Seven Tips on Playing the Bass Guitar
Learn from the pros is a great way to kick start your bass guitar playing.

The bass guitarist is hardly ever the star of the show. When there's no bass guitar, however, it's impossible not to notice. The bass guitar is one of what I call the base instruments in any musical performance. As an indie artist, mastering the bass guitar is a great way to diversify your skill set and separate you from artists who only have nice voices.

The bass guitar is a powerful instrument, but one that requires plenty of control. In mastering the amazing instrument, there are specific things you need to adopt if you're to succeed. I can't teach you how to play it from start to finish, but I can share some actionable tips and recommend a place where you can go to learn.

So how can you master the bass guitar? What're the things you must pay attention to if you'll go from playing crazy solos in your head to doing it on stage? Let's go!

Seven Actionable Tips

Learn alongside drums

The bass guitar is most effective when played alongside other instruments. This means you must be able to play in perfect sync with fellow instrumentalists, especially the drummer. It's therefore advisable that once you start learning to play songs, you'll have a drum recording in the background to play along to. Better still, you could practice alongside a live drummer.

Practicing alongside a drummer will teach you the true crux of playing the bass guitar, help you improve your timing and groove, and make you a much better team player. It'll help develop your ear so you can easily find bass lines and know exactly how to add life to a song. You'll be much better prepared for a live performance because you've developed not just the art of playing bass, but the art of playing bass in a band.

As a bass guitarist, there's no skill more important than knowing how to fit in with the rest of your crew. Playing alongside drums will help you develop that.

Take it easy

This is one of the most universal pieces of advice I've ever given. Whatever mission you're on, taking it easy is imperative. If you don't take it easy, you'll push yourself too hard and eventually burn out. Even Navy SEALs have to take things easy, by their standards of course. So when you start out learning how to play bass, don't push yourself too hard. Start with baby steps.

Learn the basics, then slowly move up to more complex stuff. If you rush past the basics, you'll eventually need them, and you won't have them. Find a teacher with an organized curriculum for your learning and follow that religiously. Before you know it, you'll be playing crazy solos in a live performance.

Learn to walk

I understand that you're not a toddler, but that's not what I mean. Walking the bass is a playing style that first started in jazz and blues, but eventually spread. When playing the bass lines, all you need is a single note. The problem is that the space from one note to the next is then too empty. Filling that space up with transition notes so that your bass line is always in motion is what bassists refer to as walking bass.

You need to learn how to fill that space up with beautiful music without losing yourself so that you always hit the bass line notes as you should.

Play with your foot too

No, I don't mean you should learn how to play the guitar with your feet, although that would be super cool. Playing the bass guitar requires you to understand timing, and this is why I have advised that you play alongside a drummer. If you don't have a drummer, however, another way you can create a rhythm for yourself to follow is by tapping your foot as you play.

This helps create a grid of time that lets you know what the bass line is, and how to attack it effectively. It's a great way to build an inner clock so that even when you're playing alone, you're right on the beat.

Learn the rules, then bend them

Music, art in general, is all about creativity and that would require you to bend the rules time and time again. If you don't understand the rules, however, you're likely to run into trouble when trying to bend them. This is why I keep insisting that you start from the basics, and play as rigidly as you need to. When the time comes for you to be expressive, it's the discipline you learned in the basic stage that'll keep you in check.

Learn to hold back

It's very tempting to go on crazy solo runs when playing the bass guitar. You can just feel it at the tip of your fingers a lot of the time. One of the most important parts of learning how to play bass, however, is restraint. When you're just having a good time and playing freestyle with your mates, of course, you can show off as much talent as you want. In performance, however, you have to hold yourself back.

This is a habit you must develop early by playing songs, not just playing all by yourself. I've already mentioned that it's good to play alongside drums because it helps improve your timing and groove, and how you fit in with the rest of the band. Learning how to hold back and play basic stuff is another thing you have to master early on, or you might run into trouble.

Find a teacher

It's tempting to think you can learn all by yourself on the internet, but that's a slippery slope. You can indeed learn online, but it's also easy to keep skipping from video to video and end up going in circles. What you want is to find a teacher with an organized curriculum that takes you from beginner to not-so-beginner and stick to that program. When you skip from video to video, you can't grow effectively because you're learning different tips off the internet.

Find a teacher, stick to their program, and you'll grow much more effectively than if you skip around from video to video. And in keeping with my earlier promise, I'll recommend a teacher to you. If you're interested in learning how to play bass, check out Music College TV on YouTube.

Final Thoughts

There you have it, seven actionable tips on becoming a kickass bass guitarist. So give it your everything, but don't push too hard. Master the rulebook, then throw it away. Learn as many styles as you want but stay disciplined. And make sure your groove is impeccable.

Happy learning, Champ!