What to play on the bass guitar..

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RockerRocker Frets: 4941
I still did not get round to buying myself a bass guitar but I have looked at Squier Affinity Precision bass and amp kit also there is a Yamaha bass [not a very large instrument!] in the shop for reasonable money.

I have the use of my brother-in-laws Squier Jazz bass for the week as he is away on holidays.  I figured out that simply playing the open A string, the open D string and the open E string 'works' for a 12 bar blues in the key of A, matching the open string to the guitar chord.  Not in the least bit exciting but the notes fit and sound ok.  So what extra notes should I add to make the sound more interesting?  I know that fretting all three strings at the third fret works for the key of C and on the fifth fret for the key of D etc.

And I found that playing bass at even such a novice level is great fun.  And addictive.  Three open strings for the 12 bar in A.  Any suggestions please on where to go from here...

Thanks guys.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • martmart Frets: 5205
    Sticking with your 12 bar blues in A, try playing up the scale to lead from one note (chord) in to the next.

    Or try playing alternating octaves on each note.

    Or arpeggios - A, C#, E on the A chord etc. 

    And then there's the standard walking bass line - A, C#, E, F#, G and back down again on the A, and then the equivalent for the D and the E chords.

    And beyond that ... er, sorry, can't help - you've reached the extent of my knowledge. ;)
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    1. Try to think of it as an Electric Bass not as a Bass Guitar. It doesn't do what a guitar does and you don't play it like one.
    2. Assuming you can pick up on a rhythm, lock yourself into the kick drum.
    3. Start by playing chord roots, seems like you already have
    4. If you've got several beats on the same chords, try arpeggiating it.
    5. Try connecting up between roots with scale fragments.
    6. have fun! It's physically demanding so take care and don't give yourself RSI, but apart from that you will see music from a different point of view and it will enrich your experience of it.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950
    +1 to everything Phil said.

    It's an electric bass (as in double bass), not a bass guitar, really. Start by playing root notes and concentrate on rhythm and timing, then when you get bored of that, start adding passing notes. True basslines - melodic, not necessarily chord-following - come later.

    The only time they're really used as 'bass guitars' is in punk-type music really (I include Motörhead in that, since they were always at the punk end of the metal spectrum), so if that isn't your thing, put aside any thought of playing it like a guitar.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • hywelghywelg Frets: 4302
    Mr Big......
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  • ChrisMusicChrisMusic Frets: 1133
    There is something very rewarding in all those luscious deep notes, a mixture of poetry and power.
    You can create a really tight groove, and delicious harmony as your playing progresses.

    It is all about timing, chill out and loose yourself in a groove.

    This will help with your rhythm on the guitar too.  I think whilst they are very different that there is a lot of synergy between the instruments too.  The finger stuff will help with co-ordination and strength for regular guitar finger picking or hybrid picking techniques, so it is all valuable practice.

    There is good advise in the posts above.

    Work on right hand stuff, try a pick or two, use your fingers, try your thumb, they all sound different.

    Alternate 1st and 2nd fingers, or try all four in sequence to get them used to working in a rhythm.
    Slap the side of your thumb against the low string, and it gives a different tone.
    It hurts if you hit beside the nail, but the joint makes a pretty good hammer, try it and see what works for you.
    If you get a finger under the string slightly and pull up you will get the "pop" that often accompanies slap playing.

    Don't over-do it though, there is a lot of mass and tension in those big bass strings, you can strain a muscle quite easily or even a tendon, and RSI is not pleasant either.

    It is a great instrument.

