Open Chord Bass Runs
This article shows beginner guitarists the basic steps to create and play bass runs.
Bass runs are a guitar technique used to enrich chord progressions.
They use a series of single notes on the bass strings of the guitar to lead into a chord change.
* Chromatic Bass Runs There are several different ways to approach bass runs.
One of the easiest is to lead into the chord change one fret at a time.
This kind of bass run is said to be chromatic.
The run should finish on the bass note of the new chord.
This note may be either played on its own or as part of a strum that plays the whole chord.
* Scale Wise Bass Runs Another way to create bass runs uses the notes of the major scale.
You can lead up to a chord using the notes near the end of the scale or lead down to a chord with the notes near the bottom of the scale.
Scale wise progressions can be created using any convenient scale.
Most often you'll use the major scale with major chords or the minor scale for minor chord progressions.
* Play Bass Runs on Open Chords To play a chromatic bass run you can start three frets below or above the root note of the chord you are changing to.
With open chords it might not be obvious to you how to move up from below the root note, as there is no place to go on the neck.
The answer is to play the bass run notes on the next lowest string.
For example to lead into the root note of an open D major chord on the fourth string you play notes on the fifth string.
You simply have to remember that the open string note on any of the bass strings (4th and 5th) is the same note as the fifth fret of the string above it.
So, to lead into the open note from three frets below you simply start at the second fret of the lower string.
* Bass Run Timing The timing of the bass run is important.
The most important thing to keep in mind with bass run timing is to finish on the first beat of the new chord you're changing to.
This is most often on the first beat of a bar.
Depending on how many notes you want to play in your bass run, work back from the first beat of the next bar to figure out the timing of the leading notes.
You can walk up to this root note using different timings.
One beat per note using quarter notes, two beats per note using eighth notes are common.
Experiment with different rhythms using half beats or other ideas.
Just make sure you arrive at the root note on beat one of the following bar.
* Conclusion There are many different ways to play bass runs between guitar chords.
Have fun creating bass runs of your own using the techniques described in this article and enjoy great sounding chord changes.
Bass runs are a guitar technique used to enrich chord progressions.
They use a series of single notes on the bass strings of the guitar to lead into a chord change.
* Chromatic Bass Runs There are several different ways to approach bass runs.
One of the easiest is to lead into the chord change one fret at a time.
This kind of bass run is said to be chromatic.
The run should finish on the bass note of the new chord.
This note may be either played on its own or as part of a strum that plays the whole chord.
* Scale Wise Bass Runs Another way to create bass runs uses the notes of the major scale.
You can lead up to a chord using the notes near the end of the scale or lead down to a chord with the notes near the bottom of the scale.
Scale wise progressions can be created using any convenient scale.
Most often you'll use the major scale with major chords or the minor scale for minor chord progressions.
* Play Bass Runs on Open Chords To play a chromatic bass run you can start three frets below or above the root note of the chord you are changing to.
With open chords it might not be obvious to you how to move up from below the root note, as there is no place to go on the neck.
The answer is to play the bass run notes on the next lowest string.
For example to lead into the root note of an open D major chord on the fourth string you play notes on the fifth string.
You simply have to remember that the open string note on any of the bass strings (4th and 5th) is the same note as the fifth fret of the string above it.
So, to lead into the open note from three frets below you simply start at the second fret of the lower string.
* Bass Run Timing The timing of the bass run is important.
The most important thing to keep in mind with bass run timing is to finish on the first beat of the new chord you're changing to.
This is most often on the first beat of a bar.
Depending on how many notes you want to play in your bass run, work back from the first beat of the next bar to figure out the timing of the leading notes.
You can walk up to this root note using different timings.
One beat per note using quarter notes, two beats per note using eighth notes are common.
Experiment with different rhythms using half beats or other ideas.
Just make sure you arrive at the root note on beat one of the following bar.
* Conclusion There are many different ways to play bass runs between guitar chords.
Have fun creating bass runs of your own using the techniques described in this article and enjoy great sounding chord changes.
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