Chords for How To Play Bass Guitar - Lessons for Beginners - Open Strings
Tempo:
100.9 bpm
Chords used:
E
A
D
G
Bb
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
Alright, now let's start playing some bass.
The next exercises are going to get us used
to looking at written sheet music.
So first thing we're going to do is show you what the
open notes look like on a staff paper and bass clef, and also work a little bit on our
right hand technique.
Because when you're plucking the notes with your right hand, you're
not so much playing straight up on the string.
[A]
[E] I think the idea is to kind of have your finger
resting on the string, kind of pull it backwards, and then get your finger out of the way so
the string can vibrate.
Alright?
You really don't have to hit it hard, because if you
hit it too hard, you're going to get a lot of fret buzz.
Alright?
So a nice even stroke,
trying to get all your notes to sound the same.
Alright?
[Bb] So now we're going to do a
little exercise on the open strings.
That's going to combine [E] looking at sheet music and
little basic rhythms and getting your right hand just the coordination of going between
the first and second finger and skipping strings.
So let's look at this staff and bass clef.
Basic time, or C, common time means 4-4 time.
What that means, the top four means that there
are four beats in the bar, and the bottom four means that it's a quarter note that is
getting one beat.
Alright?
So let's look at what a whole note is.
That's worth four beats.
So in a bar of 4-4, you're going to get one whole note.
Now let's look at a half note.
They're worth two beats each.
So you're going to get in a bar of 4-4, two half notes.
And
then we have quarter notes, which are going to get, are worth one beat.
They're going
to get four of those, which make a one bar of 4-4.
Then you have eighth notes that are
worth each half a beat, and those are going to be, obviously, eight of those in a bar
of 4-4.
Then we're going to play triplets, which is, you're going to play three notes
for every beat.
And then we're going to go to sixteenth notes.
And so follow along.
We're
going to get a little click track going here at 120 beats per minute.
And this is just
going to get you used to looking at basic rhythms of half notes, whole notes, quarter
notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes, while also getting your right hand, you know, a
little coordination going and basically skipping between strings.
So follow along and try
to make every note ring out and sound nice and clear.
We'll start with whole notes on
each string.
One, two, three, four.
E,
[A] A, [D] B, [G]
G.
[E] Do it again.
One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, three, four.
[D] One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three, four.
[E] Now let's go to half
notes.
One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, [D] three, four.
One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three,
[E] four.
One, two, [A] three, four.
One, two, three, [D] four.
One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three,
four.
Now let's go to quarter notes, which is one beat per beat.
One, two, three, [E] four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, three, four.
[D] Remember nice [G] even
strokes with your right hand.
Let's do that [E] again.
One, two, one, two.
With your fingers,
[A] you're alternating between your index and middle finger.
[D]
[G]
Another thing that you should
think about while you're doing this exercise, that you should start doing right away, is
with your left hand, finding ways to keep the other strings from vibrating or sounding
when you're playing.
This takes a lot of just imagination and practice, but basically like
when I'm playing the open E [E] string, I've kind of got my other fingers resting on the other
strings to keep them from ringing.
Then when I play my A string, [Ab] sometimes I'm kind of
getting my thumb over there, not pressing down, [A] but just having them be there, because
if you [E] don't have your hand there, you're not going to stop the other strings [D] from ringing.
Just something to think about, [A] different ways
[E] of using your left hand to mute the other
strings that you aren't playing.
Now let's get back to the exercises.
All right, now
we're going for eighth notes.
Again, you may think as they get a little faster, you have
to work harder to get it, but actually the opposite is true.
Relax and play really lightly.
One, two, one, two, eight notes.
[A]
[D]
[G] Let's do that again.
[E] [A]
[D] Nice and even.
Think about the
sound of the notes.
[G]
Now for the triplets and sixteenth notes, I'm going to slow the beat
down a little bit.
If any of this stuff is too fast for you, then feel free to get your
own metronome out and work on it at whatever tempo you're comfortable with.
Just never
be in a hurry [E] to play too quickly, because we want to learn everything.
You didn't learn
to speak in one day, so it's going to take some time.
We're going to slow the tempo down
to 100 beats per minute, and we're going to go back and try our triplets, which is three
notes per beat.
[A]
[D] [G]
[E] [A]
[D] [G] Again, alternating with your right hand between the first and second [E] finger.
[A]
[D] [G]
All right, now we're going to go [Eb] to sixteenth notes.
Again, these are pretty quick, but
just relax and let your fingers do the walking.
