The bass guitar often flies below the radar of those who are taken in by the flashy guitar solo or the visual energy of a screaming frontman, but it is no exaggeration to say that this humble instrument is the driving force behind a solid band.

Try imagining RHCP without Flea's smooth, sinuous grooves, the mighty Iron Maiden minus Steve Harris' signature galloping runs, or The Beatles sans Paul McCartney's busy, intelligent basslines, and you will know what we mean. Acting as a sonic bridge between the rhythmic foundations of the drums and the melodic contributions of instruments like the guitar and keyboard, the bass fulfills the crucial service of being the locus where melody, harmony and groove come together. Being a good musician demands maturity and generosity of spirit no matter the instrument, but it is a fundamental ask of almost any bass player. Good bass playing supports the other players and gives the band a solid foundation that makes the others look and sound good. But for the special person who is inimitably drawn to the warm, heavy resonance of a bass note, and the endless joys of grooving... this is all way more fun than sacrifice. If you are starting from scratch, it is important to know that there are no set limits on the instrument and many talented and visionary players like Michael Manring, Victor Wooten and many others are pushing the bass into exciting new settings... even as a solo instrument! While that's obviously a much longer road... the good news is that at NSM, you will be able to learn all the foundational tools to get you up and jamming with a band within weeks. It will be countless hours of musical fun there on.

Bass Guitar Level 1

• 4/5/6 string Bass Guitar Parts (Electronics, Wood, Construction and Amplification)
• Left Hand and Right Hand Finger Exercises (Free and Rest Strokes for Right hand and All finger permutations for Left Hand)
• Introduction To Metronome and Rhythmic Notations (Time Signatures and to read Whole, Half, Quarter and Eight note values at different BPMs)
• Notes on the fret board and Diatonic intervals (To identify notes on each string at different frets, Introduction to Semitone and Tone intervals)
• Major Scales construction with Sharps in First Position (G,D,A,E,B and F#)
• Introduction to Harmony with Triads (Major, Minor, Diminished and Augmented)
• Advanced Rhythmic Notations with Metronome (Eighth note Triplet, Sixteenth note and sixteenth note triplet)
• Major Scales with Flats in First Position (F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db and Gb)
• Arpeggios and Chord extensions (Major Seventh, Minor Seventh and Dominant Seventh)
• Introduction to Different Styles of Bass Playing (Rock, Blues, Funk, Reggae, Latin...etc)
• Minor Scale Construction in First Position (All Scales)
• Rhythmic Notations with Rests (Syncopated Rhythms and Groove Analysis)
• Simple Chord Progressions with Different Styles For Right Hand (Slap/Pop and Palm Muting technique with I IV V Progression)
• Melodic Bass Playing (Play and sing simple Melodies and Ear Training tips)
• Transcribing Bass lines and grooves (Students Choice of Bass player)

Bass Guitar Level 2 - Advanced Syllabus

• Intervals and Inversions (Identify intervals and Major and Minor triad Inversions)
• Pentatonic and Blues Scale and Scale Patterns (Patterns in three and four group of notes)
• Advanced Rhythmic notations (Combining Quarter, Eighth, Triplets and Sixteenth notes with rests)
• Major Scale Modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian Modes)
• Chord Chart and Structure (Reading through Charts and Understand Forms LIke 12 Bar, 16 Bar etc)
• Dominant Chord Types and Extensions (C, C7, C9, C13 etc)
• Major and Minor Chord Extensions (Cm7, Cm9, Cm7b5, CM7, CM9 etc)
• Chord Progressions (II V I, I VI II V, I III IV V etc)
• Analysis of Various Drum Beats and Bass lines (Funk, Waltz, Swing etc)
• Amplifiers and Pedals (Study how to generate different tones and sounds)
• Melodic and Harmonic Scales (All Keys)
• Transcribing Complex Bass Grooves (Grooves in 5/4, 7/4. 6/8 etc)
• Introduction to Solo bass (Improvising techniques)
• Transcribing Bass Solos (Students Choice of Solo)
• Song Writing and Creativity (Write an instrumental song and arrange all the other instruments)