How to Play Bass Guitar for Newbie Part 2

Get to Know Your Bass

If you're just starting to learn how to play the bass guitar and you've been given one as a present or are borrowing one from a friend, then you're probably looking at it and wondering what all the different parts are for and how it even works. If you know how to play guitar, then you have a basic idea of how a bass guitar works. But if you don't, here is some information to help you get to know your bass :

Strings

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument (much like a Violin, Ukulele, Banjo, or a regular Guitar) in that it uses the vibrations of its strings to produce sound.2 A standard bass guitar has four strings, each of which is tuned to a different note value. In standard tuning, the strings on a bass guitar are tuned as follows: E (Thickest string and closest to your chest when playing) - A (Slightly thinner than an E and the second closest string to your body) - D (Thinner still and the third string away from your body) - G (Thinnest string and the one closest to the ground). For the purposes of future exercises, we will also refer to these strings as 4 (E), 3 (A), 2 (D) and 1 (G).

Frets

While the strings divide the guitar from left to right, frets are small metal strips that divide the guitar into sections from top to bottom. If you look at your guitar from above, you can begin to see that the strings and frets together form a kind of grid that covers the entire neck of the guitar. Placing your finger on a string in between two of the frets is what enables you to play a note. The higher up you get on the frets, the higher the notes sound. Generally, each fret is a half-step higher than the previous fret.

Amplification

Unless you're playing an Upright Bass or an Acoustic Bass Guitar, you're going to need some sort of amplification in order to hear the sounds that are coming out of your instrument. In the same way that an Electric Guitar uses a Pickup to capture the vibrations of the strings and an amp to convert them into sound, a bass guitar also needs an amplifier so that the player can hear what they're playing. If you already have a bass amp, then you're ready to go. If not, you need to go out and get one. Although it is possible to play a bass guitar through a normal guitar amp, the sound quality will be greatly reduced and you will risk damaging your amp. Amplifiers that are made specifically for bass guitars usually have larger, heavy-duty loudspeakers to compensate for the low-frequency sound waves that a bass guitar produces.

Other Features of the Bass Guitar

>Body : The large base of the guitar (usually the most bulky part) that is attached to the neck.

>Neck : The long, skinny part of the guitar that holds the frets and strings and where the fingers are placed in order to play individual notes.

>Headstock : The top-most part of the bass on which the four tuning pegs are located.

>Nut : The small piece of material that is found where the headstock meets the neck. There are usually four small grooves carved out in order to guide the strings up to the tuning pegs.

>Tuning Pegs : Hold the strings in place and allow the player to adjust the pitch of the string.

>Pick-ups : Metal strips that capture the vibrations of the strings and help convert them into electrical signals that are then amplified. Located on the body.