Chords for Beginning Bluegrass Bass: Your First Chords

_ _ Okay, now we're going to start with your first lesson.
You know the names of the strings and you've got your markings on the bass.
And one of the big differences between an [F#] upright acoustic bass
and a bass [B] guitar that would be electric is,
[E] well, naturally you don't have frets, but
[D#m] in the difference in playing it,
it's going to be that you're going to be doing a lot of open strings
[B] that you're not using [G#] your left hand for.
The left hand, although it's going to be used, isn't going to be fretting the strings,
it's actually going [D#m] to be stopping the sound.
[G#] So that when you play a [G] string,
_ [C#] you'll stop it about halfway through with your left hand.
_ As far as positioning,
you're going to take your [A#m] thumb
and [Bm] it's going to go on the side of the [C#] fingerboard
and then your hand's going to come around this way
and you're going to pull your [G] finger this direction
[D] _ _ [G] _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ [G#] and most of your playing [D#] will be done that way,
so it's going to be a little bit [G#] on the side of that finger.
If [C#] that finger starts to get sore, you can switch to another finger.
You can use your middle finger.
You can even come a little bit more this direction instead of to the side.
If you would like, when I start having to do fast runs and things,
then I will actually turn my fingers this direction
so that I can do them a little bit faster.
_ When you start swapping [G] the bass,
then you're literally going to be pulling the [C#] strings
and [F#] it'll be a little bit different technique.
But for [F#m] most everything that you're doing,
as long as you're not doing [D#] anything really fast,
[G] it's just going to be this way. _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ [C#] You'll want to be close to the end of your fingerboard,
but don't be out at the end of it.
Make sure that you're still up on the fingerboard.
And then with your left hand,
I didn't talk about where the bass is going to be resting.
It's going to be resting [D#m] right here, kind of on your waist area.
_ _ [B]
And then your left hand, _ in classical style,
they're going to have you using individual fingers
and I don't do that.
You can do that if you'd like.
I actually use pretty much a whole grip here.
Sometimes I'll use individual fingers.
If I start to do runs and things, it just varies.
But generally, I'll grip.
The thing that you need to be careful of, though,
is if you're wanting to play at the second take,
make sure that's where your last finger is at.
The one thing that you want to avoid
is using two fingers to do two strings
because what's going to happen is
one of them is going to be a little bit lower than the other
and then you're going to end up with a note that's out of tune.
So whichever one you decide to use,
you need to make sure that you're straight across.
[F#] Or if you want to, I don't recommend
[C#] switching your finger like that,
but just make sure that your finger is straight across.
_ For your G chord, all you're going to play
is the first two strings, your G string and your D string,
and you're going to go back and forth between those strings.
Each time you play it, about halfway through,
you're going [D#] to use your left hand to stop the sound
so that you [G] _ [D] have_
_ _ [G] _ _ [D] _
_ [G] You're going to be one [D] and two [G] and one [D] and two and one and two [F#] and.
_ If you want to play a D chord,
[C#] then you're going to do the same thing with your two middle strings.
You'll be playing [F#m] D and [B] A.
So it will [D] be one and two and one and [A] two and. _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ [C#] So now let's talk [F#] about using a song with those two strings.
So let's say I wanted to use the song Skip [B] to My Lou.
[G] _ _ [D] _ _ _ [G] _ [D] Skip, skip, [G] skip to [D] my Lou.
D. _
[A] Skip, [D] skip, skip [A] to my Lou.
[G]
Skip, [D] skip, skip to my Lou.
Skip [A] to my Lou, [G] my [D] darling. _
[C#] So what you'll notice is as I play that,
is I always start on the string that starts the chord.
So for the G chord, it's the G string that starts that chord.
For the D chord, it's the D string that starts that chord.
So if I've already played the D string as part of my G chord, _
I still have to start on the D string.
So for instance, [G] I've got skip, _ [D] _ [G] skip, skip [D] to my Lou.
[B] That was all G.
Now I'm getting ready to play my D chord,
and so I have to start on the D chord,
which means I have to start on my D string.
[C#] That means I'm going to be playing it twice in a row,
because I just played it for the end of my G chord. _
_ _ Skip, skip, skip to my Lou.
[F] Back to G.
[G] _ [D] Skip, skip, _ [G] skip [D] to my Lou.
Now I'm [D#] back to my D chord, so I have to play the D string again.
Skip to my Lou, [G#] my.
And now I'm back to the G chord.
Darling.
[D] _ _ _ _ [B] _ _ _
[C#] You can do other songs with this.
The song Hot Corn, Cold Corn is with those two chords.
_ _ Jambalaya is with those two chords.
So if I was doing Hot Corn, Cold Corn, I've got _
[G] _ _ [D] _ _ [G] Hot [D] corn, cold [G] corn, bring along the dairy John.
D.
Hot corn, cold corn, bring along [F#m] the dairy John.
G.
[G] Hot [D] corn, cold [G] corn, bring along [D] the dairy John.
D.
Fare thee well, we'll see you in the morning.
_ _ And then it goes [G] back to G for sir.
_ [D] Sir.
_ [G] Okay, [C#] now let's talk about another chord.
You've got two places [F#] that you can play your A chord.
You can play the A chord open with your A string and [A] your E string.
_ [B] _ _ [A] _
_ _ [C#m] _ Or you can go to the second taped mark [F#] on your bass
and play the G string and the D [A] string.
_ [E] _ _ [A] _ _ [E] _ _
_ [C#] And what you're going to do when you're [B] playing these strings,
you play [A] the note and [F#] then you let up with your fingers
so that the sound stops.
Because since we're not [F#m] playing an open string,
that you can just do this and stop.
If you _ [F#] release your [A] fretting,
[N] I don't take my finger off the string when I do that,
I just release the pressure.
So I press down to get [A] the note,
halfway through, I let off.
_ _ _ One [E] and two [A] and, one and two and, one [E] and two [F#] and.
_ _ _ Another chord that you may need,
is if you go up to your fifth taped marking,
this gives you a C [F#m] chord.
_ _ [C] _ _ [G] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _