Practice tools that tell you the truth.
A time test that measures your drift. A walking line builder. Ear trainers, a bass clef reading trainer, and a tuner that reads low B. Built for the practice room by Better Bass Lessons, and they're free.
Start here
The three players reach for first.
BBL-T06FREEWalking Line BuilderA Walking Line From Any ChangesType the chords, get a quarter note line with the note names and which degree each one is. Not to copy, but to see how the shape works so you can build your own.Open the tool →
Leads toWalking Basslines on Upright Bass (upright) / The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough (electric)BBL-T01FREETime Feel TestHow Good Is Your Time, Really?The click runs for four bars, then disappears for four. Keep playing. When it comes back you'll see exactly how many milliseconds you drifted, and which way.Open the tool →
Leads toThe Five-Feel Groove SystemBBL-T11FREEInterval Ear TrainerName What You HearTwo notes, you name the distance. This is the single skill that separates players who learn tunes off a recording from players who need the sheet music.Open the tool →
Leads toPlay What You Hear
Leads toWalking Basslines on Upright Bass (upright) / The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough (electric)BBL-T01FREETime Feel TestHow Good Is Your Time, Really?The click runs for four bars, then disappears for four. Keep playing. When it comes back you'll see exactly how many milliseconds you drifted, and which way.Open the tool →Leads toThe Five-Feel Groove SystemBBL-T11FREEInterval Ear TrainerName What You HearTwo notes, you name the distance. This is the single skill that separates players who learn tunes off a recording from players who need the sheet music.Open the tool →Leads toPlay What You Hear
Featured course
The Locked-In BassistSwing With Any Drummer
Cole Davis, with Aaron Seeber on drumsSwing with any drummer. Even the one who throws a fill across the bar line.
- The 2-minute test that tells you whether your time is really yours, or borrowed.
- What to do in the very next bar when the drummer throws a fill across the bar line.
- What to do the moment the drummer starts to drag.
$77 · One-time · 14-day guarantee. The free tools that lead here: Displaced Click Trainer, Subdivision Trainer, Rhythm Reading Trainer, Tap Tempo.
Time and feel
Most time problems are listening problems. These show you what your hands are actually doing.
BBL-T01FREETime Feel TestHow Good Is Your Time, Really?The click runs for four bars, then disappears for four. Keep playing. When it comes back you'll see exactly how many milliseconds you drifted, and which way.Open the tool →Leads toThe Five-Feel Groove SystemBBL-T02FREEDisplaced Click TrainerThe Displaced ClickA metronome that puts the click somewhere other than all four beats. Watch beat one on screen while you only hear beat four. That gap is the thing you're training.Open the tool →
Leads toThe Locked-In BassistBBL-T03FREESubdivision TrainerHear the SubdivisionMost time problems are subdivision problems. Set a pulse, pick what fills the gaps, then take the subdivision away and see whether your hands kept it.Open the tool →Leads toThe Locked-In BassistBBL-T04FREERhythm Reading TrainerClap What You SeeA bar of rhythm appears, a count-in runs, and you tap it. The tool scores how close each hit was, so you find out whether you actually read it or just felt your way through.Open the tool →Leads toThe Locked-In BassistBBL-T05FREETap TempoWhat Tempo Is That?Tap along with any recording and read the tempo. Then check it against the standard tempo ranges, so you know whether that ballad is actually a ballad.Open the tool →Leads toThe Locked-In Bassist
Leads toThe Five-Feel Groove SystemBBL-T02FREEDisplaced Click TrainerThe Displaced ClickA metronome that puts the click somewhere other than all four beats. Watch beat one on screen while you only hear beat four. That gap is the thing you're training.Open the tool →Leads toThe Locked-In BassistBBL-T03FREESubdivision TrainerHear the SubdivisionMost time problems are subdivision problems. Set a pulse, pick what fills the gaps, then take the subdivision away and see whether your hands kept it.Open the tool →Leads toThe Locked-In BassistBBL-T04FREERhythm Reading TrainerClap What You SeeA bar of rhythm appears, a count-in runs, and you tap it. The tool scores how close each hit was, so you find out whether you actually read it or just felt your way through.Open the tool →Leads toThe Locked-In BassistBBL-T05FREETap TempoWhat Tempo Is That?Tap along with any recording and read the tempo. Then check it against the standard tempo ranges, so you know whether that ballad is actually a ballad.Open the tool →Leads toThe Locked-In BassistWalking and harmony
The notes that are always right, and how to get from one chord to the next.
