Description
Bassic Fundamentals Course
Take The Next Step On Your Bass Journey
A Massive 10 Hours Of Lessons Covering Every Area Of Playing
Click Here For Full Course Info PDF
‘I purchased Bassic Fundamentals shortly after picking up the instrument. 6 months after starting the course, I went to an audition, got the gig and played my first bass gig!’ Mark Mahoney – USA
‘Bassic Fundamentals gave me a good starting point for practicing different techniques. I really like the clear didactic concept of the course.’ Alexander Fuchs – Germany
‘The lessons are structured, comprehensive, exhaustive and covers most basic areas of bass guitar. Thank you Mark and Talkingbass in your quest to educate students on their bass journey.’ Najib – Malaysia
‘I play in church most weeks and wouldn’t have got anywhere near the level I’m at without these lessons.’ Rob P. – Australia
Check out more reviews of the course in the Reviews tab above!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Bassic Fundamentals Course?
The Bassic Fundamentals Course is designed to provide a complete core foundation of bass guitar skills and musical knowledge. The course is split into four modules, each one covering a different general topic and set of goals.
What level of player is the course aimed at?
The course is aimed at any player from beginner to intermediate level although even advanced players might benefit from certain aspects of the course. It’s always good to go back over the fundamentals.
What Will I Learn?
The 48 lessons are split into 4 distinct modules and each module addresses a different range of topics that are listed in the lesson rundown below. However as a brief overview, after finishing the course you will have acquired the following skills and knowledge:
- A solid bass technique in both hands. This covers both fingerpicking and other styles such as slapping.
- An understanding of how to create basslines and lock in with a drummer
- The ability to tune, re-string and setup the relief, action and intonation of a bass guitar.
- An understanding of the basics of music theory and how it can be applied to the bass.
- A greater familiarity of the notes all over the fretboard
- An introduction to sight reading music and reading chord charts
- A detailed understanding of bass tone and effects pedals
- A set of essential tips on playing in a band and learning songs
- A solid and comprehensive approach to practice using the R.A.I.S.E concept
How Long Are The Lessons?
The lesson length’s vary but the complete course is over 10 hours in length.
How is the course presented? Do I Download Anything?
The course is hosted on the Talkingbass website so there are no video files to download. There is a lesson material zip file for each module containing a Course Workbook and any relevant practice tracks.
Wendell Jones –
A well-structured course that flowed smoothly from start to end, leaving me itching to learn more each day. I was looking to fill in all the gaps in my knowledge and upon course completion that’s exactly what happened and more. Mark left no stone unturned. I appreciated the exercises given to practise different techniques like raking and ghost notes. And I especially loved the 101s on pickups, EQ, and bass setup—they were summed up in a digestible way I’d not fully understood before and sent me on a virtual deep dive for hours after! Many things I learned in this course have become a foundation for my practise routine and I’m a far more well-rounded bassist now because of it. I’m chuffed to bits. Thanks a million!
Barney Kister –
This course packs in a lot of content. Definitely a significant about of data for a beginner and while many of the sections such as sight reading, slap bass, chord structure and so on lead to more extensive course work, the fundamentals found in this course allow both beginner and intermediate alike so solid work to get started on those previously mentioned areas. For myself, I found the hammer on, pull off, slide and ghost note sections quite useful. The parts on arpeggios and intervals are a great lead into the course on chord construction. The course is a good mix of listen sections and practice sections and like any of Mark’s courses and lot of content to download in the included workbooks. I also appreciate that Mark points out a lot of the free content to compliment the course work. Being self taught prior to taking Mark’s courses, I find a learned many things correctly, however unfortunately I learned (or rather taught myself) just as many things in less than efficient style and in some cases just flat out wrong.
Daniel Grace –
The Bassic Fundamentals course covers all the basics as promised and is very well structured. Mark explains everything clearly and in a way that makes even the more difficult concepts easy to understand in hes videos.
Michael Weitzman (verified owner) –
For anyone interested in learning the bass guitar, Mark’s lesson plan for Bassic Fundamentals are complete with videos and written materials that are clear and succinct. For me his methodology is second to none. This particular course checks off all the boxes for a budding bass player to evolve and have a lot of fun along the way. Finding Mark’s courses makes this 67 year old feel like a kid again !
Caroline Eliasson (verified owner) –
This is a great course! It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or intermediate – you’ll get a basic foundation and quite a bit of theoretical knowledge joining this course. I’m an intermediate bassist and find many excercises challenging. However, I’ve found myself developing really well as a bass player. I also love the theoretical bits that make me understand what I’m doing and learning on a deeper level.
