← Bass · Start here · about 15 min

Meet your bass

The parts, how to hold it, and how to tune it.

What does the bass do?

The bass plays the low notes that hold a song together. It connects the beat (the drums) with the harmony (the chords).

A good bass player makes everyone else sound better, and you can feel it more than you can hear it.

Headstock & tuning pegs: At the top of the neck. Turn a peg to tighten or loosen a string.
Neck & frets: The long, thick neck has metal frets. Pressing just behind a fret changes the note.
Body & pickups: The magnets under the strings pick up the vibration and send it to the amp.
Bridge: Holds the strings at the bottom of the body.
Strings: Four of them. From thickest to thinnest: E, A, D, G.
Amp & cable: A bass needs an amplifier. Plug in, turn the volume down, then up slowly.

Strap on
Wear the strap even when you sit. Adjust it so the bass sits at a comfortable height, with the neck angled slightly up.
Fretting hand
Your thumb rests behind the neck. Use your fingertips, arched, right behind the fret. Bass strings are thick, so press firmly.
Plucking hand
Rest your thumb on the pickup. Pluck with your index and middle fingers, taking turns. Pluck the string and let it come to rest against the next string.

The four strings, from thickest to thinnest, are E, A, D, G.

These are very low notes. Phone and computer speakers can't play them well, so our tuning tool plays each string one octave higher too.

Hear each bass string (and an octave higher so you can hear it on a phone).

A bass has four strings, tuned E A D G, the same notes as the four thickest guitar strings but an octave lower.
Bass is written an octave higher than it sounds, so the music stays easy to read.
The bass and the kick drum work as a team. Together they are called the rhythm section's foundation.
Many songs need only the root notes of the chords on bass.
You can play bass with your fingers or with a pick.