When playing bass guitar there are a few techniques you can use to instantly make you sound more professional. Playing the correct notes at the right time is important, but there is more to being a great bass player than just being able to hit the notes. Although not that difficult to do, it is amazing how many bass players don’t employ these techniques in their playing. Adding these skills to your repertoire will help you to begin developing your own unique playing style. Read more »

Bass guitar lessons available on the Internet are growing in popularity for a number of reasons:

• there may not be a suitable teacher in your area;
• your schedule may make it difficult to make appointments at a set time;
• private tuition can be very expensive.

Consequently, there are a growing number of instructional videos, CDs, and books now available on the Internet. Unfortunately, these products are not all created equal and while some are great, others are not worth bothering with. Read more »

Do you watch your favorite band and wish you could play as well as their bass player? Well you can if you are really determined. It will take a lot of hard work and lots of practice, but you can learn how to play bass guitar. It is important to get on the correct path as soon as possible and there is no better way than to benefit from the experience of an expert. Read more »

Slap technique, or Slap Bass is a technique that was pioneered by Larry Graham. He was playing bass in his Mother’s band and wanted to add a percussive element to his playing to make up for the band not having a drummer. So Slapping and Popping (or Thumpin’ and Pluckin’ as he called) it was born. The technique was later copied and used by many famous bassists including Stanley Clarke, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, Bootsy Collins and Flea to name but a few. Read more »

Learning where each note is on the bass guitar fretboard is essential if you want to become more than what I call a parrot player. I am talking about someone who learns the bass line for a song by ear and just plays it like a parrot. He doesn’t know which notes he is playing or what key the song is in. This person is really limited by his lack of knowledge. A good knowledge of the fretboard will make you much more versatile and put you in control of your playing. Read more »

Just as with learning any new skill, learning bass guitar requires some preparation. Obviously you will need a bass guitar and amplifier, but there are a few other points to consider. Sure, you are itching to start playing, but before you begin to learn bass guitar take a little time now to read about 4 small things that you can do that will make your progress faster and smoother. Read more »

Bass guitar practice may not be something that you look forward to, but the only way to get better at anything is to practice. It doesn’t matter how expensive your equipment is, if you don’t practice, you will not improve. The skills you do have will deteriorate. Now I know that the thought of practicing scales for hours at a time doesn’t make you want to rush over and pick up your bass, does it. Well practice needn’t be dull and boring, and shouldn’t be. Read more »