Bass Exercises: One Octave Minor Triad

One Octave Minor Triad Exercises

Bass Exercise #1: Chromatic Minor Triad Ex.

As with any pattern, a good exercise is to play the pattern up and down each fret of the fretboard. I just gave you the first few on the E-string, but don't stop there. Play it higher and play it on the A-string, too. Think up your own patterns and practice those.

Bass Exercise #2: Rock Riff with Minor Triads

Here's a rock riff that just alternates between a C# minor triad and an F# minor triad. After a while you might recognize that many of rock's greatest riffs strongly outline chord tones.

Bass Exercise #3: Pop Ballad with Minor Triads

In most songs this is how you will run into minor chords. They will be mixed in along with other types of chords. This progression uses the I-IV-V chords in G along with some minor chords (also from the key). From the D, you just walk down the G major scale back to the beginning.

Bass Exercise #4: Latin Bassline with Minor Triads

In this bassline you are simply outlining each triad in the chord progression. Latin basslines are usually more about the rhythm than playing a lot of busy notes. The chord tones by themselves can go a long way.