If you want to learn to play the guitar, you should prepare yourself for a long process. The time it takes to progress from simply plucking strings to being able to follow along with the rhythms of a song. Learning to play an instrument like the bass guitar takes time and practice but, if you dedicate yourself to your lessons, you can become a great guitarist.

There are several basic things you must master early on as you learn how to play the guitar: notes and scales. For many beginning bass guitarists, it takes time to get used to pressing down on the frets to create different notes and to memorize the positions for each note. Only time and practice will see you through the soreness you will develop in your fingers, unused to the strings of the bass guitar. Once you have done so, however, you will be ready to move on to the next level of your learning: scales.

A scale is a specific set of notes that work together and there are many different types of scales: major, minor, augmented, and countless others. The most basic type of scale, and the best one for beginners to learn, is the chromatic scale. The chromatic scale involves half-step increments beginning with a certain note and moving through all twelve of the musical notes between the first note and the corresponding note one octave higher. As you learn to play the guitar, utilizing chromatic scales in your practice sessions will be very helpful.

You can choose any note to begin, for example E, your fourth open string. E has become the root of this chromatic scale and to reach the next note in the scale, simply press down on the first fret of the fourth string and pluck it - this will sound the note F. Move up a half-step to produce the note F#, then another half-step to play G. Continue moving up the fret board in half-steps until you reach the ending note E one octave higher than the root from which you began.

By following these simple steps you have successfully played a chromatic scale. Try using different roots from which to begin your chromatic scales and, as you practice a variety of scales, you will become increasingly familiar with the fret board, your bass guitar skills will flourish and you will be able to move on to the next level in your learning process.