One, two, [E] three, four.
[A] [D] [G]
[E] [A]
[D] [G]
[E] [N]
The next exercises are going to get us used
to looking at written sheet music.
So first thing we're going to do is show you what the
open notes look like on a staff paper and bass clef, and also work a little bit on our
right hand technique.
Because when you're plucking the notes with your right hand, you're
not so much playing straight up on the string.
[A]
[E] I think the idea is to kind of have your finger
resting on the string, kind of pull it backwards, and then get your finger out of the way so
the string can vibrate.
Alright?
You really don't have to hit it hard, because if you
hit it too hard, you're going to get a lot of fret buzz.
Alright?
So a nice even stroke,
trying to get all your notes to sound the same.
Alright?
[Bb] So now we're going to do a
little exercise on the open strings.
That's going to combine [E] looking at sheet music and
little basic rhythms and getting your right hand just the coordination of going between
the first and second finger and skipping strings.
So let's look at this staff and bass clef.
Basic time, or C, common time means 4-4 time.
What that means, the top four means that there
are four beats in the bar, and the bottom four means that it's a quarter note that is
getting one beat.
Alright?
So let's look at what a whole note is.
That's worth four beats.
So in a bar of 4-4, you're going to get one whole note.
Now let's look at a half note.
They're worth two beats each.
So you're going to get in a bar of 4-4, two half notes.
And
then we have quarter notes, which are going to get, are worth one beat.
They're going
to get four of those, which make a one bar of 4-4.
Then you have eighth notes that are
worth each half a beat, and those are going to be, obviously, eight of those in a bar
of 4-4.
Then we're going to play triplets, which is, you're going to play three notes
for every beat.
And then we're going to go to sixteenth notes.
And so follow along.
We're
going to get a little click track going here at 120 beats per minute.
And this is just
going to get you used to looking at basic rhythms of half notes, whole notes, quarter
notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes, while also getting your right hand, you know, a
little coordination going and basically skipping between strings.
So follow along and try
to make every note ring out and sound nice and clear.
We'll start with whole notes on
each string.
One, two, three, four.
E,
[A] A, [D] B, [G]
G.
[E] Do it again.
One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, three, four.
[D] One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three, four.
[E] Now let's go to half
notes.
One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, [D] three, four.
One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three,
[E] four.
One, two, [A] three, four.
One, two, three, [D] four.
One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three,
four.
Now let's go to quarter notes, which is one beat per beat.
One, two, three, [E] four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, three, four.
[D] Remember nice [G] even
strokes with your right hand.
Let's do that [E] again.
One, two, one, two.
With your fingers,
[A] you're alternating between your index and middle finger.
[D]
[G]
Another thing that you should
think about while you're doing this exercise, that you should start doing right away, is
with your left hand, finding ways to keep the other strings from vibrating or sounding
when you're playing.
This takes a lot of just imagination and practice, but basically like
when I'm playing the open E [E] string, I've kind of got my other fingers resting on the other
strings to keep them from ringing.
Then when I play my A string, [Ab] sometimes I'm kind of
getting my thumb over there, not pressing down, [A] but just having them be there, because
if you [E] don't have your hand there, you're not going to stop the other strings [D] from ringing.
Just something to think about, [A] different ways
[E] of using your left hand to mute the other
strings that you aren't playing.
Now let's get back to the exercises.
All right, now
we're going for eighth notes.
Again, you may think as they get a little faster, you have
to work harder to get it, but actually the opposite is true.
Relax and play really lightly.
One, two, one, two, eight notes.
[A]
[D]
[G] Let's do that again.
[E] [A]
[D] Nice and even.
Think about the
sound of the notes.
[G]
Now for the triplets and sixteenth notes, I'm going to slow the beat
down a little bit.
If any of this stuff is too fast for you, then feel free to get your
own metronome out and work on it at whatever tempo you're comfortable with.
Just never
be in a hurry [E] to play too quickly, because we want to learn everything.
You didn't learn
to speak in one day, so it's going to take some time.
We're going to slow the tempo down
to 100 beats per minute, and we're going to go back and try our triplets, which is three
notes per beat.
[A]
[D] [G]
[E] [A]
[D] [G] Again, alternating with your right hand between the first and second [E] finger.
[A]
[D] [G]
All right, now we're going to go [Eb] to sixteenth notes.
Again, these are pretty quick, but
just relax and let your fingers do the walking.
One, two, [E] three, four.
