A common note in country bass lines is the 5th. This is usually played below the root note as a 4th below. This is an E note in the following example which is in A. See the theory section on Complementary Intervals if you aren’t sure how a 5th above and a 4th below produce a note of the same letter name.

Example C1

It is important when playing bass lines such as this that the notes are the correct length. In Example C1 the notes are quarter notes with a quarter note rest after each note. The whole bass line is two bars in length. The way to get the correct note length is to let the notes ring and then stop them by putting the alternating finger onto the string before you actually require it for the next note. This cuts the note by stopping it from ringing and is further explained in the technique section on rest stroke.

Example C2

Amin ' ' ' C ' ' ' G ' ' ' D ' ' '

Example C3

This jamming spot goes from E to A.