Bass Lesson - Easily Learn How to Play Bass Lines by Ear

[sikvik87]

Great teacher!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for your endorsement of my teaching.

George

[MrCandyKaine]

thanks this is very helpful

[BassLessonsOnline]

I'm always happy to help. Thanks for your input.

George

[Vdenten]

Impossible, I will never learn how to play my bass

[Waynard888]

How important are the strings? Thanks

[BassLessonsOnline]

In my opinion, strings have very little impact on how well we play bass. After you have played for a while you will be able to determine what suits you best.

George

[BassLessonsOnline]

What do you mean with "bringing out the tone"?

It is best to adjust the sound to enhance whatever frequency range you are attempting to hear better.

George

[Reito405]

I love all your videos and I respect you so much! Thanks for eveything. I started to learn bass guitar 2 years ago and when I found your videos everything was easier! I could not live without bass now~ Thank you again!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Wow, that's a pretty cool endorsement. Thanks.

George

[sepittajat]

Thank you. I love bass. :D

[Macsk8ing]

Bass is such a beautiful instrument.

[BassLessonsOnline]

I agree - it has many forms of beauty.

George

[FilmComposeRaHoppe]

@BassLessonsOnline I play double bass. But i like the other bass as well. Can I apply this to double bass as well? :)

[BassLessonsOnline]

I play double bass too. It is actually my main instrument.

Yes, because this lesson is about concepts used for ear training, it can be applied to many instruments.

George

[Pentaerythrittetrani]

First, thank you for doing this , you teach me how to play the bass. Now i have a problem: I like the bassline from She caught the caty (blues brother (/watch?v=9hB3eCv_FOk)) but i cant write or tab it out. can you help me please?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for your thanks.

You could "cheat" and get someone to do it for you (not me) or see a face-to-face bass teacher for tips and advice so you can do this yourself (with other songs too).

My tips: Find the chord roots first, then begin adding the 5, 6 and octave. That will give you a good start.

George

P.S. via my website you will find a downloadable ear training MP3, titled "Workin' it Out"

[ZestyNumNums]

Thank you so much!

[BassLessonsOnline]

You're most welcome - thanks for posting!

George

[dimassuroso]

this is what i need.. very helpful.. thanks

[BassLessonsOnline]

I'm glad you found it. Thanks for posting.

George

[mycatsbroken]

Thanks guys it helped :)

[mycatsbroken]

Hey George, I'm 12 and I'm getting my first bass soon, I'm not sure whether I should get a squier jazz or precision bass. Which one would be better for a beginner?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks for your question.

Both the J and P basses are fine for a beginner (or even an advanced player). Get a feel for both basses (the look, the balance, the sound, the features etc.) and possibly consider who your influences are and which basses they use.

Either way, in my opinion you can't go wrong :)

George

[GrimSqueaker627]

@mycatsbroken i prefer precision. jazz can be brighter and have more depth, but I like the growliness of a p-bass and you can still get good depth. Check out your favorite bassist and see if he uses a p-bass or jazz bass and just use what they're using.

[Mr2010Jamie]

Thank you so much! I never thought I would be able to learn music by ear, but I managed to figure out the bass riff with all the correct frets! Thanks again man, you rock! :)

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for sharing your success. That's the result we all like to see.

George

[damislav]

you are very helpful! thank you!

[BassLessonsOnline]

I love to help - thank you for your post :)

George

[Drbarrelroll369]

wow 1 dislike, go george!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks, I hadn't noticed.

George

[ID0ntNeedANick]

your amp is too loud =(

im turning my volume allways up and down to understand you :D

but nice lesson ;)

[BassLessonsOnline]

Sorry about the amp distortion. I'm glad you like the lesson though!

George

[BassLessonsOnline]

That's great news - thanks!

George

[Gerwalk1982]

I'm really trying to learn from you, and I'm learning a lot in fact, but I'm kinda lost, because I'm learning solfa and not the "english key method". Anyway, your videos are being very, very usefull. Your technique is really amazing. Thanks for putting your knowledge here, free, for everyone ;)

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks.

If one technique (such as solfage) works for you, that's fine, especially when it comes to ear training. It is always good, however, to know and understand various approaches.

George

[midnight4585]

very good lesson!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for showing your appreciation.

George

[GITTZA]

Hey I really appreciate what you do and I like learning from you. I am trying to learn how to play Darling Dear by the Jackson 5 (bass by James Jamerson) and I cannot figure out how to do it. It's too fast. I tryed to watch people play it online, but it just doesn't come to me. In the case of fast basslines like this one, what is a good way to learn it by ear.

[BassLessonsOnline]

Usually good bit of practice and experience goes into learning such parts. If you go to my website (link in the resource box above) you will find that I have a downloadable mp3 called "Workin' it Out - Aural Skills for Bass Players". It costs, but the value is for life.

A few tips:

Pick any notes you can find; you don't have to start at the beginning.

Be able to hum a chosen note before you find it on your bass.

Be patient, yet persevere.

Play the fast bits in one position,if possible.

George

[GregoryTaylor121]

i understand but im not getting it

[BassLessonsOnline]

That's quite normal. It takes practice and perseverance.

George

[TheFirstThumper]

Very nice tricks and tips thanks

[BassLessonsOnline]

I'm glad they were helpful. Thanks for your comment.

George

[PatrickINcident]

your G note farts

[bobcad82]

@PatrickINcident thanks alot, i will be going back on this vid as a reference :)

[BassLessonsOnline]

Excellent! Review can be very useful.

George

[bobcad82]

@BassLessonsOnline *thumbs up*

[WpA09]

i dont know which is which. since im swedish we dont call them sharp or flat. but i guess a F# is called an f sharp? or is that an f flat?

