Bass Guitar Music

The standard tuning of a four string bass guitar is E A D G. The tunings are similar on the five string bass except for a low B string, and on a six string except for a high C string. So on a 6 string bass the tuning is B E A D G C. There are also seven string basses with a high F string.
To tune the bass guitar loosen the string and tune UP to the note you are aiming for. Tune each string separately being careful to match the sound of the string to the tuner.
On the electric bass guitar, the music is made by plucking with the index and middle fingers or with a pick. To most people the pick is used by rock bass players but players of all styles have their own individual techniques, sometimes using thumb, fingers or pick according to the sound they want.
The guitar can sound different if all upstrokes, all downstrokes or alternating strokes of the pick are employed.
Some bass players such as Les Claypool and John Entwistle played using their fingernails similar to a classical acoustic guitarist.
Early Fender basses had a "thumbrest" attached to the pickguard, below the strings. This was to rest the fingers while the thumb plucked the strings. Playing the bass guitar needs a certain amount of speed, and dexterity, and bass guitar music will demand that you develop your own style. For inspiration listen to the most popular and influential bass players of past generations such as Paul McCartney, Pino Palladino - the replacement bass player for John Entwistle in The Who, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jaco Pastorius - called by many musicians the most innovative bass player ever, Mark King - a very fast English bass player, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin.