Bass for Beginners: Half and Quarter Notes

For this week's post, I'm going to start with some simple bass exercises. We'll start with an exercise in the key of C. I've sort of based the chord progression on Pachelbel's Canon in D, but transposed the exercise to C.

These are exercises in the first position (the open strings through the fourth fret) on the third and fourth strings, or A and E strings. The dotted double bar means you play the exercise through a second time before moving on to the next section. Start playing these slowly, with a metronome. As a bass player, it is essential that you develop good rhythm and meter. Playing in time is essential for bassists, because they are the real cornerstone of any good band.

When you are playing measures 9 through 16, notice how the feel of the rhythm changes. Take your time with these, get a good feel for the rhythm, and have fun. See you next week.