This week's deliverable — the muted two-note root line E-G-A-E

At last, the final day of week 2. All week you learned pieces one by one, and today you glue them into one — left-hand fretting, muting, and root movement. Put all three into one riff and that's this week's deliverable, the muted two-note root line. It isn't flashy, but it's a real bass line — anchoring the floor of the song clearly, right next to the drums.

In this line the root moves E→G→A→E. Measure 1 is the open E twice and G (4th string, fret 3) twice; measure 2 is the open A twice and the open E twice. The key is cutting sound off — put the previous note to sleep just before you play the next, so the smear is zero every time the root changes. Smooth out especially the two seams: E to G, and G to A. Keep just these two seams clean and the hand you built through yesterday connects the rest of the open notes on its own.

The three roots of this line are fingered the same on a 4- or 5-string. E and G are on the 4th string, A on the 3rd, so the hand shape is completely identical. On a 5-string, keep the low B (5th string) covered with your thumb, putting it to sleep so it doesn't leak the whole time the line goes around. This is where the muting you learned this week really shows its power. The more strings a 5-string asks you to silence, the more the muting feel you built this week becomes a shield that guards your sound.

If you can run these two measures today without smear, that's proof the hand you built this week has truly grown. It's okay if it isn't perfect — you'll keep meeting this line as a warm-up ahead, so today it's enough to leave just the "feel of cutting sound off" in your hand.

Today you complete this week's deliverable. First refine the movement and the muting with a slow prep version, then run the pinned line E→G→A→E. Each example is laid out in a 4-string and a 5-string version.

Prep — slow root line. Press each root long, for half a measure, to first learn the move order (E→G→A→E) and the feel of putting the previous note to sleep as it changes.

▶ BPM 60, 4-string. Hold each blue root long, half a measure. First learn just the order E→G→A→E and the feel of putting the previous note to sleep as it changes.

▶ BPM 60, 5-string. The fingering is identical to the 4-string. Keep the low B covered with your thumb, and move the thumb along as the root changes.

This week's deliverable — the muted two-note root line E-G-A-E. Now in quarter notes. The root moves E→G→A→E. Fret every note, and as you go to the next, put the previous one to sleep with your hand so there's no smear.

▶ BPM 70, crisp with two fingers. E (open) → G (4th string, fret 3) → A (3rd string open) → E. The key is cutting sound off — put the previous note to sleep with your left/right hand just before you play the next, for zero smear.

▶ BPM 70, 5-string. The notes and positions are identical to the 4-string. On a 5-string, keep the low B (5th string) covered with your thumb throughout.

0–7 min · Warm-up Loosen up again with yesterday's E·A·G root move at BPM 60. Revive the feel of putting the previous note to sleep as you move.

7–17 min · Today's skill Repeat the prep example (slow root line) at BPM 60. Focus only on whether the previous note is cleanly put to sleep at the two seams, E→G and G→A.

17–27 min · Applying it (this week's deliverable) Repeat the muted two-note root line four times at BPM 60 → once it's smear-free, raise it to BPM 70 for four more. Get it on the 4-string, then confirm the same feel on the 5-string.

27–30 min · Check Record this week's BPM, and record 30 seconds to hear whether the notes split clearly without overlapping each time the root changes.

Done when: you can repeat the muted two-note root line (E-G-A-E) with two fingers at 60–70 on both the 4- and 5-string, crisply and without smear by putting each previous note to sleep. (Week 2 complete!)

• Overlapping at the seam. If the previous note keeps ringing after you fret the next root, the two smear together. Always put the previous note to sleep right before you move.
• Buzz at G. If the fretted G gets fuzzy, move your fingertip right behind the fret and keep the force minimal. Practice G on its own, then put it into the line.
• Raising speed first. If it smears at 60 and you jump to 70, it all collapses. As all week, clean comes first.
• Neglecting the low B (5-string). Keep the B covered with your thumb the whole time the line goes around. Focus on moving and drop the B, and the low end hums and leaks.