Chris T (verified owner) –
It covers all the basses!
Barney Willis –
It’s a natural progression from the beginner course. As usual it’s really well laid out, professionally produced. There’s lots of quality content in here to revisit. The one big thing that i took from this is the ‘home position’ and working on my muting. I’ve got video of me playing bass before this course and the one thing that stands out is the muting (or lack of). So as I creep forward in my progress I’m always grateful for Mark putting me right on the basics so my habits are solid.
Alain M –
This got me going. All good and pertinent info without hype.
Meryle Wooden (verified owner) –
Having played for my own enjoyment for a number of years I nearly skipped Bassic Fundamentals, I’m so glad that I didn’t. Like many people I just picked up the bass and learned to play by ear, with no instruction. I developed many bad habits that I never knew were wrong. In Bassic Fundamentals Mark goes through subjects from extremely basic to intermediate and beyond with his typical in-depth coverage of each area. Mark’s teaching style is very easy to understand, I’ve learned so much from him and highly recommend his courses regardless of the level of the student from absolute beginner to professional.
Sharky (verified owner) –
You’ll want to go over this course again and again because there’s tons of useful info, little hints and tips, and much to learn and absorb. Highly recommend.
Frédéric Barenghien (verified owner) –
Just finished the bassic fundamentals course. Although I’m not a beginner (I think I’m a low intermediate), I’ve found many interesting topics to think about or work on in this huge course! Great value for money whatever your bass level!
Caroline Parks –
I found this course to be very effective at getting a beginner bass player, as I am, off to an excellent start. I have already noticed a significant change in my bass playing abilities. The course is designed in a very logical way and the segments are set up in a nicely digestible manner. I also very much appreciate the music theory elements of the course and have found it to be a big help in how I think about and approach my bass playing. Ditto on the intro to sight reading that is in the course. I have currently moved on to the chord tones essentials and also plan on taking the sight reading courses after I complete the chord tones. Mark has a knack for making online learning fun and effective which translates into making it easy to stick with it all while seeing the results in playing ability. I have already joined a garage band and, while still very much a beginner, am having a ton of fun. Pretty awesome!
Ludivine Hay (verified owner) –
Mark really is an excellent teacher ! The course covers all the basics as promised and is really well structured. As a bass beginner, you will benefit from this course, don’t doubt it ! I’m so convinced by Mark’s teaching, that I’m now starting Chord Essentials course and Sight Reading course (even if I already can read music, I’m sure it will help me to get to know my instrument better). I’m really happy to have discovered TalkinBass !
Ian Williams –
This course was fantastic for a beginning bass player such as myself. Mark covered the basics of every aspect of bass playing that I could think of, and these intro lessons got me excited to learn more about each topic. I especially appreciated that he included things I hadn’t expected, such as descriptions of all kinds of effects pedals and how to use them. As they say, you usually don’t know what you don’t know, so having that sort of thing in the course gave me even more than I was hoping for.
Stevens Leconte (verified owner) –
If you’re a beginner bass player, there’s nothing that can touch Mark’s course, it’s insane! I’m a fast learner and I try so hard when something becomes difficult. Mark is the best teacher on bass, I’ve found. He sometimes rants on about technical but I LOVE IT because it makes it seem like I’m in actual in-person bass lesson. PAY ATTENTION TO his advice on technique, don’t just do it some wacky way. He’s awesome! I tried to find some other courses that could beat his and came up empty. So I just bought the Chord Tones and Walking Bass course. Cool thing is when you finish one course, you get slight discounts on the others. Go Mark!
Bob Zasio (verified owner) –
Even as an experienced bassist, I really enjoyed taking this course as a way to go back and polish up a few things. I was self-taught for the first 10 or so years of playing, and the lack of a teacher with a set curriculum always left me feeling like there were things I didn’t know, without knowing what they were. This course filled many gaps. I especially like the sections on gear and setting up your bass, something every player needs to know and be comfortable with.
Mark Bayes –
About 3 years ago, having no previous musical experience I went out & bought a bass & amp. I’d done a bit of research & knew that there were loads of online courses & one-off lessons available for beginners, so I tried a few free lessons to see how I got on. Can honestly say that Mark’s are the most in depth & structured of all the courses I came across. Others do similar jobs, but Mark has a very logical way of explaining theory & taking you through exercises from v simple to ones, as a complete beginner, begin to stretch you. Mark really emphasises the need to practice, practice, practice, which can be quite boring & difficult to maintain concentration, the trick is to vary the exercises which Mark does.
