how do you hold chord forms? (lh)

[chriscisme22]

so i always see other bass players play chords, and i never really figured out the chord shapes yo hold on the fretboard to get whichever given chord sound your looking for.

also i see they hold forms while playing individual notes where are my style is more loose, but id like to tighten up my hand posture i just dont know the finger forms.

help would be most appreciated

 

[lowendfriend]

I would go check out the free website:

Online Bass Lessons at StudyBass.com

for a complete run down on scales and chords...complete with fingering maps in Flash.

The figures also play the arpeggiated chords they illustrate.

 

[Russell L]

You might also want to pick up a guitar chord chart. Just look at the lowest four strings.

 

[cjmodulus]

When learning chords it helps to know a little bit of theory (specifically, how chords are constructed). Once you know your triads and sevenths you can play around with the shapes they make and find out what fits best under your hand. One voicing I like to use involves me playing the root on the E string, 7th on D, and the third up on the G string. So, using a G minor seventh as an example, it would look something like this:
G 15
D 15
A
E 15
Sorry if any of this went over your head or anything. Hope this was slightly helpful.

 

[Kobaia]

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[JTE]

If you know what the chord tones are, and you know the notes on the fingerboard, you'll figure out real fast what the common shapes are. Find a voicing for a C chord (C E G), move it two frets higher and you've got a D chord (D F# A)- and that's a LOT more useful than just learning shapes. That's why so many guitarists don't really know chords- they know shapes but don't have a clue about what they're actually playing.

So, learn elementary harmony and chord tones.

John

 

[lowendfriend]

If you know what the chord tones are, and you know the notes on the fingerboard, you'll figure out real fast what the common shapes are. Find a voicing for a C chord (C E G), move it two frets higher and you've got a D chord (D F# A)- and that's a LOT more useful than just learning shapes. That's why so many guitarists don't really know chords- they know shapes but don't have a clue about what they're actually playing.

So, learn elementary harmony and chord tones.

John

Which is exactly why I highly recommend www.studybass.com as I don't believe there is better source for these basics on the web. It delivers the learning on theory, exercises to get theory into head and fingers and examples to give a broader perspective on their use. Technically, the site is awesome in the Flash-based learning aids, metronome, chord charts for all numbers of strings, test for learning to read notes on bass clef, recordings to practice with, etc. A teacher by the name of Andrew Pouska does it as a bass community service. Good on him!!

 

[FretlessMainly]

To add to some of the good advice alreay posted, keep this in mind:

A bass is a very different animal compared to guitar. Much of the lower range of the bass is in a frequency range that can lead to mud when playing intervals (double stops) and/or chords (triple/quadruple stops). So embrace the differences and use them effectively. And remember that the two most important pitches in a chord are the 3rd and the 7th. You don't need the 1 or the 5 to define the movement or restfulness of the chord.

So learn a bit of theory - enough to know the contruct of MAJOR, minor and Dominant chords. Then consider toying around with playing reasonable portions of these chords (three fingers or notes is usually a practical limit from a fingering and tonal standpoint) in different inversions.