Beginner Bass: Whole Notes Country
There’s a thing when you’re just starting out on bass: it’s so easy to get distracted.
You really got to have a well-structured program to follow.
That is if you want to make somewhat quick progress and get to the level where you can play songs you like as soon as possible.
Don’t skip steps in the learning process, even for stuff that feels you’ve got it down.
In this free bass lesson, we’re going back to basics.
Practice playing whole notes on bass along with a country backing track.
By the way, I believe you should always practice along with the music.
Beginner Bass Line: Whole Notes Country
Backing track for practice is included in the free lesson resources package.
In this tune I’m playing whole notes duration exclusively.
Make sure that each note you play rings out for a full bar, counting it like this: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4.
Pluck the note on beat 1 in each bar of music.
This tune is also played with open strings only which makes it suitable for absolute beginners on bass to learn the basic whole notes rhythm.
Goal: learn how to play this line in time along with the backing track. Record your performance, upload a video to Youtube and email me to have it featured on this page.
Advanced tips: try to mute the ringing strings with your fretting hand index finger in the chorus section. The idea is to stop the whole note from ringing more than it’s intended duration. That will clean up your performance and make it sound less muddy.
So when you play the open D string, the moment you go on to the next chord and pluck the open A string – lightly touch the D string with your index finger of the fretting hand to stop it from vibrating.
Alright, hope you’ll find this bass line fun to play.
Handy Resources For Download
To help you follow the material I’ve covered in this lesson, I’ve created a handy free package that includes PDF that summarizes everything in this lesson PLUS you get practice backing track so that you can play it on your computer or living room audio system and improvise over.
DOWNLOAD LESSON RESOURCES PACK
Practicing it will help you gain strong foundations in rhythm and technique, especially if you’re just starting out.
Suggested Bass Courses
Country Bass – Johnny Cash Style
Learn fundamentals of country bass guitar by deep diving into three classic songs by Johnny Cash.
If you’re serious about bass and would enjoy step-by-step online bass lessons and courses, then I strongly suggest checking out how Bass Road Academy online bass courses can help you get results.
Keep grooving – Bogdan
Want to get better at playing bass and make steady progress?
Level up your bass skills with online bass courses and lesson series at Bass Road Academy.
Learn why behind the bass lines you play, have a strategy when improvising and make progress faster.