In this lesson, Dan takes you through your first guitar exercise. Our aim is to get the left and right hand in sync and working together. We will also learn how to read tab, how to pick properly, and how to get those fingers stretched out!
These exercises are known as ‘spider exercises’ as they help us gain independence in each of our fingers (which ends up looking like a spider is climbing up and down your fretboard!). As shown in the video we will start by getting the hand into the correct position. As a quick recap you need to:
We also look at how to read bass guitar tab in the video, so if you need a little reminder, please take a look at this diagram: 
Click on the link below to see the full exercise in tab. Remember, our tab player allows you to actually play along with the tab and slow it down if you need, so get your guitars at the ready!
Ready to move on? Remember to check out every lesson in this unit first – then try the next unit...
As a bass guitarist, rhythm is your best friend! This is where the instrument really differs from the guitar, as it is generally more of a rhythm than a lead instrument. Therefore a knowledge of basic note values is crucial.