Bass-only techniques

Strict i–m alternation

Index/middle as a clock. Non-negotiable for even 8ths and gallops. Lab: Fingerstyle.

Floating vs anchored thumb

Thumb mutes lower strings while fingers play higher ones — a bass default, rare as a primary guitar habit.

Rest stroke vs free stroke

Rest stroke (land on the next string) = punch. Free stroke = lighter, faster string jumps.

Raking

Drag across muted strings into a target note for aggression without new pitches. Detail: Muting · rakes.

Slap & pop

Thumb strike + snapped string. No true parallel in the guitar room’s core path. Lab: Slap & pop.

Dead notes as rhythm

Ghosts (x) are part of the groove grid — pitched silence with attack. Guitar chucks exist; bass ghosts are continuous 16th language.

• Left-hand mute blanket — unused fingers kill sympathetic ring on long-scale strings.
• Pivot fretting — keep a finger planted as an anchor while others shift for root–fifth moves.
• Guide fingers — slide lightly along a string to the next root without lifting out of position.
• Hammer / pull as bass glue — connect roots without extra right-hand attacks (use sparingly in pocket parts).

Root–fifth

G|----
D|----
A|--2-   fifth
E|-0--   root

Moveable. Gallop or pulse the root; answer with the fifth.

Root–octave

G|----
D|--2-
A|----
E|-0--

Thickness for choruses without muddy thirds.

Root–fifth–octave roll

One-at-a-time roll across the shape — lead-bass colour, not a strum. See Lead bass.

Pedal under moving chords

Hold a low tonic/dominant while harmony changes — arrangement tool unique to the floor instrument.

• Kick lock — place attacks on kick; everything else is decoration. Grooves.
• Space as a note — programmed rests; full mute, not lazy sustain.
• Anticipation — hit the next root on the & of 4. Write grooves · templates.
• Gallop cells — metal drive language. Gallop.
• Walking quarters — jazz/blues chord-tone lines. Walking.

• Natural harmonics — nodes at 5 / 7 / 12. Harmonics.
• Pinch / artificial harmonics — metal accents; harder on bass than guitar.
• Slides into chord tones — vocal-like entries for fills.
• Vibrato on sustained lows — slower and wider than guitar vibrato usually wants.
• FX as expression — wah / OD / swells for lead-bass sections — musical intent first, pedals second.

1. Drop out — silence for 2–4 bars before a chorus hit; the entrance is the fill.
2. Octave jump on the hook — same rhythm, higher register for one section.
3. Unison with kick only — strip melody; become a second kick drum.
4. Counter-melody under the solo — sparse, low, and rare; see lead-bass restraint rules.

1. 5 min — i–m open strings + floating thumb mute.
2. 5 min — root–fifth shapes moving around the neck on a click.
3. 5 min — write one verse/chorus pair for a 4-chord loop (method).
4. 5 min — add ghosts or a gallop cell to the chorus only.

Fingerstyle · Write grooves · Vs guitar · Slap · Gallop