Behringer BT108BPK-PB503-BK User Manual
ULTRABASS BASS GUITAR PACK
BASS PACK CONTENTS
High-quality electric bass guitar
High-quality lead (approx. 3 m)
Padded gig bag
Adjustable bass guitar strap
3 plectrums
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Beginners book for the bass guitar
ULTRABASS BASS GUITAR PACK
CONTENTS
THE PARTS OF THE BASS .............................................................................................................................................................................. 4
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Left hand.................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Holding the bass properly ........................................................................................................................................ 5
TUNING THE BASS......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Electronic tuning device ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Relative tuning method ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Keyboard instruments .............................................................................................................................................. 6
PLAYING TECHNIQUES ................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Picks .......................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Playing with a pick ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Playing with your fingers ........................................................................................................................................... 7
Slap bass technique ................................................................................................................................................. 8
NOTATION .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Fingering diagrams .................................................................................................................................................. 9
Tablature.................................................................................................................................................................... 9
EXAMPLES OF MUSICAL STYLES ............................................................................................................................................................. 10
Blues........................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Fast Rock ................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Shuffle Blues ........................................................................................................................................................... 10
Slap Blues ............................................................................................................................................................... 10
Walking Bass .......................................................................................................................................................... 11
RHYTHM ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Note values ............................................................................................................................................................. 11
Dotted notes ............................................................................................................................................................ 11
Rhythm exercise 1 .................................................................................................................................................. 12
Triplets..................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Rhythm exercise 2 .................................................................................................................................................. 13
Rests ....................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Rhythm exercise 3 .................................................................................................................................................. 13
Shuffle ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14
SCALES ...............................................................................................................................
Intervals ................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Major and minor ...................................................................................................................................................... 14
The major scale ...................................................................................................................................................... 14
The minor scale ...................................................................................................................................................... 15
The major pentatonic scale .................................................................................................................................... 15
The minor pentatonic scale .................................................................................................................................... 15
The chromatic scale ............................................................................................................................................... 15
Positioning the left hand ......................................................................................................................................... 15
Scale practice 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 16
Scale practice 2 ....................................................................................................................................................... 16
D major scale .......................................................................................................................................................... 16
G minor scale .......................................................................................................................................................... 16
Scale practice 3 ....................................................................................................................................................... 16
Scale practice 4 ....................................................................................................................................................... 16
CHORDS ................................................................................................................................................................................................................1 7
C major (C) .............................................................................................................................................................. 18
D minor (Dm) .......................................................................................................................................................... 18
E minor (Em) ........................................................................................................................................................... 18
F major (F) ............................................................................................................................................................... 18
G major (G) .............................................................................................................................................................. 18
A minor (Am) ............................................................................................................................................................ 18
B minor diminished (Bm) ....................................................................................................................................... 18
CARE AND MAINTENANCE .......................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Cleaning your bass ................................................................................................................................................ 19
Taking care of your bass ......................................................................................................................................... 19
Changing strings ..................................................................................................................................................... 19
.................................................................................. 14
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ULTRABASS BASS GUITAR PACK
THE PARTS OF THE BASS
Regardless of the type of bass guitar you play, the basic component parts are always the same. The following illustration shows you
what the parts are called. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with them.
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ULTRABASS BASS GUITAR PACK
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the BEHRINGER family! This beginners book for the bass guitar will show you how much fun you can have playing a
musical instrument. First we want to make you acquainted with the important basics about your instrument, various playing
techniques and some other things. Then were going to show you some examples of styles, rhythm exercises and scales that will
make it easy for you to start playing the bass. Dont let all this information put you off, even if it does seem like a lot at first. Take a
relaxed approach and youll soon see that youre making progress. Have fun!
Left hand
The fingers of the left hand are numbered from 1 to 4, beginning with the index finger. Always press down the strings with your
fingertips. Tip: Youll find it a lot easier with short fingernails.
Holding the bass properly
Rest the bass on your right thigh and hold it between your chest and your right arm. But dont forget to relax while you do so! Use
your bodynot your handsto stabilize the position of the bass. The neck of the guitar should be pointing slightly upwards. If you
cross your legs you can hold the neck higher, which makes playing easier.
A few general tips:
* Check your posture and the position of your arms and legs at regular intervals to avoid tenseness.
* Experiment with your posture until you feel comfortable.
* Try to keep your head straight; otherwise you will develop tenseness in your back.
If your bass is hanging too low when youre playing standing up, it might put too much strain on your left wrist. Or it might put too much
strain on your right hand when you strike or pluck the strings. Adjust the strap to give yourself a comfortable posture, enabling your
hands to remain completely relaxed in their playing positions.
SITTING POSTURE STANDING POSTURE
TUNING THE BASS
Tuning the bass means precisely adjusting the tone of each string. There are various methods you can use to tune your bass, but
first you have to know what notes the four bass strings are:
String 1: G (the thinnest, bottom string)
String 2: D
String 3: A
String 4: E (the thickest, topmost string)
Electronic tuning device
You can buy electronic tuning devices at any music store. They offer you the simplest method for tuning your bass. A tuning device
analyzes the pitch of each string when it is played individually. A display shows you if the note played is too high or too low. You can
find a virtual tuning device on our website (www.behringer.com). Go and get it!
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ULTRABASS BASS GUITAR PACK
Relative tuning method
The relative tuning method is the most independent, and is one you can use any time and anywhere. The only thing you need is a
reference note (e.g. from another instrument or a tuning fork). As long as one string is tuned correctly, all the other strings can be
tuned in relation to it. In the following example, the fourth string (E) is the starting point.
1. Tune the open 4th string (E) with the aid of a reference note (e.g. tuning fork).
2. Hold the 4th string down at the 5th fret. This produces the note to which the open 3rd string (A) has to be tuned. Now play the fretted
4th string and the open 3rd string and adjust the 3rd until the two notes are the same.
3. Now use the same method to tune the remaining strings. The reference note is always the string with the higher number than the
neighboring string to be tuned.
Weve summarized this for you as follows:
4. string, 5th fret = open 3rd string
3. string, 5th fret = open 2nd string
2. string, 5th fret = open 1st string
Simply keep to the following diagram.
Keyboard instruments
You can also tune your bass using a piano or a keyboard. The only thing you need to know is which keys on the keyboard
correspond to the bass strings. To find out, look at the following illustration:
To tune your bass proceed as follows:
1. Sit down comfortably with your bass.
2. Make sure the keyboard is within arms length.
3. Play the E on the keyboard and adjust the pitch of the E string (topmost string) to it by turning the corresponding machine head.
4. Repeat this procedure for the A, D and G strings in conjunction with the corresponding notes on the keyboard.
If you find it difficult to tune all four strings using the keyboard, use this procedure only for one string and tune the others using the
relative tuning method.
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