BBL-T06FREEWalking Line BuilderA Walking Line From Any ChangesType the chords, get a quarter note line with the note names and which degree each one is. Not to copy, but to see how the shape works so you can build your own.Open the tool →Leads toWalking Basslines on Upright Bass (upright) / The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough (electric)BBL-T07FREEChord Tone DrillRoot, Third, Fifth, SeventhA chord appears, a click runs, and you play its chord tones before the next one lands. No scales, no patterns, just the four notes that are always right.Open the tool →Leads toWalking Basslines on Upright Bass (upright) / The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough (electric)BBL-T08FREEGuide Tone FinderThe Two Notes That Say the ChordThe third and the seventh carry the harmony. The root is your job anyway and the fifth says almost nothing. Enter a progression and see the guide tones, and how little they move between chords.Open the tool →
Leads toIntermediate Soloing & Improvisation Concepts (upright) / Jazz Soloing on Electric Bass (electric)BBL-T09FREE2-5-1 Drill MachineTwelve Keys, No ExcusesA random 2-5-1 with the chord tones spelled out, and a timer that moves on whether you're ready or not. Most players can do this in three keys and avoid the rest for a decade.Open the tool →
Leads toThe Language of JazzBBL-T10FREECircle of FifthsThe Circle, For Bass PlayersTap a key and see its signature, its 2-5-1, and its relative minor. Built around the question a bass player actually asks on a gig, which is what are the chords, not how many sharps.Open the tool →Leads toThe Language of Jazz
Leads toWalking Basslines on Upright Bass (upright) / The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough (electric)BBL-T07FREEChord Tone DrillRoot, Third, Fifth, SeventhA chord appears, a click runs, and you play its chord tones before the next one lands. No scales, no patterns, just the four notes that are always right.Open the tool →Leads toWalking Basslines on Upright Bass (upright) / The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough (electric)BBL-T08FREEGuide Tone FinderThe Two Notes That Say the ChordThe third and the seventh carry the harmony. The root is your job anyway and the fifth says almost nothing. Enter a progression and see the guide tones, and how little they move between chords.Open the tool →Leads toIntermediate Soloing & Improvisation Concepts (upright) / Jazz Soloing on Electric Bass (electric)BBL-T09FREE2-5-1 Drill MachineTwelve Keys, No ExcusesA random 2-5-1 with the chord tones spelled out, and a timer that moves on whether you're ready or not. Most players can do this in three keys and avoid the rest for a decade.Open the tool →Leads toThe Language of JazzBBL-T10FREECircle of FifthsThe Circle, For Bass PlayersTap a key and see its signature, its 2-5-1, and its relative minor. Built around the question a bass player actually asks on a gig, which is what are the chords, not how many sharps.Open the tool →Leads toThe Language of JazzEar training
The skill that lets you learn a tune off the record instead of the chart.
BBL-T11FREEInterval Ear TrainerName What You HearTwo notes, you name the distance. This is the single skill that separates players who learn tunes off a recording from players who need the sheet music.Open the tool →Leads toPlay What You HearBBL-T12FREEChord Quality Ear TrainerIs That a Minor Seven or Not?Hear a four note chord and name the quality. On a gig nobody hands you a chart for the tune everyone else already knows, and this is how you survive that.Open the tool →Leads toPlay What You Hear
Leads toPlay What You HearBBL-T12FREEChord Quality Ear TrainerIs That a Minor Seven or Not?Hear a four note chord and name the quality. On a gig nobody hands you a chart for the tune everyone else already knows, and this is how you survive that.Open the tool →Leads toPlay What You HearFretboard and reading
Know where every note lives, and read it without counting lines.
