CHORDS

ON THE ELECTRIC BASS

J UA N M A N U E L VA S Q U E Z

Many bass players spend countless hours studying scales as they should. Unfortunately many of them forget to learn about chords. The reality is that every bassist
should learn about chords and their applications. In this book we will learn how major
and minor scales are constructed. So take out you bass, turn on your amp, turn of the
TV and follow in a Journey to learn about chords.

MAJOR CHORD

A major chord is made up of three notes; the root after which it is named, the major
3rd and the perfect 5th. Mayor chords sound happy.
Major chord using 4 notes:
Index finger plays the root (1st). Ring finger frets the 5th, pinky on the 8ve and
the middle finger on the major 3rd.
Remember: The 1st degree (root) is
the same note as the octave. So if
the 1st degree is an A then the octave is also an A.

Symbols: Capital letters, , M or

maj ex: A, B, or AM, BM or A maj,
or B.

Major chord using 3 notes:

We use the ring finger to play the
root, the middle finger to play the
5th and the index to play the 3rd.

MINOR CHORDS

A minor chord is made up of the root, a minor 3rd and a perfect 5th. Minor chords produce a sad sound.
Minor chord using 4 notes:
Use the index finger to fret both the 1st and 3rd degree. Use the ring finger to fret
the 5th and the pinky to fret the octave.

Symbols: m, min or Ex: Am or A min A-

Minor chord using 3 notes:

Use the index to fret the 3rd, the
middle to fret the 5th and the ring
finger to fret the octave.

M AYO R 7 T H C H O R D

A major 7th chord consists of a root note, a major 3rd, a perfect and a major 7th. The
addition of the 7th degree adds more color to your bass line.
Note: If you want to strum a major 7th chord on
the bass it is recommended not to play the 5th degree to prevent the sound from being too muddy
(unless you use a bass with 6 or more strings).
Luckily you can create a lick that uses all 4 notes
(arpeggio) or tap them.
Symbol: M7, Maj 7
Ex: AM7, GMaj7

7th chords using 3 notes:

Index plays the 1st, middle plays the 7th and
the ring finger plays the 3rd.
Note: You can skip the 5th degree because
the nature or flavor of the chord can still be
implied by the remaining notes.

Alternative way:
Index plays the 3rd, middle plays the 1st and
the ring finger plays the 7th.

DOMINANT CHORD

A dominat 7th chord consists of a root note, a major 3rd, a perfect and a minor 7th.
The addition of the 7th degree adds more color to your bass line.
As previously stated you should not play the
5th degree unless you are playing a bass with
5 or more stings.

Symbol: 7 or dom7
Ex: C7, A7 or Cdom7

3 note dominant chord: I personally use

the index to play the root, the middle to play
the 7th and the ring to play the 3rd.

Alternative way:
Index plays the 3rd, middle plays the 1st and
the ring finger plays the 7th.

MINOR 7TH CHORD

A minor 7th chord consists of a root note, a minor 3rd, a perfect and a minor 7th. The
addition of the 7th degree adds more color to your bass line.

Once again you can skip the 5th degree.

Symbol: m7 or min7
Ex: Am7 or Amin7

Minor 7th chord using 3 notes:

I use my index to play the root, my middle
finger to play the 7th and my ring finger to
play the 3rd.

Alternative way:
Index plays the 3rd, middle plays the 1st and
the ring finger plays the 7th.

DISMINISHED CHORD

A diminished chord is made up of root note, minor 3rd and an augmented 4th (4#) or
diminished 5th (5b).
This chord has a very dissonant sound. It is
also very rare when compared to the major
and minor chords but you will come across it
in other genres.
NOTE: This chord is unstable and is often
used as a bridge between chords. Its eerie
sound leaves you hanging which in turn
makes the resolution into a stable chord that
much more powerful.

Symbol: o or dim
Ex: C or Cdim

3 note disminished chord: Use the

index to play the 3rd, the middle to play the
5th and the ring finger to play the root.

AU G M E N T E D

An augmented chord is made up of root note, major 3rd and an augmented 5 (5#).

NOTE: Like the diminish chord, the augmented

chord is also very unstable and as such it can be
used to create powerful resolutions from one
chord to another.

Symbol: + or aug
Ex: C+ or Caug

Playing an augmented chord:

Use the ring finger to play the augmented
5th, the middle finger to play the octave
and the index to play the 3rd.