[BassLessonsOnline]

F# is F sharp and Fb is F flat ... and so on.

George

[TeamMastaPr2]

Hey! Can you help to get a riff bass riff by ear in a Creedence Clearwater Revival song calles "Born on the Bayou", the riff comes in at 4:55 in this video youtube.com/watch?v=wIjUY3pjN8­E

The song goes on the 7th fret on A-string, thanks!

[BassLessonsOnline]

The notes you are probably looking for are E E B E B E, all on the 9th fret of the G and D strings.

Bass of Luck!

George

[TeamMastaPr2]

@BassLessonsOnline Thanks a lot, actually I know that (I saw that in a live video of them at Woodstock) and I saw bassist Stu Cook play that riff (the camera angels showed a lot of him), but I think I wrote wrong: it was probably 4:57 - there will be a deep (getting deeper and deeper) sound after | A -7--- 7-- | probably on E-string...

[vanillseatbmx]

would a F major scale be when you start out the scale with the first note being an F? and then say a C major scale be when you start out the scale with the first note being a C? what about say a A#, would that be called some kind of a minor scale? or just a A# major scale?

[BassLessonsOnline]

The root note of any scale determines the name of that scale. An F major scale has the scale root of F, but so does an F minor scale.

There are about 20 scales used in Western music and there are 12 different root notes for those 20 scales.

If you play a major scale with the root note A#, then that scale is called the A# major scale.

George

[vanillseatbmx]

thank you very much for the help! i appreciate it.

[BassLessonsOnline]

You're most welcome ... and Bass of Luck with your progress!

George

[vanillseatbmx]

haha cool! thanks again!

[kustomhead]

Who do you think is more important as a bass player, having a ton of skill or being dependable and works hard? Im not the most skilled bass player (if you check out my youtube videos you'll see),but I always show up for practice and I put forth as much effort as I can.

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for the look-in.

The "first-call" bass player is the one with all of the above AND the one who knows how to use his skills wisely.

We should play what is most suitable for the music ... and do it well.

Kind regards,

George

[gerardm388]

hi george recently i invested in a bass guitar and i feel like i wasted my money and im just wondering do u have a guide for a COMPLETE beginner

[email11123]

@gerardm388

Check out the book

"fretboard roadmaps: Bass"

alsp check out the guys

Dmanlamius

and

MarloweDk

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for your excellent suggestions. A combination of resources may be very helpful in learning bass.

George

[BassLessonsOnline]

Hello and thanks for your query.

My complete step-by-step subscription-based course of Bass Lessons Online (available through my website) is exactly the ticket.

Kind regards,

George 

[pugggs]

actually... the semi-tone slows down as you get CLOSER to the note. and it is simply vibrating too quickly to actually notice when you are several steps off, however the dissonance is still there.

[BassLessonsOnline]

Yes, you are correct. It is actually the clashing of the two sound waves very close to each other that is more apparent than frequencies further apart.

George

[JoeDaTrumpet]

Great lesson! Thank you so much for uploading!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thank you. I thought it was about time to show an actual video from my course.

George

[blazix201]

this is an amazing lesson, it helped me a lot

thank you

[BassLessonsOnline]

I'm happy to hear that. I have more than 50 such videos in my course.

Kind regards,

George

[BassLessonsOnline]

Very cool - thanks for posting.

The 5 has its place. You will have to test a few 5s to see if it works for you.

Bass of Luck!

George

[Hoekzema]

I can play pretty good by hearing if I say so myself, but I don't understand a word of those F/B note thingy's you're talking about. Again a good lesson though!

[BassLessonsOnline]

Its very very useful to have a good ear. I'm glad you liked the lesson. I try to incorporate elements for all types of learners.

George

[megaluisdeth]

@thelifeofnick7898 Yea get a 5 string! You can do more with a 5 string.

[beepit95]

pass lines?

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks. I have corrected my sleepy mistake ;-)

George

[eduardobadra]

thanks for the lesson. is that a sterling or a stingray in the back?

[BassLessonsOnline]

That is an OLP (very cheap but OK) copy of a Stingray. Just recently, however, I got a Sterling ... and I love it!

I'm glad you liked this video.

George

[S0NiCCCCC]

Hi George~ i've come a long way after your influence and lessons. I just have a few doubts about recording though. Im not really satisfied with the tone and the sound my bass delivers while recording. Can u please tell me how u record your videos and basslines?

[BassLessonsOnline]

For my You Tube videos I go through an ADA MB1 programmable preamp (with some compression) to an old Tascam Portastudio (as a mixer) into iMovie on my MacBook.

I'm happy to "see" your progress.

George

[S0NiCCCCC]

@BassLessonsOnline =) great, thanks a lot George...even now...after 2 years on the bass, it still never fails to astonish me how many new tricks i learn on it =) thanks so much~...keep making more amazing tutorials...u truly rock at it

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks for your great comment!

George

[xUltimateMetalx]

Great lesson!

[BassLessonsOnline]

I'm glad you liked this real lesson from my course.

George

[Antiks72]

Part of that groove reminds me of The Human League's song Keep Feeling Fascination

[BassLessonsOnline]

I have no idea where I got it from - but noting comes from nothing ;-)

George

[BassmrDK]

It's great to see a new video :)

[BassLessonsOnline]

Thanks. I've been busy improving my course and while doing that I thought I should show an actual video from the actual course :-)

George

[christiangallery]

Nice lesson. thanks. GOD Bless you.

[BassLessonsOnline]

I'm glad you like it. Thanks for your kind comment.

George

[Antiks72]

@christiangallery And Thor Bless you.