Basically, it was my birthday the other day and i was saying how i wanted to learn bass. My amazing friends all got together and appeared at my house with a bass and an amp....(i'm really loving them right now). My mate who plays guitar said she'd teach me but i tells me i need to get a lead and a tuner......how does this hole tuning business work? I was wondering if theres anything i can do to teach myself in her absence (shes on holiday now) .... i mean i dont even know the basics. I dont know.....like.....what notes the strings are. How to play ANYTHING (but i'm tre willing to learn). Can anyone explain the basics to me?
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*puzzled*
- Thread starter Kiara
- Start date
First off, read and learn every bit of information in This Thread.
Secondly, just to get you started. The Bass Guitar is tuned E-A-D-G, and the note is the pitch of the sound you hear. A tuner is a device which tells you if you if the note your string is tuned at is the right note. It will tell you if you are sharp (higher pitch) and flat (lower pitch), you use the tuning keys (the turny things at the far end of the bass neck) to tighten or loosen the strings. Tighten strings make the pitch go higher.
The fattest string is the E string, the next is the A, then the D, and the G is the skinniest. If you're playing the bass standing or sitting, the E string is on the top.
Thirdly, your friend is telling you to get a 'lead', so I assume she means a cord or cable to go from your bass to your amplifier. This will be a simple 1/4" to 1/4" male end cord you can find at most every electronics supply store anywhere. As you progress, you'll learn there are varying qualities of cords to choose from. You'll probably want one about 3 metres long, so you can sit a comfortable distance away from your amp.
Anyway, welcome to the world of bass.
Secondly, just to get you started. The Bass Guitar is tuned E-A-D-G, and the note is the pitch of the sound you hear. A tuner is a device which tells you if you if the note your string is tuned at is the right note. It will tell you if you are sharp (higher pitch) and flat (lower pitch), you use the tuning keys (the turny things at the far end of the bass neck) to tighten or loosen the strings. Tighten strings make the pitch go higher.
The fattest string is the E string, the next is the A, then the D, and the G is the skinniest. If you're playing the bass standing or sitting, the E string is on the top.
Thirdly, your friend is telling you to get a 'lead', so I assume she means a cord or cable to go from your bass to your amplifier. This will be a simple 1/4" to 1/4" male end cord you can find at most every electronics supply store anywhere. As you progress, you'll learn there are varying qualities of cords to choose from. You'll probably want one about 3 metres long, so you can sit a comfortable distance away from your amp.
Anyway, welcome to the world of bass.
Notes repeat every octave. There's an E that you want to tune to, and there's onother an octave lower in pitch (half the frequency, if you've had some physics). There's also another that's an octave higher: twice the frequency. This sequence extends infinitely in both directions, although notes too high or low to be audible aren't usually musically useful. 
When you're too low, the string will be extremely floppy, and completely unplayable. When you're too high, the string will be extremely tight. The string will probably break before you get there. The proper E is an octave below the low E on a guitar, which I suspect your guitarist friend knows, and will help you get right.
When you're too low, the string will be extremely floppy, and completely unplayable. When you're too high, the string will be extremely tight. The string will probably break before you get there. The proper E is an octave below the low E on a guitar, which I suspect your guitarist friend knows, and will help you get right.
a nice site that explains some good stuffs:
www.cyberfretbass.com
there is a neck chart there (tells you all the notes on the neck) and other basic things. check that site out, you'll be glad you did
welcome to bass 
www.cyberfretbass.com
there is a neck chart there (tells you all the notes on the neck) and other basic things. check that site out, you'll be glad you did
welcome to bass Well if all you're looling to learn at this moment is tuning, it's quite easy. Just buy a tuner 
To start you can tune each string with the tuner, or tune one string and tune the others relative to that. Say take A and tune that with your tuner (440hz). The lower (tone) open string always corresponds to the string above it fretted at the fifth fret.
I usually start with A but I've only been playing a month so take what I say with a pillar of salt
To start you can tune each string with the tuner, or tune one string and tune the others relative to that. Say take A and tune that with your tuner (440hz). The lower (tone) open string always corresponds to the string above it fretted at the fifth fret. I usually start with A but I've only been playing a month so take what I say with a pillar of salt
