Chromatic walk: a bass warm-up for both hands
Four fingers on frets 5 to 8, up all four strings and back in eighths, the plucking fingers alternating. It warms up both hands and gets the fretting hand used to one finger per fret, the position most bass lines are played from. Alternating index and middle from the start builds an even, steady tone.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with the metronome on, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 120 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 120 bpm
- Starts at
- 72 bpm
- Length
- 4 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
How to play it
Fingers 1 to 4 on frets 5 to 8; index and middle take turns on every note.
One finger per fret from the 5th: the 1st finger on the 5th, the 4th on the 8th. Play up the E string, cross to the A and on to the G, then come back from the 8th fret on the G string to the 5th on the E.
The plucking hand alternates index and middle on every note, even across strings. When the plucking finger moves to a lower string, let it come to rest on the string above, which keeps that string quiet.
Mistakes to watch for
- Plucking twice in a row with the same finger at the string changes.
- Open strings ringing behind the line because nothing mutes them.
- Pressing far harder than the note needs: bass strings take more force than guitar strings, but not that much more.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 72
- 78
- 84
- 90
- 96
- 102
- 108
- 114
- 120
That's 16 loops and about 3 minutes before you're playing at 120 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play Chromatic walk?
The goal is 120 bpm in eighth notes, which is 4 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 72 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
Should I use one finger per fret on bass?
Higher up the neck, like here, yes. Down near the nut the frets are wide enough that many bassists use the 1st, 2nd and 4th fingers across three frets instead.
How long should a bass warm-up take?
A few minutes. Play it until both hands feel loose, at a tempo where it's clean, then move on to what you're working on.