Knee to knee is the best way to learn, however knee to knee with a bass instructor is preferred. The following will get you going on your own.
Get Bass Guitar For Dummies, that book will show you how to hold your bass, how to tune it, how to get noise from it and how to mute some of the rattle our bass makes. Start on page 1 and do not skip pages. The following helped me:
I use this major scale box pattern for everything I do. Here is what it looks like:
Code:
Major scale box showing scale degree numbers and
the root note on the 4th string.
....index....middle..ring...little finger
G~~|---2---|-------|---3---|---4---| 1st string
D~~|---6---|-------|---7---|---8---|
A~~|---3---|---4---|-------|---5---|
E~~|-------|---R---|-------|---2---|4th string
I recommend you start out running your scales up and down the neck using the major scale box. F major scale - put the "R" on the 4th string 1st fret - yes the F major scale awaits you within the box, just run R-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. Notice you got a Bb 4th, because the F major scale has a flat 4th. That's kinda neat!
G major scale put the "R" on the 4th string 3rd fret and the G major scale notes await you. Notice the G major scale has a sharped F. Yep the box put the right notes under your fingers. That was a big wow for me; and is the main reason I think in (visualize) the major scale box pattern. Want a minor G scale? Take the major scale box and flat the 3, 6 & 7 and you have the natural minor G scale. Flatting the 3, 6 & 7 major scale will give you the nature minor scale of that major scale.
I use the ole major scale box and then adjust for natural minor, (b3, b6, b7) or Harmonic minor (B3, B6) or Melodic minor (b3). Yes Dorian is R-2-b3-4-5-6-b7. Learn the "spellings" of the other stuff, but, play it on your major scale box pattern. Don't get hung up on this right now, just wanted to give you an idea what can be done with just one pattern. Here are the major scale locations for....
... A @ the 5th fret, B @ the 7th fret, C @ the 8th fret, D @ the 10th fret and E @ the 12th fret.
Yep do them a zillion times. Why? So your fingers get to moving on the fretboard and your ear starts hearing the good notes from the "bad" notes.
Next is chord tones. When we get with a band we will not be running scale notes up and down the fretboard. We will be playing notes of the active chord. The notes of a chord are found in the box also; see below:
C = R-3-5
Cm = R-b3-5
That's enough for right now, we'll get into the other chords later.
Notice they all have a root and a 5 and then some kind of a 3. Major chords have a natural 3 and minor chords have a flatted 3 or b3.
Right at first get the root-5 going. Songs with 4/4 timing - root on the first beat and the 5th on the 3rd beat. Where is the 5 from your root? Same place all over your fretboard - up a string and over toward the bridge two frets, or if there is a string below your root the 5th will be down a string same fret. All over your fretboard. A root-five bass line is a piece of cake.
So after you get your fingers moving by doing your scales start seeing a chord and your fingers just know where the root and it's 5th are on your fretboard - no matter what root you start with. Yep to the beat of the song - root on the 1st beat and the 5 on the 3rd beat.
Where do I find the root? Good question. If I'm paying from fake chord or chord charts I find my C chord in first position - which is the first 4 frets of your fretboard. Everything you will need is in that four fret area. Once I've found my root - where is the 5th? Yep up a string and over two frets or down a string same fret.
Here is a chord chart on an easy song:
Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall (Chords)
Since you are doing R-5 treat that Dm chord as a D right now - we can get into minor chords later. See what you can do with Another Brick In The Wall. For grins on the Dm do a R-b3 instead of a R-5. The b3 is one fret back toward the nut from the 3.
video, pink floyd, another brick in the wall - Bing
Start with just roots and when that flows add the 5th.
After that flows come up for some air and we will go a little deeper.
Have fun.
