On September 6, 2018, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) announced the expansion of their Fender Play application. Since last year, it was available to guitarists, now it also features bass guitar lessons. USD 9.99 per month buys you quite a nice app (especially if you own one of Fender’s digital amps), which teaches how to play the most popular international hits, among other things.
The app was created by the young bass students. Such masters of the instrument as Pete Griffin, Chelsea Stevens, Ozzy Carmona, Nikki Stevens, Darren McGuire, Dan Ellis, Travis Dykes explain in the form of short lessons how to play such songs as:
- “Basketcase” – Green Day
- “Everlong” – Foo Fighters
- “I Got You (I Feel Good)” – James Brown
- “Move On Up” – Curtis Mayfield
- “One Love” – Bob Marley
- “Push it” – Salt-N-Pepa
- “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker” – The Ramones
All the lessons are shot from a number of angles so that app users can see how to position their hands on the fretboard, which should help them avoid developing injuries characteristic for beginners. They will also present all the bass playing techniques: thumb playing, arpeggios, pick playing, etc. They will also show how to construct bass lines and how to make them match drum parts. There are 5 levels of difficulty to be used when playing to the tracks from the app, which monitors the user’s progress. Other features include a tuner, tabs and beat loops to improvise to or play an entire bass line without the backing track.
Fender Play does seem like a very good solution. The subscription can be stopped at any time if a user does not wish to prolong membership. It is also possible to purchase an annual package for USD 89,99. Both subscription options give access to electric guitar and ukulele lessons.
The app is available at iTunes and Google Play.