Top Bass Lines to Learn for Beginners

The bass guitar is a vital instrument in any band, bridging the gap between rhythm and melody. It provides the rhythmic feel and steady beat that helps both the guitar and drums propel a song forward. This article explores some of the best bass lines for beginners to learn, covering various genres and techniques to help you start your musical journey.

Why Learn to Play Bass Guitar?

While guitarists often get the glory, there aren’t as many bassists vying for the spotlight. However, the bass guitar is the low-end bottom that provides a bridge between the showmanship and melody of the guitar and the driving backbeat of the drums. Many bassists have a firm understanding of the structure of songs and often take a front-seat role in songwriting.

Is Bass Guitar Easy to Learn?

Playing bass guitar can be easy, but the more you delve into the intricacies of the instrument, you can apply that knowledge to play simple or more complex basslines in songs. Depending on the musical genre and the level of mastery you aspire to with playing your instrument, it can determine how easy or how hard it is to learn bass guitar. The physical size and thickness (or gauge) of bass strings of a bass may also make it more challenging for new musicians to learn. However, if you have smaller hands, there are short-scale basses that can make it easier for you to maneuver up and down the neck of your bass guitar and span a shorter distance between frets.

Choosing a Bass Guitar

As a beginner, choosing a bass guitar can feel intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are several factors that can help narrow down the right choice for your bass:

Size: A short-scale bass may be the perfect choice for beginner bassists with smaller hands or those who want a lighter instrument with a shorter neck to more easily maneuver around the fretboard.
Tone: Depending on your genre of choice and the sound you’re aiming to achieve, different bass guitars will offer their own distinct tone.
Number of strings: While most bass guitars have four strings, there are some five-string models that offer players more creative freedom. If you’re just starting out on your musical journey, it may be best to master playing a four-string bass first before branching out.
Budget: Even if you’re starting out or on a budget, there are plenty of affordable options to find a bass you’ll love for years to come. Electric bass bundles are another great choice for bassists on a budget, packaging together a bass, amp, strap, and other accessories to get you started.

Essential Tools for Beginner Bassists

Having the right tools is key to mastering your instrument. There are a few essentials beginner bassists should have to get started:

Bass guitar strap: A guitar strap not only helps you to securely hold your instrument in the correct position for playing, but it also helps you show off a bit of your personality and sense of style.
Cables: Whether you’re plugging your bass into an amplifier or stringing effects pedals together, cables help make that connection possible.
Amps: An amplifier can help you hear the true tone of your instrument and perfect your technique.
Digital tuner: Making sure your bass stays in tune can help you develop your ear. A digital tuner can help you find the right pitch.

Tuning Your Bass Guitar

While it may have a thicker, more bottom-heavy sound than its six-stringed cousin, the guitar; the bass has the same first four strings, tuned to the same notes. The strings on the bass guitar are:

E = The fourth (lowest tone) string
A = The third string
D = The second string
G = The first (and highest tone) string

You can tune your bass by ear or using harmonics, but the Fender Tune app makes it easy to stay in tune.

Bass Finger Techniques

There’s no wrong way to play bass. Depending on the genre and style you like most, as well as your own finger strength and dexterity, both styles have their own merits:

Play bass with a pick: If speed and versatility is what you strive for, playing bass with a pick may be your preferred method.
Play bass with your fingers: Playing bass with your fingers yields a smoother sound and allows you to slap and pop your strings for a funk-fueled tone.

Playing Bass Chords

When learning to play bass, you may not encounter chords as frequently as you would when playing guitar. However, learning how to play bass chords can only serve to enhance your playing. While basslines are often the cornerstone of a song, bass chords help to add color, flavor, and a bottom-heavy rhythm to a song.

Playing Bass Scales

A bass scale is a consecutive series of notes played in an ascending or descending order. Every scale has 8 notes. This set of notes is called an octave. The notes on a scale remain the same, regardless of whether you’re playing a scale on bass, guitar, or ukulele. Each scale begins and ends with the same note -- known as the “root note.” The final note of every scale is also the root note, but the pitch of the note is raised one octave higher than the first note.

