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How To Instantly Play Killer Bass Parts On Guitar

By Mike Hayes | May 26, 2010

The foundation of country guitar playing is a strong bass part
take a listen to Johnny Cash or Chet Atkins and you will know
what I mean. Country music depends on a solid bass line to
support the story being presented by the vocalist: alternating
bass for traditional country, descending bass lines for ballads,
and boogie woogie style runs for country rock and western swing.

With so many styles to choose from it’s difficult to know where
to start, so let’s start at the beginning.

Step 1. Learn to play clean chords before adding in the bass.

I always amazed at how many players do not know how to play
chords with 100% correct bass notes; chord books and chord
diagrams on sheet music have a lot to answer for here!

The first thing to do before creating any type of bass run is to
check your standard open string chord shapes to see if you have
the correct note in the bass.

Here is a check list for you:

A, Am, A7 = 5 string chord, bass note fifth string

B, Bm, B7 = 5 string chord, bass note fifth string

C, Cm, C7 = 5 string chord, bass note fifth string

D, Dm, D7 = D string chord, bass note fourth string

E, Em, E7 = 6 string chord, bass note sixth string

F, Fm, F7 = 6 string chord, bass note sixth string (played as a
bar chord)

or

F, Fm, F7 = 4 string chord, bass note fourth string (played as a
four or five string chord)

G, Gm, G7 = 6 string chord, bass note sixth string

The most important thing about playing bass parts on the guitar
is to make sure you play the correct bass note on the first beat
of the bar.

Using the reference chart above this is how I would start your
practice session.

4/4 time = bass /// |bass /// | bass /// | bass /// | etc

In this example the bass note would be played on the first beat
and the remaining three beats would be strummed.

Important: when strumming always strum the remaining strings
don’t play the bass note as part of your strum e.g., if you where
playing a “D” chord you would play the fourth string as your bass
note on the first beat then play three strings (the remaining
strings of the “D” chord shape) for the rest of the bar.

in 3/4 time this is how you would play the bass

3/4 time = bass // |bass // | bass // | bass // | etc

Step 2.

Alternating bass

Here is an alternating bass reference chart for you to study; the
first number is the first bass note the second number is the alternate bass note (the second bass note).

A, Am, A7 = 5 / 6 /

B, Bm, B7 = 5 / 6 /

C, Cm, C7 = 5 / 6 /

D, Dm, D7 = 4 / 5 /

E, Em, E7 = 6 / 5 /

F, Fm, F7 = 6 / 5 / (bar chord version)

F, Fm, F7 = 4 / 5 / (five string version)

G, Gm, G7 = 6 / 4 /

In 4/4/ time the first bass note is always played on the first
beat of the bar while the second bass note is always played on
the third beat.

Alternate bass in 4/4

4/4 time = bass /bass / | bass /bass | / bass /bass / | etc

Remember to start playing these bass parts s-l-o-w-l-y; aim for 100% accuracy … speed is a by-product of accuracy it will come in time and as always have fun with your guitar.

Topics: Beginner Guitar Lesson, Country Guitar, Guitar Chords | No Comments »

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