[A] [D] [G]
[E] [A]
[D] [G]
[E] [N]
Key:
E
A
D
G
Bb
E
A
D
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ Alright, now let's start playing some bass.
The next exercises are going to get us used
to looking at written sheet music.
So first thing we're going to do is show you what the
open notes look like on a staff paper and bass clef, and also work a little bit on our
right hand technique.
Because when you're plucking the notes with your right hand, you're
not so much playing straight up on the string.
[A]
[E] I think the idea is to kind of have your finger
resting on the string, kind of pull it backwards, and then get your finger out of the way so
the string can vibrate.
Alright?
You really don't have to hit it hard, because if you
hit it too hard, _ you're going to get a lot of fret buzz.
Alright?
So a nice even stroke,
trying to get all your notes to sound the same. _
_ Alright?
_ [Bb] So now we're going to do a
little exercise on the open strings.
That's going to combine [E] looking at sheet music and
little basic rhythms and getting your right hand just the coordination of going between
the first and second finger and skipping strings.
So let's look at this staff and bass clef. _
Basic time, or C, common time means 4-4 time.
What that means, the top four means that there
are four beats in the bar, and the bottom four means that it's a quarter note that is
getting one beat.
Alright?
So let's look at what a whole note is.
That's worth four beats.
So in a bar of 4-4, you're going to get one whole note.
Now let's look at a half note.
They're worth two beats each.
So you're going to get in a bar of 4-4, two half notes.
And
then we have quarter notes, which are going to get, are worth one beat.
They're going
to get four of those, which make a one bar of 4-4.
Then you have eighth notes that are
worth each half a beat, and those are going to be, obviously, eight of those in a bar
of 4-4.
Then we're going to play triplets, which is, you're going to play three notes
for every beat.
And then we're going to go to sixteenth notes.
And so follow along.
We're
going to get a little click track going here at _ 120 beats per minute.
And this is just
going to get you used to looking at basic rhythms of half notes, whole notes, quarter
notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes, while also getting your right hand, you know, a
little coordination going and basically skipping between strings.
So follow along and try
to make every note ring out and sound nice and clear. _
_ We'll start with whole notes on
each string. _ _
_ One, two, three, four.
E, _ _
[A] A, _ [D] B, _ _ [G]
G.
[E] Do it again.
One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, three, four.
[D] One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three, four.
[E] Now let's go to half
notes.
_ One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, [D] three, four.
One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three,
[E] four.
One, two, [A] three, four.
One, two, three, [D] four.
One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three,
four.
Now let's go to quarter notes, which is one beat per beat. _ _
One, two, three, [E] four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, three, four. _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ Remember nice [G] even
strokes with your right hand.
_ _ Let's do that [E] again.
One, two, one, two.
With your fingers,
[A] you're alternating between your index and middle finger.
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Another thing that you should
think about while you're doing this exercise, that you should start doing right away, is
with your left hand, finding ways to keep the other strings from vibrating or sounding
when you're playing.
This takes a lot of just imagination and practice, but basically like
when I'm playing the open E [E] string, I've kind of got my other fingers resting on the other
strings to keep them from ringing.
Then when I play my A string, [Ab] sometimes I'm kind of
getting my thumb over there, not pressing down, [A] but just having them be there, because
if you [E] don't have your hand there, _ _ _ _ _ you're not going to stop the other strings [D] from ringing.
Just something to think about, [A] different ways _
[E] of using your left hand to mute the other
strings that you aren't playing.
Now let's get back to the exercises.
_ _ _ _ All right, now
we're going for eighth notes.
Again, you may think as they get a little faster, you have
to work harder to get it, but actually the opposite is true.
Relax and play really lightly.
One, two, one, two, eight notes. _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ Let's do that again. _ _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] Nice and even.
Think about the
sound of the notes.
_ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ Now for the triplets and sixteenth notes, I'm going to slow the beat
down a little bit.
If any of this stuff is too fast for you, then feel free to get your
own metronome out and work on it at whatever tempo you're comfortable with.
Just never
be in a hurry [E] to play too quickly, because we want to learn everything.
You didn't learn
to speak in one day, so it's going to take some time.
We're going to slow the tempo down
to 100 beats per minute, and we're going to go back and try our triplets, which is three
notes per beat.
_ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [G] Again, alternating with your right hand between the first and second [E] finger.
_ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ All right, now we're going to go [Eb] to sixteenth notes.
Again, these are pretty quick, but
just relax and let your fingers do the walking.
One, two, [E] three, four.
_ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [N] _
_ Alright, now let's start playing some bass.
The next exercises are going to get us used
to looking at written sheet music.
So first thing we're going to do is show you what the
open notes look like on a staff paper and bass clef, and also work a little bit on our
right hand technique.
Because when you're plucking the notes with your right hand, you're
not so much playing straight up on the string.
[A]
[E] I think the idea is to kind of have your finger
resting on the string, kind of pull it backwards, and then get your finger out of the way so
the string can vibrate.
Alright?
You really don't have to hit it hard, because if you
hit it too hard, _ you're going to get a lot of fret buzz.
Alright?
So a nice even stroke,
trying to get all your notes to sound the same. _
_ Alright?
_ [Bb] So now we're going to do a
little exercise on the open strings.
That's going to combine [E] looking at sheet music and
little basic rhythms and getting your right hand just the coordination of going between
the first and second finger and skipping strings.
So let's look at this staff and bass clef. _
Basic time, or C, common time means 4-4 time.
What that means, the top four means that there
are four beats in the bar, and the bottom four means that it's a quarter note that is
getting one beat.
Alright?
So let's look at what a whole note is.
That's worth four beats.
So in a bar of 4-4, you're going to get one whole note.
Now let's look at a half note.
They're worth two beats each.
So you're going to get in a bar of 4-4, two half notes.
And
then we have quarter notes, which are going to get, are worth one beat.
They're going
to get four of those, which make a one bar of 4-4.
Then you have eighth notes that are
worth each half a beat, and those are going to be, obviously, eight of those in a bar
of 4-4.
Then we're going to play triplets, which is, you're going to play three notes
for every beat.
And then we're going to go to sixteenth notes.
And so follow along.
We're
going to get a little click track going here at _ 120 beats per minute.
And this is just
going to get you used to looking at basic rhythms of half notes, whole notes, quarter
notes, triplets, and sixteenth notes, while also getting your right hand, you know, a
little coordination going and basically skipping between strings.
So follow along and try
to make every note ring out and sound nice and clear. _
_ We'll start with whole notes on
each string. _ _
_ One, two, three, four.
E, _ _
[A] A, _ [D] B, _ _ [G]
G.
[E] Do it again.
One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, three, four.
[D] One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three, four.
[E] Now let's go to half
notes.
_ One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, [D] three, four.
One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three,
[E] four.
One, two, [A] three, four.
One, two, three, [D] four.
One, two, three, [G] four.
One, two, three,
four.
Now let's go to quarter notes, which is one beat per beat. _ _
One, two, three, [E] four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, [A] four.
One, two, three, four. _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ Remember nice [G] even
strokes with your right hand.
_ _ Let's do that [E] again.
One, two, one, two.
With your fingers,
[A] you're alternating between your index and middle finger.
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Another thing that you should
think about while you're doing this exercise, that you should start doing right away, is
with your left hand, finding ways to keep the other strings from vibrating or sounding
when you're playing.
This takes a lot of just imagination and practice, but basically like
when I'm playing the open E [E] string, I've kind of got my other fingers resting on the other
strings to keep them from ringing.
Then when I play my A string, [Ab] sometimes I'm kind of
getting my thumb over there, not pressing down, [A] but just having them be there, because
if you [E] don't have your hand there, _ _ _ _ _ you're not going to stop the other strings [D] from ringing.
Just something to think about, [A] different ways _
[E] of using your left hand to mute the other
strings that you aren't playing.
Now let's get back to the exercises.
_ _ _ _ All right, now
we're going for eighth notes.
Again, you may think as they get a little faster, you have
to work harder to get it, but actually the opposite is true.
Relax and play really lightly.
One, two, one, two, eight notes. _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ Let's do that again. _ _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] Nice and even.
Think about the
sound of the notes.
_ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ Now for the triplets and sixteenth notes, I'm going to slow the beat
down a little bit.
If any of this stuff is too fast for you, then feel free to get your
own metronome out and work on it at whatever tempo you're comfortable with.
Just never
be in a hurry [E] to play too quickly, because we want to learn everything.
You didn't learn
to speak in one day, so it's going to take some time.
We're going to slow the tempo down
to 100 beats per minute, and we're going to go back and try our triplets, which is three
notes per beat.
_ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [G] Again, alternating with your right hand between the first and second [E] finger.
_ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ All right, now we're going to go [Eb] to sixteenth notes.
Again, these are pretty quick, but
just relax and let your fingers do the walking.
One, two, [E] three, four.
_ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [N] _