Why Study the Basic Elements of Music?

All styles of music, be it rock, jazz, Classical, funk, blues, country, hip-hop, or
whatever, use the same basic elements of music. The reason each style sounds
different is each style combines the basic musical elements in a different way.

A second thing that sets apart musical styles is the musical instruments used.
Classical music sounds the way it does in part because it uses violins, cellos,
woodwinds, and the like. Rock sounds the way it does partly because it uses
distorted electric guitars. Electronic music sounds the way it does partly due to
the use of synthesizers and computers. But, the basic musical elements for each
style remain the same.

These elements are the essence of music, and are a big part of what you should
study as a musician. Something important to my teaching philosophy is to
thoroughly teach each student all the basic elements of music. Once those are
understood its only a matter of understanding how each style combines those
elements to create that style's unique sound.

If you know the basic building blocks of music, playing, creating, and
improvising music will be much easier and more satisfying. This approach isnt
difficult, but it does take patience and commitment. This isnt one of those
Play like a pro in 10 days! approaches. This stuff takes years to learn.

The Basic Elements of Music

The elements of music can be broken down into a three general categories:
rhythm, harmony, and melody. Each of these categories has a number of
subcategories which I will define below.

Rhythm
As a general category, RHYTHM refers to all the time-based aspects of music.
Lets examine the common elements of rhythm and how it relates to bass
playing

Beat
BEAT refers to the underlying pulse of the music. Most music has a steady,
recurring beat to it. When you listen to music, you might be inclined to tap
your foot to the beat.

One of your biggest responsibilities as a bass player is to maintain the

consistent pulse of the music, or help keep the beat.

Meter
METER refers to how the pulse, or beat, of the music is divided and counted.
Commonly, music is divided into repeated groups of 4 beats counted
1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4and so on. Many other meters are possible. Its possible to
count in 3, 5, 12, or any other number of beats. Some meters are more common
than others.

As a bassist, your basslines will help define the meter of the music. Defining
where beat 1 occurs helps people to feel the meter. Often several musicians as
a group do this, but you should be able to define the meter all on your own.
Tempo
TEMPO refers to the pace of the music, or how fast or slow the beat of the music
is.

Bass players, as well as all of the other musicians, maintain the tempo by not
speeding up or slowing down the music as it is played.

Rhythm
RHYTHM, in a specific sense, refers to when and for how long individual musical
events occur. A musical event could be all sorts of things a single note, a
group of notes, a percussive sound like a drum, or even silence. Rhythm is
about when to start and stop these musical events. The when of a musical
event is called ATTACK. The how long of a musical event is called DURATION.

There are many different rhythms and combinations of rhythms. Rhythms have
different names, such as half note, quarter note, and eighth note, which
indicate their duration. This will be explained in later lessons.

A large part of playing the bass revolves around rhythm, and will be a lot of
what you study and practice.

Harmony
HARMONY refers to how notes, or pitches, are combined with one another. The
combining of notes happens on many different levels in music. Groups of notes
are played at the same time and notes can be played one after another.
Harmony is a vast subject and often intimidates and confuses people (especially
when it is poorly explained).

Lets look at the basic elements that make up harmony

Chords
CHORDS (pronounced kords) are groups of notes played together at the same
time. For example, a C major chord contains the notes C, E, and G. When the
notes C, E, and G are played at the same time, a C major chord is produced.
There are many different types of chords and ways to play them.

Chords are named with a note name and something to identify the type of
chord, orCHORD QUALITY, it is. You might see chords named Fmaj7, or A7#9, or
just C.

As far as the note side of music goes, chords, and the notes they contain (CHORD
TONES), are the primary thing bassists need to understand and study. Bassists
usually don't play chords outright on the bass. Playing chords at a low pitch can
sound muddy. Instead, bass players outline the chord by emphasizing individual
notes of the chord. This requires a thorough understanding of chords. Never
forget that everything revolves around chords.

I think one of the biggest faults in music education today is students are first
pointed towards scales, then chords. This is backwards. Both are important, but
chords are primary. Scales complement chords. I will explain all of this in more
detail in later lessons.
Arpeggios
Arpeggio is pronounced ar-pay-zhe-oh. Many people wonder, What is the
difference between a chord and an arpeggio? An ARPEGGIO is the notes of a
chord played one after another instead of at the same time. For instance, to
play the arpeggio for a C major chord (which contains the notes C, E, and G),
we would play the note C, then E, then G, one at a time.

