Regardless of the style of music you play or your current level, incorporating a bass line into your songs will add texture and depth to your rhythm playing. In this lesson you will learn how to play a basic bass line for a I – IV – V progression in the key of C.
In creating bass lines, you must first know the key that the song is written in and be able to play the matching scale. The exercise below is in the key of C.
Begin by practicing the natural notes (the notes in the key of C) on the last three strings. When you feel confident that you can start and stop on various notes in the scale, you are ready to use those notes to connect chords. As you play the exercise below, notice that in every case the bass line is leading to and landing on the root of the upcoming chord.
When you are comfortable with playing the progression in the key of C, you can begin learning it in more keys and eventually progress to more complex rhythms and chord progressions.
