If you have ever wanted to participate in a band or start your own band, you might have considered playing the bass guitar. The bass guitar is generally made up of four standard strings, which makes learning to play easier than a five or more stringed guitar. The bass guitar is not a lead guitar, per se, but is actually an accompaniment to the lead guitar. Additionally, the bass guitar can be either acoustic or electric and is used to hold the ‘bass' sounds and tonal qualities of a song. Therefore, in its design and makeup, it was created to give a group of instruments a certain melody and rhythm that can be adhered to by all the other instruments around it.

Whether you choose to teach, study, or learn to play the bass guitar with an instructor or on your own, getting a few fundamentals down is essential to developing good habits, especially when it comes to learning how to hold the guitar, strum or pick it, and properly move from chord to chord along different frets. Following, it will be up to you if you want to learn in the classical method, which dictates learning notes and reading sheet music. Or, especially with a four-stringed bass, you can learn to play in chords, which will make your learning progressively faster and allow you to begin playing tunes almost immediately. Developing this sort of learning and playing style will also leave more room for improvisation and fine-tuning your playing ear.

The four strings of a bass guitar are in, from lowest to highest, E-A-D-G note formation, which allows players to easily control which chord, octave, and pitch they want their music in. Mastering the frets on a guitar is generally essential and it helps if your guitar has visible fret lines. Then, as you learn, pressing down your fingertips in a certain fret becomes a straightforward process. Some bass guitars come with no frets; instead, the wood is nicely polished where the player has to inherently know which fret is which and where it is located. While this is much easier for more advanced players and songwriters, as a new student to the bass guitar, you're better off learning to play with visible fret indicator lines.

Additionally, whether you are teaching yourself, learning online, or learning from an instructor or friend, it is important that you are able to keep your bass guitar in tune. When you are looking for a bass guitar to purchase, throw in a small electric tuner as well. An electric tuner will help you normalize and accurately tune each of your strings so that a crisp and sharp sound can be produced. After some practice tuning the instrument, you'll be able to tell by ear if your guitar is in tune or not. In order that your playing sounds professional across the spectrum, always make sure that you are learning with a well-tuned guitar.

Overall, learning the bass guitar isn't that difficult. Within a month or so, you'll be able to play a few songs. Give yourself plenty of time, have patience, and practice at least a half an hour per day. Once your fingers get used to their proper positions and you are able to get your strumming down to match the rhythm of the song, you'll be on your way to more advanced types of music. Remember to always practice the chords you are learning. Practice from one chord to another and slide your hand from fret to fret. All of this will culminate to make you a good bass player in a relatively short amount of time.

If you want to do more than Learn How to Play Bass Guitar, then you should definitely Learn and Master Guitar.