The 11 Best Bass Guitar Lessons Online (2024)

With all the knowledge on the internet, it’s easier than ever to learn how to play bass guitar. With countless lessons being at your fingertips, as well as platforms that allow services for learning without the stress of having someone looking over your shoulder.

Learning to play the bass can be easy if you choose the right means and platform to show you. While it may take a toll on your fingers at first, you might just discover that bass can be really fun, as well as learning an instrument in the process.

Whether you want a new hobby or are serious about pursuing a career playing bass, here are some great platforms that can help you learn.

1. JamPlay

With well-organized content, JamPlay is a very good online platform to learn the bass. They have a variety of tutors between college professors and world-class artists to help you better learn your instrument.

With an easy-to-use platform like this, you can search your bass lessons based on your level of playing, the style of music you want, the songs you want to learn, or even an artist by choice. What’s really great about this platform is that the lessons are filmed with multiple cameras to get every possible angle to avoid any mistakes being made and just to see the lesson more clearly.

The lessons come with a variety of options. You can choose the playback speed, you can print out the tabs, or even look at the tabs online. You can view the music notations and basically go at your own pace as you learn your instrument.

2. ArtistWorks

With ArtistWorks, you get access to a bunch of video lessons including bass tabs, and even backing tracks. Your main instructor is Nathan East, a highly renowned bassist who played with the likes of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and many more in that category.

The lessons span from beginner to advanced and also include various styles like Jazz Bass, Electric Bass, and even Acoustic Bass music. Similar to all the other platforms and also a benefit to all of them is that it allows you to go at your own pace and devise your own schedule.

There are literally hundreds of bass lessons for all levels, spanning through all music genres. It also allows you to play the lessons in slow motion and even loot certain parts that you want to nail right away.

The platform is really affordable in my opinion, knowing what it costs to pay for private lessons, ArtistWorks is way more affordable and has a three-month, six-month, and twelve-month plan to choose from.

3. TrueFire

TrueFire is one of the oldest platforms for learning bass. They offer a variety of courses with live video lessons and even a discussion tab. Lessons are easy to grasp and straight to the point, as well as include a step-by-step process.

Their courses include lots of different musical genres that span from beginner to advanced levels. What’s great about this platform is that you can choose, let’s say, Jazz Bass, and then every lesson will be structured towards that, just to learn the genre of music that you prefer.

The advanced lessons are really challenging and should push the limits of any experienced bass player to help them improve. There is also the option of private lessons, where you can choose an instructor and get more personalized one-on-one time for a more detailed lesson and learning experience.

While the platform has beginner material, it’s more specialized for advanced players, but as I mentioned before, you do have the option to take private lessons, even if you’re a beginner.

4. Fender Play

Fender Play is one of the most popular options for beginner bass players, in particular. This is an affordable platform to learn the fundamentals and gradually progress at your own pace. The structured curriculum is tailored for absolute beginners and helps them adopt the skills and routines necessary for a good start.

Fender Play also offers song-based lessons for a more fun approach to learning as well as play-along tracks to sharpen those bass chops. You’ll work with various bass instructors that cater to different aspects of the bass guitar so the learning process, in general, is very well-rounded.

The reason why Fender Play is so popular is because their app-based approach to learning is very practical and efficient. Using your phone or tablet, you can pick up where you left off in terms of lessons, and best of all, they offer a free trial period to test out the app and see if you’re interested.

5. StudyBass

StudyBass is a free online learning platform to help you learn to play the bass. It was created back in 2003 by Andrew Pouska and the platform features a variety of lessons spanning from basic chords to more complex material.

It offers a wide range of videos to help you play bass guitar, including how to tune your instrument, change the truss rod, and more.

The website allows access to basic notes including an online metronome as well, with fretboard diagrams, and you can also learn music theory. It basically goes over a lot of different subjects to help you out in various different ways, starting from basic bass tuning, all the way to reading tabs and playing music.

It may not be as flashy as other bass learning platforms, but it goes over the fundamentals and explains the importance and management of gear. It has a very detailed tab for everything regarding gear to help you better learn your instrument, not just to play it.

6. BassBuzz

BassBuzz is a more beginner-oriented platform but a solid one at that. It features step-by-step bass lessons with an easy-to-learn method for your instrument. The instructor has broken down each step in the exercises into smaller, more manageable parts to make it simpler for everyone who is just getting started.

