How to choose a bass guitar? The complete guide for the beginner bass player. Learning to play the bass guitar Tutorial for playing the bass guitar from scratch

None of the modern musical teams can do without an electric bass guitar. The bass guitar gives volume and solidity to the sound of the ensemble, along with strike group sets the rhythm and determines the style of the entire composition. In order for the bass guitar to really sound in your hands, training should take place under the guidance of an experienced teacher. Our School of Rock Music "Red Khimik" in Moscow offers a unique program, developed by experienced teachers, for learning to play this wonderful and fundamentally important musical instrument.

The learning process requires a person full dedication, showing great patience and perseverance. On the way to the goal, mistakes and failures, thorns and thorns will sometimes occur, but at the end of the path you will find a stellar dream come true - professional game on the bass guitar, the sound of which will not leave anyone indifferent. So, your time, your strength and money were not wasted.

Bass guitar: how to choose the right one

The choice of electric guitars in musical instrument stores is quite wide. It can be difficult for a beginner to understand this diversity on their own. If a guitar is chosen without your participation, it may not suit you for one reason or another, you may not like it, and, as a result, you may lose the desire to practice. Therefore, you need to choose a guitar carefully, taking into account the manufacturer (Schecter, Squier, Epiphone, ibanez or Yamaha), price category, as well as your personal preferences regarding its shape and color. What should be the characteristics and parameters of the instrument, the teachers at the School of Rock Music "Red Khimik" will tell you.

Distinctive parameters of bass guitars:

shape and color;

production material - soft or hard wood, graphite, lutite, combined from various materials;

number of strings - from 4 to 6;

scale length - the choice is determined by preferences in the dimensions of the instrument and the distance between the frets, as well as its sound characteristics;

the presence or absence of frets - depends on personal preferences and entry level preparation.

Whatever tool you choose, it should please you appearance, be comfortable and make you want to play on it.

Your own teacher: you can, but is it necessary?

It is quite possible to learn how to play the bass guitar from scratch on your own at home. By watching various video courses or lessons on the Internet and making a fair amount of effort, you can get a certain result. But will the time and effort spent correspond to the expected result?

For those with experience playing acoustic guitar, it will be much easier to master bass. The main thing is to master the bass guitar neck and find out its differences from the guitar neck. Particular attention will need to be paid to setting up the instrument.

It seems that everything is done according to the tutorial, but something does not sound like the instrument. Not at all like your favorite song performed by your idol. And there is no one at home to suggest what the problem is - there is no experienced mentor nearby.

How is training in a rock school

In our School of Rock Music "Red Khimik" an experienced teacher will always come to your aid, develop a personal program and educational repertoire. We offer training for both beginners and those wishing to improve their professional level.

Depending on the level of initial training, an individual training program is developed for each student. It contains the most necessary theoretical and practical skills for both beginner amateurs and growing professionals:

• correct positioning of the hands;
• how to tune a bass guitar;
• rules and techniques of sound production:
• with the help of a mediator;
• fingerstyle;
• slap and others.
• music theory - notes, rhythm, meter;
• harmony lessons - the study of chords and modes, their practical use;
• practical exercises help in:
• development of a sense of rhythm;
• coordination of movements and proper handling of the tool;
• confident mastering the fretboard of the bass guitar;
• technical development of hands.

What the school provides:

• classes without boredom and cramming;
• tangible results after 2-3 months of classes;
• understanding the function of the bass guitar in the ensemble;
• concert experience.

Teachers in the learning process as an example use bass parts from the best compositions famous musicians:

• Cliff Burton (Metallica);
• John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin);
• Jaco Pastorius;
• Ron Carter and others.

The curriculum includes classical musical works For example: Johann Sebastian Bach. In the educational process in the bass guitar class, teachers use various time-tested manuals: Yu. K. Andreev "School of playing the bass guitar", Chuck Sher "Improvisation on the bass guitar and double bass" and others.

Teachers pay great attention to practical exercises:

• at school, during which new exercises are dealt with with the student, homework assignments are repeated, and errors are analyzed and corrected.
• independent, when a student at home consolidates the acquired skill, bringing it to a consistently good result.

Theoretical training without reinforcement by practical exercises will not bring tangible results. Everything that the teacher told and showed in the lesson, the student needs to work out independently at home. It is advisable to do it little by little, but regularly, every day. Patience, perseverance and hard work will lead you to your intended goal.