Playing and practicing arpeggios on bass will be a major part of learning and
understanding chords. Knowing this will help you interact with the chords of a
song and the chords other musicians are playing.

Chord Progressions
A CHORD PROGRESSION is a series of different chords played one after another.
Most songs revolve around a few chord progressions used repeatedly throughout.
For example, a common chord progression is C G Am F. (Remember, these
are chords, not individual notes.) So the chords would progress C major, then G
major, then A minor, and then F major.

The bassist plays a large part in defining the chord progression as it goes by in a
piece of music. This is one of the bassists main responsibilities. And, that is
why a bassist must really learn about chords and chord tones inside and out.

Scales
A SCALE is defined as a group of notes arranged from lowest to highest, or
highest to lowest. A scale is different from an arpeggio because it is not based
on only the notes of a chord. There are many different types of scales. Scales
are named with their starting note, or ROOT NOTE, followed by the type of scale
it is. You may see scale names like E major, C# minor, F major pentatonic, or D
dorian.

Even though it is important to play scales up and down to learn an instrument,

that is rarely how they are used in music. Scales come from reducing the notes
of a piece or part of music and reordering them from lowest to highest.For
example, lets say a bassline plays the notes: C E G E F A C A G B D B C...

We can remove the duplicate notes and reduce that down to the notes C E G F
A B and D. Then, we reorder them from lowest pitch to highest and we get C D
E F G A Bthe C major scale. The original bassline actually outlined three
chords C major (C,E,G), F major (F,A,C) and G major (G,B,D). When we
summed all the notes together we got a scale. Chords actually produced the
overall scale for this piece of music.

Scales complement chords. You will run across many books and lessons which
say play this scale over this chord, and that one over that chord. I think this is
dangerous to tell a student right off the bat. Its not wrong, but first you need a
firm grasp of the chord to which you apply the scale. Even if you are playing a
phrase out of the notes of a scale, a good phrase will still outline the underlying
chord.

Key
A KEY is the scale that a piece of music revolves around. It is usually a major or
minor scale. What I mean by revolves around is all of the notes of the chords,
 melody and other parts come from, or center around, the notes of this scale.
That doesnt mean you can only play the notes of the key, but the notes of the
key provide a kind of musical anchor for the piece of music.

In the scale example above where we reduced the notes of the bassline, we
would say that the music was in the key of C Major since all the notes revolved
around the notes of the C major scale.

Melody
MELODY refers to musical phrases. Technically we could call a melody a
coherent series of notes. Most of you will recognize melodies as
the singable parts of music. The vocal line often carries the melody. But, any
instrument can play a melody and play in a melodic manner. An instrumental
solo, a guitar solo for instance, is another kind of melody.

Traditionally, bass players dont play the main melodies of songs much. Of
course, that doesnt mean they cant or shouldnt. Bassists are doing it more
and more. It is somewhere where bassists have a lot of room to grow and
explore.

Even if a bass player is not playing the main melody, he or she is still able to
play in a melodic way. Bassists often strive to create melodic, singable
basslines. And, bassists sometimes get a chance to solo. For bass players the
study of melody often goes untaught. This may be why you don't hear enough
bass solos. I think melodies are essential to study if you want to create melodic
basslines or bass solos. It is also essential if you want to write songs.

Bass is often one of the most over-looked instruments in a musical group. Many
audience members have no idea what a bass even is. Despite this fact, bass is probably
the most critical instrument in a group. It is rare to find a performing band without a
bass player. As a budding bassist, you should be happy to know there is always a high
demand for bassistsespecially good ones.

The Responsibilities of the Bass Player

Traditionally, the bass performs two basic and vital functions within a band or
group:

1. Bass provides the rhythmic foundation.

2. Bass provides the harmonic foundation.

The Rhythmic Foundation

The RHYTHMIC FOUNDATION refers to the consistent pulse of the music. A skilled
bassist supports the group by providing a good-feeling, steady pulse. Most music
that is well received has a steady rhythm, or beat, to it. This is the
responsibility and priority of the bassist.