EXTRA

INVERTED CHORDS
When we invert a chord we simply change the order in which we play the notes of the
chord. So instead of playing the root, third and then fifth we can rearrange the order of the
notes.
minor chord first inversion
major chord first inversion

Note: You have already seen the second inversions for major and minor chords in page 2
and 3 where the 5th is the first note we play.
minor chord alternate position

major chord alternate position

Chord Chart
MAJOR

MINOR

DIMINISHED

AUGMENTED

MAJOR 7TH

DOMINANT

MINOR 7TH

Cb

Cb, Eb, Gb

Cb, D, Gb

Cb, D, A

Cb, Eb, G

Cb, Eb, Gb, Bb

Cb, Eb, Gb, A

Cb, D, Gb, A

C, E, G

C, Eb, G

C, Eb, Gb

C, E, G#

C, E, G, B

C, E, G, A#

C, Eb, G, A#

C#

C#, F, G#

C#, E, G#

C#, E, G

C#, F, A

C#, F, G#, C

C#, F, G#, B

C#, E, G#, B

Db

Db, F, Ab

Db, Fb, Ab

Db, Fb, G

Db, F, A

Db, F, Ab, C

Db, F, Ab, B

Db, Fb, Ab, B

D, F#, A

D, F, A

D, F, Ab

D, F#, A#

D, F#, A, C#

D, F#, A, C

D, F, A, C

D#

D#, G, A#

D#, F#, A#

D#, F#, A

D#, G, B

D#, G, A#, D

D#, G, A#, C#

D#, F#, A#, C#

Eb

Eb, G, Bb

Eb, Gb, Bb

Eb, Gb, A

Eb, G, B

Eb, G, Bb, D

Eb, G, Bb, Db

Eb, Gb, Bb, Db

E, G#, B

E, G, B

E, G, Bb

E, G#, C

E, G#, B, D#

E, G#, B, D

E, G, B, D

F, A, C

F, Ab, C

F, Ab, B

F, A, C#

F, A, C, E,

F, A, C, Eb

F, Ab, C, Eb

F#

F#, A#, C#

F#, A, C#

F#, A, C

F#, A#, D

F#, A#, C#, F

F#, A#, C#, E

F#, A, C#, E

Gb

Gb, Bb, Db

Gb, A, Db

Gb, A, C

Gb, Bb, D

Gb, Bb, Db, F

Gb, Bb, Db, E

Gb, A, Db, E

G, B, D

G, Bb, D

G, Bb, Db

G, B, D#

G, B, D, F#

G, B, D, F

G, Bb, D, F

G#

G#, C, D#

G#, B, D#

G#, B, D

G#, C, E

G#, C, D#, G

G#, C, D#, F#

G#, B, D#, F#

Ab

Ab, C, Eb

Ab, Cb, Eb

Ab, Cb, D

Ab, C, E

Ab, C, Eb, G#

Ab, C, Eb, Gb

Ab, Cb, Eb, Gb

A, C#, E

A, C, E

A, C, Eb

A, C#, F

A, C#, E, G#

A, C#, E, G

A, C, E, G

A#

A#, D, F

A#, C#, F

A#, C#, E

A#, D, F#

A#, D, F, A

A#, D, F, G#

A#, C#, F, G#

Bb

Bb, D, F

Bb, Db, F

Bb, Db, E

Bb, D, F#

Bb, D, F, A

Bb, D, F, Ab

Bb, Db, F, Ab

B, D#, F#

B, D, F#

B, D, F

B, D#, G

B, D#, F#, A#

B, D#, F#, A

B, D, F#, A

10

FINAL MESSAGE
It is easy to get discouraged when we think of all the things we need to learn in
music. Never give up, you have to believe in your ability to learn. Believe I, should
know, once I was asked to get off the stage, but now I am playing with some of the
most well known and respected merengue musicians (look up Ramon Orlando). I
have been playing for over 10 years now and I still have a lot to learn.

So never give and keep practicing.

Who knows you might be one of the
new innovators on the bass guitar
just like Victor Wooten and Jaco
Pastorius. Also check out my youtube
channel for more free resources.
www.youtube.com/manuel118215

COPYRIGHT 2013, Juan Manuel Vasquez

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