Bass guitar exercises: plucking, scales and grooves

Bass players hold the band's time and its harmony at once, so their exercises are about two things: an even, steady plucking hand, and knowing where the notes of each chord sit under the fretting hand. These loops are written for 4-string bass in E standard and played with the fingers, alternating index and middle.

Each opens in the player with a bass sound, counted in at 60 % of its goal tempo and speeding up every two loops. Start with the chromatic walk and root, fifth, octave; the scales come next, then the 16ths and the gallops once the plucking hand is ready for speed.

Start with Chromatic walk

Where to start

Work down a list in order, and move on when an exercise is clean at its goal tempo. Each link has the exercise's tab and how to play it.

Beginner

  1. Chromatic walk
  2. C major, one position
  3. A minor, one position
  4. Root, fifth, octave

Intermediate

  1. Alternating fingers in 16ths
  2. Hammer-ons on the root
  3. Octaves in 8ths
  4. Gallops

Plucking and fretting

Alternating two plucking fingers evenly is the bass player's alternate picking: until both fingers pluck with the same strength and timing, fast lines sound lopsided. The fretting hand works on one finger per fret, and on hammer-ons that sound as strong as plucked notes.

  • Chromatic walk

    Beginner

    Four fingers on frets 5 to 8, up all four strings and back in eighths, the plucking fingers alternating, over a rock beat. 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.

    Fingers 1 to 4 on frets 5 to 8; index and middle take turns on every note.

    Goal 120 bpm · 4 bars

    Tab and how to play it

  • Alternating fingers in 16ths

    Intermediate

    Driving 16ths from two alternating plucking fingers through A minor, F, C and G, each bar ending in a four-note run into the next chord. Even, driving 16ths are the base of rock, funk and metal bass, and they only sound steady when both fingers pluck with the same strength and timing. It builds plucking speed and stamina.

    Index, middle, index, middle: never the same finger twice in a row, through the runs too.

    Goal 100 bpm · 4 bars

    Tab and how to play it

  • Hammer-ons on the root

    Intermediate

    A funky line in A minor where plucked roots hammer on two frets up, with rests that leave room for the groove and a walk up to A at the end. Hammer-ons give bass lines and fills a smooth, singing quality, but only when the hammered note is as loud as the plucked one. It builds fretting-hand strength and puts the slurred notes in time.

    Pluck the first note only and hammer the second firmly, right behind the fret; keep the rests silent.

    Goal 110 bpm · 4 bars

    Tab and how to play it

Scales in one position

Most bass lines come from a scale played under one hand position, so learning a scale this way, without moving the hand, puts every note of a key within reach of a finger. Major and natural minor between them cover most songs.

  • C major, one position

    Beginner

    The C major scale under one hand position from the 2nd fret, an octave up and back, then the scale in thirds as a little melody that comes home to C. The major scale is what most bass lines and walking lines are built from, and playing it without moving the hand builds the one-finger-per-fret habit. It helps you find the notes of a line without searching the neck.

    One finger per fret from the 2nd: the 1st finger takes fret 2, the 4th fret 5, and the hand doesn't move.

    Goal 120 bpm · 4 bars

    Tab and how to play it

  • A minor, one position

    Beginner

    The A natural minor scale from the 5th fret, an octave up and back without moving the hand, then in groups of three that tumble across the beat up to the high A. Most rock and metal is in a minor key, so this is the scale behind many of the lines you'll play. It also teaches the 1-3-4 fingering that covers whole steps on bass without strain.

    Fingers 1, 3 and 4 on frets 5, 7 and 8; the hand doesn't move. Each group of three starts one note higher.

    Goal 120 bpm · 4 bars

    Tab and how to play it

Lines and grooves

Shapes that outline a chord, like root, fifth and octave, and rhythms like the gallop are the building blocks of real bass lines. Learned as shapes you move from chord to chord, they let you play under any progression.

  • Root, fifth, octave

    Beginner

    Root, fifth and octave through A, D, A and E, with a bounce on the root and a G sharp at the end that leads back to A. It's the shape under countless bass lines in rock, country and pop, outlining each chord with three notes. Once you can move it as one block, playing under any chord change becomes simple.

    Keep the root-fifth-octave shape under the hand and move it as one block; the root falls on the beat.

    Goal 120 bpm · 4 bars

    Tab and how to play it

  • Octaves in 8ths

    Intermediate

    Root and octave in eighths over a four-on-the-floor beat, skipping a string, down A, G, F and E and walking back up to A. 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.

    Root with the 1st finger, octave with the 3rd or 4th; the 1st finger's underside mutes the string between.

    Goal 120 bpm · 4 bars

    Tab and how to play it

  • Gallops

    Intermediate

    The gallop on bass: an eighth and two sixteenths on each note, on A with a turn through F and G, then climbing C, D and E back to A, with the kick drum galloping along. Locked with the guitar's gallop, it's what makes a heavy riff drive. It trains fast, precise finger alternation and tight time: the sixteenths stay even rather than smearing into a triplet.

    Keep the fingers alternating through the gallop; the eighth lands exactly on the beat.

    Goal 120 bpm · 4 bars

    Tab and how to play it

Practice routines

Ready-made sessions: play each exercise for the minutes given, at the tempo where it's clean. Play routine opens them in the player one after another and counts the minutes while you play.

Setting up for practice

Rest the plucking hand's thumb on the pickup, or on the low E string when you play the higher strings, so it keeps the strings below quiet. Pluck through the string towards the next one and let the finger come to rest there: it gives a fuller tone and mutes that string.

Play with the metronome loud enough to lock to. A bass that's slightly ahead of or behind the beat is felt by the whole band more than it's heard.

Questions

Should I play these with fingers or a pick?

They're written for two fingers, alternating index and middle, which is how most bass players learn. Every one works with a pick too: alternate down and up strokes where the tips say index and middle.

How do I make my plucking even?

Alternate strictly, never the same finger twice in a row, and listen for both fingers giving the same volume. The alternating 16ths exercise is made for it: slow it down until it's even, then let the speed ramp raise it.

Can I play them on a 5-string bass?

Yes. The exercises use the four strings E, A, D and G, which a 5-string has too. Rest the plucking thumb on the low B so it stays quiet.

More exercises