Fundamentals gives you a good grounding in basic techniques & sufficient tasters of more advanced skills (notes on the fretboard, rhythm, counting, sight reading, etc, etc) to make you want to move on to the next level.
If you are just starting out definitely purchase the Starter Pack to get both the Basic & the Fundamentals Courses.
I’m now on to the Chord Essentials course
Jürgen Lorenz (verified owner) –
Nach einigen Jahren und Erfahrungen war ich nicht sicher, ob Fundamentals die richtigen Kurse sind und wirklich ist fast alles bekannt. Aber die Grundlagen so übersichtlich, fundiert und gründlich aufzuarbeiten bringt ein neues Level für die Übungen. Dazu einen großen Schatz theoretischer Bildung, die viel für mein Verhältnis zur Musik selbst verändert hat. Und ganz wichtig für mich ist dass ich in dieser Zusammenstellung den einen oder anderen Kurs kennenlerne. Vielen Dank, Mark, für diese unterhaltsame Unterweisung
Nick Green (verified owner) –
I am a Guitarist and decided to learn Bass last year as I gradually became more interested in the instrument. I bought a second hand Yamaha Bass and searched YT for lessons. I came across Talking Bass and after I watched the Playlist of Mark working on a Cruise Ship for 2 weeks and really enjoyed that, I bought the Bassic Fundamentals Course. I already had a reasonable background in Music Theory which was useful and with that knowledge cracked on. I decided to start right at ground zero, revising some theory and spending enough time on each module ensuring I was well-up to speed before moving on. I was really enjoying this new challenge and soon purchased the Chord Tone Essentials Course which I am studying in parallel with the Bassic Course.
I feel I am making good progress and really enjoying both courses. It suits the way I learn. I practice at least an hour every day sometimes more in separate sessions. I do like the different ways that Mark teaches the Theory that is a slightly different approach to when I learnt Guitar. I find it reinforces previous learning very well. I am also combining these courses with The Groove Challenge. I am currently learning each Groove for a week before moving on to the next one. I practice each groove every day.
So in summary, I am really enjoying the courses and am very happy with my progress. I have set myself a goal that when I have completed Modules 1 and 2 on both courses I will treat myself to an upgraded Bass!
Nick
England
Baltasar Thomas (verified owner) –
Excellent course. I had considered going straight to a more advance course like ‘chord tone essentials’ as I had been finding my way on the bass for a month or two and have played guitar in the past so I figured: “I probably know all that’s in here”. But, I decided to take a chance and get the fundamentals course anyway because well, I wanted to build on a good foundation. And I have no regrets at all, I did learn a whole bunch of new useful things and after this course I feel very confident I haven’t ‘missed out’ on any fundamental aspect of playing and have a solid foundation to build on. Mark is a concise, cut to the chase teacher with a friendly presence and the ability to dive into the beginner’s mindset, which not all teachers are able to.
Kenneth Volker (verified owner) –
So I took this course a while back and just never get around to rating the program. At that time I had been taking lessons for about a year and half, so a bit of the material had been presented to me buy my instructor, but saying that doesn’t give this program it’s due. Everything was laid out in clear and concise method that it really laid a solid foundation along with going over material that (2/3) I’ve never seen before. If you’ve never been through this type of course I highly recommend it and I was hesitant at all about going into the sight reading course which I’m about 1/2 way through and am completely satisfied with that course as well.
Jeff Delvenne –
What a fabulous course for beginner! Mark is an outstanding instructor. The course covers all the essentials (bass setup, effects, scales, reading, techniques, etc.) along with a huge number of useful tips. This course really made me want to learn more.
Derek Swan (verified owner) –
Just completed this course. I have been playing bass on and off for years but never taken any kind of course. Instead I have relied on picking things up as I go or just winging it. The course has helped me develop better technique and has helped me understand better the benefit of structured practice. Mark presents each lesson clearly and accessibly. The advice and tips he provides are practical and useful. I also find his demeanour and presenting style pleasant which obviously helps me to engage with the materials. I have already bought the Sight reading, scales and chord tones courses and look forward progressing my learning further (although it’ll likely take me ages as my other commitments often limit my practice time unfortunately).
Lee Kennison (verified owner) –
I just completed this excellent course for beginners or for those like me who who needed a refresher on the fundamentals. This course covers a wide range of topics in varying degrees of depth. It is a good starting point if the Beginner Bass Course is too basic. In other words, if you already have the basics down. It then provides a good spring boards into the more focused and in-depth courses here, giving you ideas into where you want/need to focus next. Highly recommended.