The Harmonic Foundation

Most people realize the bass player helps with providing the rhythm. A lot of
people don't realize the other important function the bass player supporting
the harmony.
 Harmony means together. In music, HARMONY is the playing of several different
notes at the same time. Sometimes one person alone, such as a guitarist or
pianist, creates this harmony. Other times several people, such as an orchestra,
rock band or a barbershop quartet, create the harmony together.

The bass plays a powerful role in how we hear harmonies. When we hear
several notes played at the same time, we hear them all relative to the lowest
sounding pitch the bass note.

What is music theory?

In general, music theory tries to explain:

1. Rhythm when and for how long musical events happen

2. Harmony how notes are combined (keys, chords and chord progressions)
3. Melody groups of notes played one after another

Technical Resources for the Bass Guitar

How to tune a bass - explains what to listen for, gives you a sample, and
explains the various ways to tune your bass. You can't play if your bass is out of
tune!

Online bass tuner - on the main page of the site there is a tuning reference that
has some silly animations.

Bass buying guide - explains the parts of the bass and various bass guitar terms
you should know.

Bass string FAQ - includes how to change bass strings, the different types of
bass strings, and more.

Bass setup guide - this thoroughly explains the process of adjusting your bass
setup like the height of the strings, intonation and other technical stuff.

Guide to bass amps - These articles explain the various parts of bass amps
and how to hook up bass heads and cabinets.

12 Notes
There are only 12 notes. I know this may seem wrong or confusing. Surely
youve seen more than 12 keys on a piano! But, its true. There are only twelve.
The same 12 notes simply keep repeating over and over in what are called
different octaves.

Natural Notes
To name the notes we use the first seven letters of the
alphabet A through G A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The notes
named with these basic letters are called NATURAL NOTES.

Sharps and Flats

The other 5 remaining notes fall in between the natural notes.
They are named with what are called sharps and flats. Sharps
 and flats indicate if a note is above or below one of the natural notes.

A SHARP looks like a # symbol. Sharp means to go up one note. For example, the
note A# (pronounced "A sharp") is one note above "A".

A FLAT looks like a lower case b. Flat means to go down one note. For example,
the note Ab (pronounced "A flat") is one note below "A".

White Piano Keys

The white keys on the piano are all the natural notes - A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.

Black Piano Keys

In between most of the natural notes (white keys) there is a black key. The
black keys are sharps and flats.

You will notice that the black keys each have a name with a sharp and a name
with a flat. Its important to understand the same note can have more than one
name. Two note names describing the very same note are said to
be enharmonic. Later you will learn the rules for when you use the sharp note
name or the flat note name.

Big Cats Eat Fish

Another thing you should notice is there is no note between B and C and no
note between E and F. They just skip to the next natural note. This is important
to remember.

The Notes of the Musical Alphabet

Starting on the note A on the left of the piano keyboard, follow the notes going
up the piano keyboard (moving right). The 12 notes of the musical alphabet are:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1

A
A# or C# or D# or F# or G# or
A B C D E F G (next
Bb Db Eb Gb Ab
octave)
 The order of the 12 notes is always the same. The same cycle of 12 note names
just repeats again and again. As I said before, it is the same for all musical
instruments.

The Musical Alphabet on Bass Guitar

Frets are little metal wires in the fingerboard that divide the notes up for you.
On bass, each fret is one of the 12 notes of the musical alphabet. It's just like
one key on the piano.

Looking at the diagram above we see an open string tuned to the note A. (An
open string refers to a string that is not pressed down.) The notes of the
musical alphabet follow their basic order on up the frets just like they did on
piano. Open A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D and so on.

Notice you have two dots on your 12th fret fret marker. That is where the 12
notes of the alphabet start to repeat.

Every string works in the same way. The only difference will be the note to
which the open string is tuned.

If the string is tuned to E, the musical alphabet starts on E and goes in order
to the next E on the 12th fret. Open E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A and so on.

Technique Is About Adapting

No one was physically born to play bass (or any instrument but voice for that
matter). As a bass player you are adapting your hands and body to this musical
instrument. A musical instrument is designed the way it is because of 1) the
sound it needs to create, coupled with 2) the average human body in mind. The
technique to play it lies somewhere in-between the two.

