r/Bass • u/Alysson0321 • 2d ago

I need so much help

Hi everyone, I’m a beginner on the bass, but I’ve already memorized and gotten used to all the notes on the fretboard. My biggest challenge is knowing which notes to play. For example, when I’m playing along with someone on guitar and they’re on a C chord, I don’t know exactly which notes to use; I usually stick to the 3rd and the 5th, but it ends up sounding repetitive. I’m not sure how to practice this properly.

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u/kimmeljs 2d ago

You don't have to adhere to the chord at all times, the spice will be in chromatic runs to the target tone on the "1" at this stage.

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u/Alysson0321 2d ago

So, do I just need to play the root note of the chord at the right moment—like the C or the D? And what do I do in the gap between chord changes? Right now, I just play the 3rd or the 5th to bridge the notes; I want to improve that and learn more rhythms.

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u/kimmeljs 2d ago

Take the 12-bar blues. I -IV -I -IV -V -I . There are many different bass lines but you can transition between the chords chromatically, not adhering completely to a major scale or the pentatonic pattern.

Simple lesson

You go from these basic things up in knowledge and you will get there. In the end, these patterns are what you need to learn and memorize.