2024‘s Top 10 Best Online Bass Guitar Lessons [Free + Paid]
Playing the bass guitar is an extremely enjoyable hobby and can actually be a source of income for some people if you pull the right strings. Sorry for the pun! Though similar to acoustic or electric guitar, there are some significant differences in learning bass guitar.
Here are the top 10 best online bass guitar lessons and classes that will help you learn to master this fun and powerful instrument.
In addition to the online classes themselves, these courses come with bonus materials to download, class projects, certificates of completion, and the host websites have either free trials or promotional discounts.
Top 10 Best Online Bass Guitar Lessons & Classes
1. Bass Guitar Lessons For Beginners (Skillshare)
Learn the basics of how music works and how a bass guitar fits in. You’ll have the confidence to sit in with a group and play after finishing this beginner-level course that has already had over 2,300 students enrolled.
Your instructor for the course is professional musician and music teacher Todd Porter with over 15 years of music teaching experience in addition to having played for years with various blues and jazz groups.
Online course modules are presented in about 2 ¼ hours of on-demand video and cover topics such as 4 essential elements of music, string names, the musical alphabet, harmony, melody, rhythm, and several different practice songs. You will also receive some downloadable materials, have class projects, and have class discussions.
You will find this online course on the continuing education platform SkillShare, along with thousands of other online classes covering a huge variety of subjects from engineering to cooking, to business, and the arts. Importantly, Skillshare is offering a 30-day free trial for its platform.
- Beginner bass lesson
- 2 ¼ hours on-demand video
- Taught by a professional musician
- Downloadable support
- Class projects
- Class discussion
2. Bass Guitar – Bass MASTERY FROM THE BEGINNING – Beginner Bass from Scratch – Quick and Easy Bass (Skillshare)
Build a strong foundation for bass playing or improve your existing skills with this online course. It is like sitting in on a real live session with a band and is suitable for all levels.
Your instructors are Chuck and Sandi Miller from the Bluegrass band No Grass Limit and the music training website Lessons Pros. They have taught music lessons to over 100,000 students.
Your class syllabus includes 156 lessons in 12 ¼ hours of on-demand video and covers right-hand technique, left-hand technique, tuning the bass guitar, open G string, primary and secondary tones, and many practice pieces. There are class projects and downloadable resources.
This class is hosted on SkillShare, try out their premium membership free for 30 days!
- All skill levels
- 12 ¼ hours on-demand video
- Taught by professional musicians
- Downloadable resources
- Class projects
- Class discussion
3. The Professional Bass Masterclass – Bass 1, Bass 2, Bass 3 (Udemy)
All levels, beginner to advanced, are welcome to this class that has had over 14,600 students. This online course includes a bass player workshop with modules that teach you how to create bass lines and a riff trainer for developing skills of improvisation.
It is taught by the creative director of Jupiter Tree Studios, Rajiv Narang, and brings to his classes the experience of being a recording artist, songwriter, and producer for over 20 years. Through all his courses, Rajiv has over 24,000 students and a very high rating on Udemy as an instructor.
Course modules in the 9 ½ hours of on-demand video cover left hand and right-hand technique, fundamentals of scales, time signatures, how to read rhythm, ear training, chord construction, spotlights on various bassists, and numerous practice modules. You will also receive downloadable resources, class projects, and a certificate of completion.
This course aims to give you the confidence to step on stage for your first gig! Many bass students give this course a high grade.
Udemy is the source for this online course, they host many classes for adult continuing education for business, industry, the arts, and other fields. Many of their courses are very low priced plus they offer promotional discounts on the classes.
- All guitarist levels
- 9 ½ hours on-demand video
- Taught by a professional musician
- Interactive style projects
- Downloadable resources
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Certificate of completion
4. Bass Guitar for Absolute Beginners (Skillshare)
Correct technique, basic music theory, rhythm, reading music are what will help you play the bass guitar in just a little time. This beginner-level course is what will you do that in a very short time.
You will enjoy being taught by professional musician bassist Andrei Poppa. Andrei has many years of playing bass for his own band and others and has been teaching for many years, earning high ratings as an instructor.
Your course is taught in 1 ¼ hour of on-demand video and teaches the topics of basic technique, using a metronome, rhythm, and basic music theory. You will also be given access to downloadable resources, class projects, and class discussions.
SkillShare has many fine online courses like this one, all taught by experts in their fields. Try Skillshare Premium free for 7 days.
- Beginner level
- 1 ¼ hour on-demand video
- Professional musician as an instructor
- Class projects
- Class discussion
- Downloadable resources
5. Walking Bass Fundamentals (Udemy)
A walking bassline is a standard of improvisation and is also found in all types of popular music using a bass guitar. It is intermediate-level instruction is for more advanced bass players who are already familiar with basic notes and how to use the fretboard. After this course, you will be able to play pick-up with others in any style of music.
Accomplished professional bassist Bogdan Radovic is your instructor for this course. Bogdan has years of experience both playing the bass professionally and teaching others to play.
35 lessons in 2 hours of on-demand video are used to teach, course modules include root notes, intervals, 4 feel improvisation, composing, and several improved practice sessions. Also included are downloadable resources such as backing tracks, class projects, and a certificate of completion.
Udemy is the online learning platform for this course and thousands of other courses for a wide variety of subjects. Udemy offers classes at discount prices and also runs perioding discount promotions for their online classes.