What is the price

The price of a training course on any instrument is 9,000 rubles per month. This cost includes 4 theoretical and 4 practical classes in your chosen specialty. Each enrolled in the School of Rock Music "Red Khimik" is given one lesson as a gift.

How to enroll

To sign up for classes, it is enough to fill out the appropriate form on the website, indicating contact details. Our manager will contact you in a few minutes, answer all your questions and make an appointment with a teacher in the direction you are interested in.

If you wish, you can simultaneously study in two specialties, for example: bass guitar and piano, bass guitar and vocals. Experienced teacher advise you on how best to combine them and help organize classes.

Anyone can learn how to play the bass guitar well, even without musical skills. Your contribution is patience and work, we guarantee help and support. Welcome to the School of Rock Music "Red Khimik"!

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Our graduates

vocalist of the Moscow punk rock band "Cockroaches!"

Dmitry Spirin was born on February 22, 1975 in Moscow, where he graduated from school No. 665. Already in school years, namely, at the age of 12 he became interested in rock. As a teenager, Dmitry received his first musical education at the Krasny Khimik bass guitar school. At the same time, Dmitry earned money for his tool on his own, moonlighting as a loader at popular group"Cleopatra". At the same time, he began playing the bass guitar in the Kutuzovsky Prospekt group.

Yuri was born in 1974 in the capital of Russia - in Moscow. During his school years, he studied cello at the music school, but soon became interested in the guitar. Bands such as Metallica, Annihilator and Accept had a particular influence on the choice of instrument. And then I became even more imbued with the music of power metal-style bands. After school, he entered MTUCI at the Faculty of Radio Engineering.

Who is this course for?

This course is perfect for both absolute beginners and those who already have some experience playing the guitar (and not necessarily the bass).

You can learn how to play the bass guitar even if you are only interested in this instrument and have never tried to play "live". And even if you have never played the guitar (classical, acoustic, electric).

The course is combined with our other instructional videos. Therefore, if you have already studied with us, you will find yourself in an easy, relaxed atmosphere, where it will be familiar and easy for you to master the course program.

What does this course include?

Our course includes detailed exercises, techniques, tricks, tricks and everything you need to master this instrument. All information is presented in a detailed, understandable language.

Summary:

1. Bass guitar: history, features, structure
2. Setting
3. Bass guitar sound, pickups, sound approaches
4. Playing Manners, Plectrum vs Fingers
5. Playing bass with your fingers. Hand placement, sound production
6. Playing as a mediator. Strokes. Attack
7. Bass riffs as the basis of musical themes
8. Minor and major scales
9. Rhythmic game, drawings
10. Blues themes
11. String alternation. Busting game
12. String alternation. Playing in octaves
13. Rhythmic drawings part 2
14. reggae bass playing
15. Bass passages, advanced passages
16. Fast bass playing, correct technique, overclocking
17. Slap Basics
18. Bass chords
19. Tricks and examples of unusual sound production
20. Practice: an example of combining different techniques

What will you learn after completing the course?

After completing all the lessons of the course and completing all the exercises, you will master the bass guitar from scratch and will have the skills to play in a team, you will be able to compose your own bass parts, your own music.

You will master all the techniques necessary techniques games. You will master the game with your fingers and pick, you will be able to play rhythmically, cleanly, develop speed. You will learn how to interact with drums, you will be able to decorate your parts, starting from the accompaniment.

Who is author?

Hello, my name is Yakub Agishev and I am the author of this course. I have been playing electric guitar since 2004. I've been playing in bands for about 7 years. Started teaching in 2008. I spend individual sessions with students (both in person and online).

During my teaching time, I have accumulated quite a few great experience in terms of learning to play the electric guitar.

How to get a course?

The course is provided in in electronic format(get a link to the archive and download to your computer).

You only need to take 3 simple steps:

1. Click the yellow button below
2. Pay in a convenient way
3. Download the course to your computer

Important! During the checkout process, you will be offered our other courses at a discount. If you are interested in the topics of our other courses, then you can take advantage of this offer and get the courses with the maximum benefit.

Welcome to bass guitar school for beginners.