Matt Warren (verified owner) –
Great course full of really useful stuff! Great ideas to get you interested in new areas for players that have become a bit ‘stuck’ and also some useful refreshers to get you out of bad habits or strengthen technique. Top work as always that covers more info than you could shake a stick at :D
Paul Dembina –
Yup, covers all the bases/basses/bass-ics etc.
Glen Wilkin –
This is such a great course. To be able to go back through the lessons at anytime is so helpful.
Marcel van Maasdam –
Hi Mark,
As with the Beginners course and the Technique builder course I would like to compliment you for the content and the actual superb way of delivery of this course as well. It all starts with having that deep awareness in the fundamentals and building your bass playing from that foundation. And this course is exactly that, a solid foundation from which one can expand into the world of bass playing. And it is the most complete one I have ever seen. Not only for the novice I would say.
I had quite a lot progression from this course in a first pass already and I will be returning to these lessons and the excercises on a regular basis just to benchmark my own progression or get a refresh there where I need it. So this course is not a once off great learning, it continues to be valuable goto place for the rest of my bass playing adventure. An anchor point to good playing. But also for maintaining a good bass setup, good blending into a band, good usage of effects and equalizers and so on. Fantastic! Mids are our friend indeed.
I love the way how you share your own experiences and learning path throughout the lessons and have changed my own approach towards, for example, how to set my amp & equalizer basis that. Also decided to dive into the floating thumb technique for the 5-string, thanks for that pointer! And, hey Presto, you are totally right on the sight reading approach ;-) Thanks for that, will register for that as soon as I have completed the 4 other ones that are waiting for me to complete .
Thanks Mark, also for lightning the spark!
Graham –
A thorough grounding in all things bass from technique to theory and covering getting the most of the gear you have in terms of bass, amp and pedals.
It is a great first step on the road to other courses such as the Chord Tones and Sight Reading courses.
Highly recommended.
Kenneth Volker (verified owner) –
So I’ve been playing for about two years when I took this course in the hope that it would fill in a lot of questions that I have, really, about the whole Bass world. This Bassics course did just that and I feel like I now have a good foundation, which is something I should have done in the beginning. Top notch class, the material is well laid out and straight forward which make things easy to digest, but it also showed me the direction I needed to go and grow as a Bass Player. I’ve started the Sight reading class and it does not disappoint. It’s a great step by step program and like the Bassic class if you follow the course as it’s laid out you will learn. So that’s what I have, working every day to not just get better, but to be a Groovin Bass Player.
Benn Haynes (verified owner) –
This was my gateway into the TalkingBass world over three years ago. Mark does a great job of getting the bass student ready for his excellent bass courses. He is able to share his wealth of knowledge in a clear and articulate manner. This is the place to start.
Tom Kubarych (verified owner) –
I would have no reservations about recommending this course to any beginning bass player. An Advantage over subscription services is that you do not lose access to the material when your subscription expires; you buy the course, it is yours, and you can go back to it if you need a review. The instruction is excellent.
Spyros Gounaropoulos (verified owner) –
Excellent courses. Really helpful to begin bass in the right way.
Stephanie (verified owner) –
This was a very well-organized and easy to follow course. There are a ton of topics covered but it is not overwhelming. Mark explains everything clearly and logically and in a way that makes even more difficult concepts easy to understand. I have been learning bass for a couple years and this class has definitely helped me improve my skill, knowledge and confidence.
Andrew Jones (verified owner) –
I started with Mark’s Beginner Bass course and then moved on to the Bassic Fundamentals course. I really like the breadth of the course, which includes technique, bass set-up, the basics of music theory and an introduction to sight reading plus much more. In my view the course is comprehensive and great value for money and it’s reassuring to know I can revisit the lessons when I need to. Mark’s teaching style is easily understandable, practical and informative, which is good because I’m a slow learner! I’ve now just bought the Chord Tone Essentials course as a Christmas present to myself. Nice!
Barney Willis –
I learned the basics of Bass using another online course provider. That was great, but I wanted to keep going and improve my playing. The Bassic Fundamentals course is a great stepping stone to build on my previous work. It nicely bridges the gap between complete beginner into intermediate.
So many of the lessons have now made their way into my daily practice / warmup routine. I’m looking a post-it note right now full of great stuff to work on all from this course.
Mark is a fantastic teacher, plus the production values really shine presenting a very polished product. Very happy.
Brian Linkowski (verified owner) –
Great course! I’m more of a beginner bass player and purchased the chord tone essential course,after making it about 3 fourths of the way through module 1 I realized it was a bit above my skill level so I got the basic fundamentals course and it got me on the right track. Im ready to revisit the chord essential course because I got so much out of this course, so much course material it really is for more than just beginners, I highly recommend this course, Thank you Mark!