You can go one step at a time, at your own pace for a more effective learning experience. You can learn how to play songs with backing tracks with bass tabs on the screen, as well as the video lesson of the song. The website also includes all kinds of lessons with reasonable duration and a play-along method, to avoid any bad habits and to get on the right track.

Their method is called “From Beginner To Badass”, which has had really good reviews in the past. With lots of students picking up a bass guitar for the first time and are able to progress to higher levels of playing.

With the 30-hour list of lessons, they teach you the proper technique, all about rhythm, music theory, and even improvisation & jamming.

7. MusikaLessons

MusikaLessons offers more of a one-on-one type of private lessons. The students are connected to instructors who help you better learn your instrument.

What’s interesting about this platform is that when you start out, they ask you a few questions, in order to connect you with an instructor who specializes in the type of playing you want to learn. With tailor-made lessons just for you, you can video chat with your instructor and you can also figure out how much the lesson should last.

This is available on FaceTime or any other connecting platform at that. However, this option is more expensive than others, because it focuses on the individual instead of a mass of people, because it’s more personalized and, therefore, is more expensive.

The website allows a variety of instructors that help students learn and progress at their own pace. You also get a free trial lesson if you want, just to get a taste of the learning experience and platform to see if it actually works out for you.

8. ScottsBassLessons

ScottsBassLessons offers over 100 step-by-step courses with experienced bassists. The platform includes beginner, intermediate, and advanced courses.

The interesting thing about this platform is that you can track your progress and even set challenges to achieving certain goals. You can earn badges as you complete each level, to make it a more fun learning experience.

They offer live lessons and a really stacked library with their own community, where you can chat with other students. The biggest benefit is always that you learn at your own pace. They offer private lessons as well, for a more structured curriculum and weekly live-stream seminars with top-notch bass players.

In addition to the many features on the platform, they offer the option to submit and get direct feedback from the platform itself. You can also watch exclusive interviews, or you can also get involved in the challenges that are set out throughout the year with all the other students on the platform.

9. Yousician

Yousician offers the best interactive lessons by a longshot. If you want to have fun while you’re learning, you will definitely like this platform. The platform itself is basically an App that you can use on your iPad, on your phone, or even on your computer.

The lessons are structured to more interactive means, just to make the learning experience way more fun and challenging as well. You have a weekly free trial, to try it out and see if it suits your preference. With thousands of lessons and exercises with videos, all included with a large library of popular songs.

When trying out Yousician, it feels like a gaming experience. You follow the notes on the screen while you play along which is what makes this a fun experience. In order to progress further, you have to complete each level with a certain amount of points, which makes it a challenge.

The app is structured for all levels of playing, so if you’re looking for a more engaging way to start learning to play the bass, then Yousician might be the thing for you.

10. Masterclass on Udemy

The Masterclass on Udemy is one of the most affordable options you can go with. They provide a very well-defined structure with lifetime access to everything they have, in order to really assist you in learning the bass and playing it well.

You also get a chance to learn and understand music theory, and everything that goes with it. Lessons are structured to form a really good foundation for your bass skills.

You get to learn techniques from professional bass players that will teach you to play using bass tabs, master time signatures, and develop incredible techniques in both of your hands. You can also learn how to improvise more freely, so you can feel at ease with your instrument.

Overall the courses are divided into four parts with a total of 132 lessons which offers a really good value considering the price. If you are looking for something affordable and useful at the same time, this is one option to consider.

11. BassGuitarPlayerWorld

BassGuitarPlayerWorld takes more of a direct approach to learning the bass. It’s pretty straightforward and helpful to beginners, intermediate, and even advanced players.

The great thing about this platform is that you just choose the section you want to learn, whether it be beginner lessons if you want to learn scales, or maybe trying out chords, and see what they’re about, and all different kinds of techniques.

They offer video lessons with different varieties to go step-by-step and really in-depth. You get a chance to learn soloing and improvisation. And one of the great features of this platform is that you also get a chance to have some ear training.

As I said, it’s a pretty straightforward platform devised for easy access to lessons, different styles of music, and musical genres for you to pick and choose for your personal preference.

Conclusion

There are a lot of different websites and platforms to help you learn how to play bass. Whether you’re a beginner or a more experienced player, you will definitely find your place in some of the options above. Some come at a really affordable price, while others are more expensive, but there is also a free option included. This list is tailored for all kinds of bass players, to pick and choose for their preference.