Octaves in 8ths: a bass exercise for disco, funk and rock
Root and octave in eighths, skipping a string, moving from A to G and F. The octave pattern drives disco, funk and rock lines, and it trains a clean string skip with the string in between kept quiet. It also teaches the octave shape, which helps you find the same note anywhere on the neck.
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
- 2 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
How to play it
Root with the 1st finger, octave with the 3rd or 4th; the 1st finger's underside mutes the string between.
The root is on the E string and the octave is two strings up and two frets higher, on the D string. Play root, octave, root, octave in eighths, then move the shape to G and F.
The 1st finger takes the root and the 3rd or 4th finger the octave. Let the 1st finger's underside lie lightly across the A string between them, so it doesn't ring.
Mistakes to watch for
- The A string sounding when the plucking finger crosses it.
- The octave note shorter or quieter than the root.
- Moving the shape late on the changes.
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 a minute 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 Octaves in 8ths?
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.
What songs use octave bass lines?
Disco and funk are full of them, often with the octave on the off-beat. They're common in rock and pop too, because they drive a song along without getting in the way of the guitar.
What's the octave shape on the A string?
The same: two strings up and two frets higher, from the A string to the G string.