- Intermediate level
- 2 hours on-demand video
- Professional musician teaching
- Backing tracks for practice
- Class projects
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Certificate of completion
6. Rock Bass Guitar with Nathan East (Artist Works)
With classes for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level bassists, this online course website gives extremely detailed and helpful instructions for learning or improving electric bass playing. One of the things setting this set of courses apart is the ability to submit recordings for the instructor to critique and show you how to improve.
Nathan East teaches all of these online courses with 100s of separate sessions available as a subscription. Nathan has played for decades with other superstar musicians such as Eric Clapton, Bob James, and Phil Collins. He has helped 1000s of musicians learn bass guitar over several decades of teaching, too.
In addition to the video responses to submissions, which are extremely helpful for learning basic to advanced techniques, you will also learn in class modules covering the major scale, arpeggios, walking baselines, slapping, slides, blues shuffles, and advanced funk. You will also receive many downloadable resources, video submissions, and a workshop.
This set of online courses is found on ArtistWorks with a subscription to the website giving you access. The subscription costs are reasonably priced and they run periodic discounts such as 50% off for the holiday season.
- All levels
- Self-paced learning
- Taught by world-class bassist
- Video submissions for critique / 1 on 1 feedback
- Downloadable resources
- Practice jam sessions
7. Bass Lessons – JamPlay (Jam Play)
These classes are suitable for all skill levels of expertise and have been taken by thousands of students. Structured lessons are presented in 4 phases, with each phase leading up to the next one with extremely well-produced instruction videos.
Instructors on JamPlay come from various genres of music and include professional stars of the music industry such as David Ellefson of Megadeth, Rex Brown of Pantera, and Robbie Merril of Godsmack.
The 4 phases of lessons kick off with Beginners. Here, the emphasis is on the fundamentals: tuning, posture, technique, reading music, and starting to play bass lines. This progression assumes a student is in her first lesson.
The second phase, Styles, assumes completion of the Beginner lessons and here, students begin to focus on their favorite genre of music.
Most students choose bass guitar lessons simply to be able to play their favorite songs. In phase 3, Songs, you are leaning into playing music and JamPlay teachers will take your requests and help you learn to play your favorite songs.
While phases 1 and 2 are highly structured, as students progress to phase 4, they are able to learn specific techniques and styles from their instructors. These are some of JamPlay’s most popular courses.
It’s an on-demand video that you can download in the resolution best for your device and even for mobile devices. There are interactive tabs and notations and other materials to download and print.
JamPlay is a unique online learning website for musicians that gives students the best video and audio experience possible and memberships are available for 1 month, a quarter, or a full year.
- All skill levels
- Self-paced learning
- Taught by superstar musicians
- Free guitar tools
- Interactive tabs
- Downloadable resources
8. Scott’s Bass Lessons
You can learn from 100s of hours of online lessons and watch live and prerecorded seminars from a community of bass enthusiasts. There are over 800,000 YouTube subscribers and over 400,000 Facebook followers benefitting from this instruction for all levels.
The instructors come from all levels and styles of music and are expert players and teachers. The list of bass instructors includes Steve Lawson, Scott Devine, and Rich Brown.
Among the topics covered in the on-demand video or live seminars are the anatomy of the bass, essential groove techniques, harmonic layering, and improvisation techniques. You also have access to direct feedback and direction, workbooks, and an online community.
Scott’s Bass Lessons is a great website for learning bass guitar online, offering a 30-day money-back guarantee and a free 14 day trial period.
- All skill levels
- Self-paced learning
- Dozens of expert instructors
- Workbooks
- Direct feedback
- Live weekly workshops
- Online community
9. Blues Bass – Quick Start Guide (Udemy)
Next up is a course offering intermediate-level training for bassists wanting to tackle blues bass style, be able to improvise bass lines, and play with perfect timing in any rhythm.
Your instructor is professional bassist Bogdan Radovic with years of experience as a professional bassist and a music teacher.
On-demand video instruction in 1 ½ hour of lessons covers root notes, triplets rhythm, triads patterns, scales, and improv. You get full lifetime access, downloadable resources, and a certificate of completion.
Udemy hosts this online course with discount pricing and periodic promotions. Udemy has thousands of high-quality classes taught by expert teachers who are often professionals in their fields.
- Intermediate level
- 1 ½ hour on-demand video
- Professional bassist as teacher
- Lifetime access
- Downloadable resources
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Certificate of completion
10. How To Play Bass (Fender)
Who else could teach you to play the bass guitar better than the maker of some of the best bass guitars in the world, namely Fender? This online instruction works for all levels of bass players and has been accessed by thousands of Fender bass players worldwide.
The bass instructors from Fender are all expert-level players and certified teachers with years of experience working for one of the premier guitar makers in the world.
Classes include instruction about bass parts, basic bass techniques, and more advanced methods of playing. There is an interactive app that will let you learn at your own pace anywhere.
Notably, this course aims to teach you to play songs you know and love such as James Brown’s “(I Got You) I Feel Good” and Green Day’s “Basket Case.”
Fender has smartphone toolkit apps, downloadable articles, and a free trial for in-depth instruction.
- All skill levels
- Self-paced learning
- Expert instructors
- Smartphone toolkits
- 7-day free trial
- Downloadable resources
- Interactive apps
Thanks for reading. If you’re not intrigued to learn bass guitar, perhaps you want to check out one of our other music lesson reviews like piano, harmonica, or guitar.