BBL-T13FREEFretboard Note FinderFind Any Note, AnywhereYou get a note name and a string. Tap where it lives. Most bass players know the E string and guess at the rest, and it shows the moment they leave first position.Open the tool →
Leads toJazz Soloing on Electric Bass (electric) / Jazz Soloing on Upright Bass (upright)BBL-T14FREEScale and Mode MapEvery Scale, MappedPick a root and a scale and see it across the whole neck, with the root notes marked. Modes included, because knowing that Dorian is a minor scale with a raised sixth is different from seeing where that sixth sits under your hand.Open the tool →Leads toJazz Soloing on Electric Bass (electric) / Jazz Soloing on Upright Bass (upright)BBL-T15FREEBass Clef Reading TrainerRead It, Don't GuessOne note on the staff, four choices. Bass players who read badly usually read fine on the E string and count lines everywhere else, and flashcards fix that faster than tunes do.Open the tool →Leads toThe Language of JazzBBL-T17FREEChord Transposer“Can We Do It in B Flat?”The singer changes the key on the bandstand and you have eight bars to work it out. Paste the chords, pick the new key, and read it off your phone on the stand.Open the tool →Leads toThe Language of Jazz
Leads toJazz Soloing on Electric Bass (electric) / Jazz Soloing on Upright Bass (upright)BBL-T14FREEScale and Mode MapEvery Scale, MappedPick a root and a scale and see it across the whole neck, with the root notes marked. Modes included, because knowing that Dorian is a minor scale with a raised sixth is different from seeing where that sixth sits under your hand.Open the tool →Leads toJazz Soloing on Electric Bass (electric) / Jazz Soloing on Upright Bass (upright)BBL-T15FREEBass Clef Reading TrainerRead It, Don't GuessOne note on the staff, four choices. Bass players who read badly usually read fine on the E string and count lines everywhere else, and flashcards fix that faster than tunes do.Open the tool →Leads toThe Language of JazzBBL-T17FREEChord Transposer“Can We Do It in B Flat?”The singer changes the key on the bandstand and you have eight bars to work it out. Paste the chords, pick the new key, and read it off your phone on the stand.Open the tool →Leads toThe Language of JazzSetup and practice
The unglamorous stuff that makes the rest of your practice count.
BBL-T18FREEPractice Session TimerA Practice Hour That Actually WorksFour blocks, a bell between each, and no decisions to make once you start. Most wasted practice time goes on deciding what to practice next.Open the tool →
Leads toThe 15 Minute Warmup (electric) / The 15 Minute Warmup (upright)BBL-T19FREEBass TunerA Tuner That Reads Low BPhone tuners choke below E because they were built for guitars. This one uses autocorrelation, which tracks a fundamental down to about 28 hertz.Open the tool →
Leads toThe New Simandl (upright) / The 15 Minute Warmup (electric)BBL-T20FREEString Tension CalculatorWhy Your B String Feels FloppyTension depends on gauge, scale length and pitch. Change any of them and see what happens, which is usually enough to explain a setup that has never felt right.Open the tool →Leads toThe New Simandl (upright) / The 15 Minute Warmup (electric)
Leads toThe 15 Minute Warmup (electric) / The 15 Minute Warmup (upright)BBL-T19FREEBass TunerA Tuner That Reads Low BPhone tuners choke below E because they were built for guitars. This one uses autocorrelation, which tracks a fundamental down to about 28 hertz.Open the tool →Leads toThe New Simandl (upright) / The 15 Minute Warmup (electric)BBL-T20FREEString Tension CalculatorWhy Your B String Feels FloppyTension depends on gauge, scale length and pitch. Change any of them and see what happens, which is usually enough to explain a setup that has never felt right.Open the tool →Leads toThe New Simandl (upright) / The 15 Minute Warmup (electric)How it works
1
Pick a tool
Each one does one job. Open whichever matches what you're working on this week.
2
Unlock it once
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3
Take the next step
Every tool points to the course it comes from, and Cole sends short notes on getting the most out of it. Leave any time.
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