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Repertoire · Advanced · 8 min

Alternating Bass Etude

Thumb on the bass, fingers on the melody, over C and G.

How to play it
  1. Your thumb plays every beat, alternating between two bass strings. Your fingers play the notes in between.
  2. Hold the C chord shape for bar 1 and G for bar 2 so notes can ring.
  3. Play single notes cleanly at first. The scorer follows the note sequence, one at a time.

What the coach checks: Pitch of each note in order. It hears one note at a time, not the ringing chord.

Goal80 BPM · 80%
Your bestNo result yet
Rating–

Tab player

Hear the line

eBGDAE12

Tap any number to hear it. Four clicks count you in.

Your practice room

Find each note

Single-note pitch feedback. Practice waits for each note; Play checks the sequence at your chosen tempo. This does not assess chord quality or fret buzz.

This checkpoint needs 80 BPM or faster and the required accuracy. Slower Play attempts still produce practice scores.

Exercise map · 16 targets
  1. 1. C3Bar 1 · beat 1 · string 5 · fret 3
  2. 2. E4Bar 1 · beat 1.5 · string 1 · fret 0
  3. 3. E3Bar 1 · beat 2 · string 4 · fret 2
  4. 4. C4Bar 1 · beat 2.5 · string 2 · fret 1
  5. 5. C3Bar 1 · beat 3 · string 5 · fret 3
  6. 6. D4Bar 1 · beat 3.5 · string 2 · fret 3
  7. 7. E3Bar 1 · beat 4 · string 4 · fret 2
  8. 8. C4Bar 1 · beat 4.5 · string 2 · fret 1
  9. 9. G2Bar 2 · beat 1 · string 6 · fret 3
  10. 10. D4Bar 2 · beat 1.5 · string 2 · fret 3
  11. 11. B2Bar 2 · beat 2 · string 5 · fret 2
  12. 12. B3Bar 2 · beat 2.5 · string 2 · fret 0
  13. 13. G2Bar 2 · beat 3 · string 6 · fret 3
  14. 14. D4Bar 2 · beat 3.5 · string 2 · fret 3
  15. 15. B2Bar 2 · beat 4 · string 5 · fret 2
  16. 16. G3Bar 2 · beat 4.5 · string 3 · fret 0

Chord names and stroke directions are visual guidance. Rhythm scoring measures attack timing.

Target 1 of 16C3String 5 · fret 3

Play one note at a time.

Tune first. Audio stays on this device.

Why this drill

Alternating bass fingerstyle is a two-part texture played by one hand. Keeping the thumb perfectly steady while the fingers play a melody is the core independence skill of fingerstyle guitar.