Alternating Bass

Lesson 2/79 | Study Time: 5 Min

Course: Fingerpicking Method

Alternating Bass

So far your fingerpicking has involved playing only the root note of each chord for the bass. To create a more interesting sound, the bass note may be varied. For example:

Pattern Three

Pattern One

In this next example, three different bass notes are used, holding a G chord.

Pattern Three

Try the following progression, using alternate bass:

Pattern Three

C = Repeat sign; indicating an exact repeat of the previous bar.

In an alternating bass line there are two main rules governing the choice of notes:

They should be chosen from notes on the 4th, 5th and 6th strings (the bass strings).
They should only be selected from notes that are found in the chord.

You should also take into consideration the overall sound, since some of the combinations will sound better than others.

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Gary Turner and Brenton White

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Alternating Bass