale you play
when you’re soloing or the featured player in a band. Solos are usually
Following is a readily accessible diagram of the most important chords and modes
for your bass playing endeavors. The open circles on each diagram represent the
root of a chord or scale — the starting point for your fingers. The black dots
You only need three strings to complete an octave, thus the three string diagrams
presented here — even though your bass has four or more strings.
STRENGTHENING THE LEFT HAND TO INCREASE BASS PLAYING
VERSATILITY
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:
Simply play through each column on every string and notice how your hands
become more and more coordinated and limber. The numbers represent the
By Patrick Pfeiffer
Playing bass guitar well, much like playing any other musical instrument, requires
practice. And how do you practice? You play exercises, often over and over, until
you master them. Fun, no? You’ll have an easier time mastering bass guitar
exercises if you understand how to read music and tablature and have a basic
Playing the bass guitar well means playing grooves. Everyone loves groovy bass
rhythms. Using the following figures (and lots of practice), you can play a perfectly
authentic groove in just about any of the main musical genres. Best of all, you can
do so using the same set of notes for each of the grooves. These grooves fit over
Knowing how to read music really helps if you want to play bass guitar. The
following figures present your main rhythms (with rest symbols included free of
charge) and the note names on the fingerboard of your bass. You also see how the
notes correspond to written music and tablature. With these figures, you now have
the tools to start reading music, literally becoming literate — on bass, that is.
.
Note values and corresponding rests.
.
HOW TO POSITION YOUR LEFT HAND FOR BASS GUITAR
Knowing proper left-hand position for bass guitar will make fretting chords and
fingering strings simpler because the left hand will be more comfortable. By
keeping it loose and relaxed, you’ll be able to fret the strings with the least amount
of effort. The proper position also enables you to play at great speed and with great
accuracy.
You want your left hand to cover one fret per finger without causing any undue
stress in your hand. This spacing will set up your hand to execute almost any
musical figure without shifting. When you do have to shift, a move of one fret in
Position your thumb so that it faces your index finger (or the area between your
3Bring your elbow in to the side of your rib cage (without moving your hand) until the
Although there are many popular right-hand bass guitar techniques, it is important
to learn how to position your right hand for finger-style playing, which is the most
flexible and widely used bass guitar technique, used in virtually all styles of music.
This technique also allows you to work more efficiently with dynamics (accenting
certain notes).
The name finger-style refers to the use of the index and middle fingers. 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
1.- Bring your right arm up while keeping your wrist, hand, and fingers
relaxed.
Keep your wrist at a 45-degree angle (approximately), keep your thumb facing your
index finger, and keep your fingers gently curved, with your fingertips pointing to
the floor. Bend your elbow and keep it slighty away from your rib cage.
pickup.
This position may take some time to get used to, but it keeps your hand and
shoulder in their most relaxed state. In this position, you can feel which string
[REMEMBER] The terms high string and low string refer to the sound of the
strings, not to the position of your hand. Your high string is actually the string
closest to your feet, whereas your low string is closest to your head.