© 2011 Bob Culbertson
One Hand Bass and Chord Playing

In this lesson we will work on playing bass and chords on the bass side.  This technique leads to a nice full sound.  After the other hand is added there will be 3 distinct parts In your sound.  First let's work on the left hand only.
In the diagram there are 5 forms for starting on the 7th and 6th string.  This means you line up the "R" on the note you want the chord to be.   For example: if you want to play a Dmajor7 play the first chord at the 7th fret.  Notice these chords use one of the 2 largest bass strings and the 2 highest strings on the bass side.  This is done so the arrangement sounds consistent instead of just moving the first chord over 1 string to play Gmaj7.
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FIG 1
Practice these chords with different rhythms.  First arpeggiate each note individually.  Hold down each note as you play the next.

Below, another example is this Latin rhythm from the Bass Groove lesson using Dm7-G7.
FIG 2