    Sit on a groove and enjoy  :)

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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    I used to play a lot of octaves, although it can end up being a bit disco. Sort of dum dee dum dee dum dee dum dee. One of those things that sound big on bass and a bit non descript on guitar. Or do the same thing with root and fifth, which is a Johnny Cash type thing.
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • UnclePsychosisUnclePsychosis Frets: 12879
    I always try to avoid playing the open strings as much as possible when playing the bass. They're harder to mute and often have a different timbral quality to that of fretted notes. If I was playing root notes of a 12 bar in A I'd play it at the fifth fret. 
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  • Drew_TNBDDrew_TNBD Frets: 22445
    Play guitar riffs. They sound cooooool on bass. The worst kind of bass playing - apart from slap and jazz - is the plodding root note rocker.... what a cop out!
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  • dchwhitedchwhite Frets: 182
    Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion

    The Verve - Gravity Grave

    (That's pretty much my whole bass repertoire, now I think about it).
    Stonevibe: 'The best things in life aren't things'.

    Trading feedback: Previous (+18) and Current

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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26742
    1. Get the Blues Brothers soundtrack. 

    2. Enjoy

    :)
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • martmart Frets: 5205
    1. Get the Blues Brothers soundtrack. 

    2. Enjoy

    :)
    Actually, that's a good point. If you can find one, get yourself a copy of this:
    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VOnIGTMpL.jpg
    Really cool, really fun, and actually quite a lot of it is really easy.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950
    edited July 2014
    Drew_fx said:
    Play guitar riffs. They sound cooooool on bass. The worst kind of bass playing - apart from slap and jazz - is the plodding root note rocker.... what a cop out!
    I agree, but root notes are a good way into getting rhythm and timing right, and playing it as a different instrument from guitar. You can drop all that and start playing it like a real instrument once you've got the basics :). And it's still useful to be able to do the root notes sometimes.

    Or you can just start at the business end…


    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • DeijavooDeijavoo Frets: 3298
    Greatest bassline of all time and he sings on top!!


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  • DeijavooDeijavoo Frets: 3298
    +1 on Gravity Grave too. 
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950
    This one's pretty good as basslines go too…




    And this one.




    And this one.




    Spot the common factor in the last few ;).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23906
    hywelg said:
    Mr Big......


    Easy!




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  • Paul_CPaul_C Frets: 7669



    "I'll probably be in the bins at Newport Pagnell services."  fretmeister
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  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    edited July 2014
    Madness bass lines. Melodic, interesting, sometimes quirky and a bit of a challenge. Mark Bedford is a very underrated player!

    Joke - A total novice decides he's going to learn bass and signs up for weekly lessons.
    The first day the instructor says to him "Today we're learning E" and he just plays E over and over again. The next lesson the instructor says he'll be teaching him A and he plays A over and over again. The third lesson is D and he plays D over and over again. At the end of that lesson the instructor says "Next lesson we'll learn G" to which the guy replies "I can't make the next lesson, I have a gig."

    If only it was that easy and no offence bass players ;)
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  • ecc83ecc83 Frets: 1589

    Try singing All My Loving and playing Macca's bass lines.

    I could manage one or other but not both! Instead I sang and missed a few notes out!  Many people find it hard to follow bass lines in music and just get a vague "woomph-woomph" idea. My otherwise musical son finds this hard.

    But don't ever worry about just playing "simple"  bass lines. If you listen to "classical" orchestral stuff and a lot of Bach keyboard, there is often just a "bUMp. bumP. going on. I got into trouble with my son once!

    He is a very accomplished lead/rhythm guitarist (fair on keys and clarinet as well, sod 'im!") and many years ago he got a gig as a bass player* in a band and I went to hear him. He asked me about his bass playing and like a H.U.G.E. twat I told him exactly what I thought. "You were a bit "busy" son" .....Barely spoke to me for about a year!

    A few years later he came to me and  said I was right and he apologized for being a bit of a dick about it.

    *He was a good player, did " Variations" on a bass as his exam at school. The band had a lead guitarist but son suspected he would not last long as he was all ego and no talent. He was right and did a few gigs with them as lead Gitist.


    Dave.

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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23906
    edited July 2014
    Classical Thump





    Actually this one's better



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