Developing fluency around the fingerboard – bass guitar studies

To be able to move around the bass fluently, it is essential that you can quickly identify all of the notes we have learned. You need to know where they live on the fingerboard and also where they are represented on the musical stave.

The next two exercises are challenging studies designed to help you become increasingly more proficient at recognizing the bass notes on the music and playing them fluently on the fingerboard.

You need to practise these in the same manner as always:

work out each bar slowly, making sure you understand what you are being asked to play;
work slowly through the exercise, increasing your comfort and control;
use the multimedia files to help you understand and confirm what you are trying to play.

The first exercise focuses on recognizing notes. The second combines notes, octave shapes and root and fifth shapes, together with note value recognition skills.

Exercise 6

Whole Note

Worth four beats.

In Exercise 7, you will see a note that is new to you. This is a whole note.

Exercise 7

Next: Ready for Level 1 piece