One of the important nuances in the production is the position of the instrument relative to the body. This nuance lies in the fact that the position of the bass guitar does not change, when practicing while sitting and when playing while standing. This can be achieved by choosing the right belt length. Thus, an invariable setting of both hands is formed. If you practice sitting at home, and change the position of the bass during a rehearsal or concert, then the position of the hands changes, which can lead to loss of speed, discomfort in the game, and even hand injuries.

An interesting fact: Leo Fender, when he created the first bass guitar - the Fender Precision bass 1951, thought that he would play it with the thumb of his right hand, and there had to be a nut to rest the rest of the fingers.

Fender Precision Bass - 1951

However, the main way of sound extraction with the right hand has been formed, when the string sounds from the pluck of the middle and index fingers of the right hand, alternating with each other. Designations of fingers:

The designations of the fingers of the right hand come from their Spanish names (p - pulgar, i - index, m - medium, a - anular, e - extremo.)

The first performers on the bass guitar were musicians playing the double bass or the guitar, so the technique of performing on this instrument was formed like these two instruments and acquired its own characteristics. So the left hand is identical to the classical guitar setting. And the right hand extracts with the fingertips (not with a fingernail), over time, a callous seal forms on the fingers, this contributes to the extraction of a better sound.

And unlike the guitar plucking of the fingers of the right hand in the tirando way - this is when the finger moves without relying on the adjacent string (i.e., when sounding, the finger does not touch other strings except the one on which the sound is extracted), the bass guitar uses - apoyando - this is when the finger, extracting the sound on the first (for example) string, stops after the sound extraction on the second string.

The thumb of the right hand serves as a support for the hand, always being on the pickup or low string. And when playing on the upper strings, it serves as an additional damper, preventing unwanted overtones from appearing on the lower strings, especially if it is a 5 or 6 string instrument.

The forearm of the right hand is relaxed and lies on the body of the instrument approximately in the middle of its length, so that it is easy to reach any string, and at the same time not changing this position much. Index or middle finger, having extracted sound on one string, reaches the “lower” string, resting against it, this serves as a support for the other finger and allows you to get a high-quality sound.

This must be taken into account in order to obtain accurate, active work of the fingers, elementary economy of movements. With the two-finger technique of sound extraction, the sound is extracted by alternating the index (i) and middle (m) fingers up and inside the palm. These movements should be well fixed in order to obtain the correct articulation: the evenness of the performance and the sound balance of strong and weak beats.

At the beginning of training, it is imperative and as often as possible to analyze with which finger we play strong beats, how the fingering changes when performing a syncopation or a dotted stroke. Basically, the strong beat is played with the first (index) finger, the weak beat with the second (middle) finger. At the same time, even pulsations are characterized by the presence of a strong share on the first finger. And when playing triplets, the accents alternate (imi-mim-imi-mim.)

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

When moving from the top string down to the next, you should muffle the sounded string with your left hand so that unnecessary intervals do not occur.

The choice of the location of the right hand is also important: at the bridge, the middle pickup and playing at the neck. Sound production in these three positions allows you to achieve a fundamentally different timbre and attack quality, which is necessary for playing in different styles. Picking up at the neck will allow for a "thicker, tighter" tone and longer sustain, which is typical of slow, ballad styles, and is also often used when playing a fretless instrument to achieve a typical, "meowing" sound.

The sound extraction at the bridge will allow you to achieve a “dry and clear” timbre, characteristic of more mobile bass parts, with a well-read pitch. Most often used to perform funk style.

Sound extraction in the middle will give a fairly universal timbre, respectively. Therefore, this position is most often used by bass players in their playing.

Of course, each musician develops an individual hand position, due to physiological differences, based on the characteristic features of his instrument, the style in which he plays, as well as personal convenience.

Position of the left hand

As with the right hand, the thumb is a support, it rests against the back of the neck, opposite the first and second fingers, which gives the hand sufficient stability. In this case, all ligaments of the hand (hand, wrist, forearm and shoulder) should be in a relaxed state. And try to control it as often as possible during homework.

The string should be pressed perpendicularly with your fingertip on the right side of the fret (closer to the metal strip of the fret), otherwise unwanted overtones and rattling may occur. Left hand should be accustomed to the position - this is when each finger is above its own fret, ready to pinch it. This arrangement of the fingers over the frets is called playing in position. To accustom the fingers of the left hand to this, press all the fingers at once and fix the position of the hand in this way for several minutes. Then add the right hand, extracting each sound in sequence.

