Category: Bass Guitar FAQs

Short Scale Bass Guitar

The short scale bass guitar is one of three different scale types of guitars that you can buy. Before you buy a guitar, you need to determine the type of sound you want, the number of strings that you want, and the size of the guitar that you want. The short scale bass guitar is the shortest of the three types of guitars that you can buy, with only 30 inches of space between the nut of the guitar and the bridge saddle. Medium scale bass guitars have 32 inches between the nut ad the bridge saddle, and long scale guitars have 34 inches. The five string long scale guitar has 35 inches between the nut and the bridge scale, and the six string long scale bass guitar has 36 inches.

For beginning players, the short scale bass guitar is often suggested. This is due to the fact that these guitars tend to be slightly lighter than other models, making them ideal for a beginner to learn to cope with the weight of the instrument. As short scale bass guitars often have only four strings, there is less for a beginner to learn how to cope with.

Before you determine whether or not the short scale bass guitar is right for you, you need to decide what kind of music that you want to play. The short scale bass guitar is very common and flexible, allowing it to play many styles of music. However, some types of music require five or six strings, which make the short scale bass guitar unusable for those types of music. Beginners are commonly detoured from approaching the five or six string bass guitar until they have had at least several years of experience learning the standard four string bass guitar.

Due to how common the short scale bass guitar is, you can select from hundreds of different models and appearances of these guitars. Almost all brands make short scale bass guitars, so you can buy the perfect instrument for you. As these tend to be the type used for training, you can acquire an inexpensive guitar to learn on, and then upgrade to a high end Fender or other brand of guitar.

Once you own a short scale bass guitar, you will need to make sure that you take good care of it. Replacing the strings as needed, polishing the wood and keeping the guitar in its case can prolong the life of your guitar by several years. A damaged guitar will not have as good of a sound as one that is well maintained, so it is vital that you work to keep good care of your instrument.

Bass Guitar Sheet Music

Bass guitar sheet music is a good way to help hone your skills as a bass guitar player. As beginners often practicing strumming chords without the assistance of sheet music, learning how to read music is a skill that is often overlooked in the beginning stages. If you do not know how to read music, you may need to acquire a chord chart that shows the notes and symbols you will use when reading sheet music.

The easiest ways to learn how to read bass guitar sheet music is to download some songs on the internet and review them. Compare these songs with chord charts online, and match up the sheet music to the chord charts. The simplest of songs will use a series of notes to form a melody, only requiring one string to be plucked at a time. After that, there are songs that use simple strums, with only two strings being used at a time. As you progress, you may find yourself using all four to six strings, dependent on the type of bass guitar that you own.

When you use bass guitar sheet music, you should make certain that the melodies are written for your instrument. Five or six string bass guitars will often use different sheet music, as the chords they use vary from four string bass guitars. While sheet music can be converted to the different types of bass guitars, it is easier for a beginner to use sheet music designed for their instrument.

Many pieces of bass guitar sheet music is written after established songs or as part of soundtrack compilations. These types of compositions are highly popular, as it allows people to learn the songs that they like. As many bands protect their bass guitar sheet music until long after the intellectual property has been well established, you may have to learn the songs by earn and write down the proper chords. Homemade bass guitar sheet music is rather popular, as many players will get together to play their favorite songs by other bands. Transferring music learned by ear to sheet music is also a good way to reinforce the skills you have been learning.

Bass guitar sheet music should be used as a tool to teach you chords, finger memory and improve your ability to hear music. As listening to your own music and being able to identify tone errors is important, using someone else’s music can help you learn what errors you are making. While creativity and making your own music is highly enjoyable, these are skills you need prior before you can make a solid composition on your own.