Published:
2018-10-17
Updated:
2026-04-13
Learning Ukulele with Curt
Bass for Ukulele Players
Every musician should be able to play a little bass. A bass player plays chords - just like ukulele players. However there are not strummed. They are played as individual notes - melodically.
Author(s): Curt Sheller Publisher: Curt Sheller Publications Code: UW50
Main Category: Bass Main Instrument: Ukulele
Categories: Bass, Chords, Instruments
2026-08-23
Number of Pages: 8
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Every musician should be able to play a little bass. A bass player plays chords - just like ukulele players. However there are not strummed. They are played as individual notes - melodically.
The minimum that is need to outline a chord is the Root. The root is the letter name of a chord.
This lesson sets you in the right path to learning to play bass, and sound like a bass player and not a ukulele player that is playing bass.
Bass
– the bottom, the low end. In music this is one essential musician always in demand and in short supply.
What Is The Role of the Bass?
The role of a Bass Player is:
- Outline the Chords
- Provide the Rhythmic Feel of the Song
Chords
The most common chords are the traditional major, minor, diminished, augmented triads and the 4-part seventh chord, often called a dominant seventh that is used a lot with these triads.
To Play the Chord
, the minimum you need to do it play the root, the letter name of the chord. Play the lowest root available on your bass.
In a nutshell, play the right notes, at the right time in the particular style of the song.
More Bass for Ukulele Players
content below, continue exploring...
More Bass for Ukulele Players
The Other Notes
As you might be inclined to think, there are a few more notes available for outlining a chord. And, shapes really don’t help initially as they do for chords with ukulele.
As the name implies - a triad is three notes and these notes come from the major scale based on the root of the chord. Here is a list the chord tones of the traditional triads and that lone seventh chord.
- Major 1* 3 5
- Minor 1 b3 5
- Diminished 1 b3 b5
- Augmented 1 3 #5
- Seventh 1 3 5 b7
*The (1) is the Root or letter name of the chord.
Without learning all the major scales and chord theory we can dive right in and get beyond simply playing the root.
End of Lesson - Thanks, Hope You Enjoyed It!
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