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When playing bass scales, one of the easiest scales to start with is the G Major scale:

1st Note (Root Note): G2nd Note: A3rd Note: B4th Note: C5th Note: D6th Note: E7th Note: F#8th Note (Root note, one octave higher): G

Creating a Bassline

A bassline is a series of notes played on bass that ties together chord tones, the key a song is written and performed in, and the rhythm -- anchoring the beat and melody of the song.

Some tips to keep in mind when building bassline include:

Find a key: Start by knowing the key of the song. Learning your scales and listening for the root note that crops up in the song and its chords can help you narrow down the key of a song. This can help you to craft a bassline that compliments the song.
Pick apart chords: Listen to the chords a guitarist is playing and break them down, note by note, into an arpeggio. This can help you create a bassline that gels with the chords in a given song.
Listen for timing: Bass, at heart, is a rhythm instrument. It sets the tone and pace for a song. When crafting a bassline, keep in mind the tempo or signature of a song and use it to inform your bassline’s rhythm.

Practicing Bass for Beginners

Setting good practice habits is essential for new bassists. For any beginner musician, making practice a regular part of your routine is critical to progress and building proficiency. Here are a few tips for carving out time to practice, as well as making sure you have what you need to get in a quality practice session.

Make time to practice: Practicing for even a few minutes a day is better than not practicing at all.
Have a devoted practice space: Having a space dedicated to your practice can go a long way toward making it a regular part of your routine.
Start with scales and techniques: Start by learning fundamentals such as bass scales or by focusing on one technique at a time.
Be patient with yourself: No one picked up an instrument and learned it in one day. As you progress, you’ll be able to link these smaller skills together and work your way up to playing entire songs or basslines.

Simple Walking Bass Line For Jazz Beginners

A simple walking bass line through the chord changes of the Jazz standard Autumn Leaves. Using basic chord tones and repetitive lines that will act as a springboard in developing your own lines.

Autumn Leaves is one of the most commonly used songs when it comes to learning jazz. Autumn Leaves is pretty straightforward in that there are two main tonal centers, one in Bb major and then another in the relative minor key of G minor.

Two Simple Patterns are used as the foundation for the whole thing. There are a couple of exceptions but for the most part we’re looking at one line for ascending and one line for descending.

For ascending lines using the scale degrees 1 2 3 5For descending lines coming down the scale.: 1 7 6 5

These two patterns work for any chord movement by 4th. When measuring chord movement we look at the root movement in ascent. So Cm7 to F7 is movement by 4th because we have the root notes moving from C to F.

A Few Exceptions: The two scale patterns work through most of the chords in Autumn Leaves because there is so much movement by 4th. However there are a few basic exceptions.

Top 20 Must-Know Bass Riffs for Beginners

Here are 20 must-know bass riffs for beginner bassists. Each of these riffs are perfect for the beginner and each one contains at least one technical hurdle you'll need to overcome.

You Really Got Me - The Kinks
In The Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett
Stand By Me - Ben E. King
Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
All Day & All Of The Night - The Kinks
Gimme Some Lovin' - Spencer Davis Group
Iron Man - Black Sabbath
Super Freak - Rick James
- Gorillaz
Living On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Peter Gunn Theme - Henry Mancini
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Walking On The Moon - The Police
Stir It Up - Bob Marley
Lady Marmalade - Labelle
Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison
Under Pressure - Queen20.

Beginner Bass Lines That People Actually Know

Here are five beginner bass lines that will make you look like a bit of a badass:

These are the kind of beginner bass lines where the bass carries the whole song. If you took everything away and you only had the bass, people would still ‘get it'.

Easy Bass Songs to Learn

Here are suggestions that will help you learn the basics of notation or tablature, key signatures, and understanding the core components that make up the songs you love, all without boring you with endless repeats of the same eight bars.

She Loves You - The Beatles
Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple
Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
Message in a Bottle - The Police
Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
Baba O’Riley - The Who
When I Come Around - Green Day
Papa's Got A Brand New Bag - James Brown

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