Agustín Montero –
Very good course for learning how to start with the bass without vicious, movements, incorrect hand position….Very recommended to all bassists. Also Mark is an incredible teacher, with a very clear methodology and a clean english. Very important for people who english is not his native lenguage. Buy this course without doubt
David Haddock –
I have been self-teaching on the bass for a little over a year, with decent results, but not always confident I was spending my time on the right things, or learning correctly. I had viewed several of Mark’s free courses on youtube, and always found his teaching style practical and sensible. So, a few months ago, I purchased Bassic Fundamentals and started from the beginning. Some of the lessons have confirmed what I’ve been learning already; some have fixed things I learned incorrectly, and all of these courses have filled in a lot of gaps I had in my self-teaching progress.
Mark’s teaching style is easy to consume. We all know it takes years and years to become a master at anything, but Mark presents the topics in ways that you can develop useful skills very quickly. His lessons have improved my technique, timing, groove, fretboard knowledge…everything. I’m even allowed to play in the band once in a while. :)
Thanks, Mark, and the entire team at TalkingBass!
Tiziano (verified owner) –
Amazing course to start learning. Complete and focused on what you really need to get started. Very “step by step” explanations easy to understand and to translate in practice. Lot of material very well structured and Mark takes you by hand on all of it. I wish I had known him before. I am enjoying the learning process as never before. Without any doubt best material I’ve ever had. Thanks Mark!!
jason thompson –
Excellent course so far. Have tinkered with the bass guitar for years and never made much progress, tried Scottsbass and Jamplay but found too much waffle and lack of direction. Mark gets straight down to business with a clear no nonsense approach. I finally feel like my playing is improving. Mark doesn’t sugar coat the fact that practise is the only way to get to where you want to go and with his enjoyable lessons and invaluable wealth of knowledge the sky’s the limit. Sign up, its a blast!
Katerina Mateickova –
Thank you Mark for this course! I am beginner bass player and I want to learn not just easy riffs and tap versions, but actually take a little deeper look into music theory, learn different bass techniques, know more about the instrument… anyway, this course has so far, fulfiled my expectations.
Mark Simmons (verified owner) –
Excellent value course for beginners, already taken the beginners course and now working through all the hours of videos and supporting documentation to support the theory. Already purchased more courses. The best bass teacher I can find.
Chris Wrigley –
I found this course ideal for me when I started out and I still go over it regularly, Mark is a fantastic teacher.
David Gill (verified owner) –
I started watching Mark and several other YouTube bass instructors for about one-year before I owned a bass.
When my bass arrived, I worked through some of Mark’s free material (still utilize them). Having played guitar 25-years ago, I felt Mark’s Bassic Fundamentals would be the best place to start, and I was right.
The ad says there are “Over 10 hours of video spread over 48 lessons,” but I think that is incorrect. I believe this course provides a lifetime of material that you can always revisit.
The combination of videos and downloadable workbooks, means I’m able to take this course with me, even if I don’t have my bass with me.
Thank you Mark, for providing this 60+ year old new bass player the tools to play along with some of my favorite songs.
Dave Bortone (verified owner) –
I can’t say enough good things about “Bassic Fundamentals”. Mark’s teaching style is spot-on and the course is designed to keep building on what you’ve learned. The amount of content for the price is just an incredible value. I haven’t even finished yet and my playing is already improving. I highly recommend this course (even if you’ve played before), and I will definitely be taking more courses from Mark and TalkingBass!
Diego Vargas –
A very round course to learn a lot of basics and not too basics concepts from the art of playing bass guitar. Even if you are an intermediate or advanced player, you can find some interesting stuff in this massive course. Months of work ahead wait for you in this 10 hours long course. Some lessons contain material to revisit time to time. Mark have made the lessons very enjoyable. He is without doubt the best online teacher out in the web.
Dave garratt (verified owner) –
Invaluable information presented in a structured format – the best there is out there (and I have tried a few!)
Fred Turatti –
The methodology behind this course is simply genius. It’s the best and most efficient way I’ve found of learning bass, bar none. Each small section builds upon the last and you make rapid progress before you realize. The key is, of course, to master each small section of each lesson before going onto the next. You won’t fail to make progress if you work at each section and listen carefully to Mark’s guidance. Thanks for a brilliant course. I’ve now bought four.
Chris –
I have had the Basic Fundamentals course for some time now and working through it. There is so much content to work on and incredible value for money. I have tried another well known course, and although it was good, I don’t think it was as good as Marks. Mark is a brilliant tutor who makes learning more easy and enjoyable. I particularly enjoy the practice room.