How to Hold a Bass

If you are learning to play the bass guitar, you will also want to make sure that you start off correctly. Holding a bass the right way will help you to play the music that you want more easily and will provide you with the capacity to play even more bass licks.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Make sure that you can hold the guitar without it slipping out of place. If you are standing, you will want to make sure that you have a bass guitar strap that you can wrap around your neck. This should go around the front of your right arm and through the back of your left arm. If you are sitting, you will want to place the right side of the bass on your knee so that your bass stays stable.

2. Take care of the neck of the bass guitar with your left hand. When you hold the bass, you will want to start by wrapping your fingers so the thumb is in the back of the neck and the fingers are in the front. The thumb should be close to the middle of the back of the neck, so that it is easier to move and pivot your fingers as they move up the neck.

3. Pick the strings with the fingers of the right hand. Your arm will bend at the elbow with the right hand moving towards the strings from the side. When playing, it is important to keep this hand loose so that you can move more freely. Make sure that you hold your thumb above the strings. If you are just beginning, adding in a thumb rest at the top of the strings so that your hand doesn't slip can help you to find your strings more easily.

4. Move the fingers of the left hand according to their numbers. The pointer finger will be one, the middle finger will be two, the ring finger will be three and the pinky will be four. Each of these can move to different frets while you are playing. You will want to hold them close to the end of the fret in order to stop any rattling of the strings.

5. Use several techniques, depending on the genre, for picking with the right hand. For example, if you want a smooth sound, used for things such as jazz, you will walk your pointer and middle finger on the different strings. If you are playing rock, you have the option of pulling out on the strings or holding a pick. For funk jazz, you can pop with your thumb by moving the wrist in so that the thumb hits the string. With all of these methods, you will want to make sure that your wrist stays in the right place and that you stay relaxed.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't tense up. With both the right and left hands, the worst thing that you can do when you are holding a bass is to get tense. This will cause problems with the wrist and will not let you move to the different notes or positions as easily.