Okay it’s been a while but my SpeedyBass.com website is now rebuilt!
You can check out my bass guitar lessons and other bass related things their now.
Also stay tuned for some more lessons soon 
- Tom
Bass Guitar Practice Routines
Damian Erskine talks about the practise routine he uses to learn bass guitar.
"I start with 15 minutes of focused practice. For example: running a scale over and over again. After 15 minutes of very intentional practice, I’ll then allow myself to just play along to some tunes or do whatever I feel like doing, musically speaking…" - Damian Erskine
You see with just 15 minutes of focused practice you really can get great results. If you have more time then do a few 15 minute practice blocks a day.
- Tom Boyd
Bass Improvisation ? Getting Creative In 3 Simple Steps
Coming up with your own original bass lines and licks is a lot of fun and doesn’t have to be complicated. Today I’m going to share with you 3 simple ways you can get some creativity flowing so you can take it to your bass and let it loose.
How do you play Ska bass lines?
How do you play Ska bass lines?
Interesting discussion on talkbass forum here: http://bit.ly/5M8qqY
Guy Takes His Skirt Off While Playing Bass
I’m not sure why halfway threw playing bass he takes his skirt off. haha! http://ping.fm/pf5Uk
Learning Bass Guitar Chords
Some bass guitar players who have not been practising long believe that as a bass guitar player they need to learn how to play bass guitar chords. I’m not certain if this is due to the fact quite a few bass players begin on regular guitar first. Chords are played on bass yet single notes are played more often.
As a bass player it is considrably more important to have the ability to play over chords, than it is to play actual bass chords.
Chords on bass can sound clearer 6 string bass guitars due to having a higher string than a nornal 4 string bass. Playing chords on the deeper notes tend to sound unclear because of this it’s a smart idea to fret bass chords higher up the bass guitar neck around the 12th fret area.
If however you do decide that you want to learn how to play bass guitar chords there is one simple way to go about. Bass chords charts can be very handy and give you which notes you should be playing. A lot of bass guitar chords chart diagrams come in either chord box or bass guitar tab. These diagrams are quite uncomplicated to understand after you get used to them.
Once you have learnt a few chords using a bass guitar chords chart you can then start utilizing them in your playing. Bass chords are common in Jazz music more regularly than something like punk.
As a beginner it can be tough to attempt to play chords at first. You need quite a bit of finger strength to be able to press down multiple strings without them buzzing and sounding bad.
After a bit of effort, playing chords on bass guitar can be very enjoyable and they sound really great.
Hopefully now you have an insight of bass chords and you now know that the easiest way to learn them is with a bass guitar chords chart. So get practising and soon you’ll be able to play chord on bass very soon.
Be sure to visit my other site for your free bass chords chart. You will find them a great place to start and will show you the info required to learn bass chords.
5 How To Play Bass Guitar Tips
Now I’d like to share with you some of the best electric bass advice I have learnt over the years. I’ve narrowed it into the 5 easy steps that will give you a large boost in your playing ability.
A few of these might appear quite simplistic but are often easy to forget. It can be tempting to try to jump past many of the fundamental principles of playing bass. This is a huge error and will often slow you down in the end.
1. Make sure you bass is in tune
This initial step is simple however frequently neglected. Before you do anything else spend a few minutes tuning your bass. The quickest and easiest way to go about this is plugging in an bass guitar tuner.
2. Warm up
Once you have tuned your bass you must always warm up. This will help to get your fingers ready to play properly. Warming up will help you to avoid finger injuries and troubles from practsing.It often gives your hands chances to stretch and get ready to playing again before you start into the main part of you practise routine.
3. Know the bass fredboard notes
Picking Up the notes of the bass guitar fingerboard is a vital thing to invest a few seconds investing the time to learn. So little people, even bassists who have been playing for years still don’t know the notes of the bass guitar. So take the time to learn it.
4. Learn to play songs
It is a good idea to pick a uncomplicated peice of music and begin learning it even if you are a bass beginner. Just start with something easy and break it down into smaller parts. Sometimes novice bass players put off studying music until after a few months and center on chord on bass, scales and music theory. I recommend that once you have a good knowledge of the basic bass guitar technique of plucking and fretting notes to begin your first song.
5. Have a practise routine
bass guitar practise schedule is what helped transform my bass playing. Once I had a serious plan of what to practise each day my bass skills improved quickly. If you currently pick up your bass and just mess about on it, it is properly the reason you are not making the progression you would like to have. Using a bass schedule is some of the greatest bass guitar advice I can tell you.
I hope you have found this bass guitar article helpful. I think if you put each 5 of these tips in your practise and put them to work for you you will have much greater results.
How to Play Bass Guitar
Learning how to to play Bass Guitar with all the online tutorials, free and paid and other user forums available to help you out might sound easy but it isn’t. It is super easy if you simply set your heart to it. With patience, dedication and regular practice you will have learnt the art of playing a Bass Guitar in next to no time! The common belief that mastering a bass guitar is tough is a misconception. It is only as tough as you think it is.
Here are a few tips to get you started on how to learn bass guitar if you are learning it for the love of it, the sound it makes and how it brings a song to life.
Start with the basics, in this case a four string bass guitar that is fretted because such instruments are easier to learn and play and four strings are a handful. You can skip this step if you already have played with fretted instruments before. Once you are comfortable playing the four strings you may graduate to five and then six stringed bass guitars, practice diligently.
Since it is only the beginning, spending big bucks on expensive guitars doesn’t make sense. Search for shops that sell four strings fretted bass guitars at rates that don’t burn a hole in you pocket. Buying a packaged deal is a better idea as incentives on buying it as a complete set are great. Also, you have all the accessories to go with your bass guitar now.
If you can’t find a good teacher at affordable rates, turn to the internet. But before signing up for any paid guitar lessons online, look up the site on Google and judge its web presence with reviews, discussion forums, etc. If you find overwhelming positive feedback but only a few negative reviews, watch out! You might want to find another place to learn how to play bass guitar online.
Interact with other guitar learners and enthusiasts and play with them. Gang up with drummers and other instrument players to get the hang of keeping a rhythm. Have fun doing what you’ve learnt and keep playing!
How To Play Bass Guitar Like A Pro – Part 2
This is the follow on video from the earlier post How To Play Bass Guitar Like A Pro.
In this video Victor Wooten talks about the people who inspired him to play bass guitar. He also plays a demonstration of some of the bass players works and how they helped him to develop his own style.
He goes into details of how Portrait Of Tracy by Jaco Pastorius taught him about harmonics on the bass. It’s incredible the different sound you can get with this technique.
I hope this video has given you some solid infomration on how to learn bass effectivley with these video bass guitar lessons.
Here is a live video of Jaco Pastorius – A Portrait Of Tracy
How To Play Bass – Stu Hamm Solo
This is another breath taking example of how to play bass and take it to a whole new level. This laid back and smooth bass solo by Stu Hamm is mellow and relaxing to watch as he makes the entire things appear effortless.
A true master and another great bass legend! At around 2 minutes 30 the tapping part is just amazing.
