Practice gym

Press Play and play along — less reading, more reps. Options do not all apply to every drill — each section says what it uses.

Use headphones or an amp. Match the attacks; mute between notes. Shapes lab: Shapes & positions · Full chart + bassline styles: Play along · Method: Write grooves.

BPM + Click — almost every Play. Root string / fret — single-root drills (warm-up, shapes, ghosts, walks). Chart — only the two “Chart · …” cards (and guided steps that call them). Crossing pairs ignore root; they use fixed open strings.

Ready · change BPM anytime while playing

1 · Warm-up

Uses BPM, Click, and Root string (pulse / accents on that string). Four-on-floor, space, and most pocket roots also use Root fret. Does not use Chart. Click only ignores root — metronome alone.

Open pulse · quarters

One note per beat on the chosen root. Mute fully between.

Open pulse · eighths

Strict i–m. Even attacks on the chosen open/root string.

Open pulse · sixteenths

Light touch. Start slow — evenness over speed.

Accent every 4

Eighths; dig on every fourth attack (weight on beat 1).

Accent every 3

Eighths with a 3-feel accent — fights the bar line.

Four-on-the-floor

Root on every beat. Pocket starter.

Whole-note space

One long root per bar. Feel the silence — don’t fill it.

Click only

No bass track — play your part alone against the click.

2 · String crossing & fretting

Crossing cards use BPM + Click only — fixed open pairs (E↔A, A↔D, …), not Root string/fret or Chart. Chromatic and spider use Root string + Root fret (if fret is 0, chromatic/spider start at fret 5).

Crossing · E ↔ A

Open eighths. Keep i–m through the jump.

Crossing · A ↔ D

Same idea, middle pair.

Crossing · D ↔ G

High pair — watch for thin tone and float thumb.

Crossing · E–A–D–G cycle

Up and down all four opens in one bar.

Chromatic 1–2–3–4

Finger-per-fret on the chosen string, starting at Root fret (default 5 if 0).

Spider (two strings)

Adjacent frets across E/A (or A/D if root string is A+). Coordination.

3 · Root–fifth–octave & charts

Shape cards (R–5–8–5, root–octave, pedal, walk seeds) use BPM, Click, Root string, Root fret. The two Chart · … cards ignore root — they use Options → Chart only (plus BPM/Click). That is the whole job of the Chart selector.

Current chart: —

Classic bass shape under a movable root, then through the chart selected above. TAB under each card updates when you change Options.

R–5–8–5

Full shape on the chosen root. Pinky on the octave when you can.

Root–octave leaps

R · 8 · R · 8 — clean octave jumps, mute the fifth string.

Pedal + fifth

Root on 1 & 3, fifth on 2 & 4.

Chart · root–fifth

One bar per chord · R–5–R–ghost. Uses Options → Chart.

Chart · full R–5–8–5

Same progression with octaves each bar.

Walk seed · 1–2–3–5

Scale walk on one string from the root fret (major-ish seed).

Walk seed · 1–b3–5–6

Minor pent walk seed on one string.

Walk seed · 1–3–5–b7

Dominant / bluesy walk on one string.

4 · Ghosts, pocket & drive

Uses BPM, Click, Root string, and Root fret for the pitched notes. Does not use Chart.

Root + ghosts

R x R x R x R x — pitched on beats, ghosts on &s.

Snare ghosts

Ghost grid; pitched roots only on 2 and 4.

Kick lock

Roots only on 1 and 3. Lock the heavy beats.

Snare lock

Roots only on 2 and 4 — backbeat placement.

Anticipation

Roots on 1 & 3, then & of 4 into the next root.

Syncopation · & of 2

Hit the offbeat, then settle on 3. Leave space on 1.

Gallop on root

Drive cell on the chosen root. Mute hard between cells.

Gallop climbing

One gallop cell per fret, climbing 0–3 from the root fret.

5 · Position & box reps

Uses BPM plus the System/Shape pickers on this card. Ignores Root string/fret and Chart (shapes are baked into the chosen walk).

Pick a system and shape, then Play walk. TAB shows the walk for the selected shape. Or jump to the full shapes lab.

Open shapes lab 

        

      

    


    

      
6 · Guided sessions

      
Each step follows the same rules as the matching card above.
        Foundation/groove sessions include a chart step → that step uses Options → Chart.
        Drive session never uses Chart. All steps use current BPM / Click
        (and root where that drill type needs it).

      

        

          
12-minute foundation

          
    
            
  1. ~2 min — open eighths
    2. 
            
  2. ~2 min — E↔A crossing
    3. 
            
  3. ~3 min — R–5–8
    4. 
            
  4. ~3 min — chart root–fifth
    5. 
            
  5. ~2 min — ghost groove
    6. 
          

          
        

        

          
15-minute groove

          
    
            
  1. ~2 min — four-on-floor
    2. 
            
  2. ~3 min — root + ghosts
    3. 
            
  3. ~3 min — kick lock
    4. 
            
  4. ~3 min — chart + octaves
    5. 
            
  5. ~2 min — anticipation
    6. 
            
  6. ~2 min — whole-note space
    7. 
          

          
        

        

          
10-minute drive

          
    
            
  1. ~2 min — chromatic
    2. 
            
  2. ~2 min — spider
    3. 
            
  3. ~3 min — gallop root
    4. 
            
  4. ~3 min — gallop climbing
    5. 
          

          
        

        

          
Stop session

          
Ends any guided sequence and all loops.

          
          
Session idle

        

      

    


    

      
How to use this page

      

        
    
          
  • Read the grey line under each section — it says which Options that block uses.
    • 
          
  • Chart only feeds the Chart · root–fifth / Chart · R–5–8–5 cards (and session steps that call them).
    • 
          
  • Play with the track for a pass, then Click only / alone.
    • 
          
  • Climb BPM only when attacks stay even. 72 is honest.
    • 
          
  • Record your alone pass once a week — evenness over speed.
    • 
        

        
More written plans: Drills · Exercises.

      

    


    

      
Next

      

        
Solo lab · Play along · Shapes · Write grooves · Gallop lab · Drills

      

    


    
Text twin: practice.md