In conclusion, I would like to note that this setting of the left and right hands is universal, it is used by most professional bass players around the world. Having worked out and consolidated the skills of such a performance, you are guaranteed to cope with complex rhythmic variations. different styles music and with different rates, speeds of compositions. But at the same time, there are exceptions to the rules, an example of which is bassist Quintin Berry, who has a rather exotic position of the instrument itself and, accordingly, staging, but at the same time the sound quality is not lost, but even acquires its own uniqueness. Therefore, do not be afraid to experiment, try new things and look for your own.

Quintin Berry

An example of exotic hand placement and "classic". Quintin Berry and Victor Wooten

      Publication date: October 27, 1999

Initially, we will get acquainted with how the bass guitar works. We will consider classic version- four strings, although now there are both five- and six-string bass guitars. But we are not interested in this, but in how it works.

Let's start with the bass clef. It's called the key F. This giant comma indicates the location of the note as its beginning. F. Two dots on both sides of the fourth line of the stave once again emphasize this fact. From it we count all other notes.

So, four bass strings: G (salt) - the first string, D (re) - second, A (la) - the third and E (mi) is the fourth. We count from a thin string to a thick one. In a word, these are the same four thick guitar strings (third, fourth, fifth, and sixth), only an octave lower.

I do not want to seem like a bore, but I will have to tell some things in great detail, counting on beginners (may the "advanced" forgive me!) And one more thing. Not all of us switched to bass after guitar; I suspect that there are also born "bass players" (short for "bass players" - approx. author). Therefore, I will not always refer to six-string guitar, and I will explain something, as if for the first time.

In order to learn how to find notes on the fretboard of a bass guitar, refer to lesson number 1 of our master class. Everything is the same, but without two thin strings. Are there any special exercises for the bass guitar? Certainly! You will find these exercises in large quantities with specific performers of your favorite styles. Most often - on video schools. And I, in turn, without claiming to be original, offer an old, proven method - this, excuse the expression, scales. And although many do not like them, they (scales), in spite of everything, work. I will return to them below.

It is worth saying a few words about the functional purpose of the bass. I would put it this way: harmonic foundation. Or, if you prefer, the root of the chord. Let's take triads as an example (hereinafter, see lesson No. 2). Suppose your song begins, as it often does, with a chord Am. Naturally, first we find the tonic, i.e. note la on any string. This will be the first and main step of this chord. And the next stage, popular with bassists, is the fifth. It is better to find it in the same play area where you have the tonic. Now you can start playing. I am not kidding. Invite an accompanist guitarist to play music with you, playing the so-called "fight" (I like it better - "chesom"), and let him play the chords. Only it is better to do it with a metronome or with a drum machine. And if your song is in 4/4 time (that is, without going into details, if it easily counts to /1-2-3-4/1-2-3-4/ etc.), then you should play on the first and third beats of the bar. To put it more professionally, in half-durations. For every first beat of the metronome - the first step of the chord, for every third - the fifth step. As the chord changes, so does your whole bass figure. Now you play the root of the new chord and, accordingly, the fifth step of the same chord. The rhythmic part (so far) remains unchanged.

The numbers taken in a circle indicate the strings, the Roman numerals indicate the fret number, and the name of the note and what step it is relative to the chord, count for yourself. With fingering (finger of the left hand) you will also have to figure it out on your own. The main thing is that the notes correspond in sound to their duration.

After playing such music for a while, you will notice a pattern in the ratio of the positions of the first and fifth steps on the fretboard. This should be remembered. But that's not all.

Until now, we have been talking about the left hand, it's time to talk about the right. It's about about sound production. The bass guitar, like the guitar, is played with both fingers and a plectrum. It all depends on the style of music, on the specific composition, on your desire to get the sound of a certain color (I willingly admit whole line reasons). But practice shows that most bass players of progressive styles use finger playing technique. Let's look up to them. Using the example of this exercise, try to play with the walking movement of the index and middle fingers of the right hand, while, after extracting the sound, the finger should rest on the next string in the direction of movement. And in the case of the fourth, last string, the finger should seem to rest on the intended string. Let's call this method the pivot.

