The bass guitar, also sometimes known as just 'bass', is a guitar which typically has four thick strings. It is really a wonderful instrument which is responsible for providing a deep bass effect to the music it is played with. Individuals who play the bass guitar are known as 'bass guitarists' or just 'bassists'.
Learning to Play the Bass Guitar
The most important key in learning how to play bass guitar is to understand and learn the notations and scales on the fretboard of a rhythm guitar. There are many people who want to learn how to play bass guitar. And to do this, they directly set out with laying their hands on the bass guitar. This is really a bad start for learning this instrument. It is better of you first get acquainted with the fretboard layout of a rhythm guitar, as the pattern of the bass guitar's fretboard is the same as that on any normal electric guitar. Once you are familiar with the notes and finger placements on the fretboard of an electric or an acoustic guitar, you can use the same finger placements on the fretboard of the bass guitar to get the appropriate bass tones. With playing the bass, you also ought to have the understanding of the music beat, as the bass has to flow well with the drums.
Physical Characteristics of a Bass Guitar
Generally, the size of bass guitars is bigger than normal electric guitar. This is because their fretboards are a bit longer. In addition, their fretboards are also broader. However, today, if you visit a musical instruments shop, you will find many brands offering smaller basses with thinner fretboards. Playing notes on bass guitars having such thinner fretboards becomes pretty easy.
Coming to the thickness of the strings, the thickness level of bass guitar strings is more than that of normal rhythm guitars. The thickness of the strings is what gives out a deep bass tone. For example, the size of the 1st string on a bass guitar would be double the size of the last string of a rhythm guitar. A second bass guitar string would be thicker than that of the first one. And according to the order, the last string is the thickest.
Conventionally, bass guitars have been known to have four strings. However, there are ones which have five, six, or eight strings. These pieces are exceptionally meant to be used by professional musicians. At the start it is suggested to play a four-stringed one. But after few years of fiddling with it, you can shift to more stringed ones.
Types of Bass Guitars (In Brief)
Like in rhythm guitars, bass guitars also have electric and acoustic versions. If you are thinking how to play electric bass guitars or the acoustic ones, the style and techniques are one and the same. The only difference is the music which is played. Acoustic bass guitars are suitable for jazz music, soul music, classical music, and other soft styles of music. On the other hand, an electric bass is suitable for rock music and heavy metal musical genres. So, a bassist can go crazy and heavy with the tones from electric bass guitars. Bass guitars are also differentiated by the number of strings they have. But since I have discussed it earlier, I will prefer not to emphasize on it much.
The most difficult bass guitar to play is one which does not have any frets. It is known as a fretless bass. Frets give guitarists the idea of what will be the sound like when a particular note is held on the fretboard. If these frets are not present, a majority of guitarist will mess up with the correct tones. As you advance further in your playing, you will naturally get to know many of these complex bass guitar playing techniques.
Notations on the Fret Board of a Bass Guitar
Now comes the most important part of playing any stringed musical instrument, which is placing your finger tips on appropriate positions on the fretboard. As mentioned earlier, the notations on a bass guitar fretboard is the same as that on a classical guitar's fretboard. The only difference is that a normal rhythm guitar has six strings, and a bass guitar typically has four strings. So, in this case, the first to fourth bass guitar strings are in the same manner of third to sixth rhythm guitar strings. In simple words, if you do not consider the first and the second string of a rhythm guitar, the notations would be same the as of a bass guitar. A figure will help you better understand.
Strings of a Rhythm Guitar
e----------------------------
B---------------------------
G---------------------------
D---------------------------
A---------------------------
E---------------------------
Strings of a Bass Guitar
G---------------------------
D---------------------------
A---------------------------
E---------------------------
The sounds produced by all these four bass guitar strings will be of the same note like in the rhythm guitar, but with an extremely deep lower tone.
Playing Techniques to be Used on the Bass Guitar
The bass guitar playing style in totally different from that in a rhythm guitar. For beginners, initially it would be very tough to hold the notations on the fretboard. This difficulty arises due to the strings being thicker than normal, and it is not easy to press such strings onto the fretboard. But with regular practice, you can get comfortable with the fingerings.
In a rhythm guitar, you generally hold several positions on the fretboard to play a particular chord. However, in a bass guitar you need not play a whole chord (Professionals can and may do it though). In general, the bass guitar is to be played with just holding a particular note on the fretboard. Suppose the rhythm guitarist is playing the 'G' chord, you need to hold the 'G' note on just a single string. And this is how the bass guitar sound goes along with that of the rhythm guitar. This is just the fundamental technique of fingering the fretboard of a bass guitar for appropriate sounds.
You also need to pay attention to the strumming hand. The bass guitar is generally played with just the finger tips, without using a plectrum. However, some guitarists may prefer to use a plectrum. When using the chording hand for plucking the strings, you also need to play the appropriate string with noting the position of the fingering hand on the fretboard. This is how right and left hand coordination is supposed to be done, which is very crucial for getting good sounds from the bass guitar.
There are many more bass guitar playing techniques that you need to learn once you are familiar with the basic style of playing. Some of the techniques are slapping, plucking, fretting, tapping, two-handed tapping, and many more. In addition to these standard techniques, there are also different techniques developed by famous bass guitarists, which are now being used by many aspiring bassists all over the world. Read more on learn how to play guitar.
Few Notable Bass Guitarists
This is a just a short list of some well-known guitarists whom you can get inspiration from in learning how to play bass guitar. Listen to the way they play the bass and try to imitate them. Doing so will really make you a good bassist.
