In this bass guitar lesson we will take a look at an easy pattern that will help you develop you bass chops. You will use bass tabs to play the notes. Let us start by looking at a bass tab staff!
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The four lines are a representation of the strings on a four string bass guitar. The top line indicates the first string or the G-string. This is the string with the highest pitch.
On these lines you will find numbers indicating which frets to press down. In order to make the most use of the following patterns we have to deal with the word "position".
A position on your bass guitar is determined by the location of your left hand index finger. If you play notes on the bass guitar fretboard and your index finger plays the notes on the fourth fret you are playing in the fourth position.
In the following pattern you will play in the fourth position. This means, assign your left hand index finger to the notes on the fourth fret, your middle finger to the fifth fret and so on. Do not forget to use your left hand pinkie for the notes on the seventh fret.
Try to minimize your left hand movements and develop your ability to stretch your fingers to the assigned frets.
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-----------4---7---
---5---5-----------
This little pattern can be played together with the A-major chord. If you play the same pattern but start on the third string you can use it together with the D-major chord:
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-----------4---7---
---5---5-----------
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If you play the patterns together you will get the following result:
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----------------------------4---7---
-----------4---7---5---5-----------
---5---5---------------------------
This resulting pattern corresponds to the chords A and D.
If you think of the notes in the pattern as eight notes they will make a full bar.
This will look as follows with common chord notation:
A / D /
Here are the corresponding pattern for the chord E7. It will be played in the sixth position. Remember to assign your left hand fingers to the corresponding frets:
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-----------6---9---
---7---7-----------
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In order to come back to the A-major pattern you can go via the D-major pattern. This will look as follows:
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-----------6---9-----------4---7---
---7---7-----------5---5-----------
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The complete pattern will look as follows written in chord notation:
A / D / E7 / D /
If you now play the two parts together you will have created a turnaround that you can play as long as you like. You have also added an exercise to your practicing routine that will help you develop you finger dexterity:
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----------------------------4---7---
-----------4---7---5---5-----------
---5---5---------------------------
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-----------6---9-----------4---7---
---7---7-----------5---5-----------
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Remember to minimize left hand movements, keep your thumb at the back of the neck and assign your left hand finger to the appropriate frets. And most importantly, do not play too fast! You have to relax as much as possible to not develop bad habits. Good technique includes playing with as little tension as possible.
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