The next step is adding the third stage. At the beginning of the sound of each chord, it is desirable to take the first step (tonic) of this chord, but instead of the fifth step, or additionally, the third step of the same chord can be an auxiliary sound. Keep in mind that depending on the inclination of the chord, the third step will be different. In major chords, between the first and third steps there is an interval of 2 tones (major third), and in minor chords - one and a half tones (small third). See lesson #2 for details.

I deliberately left out the fret and string numbers in the hope that you will find the location of the notes on the fretboard yourself. In all the bars of this example, except for the last bar, I used the first and third steps for each chord. In the following example, let's try to combine all the chord steps (1, 3, 5). And at the same time and diversify the duration.

I don't really like the sound of this example myself, but it's just a sample to get you going. By modifying melodic-rhythmic patterns, you can create something more interesting. Of course, playing the bass guitar is not limited to movement only along chord sounds, but more on that in next lessons. Here I will allow myself to give a couple of simple stylistic examples in midi files that you don’t have to play, just listen to:

In the Bossa-Nova example, the bass plays only the first and fifth steps, while in the Raggey example, all three steps of the chord. By the way, the simplest and affordable way to understand the features of a particular style is the use of so-called auto-arrangers. computer program Band-in-a-Box or Jammer is a prime example of this.

And in conclusion about gamma. To develop the technique of playing musical instruments people haven't come up with anything better yet. So be patient and move on.

Gammas are different. Starting in natural major or minor, bypassing harmonic and melodic major or minor, then frets follow folk music(Mixolydian, Dorian, Phrygian, etc.), there are also artificially created modes and a chromatic scale. As you can see, there are a lot of them. We will confine ourselves to the first and last for now.

The square indicates the tonic sound, that is, the first step, relative to which the fingering model is built. major scale. The tonic has changed - we moved the hand to the desired note and play the same model. When we play a scale located on four frets, the fingers of the left hand are each located on their own fret, and in the figure "three notes on one string through the fret", I recommend that you play with the first, second and fourth fingers, respectively. Here it should be said that it is necessary to press the fingers of the left hand to the strings on the frets with a "hammer", i.e. the finger does not lie on the string with its plane, but, as it were, "sticks" into it.

It is good to use this scale as a musical exercise, playing it up and down on different parts of the fretboard, since the width of the frets is different everywhere. Thus, coordination of movements is developed.

This information for the first time, I think, will be enough. And we'll talk about the rest in the next lessons.

9 out of 10 beginner bass players

DECIDED TO STUDY INDEPENDENTLY

OR FROM PRIVATE TEACHERS

EVEN WHEN COMING TO DIFFERENT SCHOOLS/STUDIO

- fall
into a trap!*

*How do we know this? We have to save them!

Trap No. 1 Solfeggio, hearing, musical notation, hopelessness ...

Aristarkh Vissarionovich, I have already whole year I'm learning to write notes in a notebook and handing over auditory dictations to you, and when will we finally start playing the bass guitar?
- When you remember that the increased fourth of the Lydian mode is resolved into a minor sixth from the dominant minor!
They say Kurt Cobain didn't know music...
“Ah, do not remember this wicked troublemaker in our respectable cultural institution!

It would seem unbelievable, but such dialogues still sound! While A competent bass guitar teacher must match the methodology to your individual interests, time and patience. Dot!

Trap number 2 Total cramming - boring and futile!

Even if you're lucky enough not to drown in musical notation, you run the risk of running into “total cramming”.
- They just put you behind a pile of tablature and ask you to stupidly cram everything you see.
As a result, a beginner beginner can only play the bass guitar with memorized quotes.(and even then, if they do not forget).
But you are not taught to understand how the part of the instrument is built in principle- so that you can simply and freely play the bass guitar from scratch, whatever you want and how you want!

Trap #3 No understanding of how to apply yourself in a group!

By avoiding Trap #2, you learn how to hit notes, play riffs and phrases. Even if it's cool to do it - if you were lucky enough to get a good bass teacher.
But how to find the right notes on your own when you come to live band and your bass has to get along with all the other instruments?
It is your part that can turn a song into both a great hit and a dull noise!
So what exactly should be played and how? As a rule, when teaching beginners to play the bass guitar, this remains in the background.
By yourself, you sound cool, charismatic, but in the group everything turns into just a sluggish mess. You don't know what the reason is, you lose interest in rehearsals, in music, in yourself as a bass player... But are you to blame?