John Leven - Europe
Abraham Laboriel
Victor Wooten
Flea - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Duff McKagan - Velvet Revolver
Marco Mendoza
Billy Sheehan
Stuart Hamm
John Illsley - Dire Straits
Tony Kanal - No Doubt
Learning to Play the Bass Guitar
The most important key in learning how to play bass guitar is to understand and learn the notations and scales on the fretboard of a rhythm guitar. There are many people who want to learn how to play bass guitar. And to do this, they directly set out with laying their hands on the bass guitar. This is really a bad start for learning this instrument. It is better of you first get acquainted with the fretboard layout of a rhythm guitar, as the pattern of the bass guitar's fretboard is the same as that on any normal electric guitar. Once you are familiar with the notes and finger placements on the fretboard of an electric or an acoustic guitar, you can use the same finger placements on the fretboard of the bass guitar to get the appropriate bass tones. With playing the bass, you also ought to have the understanding of the music beat, as the bass has to flow well with the drums.
Physical Characteristics of a Bass Guitar
Generally, the size of bass guitars is bigger than normal electric guitar. This is because their fretboards are a bit longer. In addition, their fretboards are also broader. However, today, if you visit a musical instruments shop, you will find many brands offering smaller basses with thinner fretboards. Playing notes on bass guitars having such thinner fretboards becomes pretty easy.
Coming to the thickness of the strings, the thickness level of bass guitar strings is more than that of normal rhythm guitars. The thickness of the strings is what gives out a deep bass tone. For example, the size of the 1st string on a bass guitar would be double the size of the last string of a rhythm guitar. A second bass guitar string would be thicker than that of the first one. And according to the order, the last string is the thickest.
Conventionally, bass guitars have been known to have four strings. However, there are ones which have five, six, or eight strings. These pieces are exceptionally meant to be used by professional musicians. At the start it is suggested to play a four-stringed one. But after few years of fiddling with it, you can shift to more stringed ones.
Types of Bass Guitars (In Brief)
Like in rhythm guitars, bass guitars also have electric and acoustic versions. If you are thinking how to play electric bass guitars or the acoustic ones, the style and techniques are one and the same. The only difference is the music which is played. Acoustic bass guitars are suitable for jazz music, soul music, classical music, and other soft styles of music. On the other hand, an electric bass is suitable for rock music and heavy metal musical genres. So, a bassist can go crazy and heavy with the tones from electric bass guitars. Bass guitars are also differentiated by the number of strings they have. But since I have discussed it earlier, I will prefer not to emphasize on it much.
The most difficult bass guitar to play is one which does not have any frets. It is known as a fretless bass. Frets give guitarists the idea of what will be the sound like when a particular note is held on the fretboard. If these frets are not present, a majority of guitarist will mess up with the correct tones. As you advance further in your playing, you will naturally get to know many of these complex bass guitar playing techniques.
Notations on the Fret Board of a Bass Guitar
Now comes the most important part of playing any stringed musical instrument, which is placing your finger tips on appropriate positions on the fretboard. As mentioned earlier, the notations on a bass guitar fretboard is the same as that on a classical guitar's fretboard. The only difference is that a normal rhythm guitar has six strings, and a bass guitar typically has four strings. So, in this case, the first to fourth bass guitar strings are in the same manner of third to sixth rhythm guitar strings. In simple words, if you do not consider the first and the second string of a rhythm guitar, the notations would be same the as of a bass guitar. A figure will help you better understand.
Strings of a Rhythm Guitar
e----------------------------
B---------------------------
G---------------------------
D---------------------------
A---------------------------
E---------------------------
Strings of a Bass Guitar
G---------------------------
D---------------------------
A---------------------------
E---------------------------
The sounds produced by all these four bass guitar strings will be of the same note like in the rhythm guitar, but with an extremely deep lower tone.
Playing Techniques to be Used on the Bass Guitar
The bass guitar playing style in totally different from that in a rhythm guitar. For beginners, initially it would be very tough to hold the notations on the fretboard. This difficulty arises due to the strings being thicker than normal, and it is not easy to press such strings onto the fretboard. But with regular practice, you can get comfortable with the fingerings.
In a rhythm guitar, you generally hold several positions on the fretboard to play a particular chord. However, in a bass guitar you need not play a whole chord (Professionals can and may do it though). In general, the bass guitar is to be played with just holding a particular note on the fretboard. Suppose the rhythm guitarist is playing the 'G' chord, you need to hold the 'G' note on just a single string. And this is how the bass guitar sound goes along with that of the rhythm guitar. This is just the fundamental technique of fingering the fretboard of a bass guitar for appropriate sounds.
You also need to pay attention to the strumming hand. The bass guitar is generally played with just the finger tips, without using a plectrum. However, some guitarists may prefer to use a plectrum. When using the chording hand for plucking the strings, you also need to play the appropriate string with noting the position of the fingering hand on the fretboard. This is how right and left hand coordination is supposed to be done, which is very crucial for getting good sounds from the bass guitar.
There are many more bass guitar playing techniques that you need to learn once you are familiar with the basic style of playing. Some of the techniques are slapping, plucking, fretting, tapping, two-handed tapping, and many more. In addition to these standard techniques, there are also different techniques developed by famous bass guitarists, which are now being used by many aspiring bassists all over the world. Read more on learn how to play guitar.
Few Notable Bass Guitarists
This is a just a short list of some well-known guitarists whom you can get inspiration from in learning how to play bass guitar. Listen to the way they play the bass and try to imitate them. Doing so will really make you a good bassist.
John Leven - Europe
Abraham Laboriel
Victor Wooten
Flea - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Duff McKagan - Velvet Revolver
Marco Mendoza
Billy Sheehan
Stuart Hamm
John Illsley - Dire Straits
Tony Kanal - No Doubt
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