The Goals of Bass Technique

In my opinion, these are the 4 main bass technique goals from which good bass
technique will flow:

Goal #1: Avoiding Injury and Musician Health Problems

 The most important goal of your bass technique is to avoid injuring your hands,
back, ears, or anything else that may arrest your ability to play bass. You want
to play bass for the rest of your life. Your bass technique must support this goal
or you are doomed to a very short career.

Goal #2: Clarity and Good Tone

Each note you play should ring clearly with a full, pleasing tone. That means:

No unwanted buzzing
No unintentional muffled, or muted, notes
No unwelcome open strings ringing in the background
No unintentional harmonics, and
No other accidentally produced extraneous noises

It is quite a tall order, but you have to learn to control all of these aspects of
the bass guitar. Notice I say unintentional a lot here. These are all valid sounds
the bass guitar can make. Make sure you are making them intentionally.

Goal #3: Efficiency/Economy

I tell students all the time I want them to be lazy when they play. You should
use the least amount of effort possible to produce the desired results. This will
help you play more quickly, more accurately, and more comfortably for longer
periods of time.

Early on this is difficult. Your attention is divided and youre just trying so hard
to play something. With time and practice, things will become more and more
effortless. But, you must develop a relaxed technique by consciously working on
and thinking about it. You need to make a habit of being relaxed. It takes work
to not work so much!

Goal #4: Accuracy

You need to develop accuracy with where you place your fingers, your tone,
and your rhythm. Its important to know exactly what is about to come out of
your fingers. If you dont know what to expect from your playing, you will lack
confidence as you play. That lack of confidence will translate into some shaky
bass playing.

Accuracy comes from a lot of patient, mindful practice. Early in your playing
you will have a lot of problems with consistency. Time and experience are your
greatest teachers.

On the Bass Guitar, Up is Down and Down is Up!

One of the first things to confuse students on the bass guitar is the use of the
terms up, down, high and low. These terms all refer to pitch, or how high or
low a note sounds.

If someone says go up one string or one note, he or she means to go up in

pitch not in physical space on your instrument. On the bass going "up a string"
means your fretting hand is moving toward the floor. That seems backwards,
but if you listen, you will hear the pitch goes higher in this direction.
 To go "up the neck" means to move towards the body of the bass. Again, that
makes the pitch go higher, or up.

The sooner you get this straight, the better. If you understand what up in pitch
and down in pitch mean and you LISTEN, then you wont have any problems
with this concept

How you hold and support your bass guitar is very important and should not be
over-looked. Poorly holding your bass will negatively influence all other bass
technique.

Holding The Bass

Strap In

You should use a guitar strap 100% of the time when you play your bass. The
strap is an essential part of your bass technique. Your strap should hold your
bass for you. Your hands shouldnt be doing any of the bass holding or balancing.
Your hands need to be free to play.

Bass Height
The strap should comfortably hold your bass somewhere above your hips and
below your collarbone. Most people have it belly button level. Everyone is a bit
different. Experiment.

Try to adjust your bass so that it sits at the same height whether you are sitting
or standing. If you sit while practicing and stand while playing, this will help
you play just like you practice. Being consistent is a big part of learning to play
bass well.

Posture
Your mother was right sit or stand up straight. You shouldn't be leaning back
in a chair or hunching over as you play.

Angle of the Bass Guitar

Hold your bass guitar at about a 30-degree angle. You will notice if you hold the
bass perfectly level your plucking hand/arm is forced upwards while your
fretting hand/arm is forced to reach down and around more and at a bad angle.
This can cause a lot of posture problems and forces you to bend your wrists
more. Sharply bent wrists lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. By angling the bass
guitar you help straighten out your wrists, straightening your back, and leveling
your shoulders.

About the Plucking Technique Lesson

This is just one perspective on how to pluck the strings of the bass. As I pointed
out, there is not one right way. But, there are better and worse ways. As a
student of the bass you should seek as many perspectives as you can find. There
are as many ways as there are players. Experiment with your own ideas, too.
What follows is a combination of what I've learned from others and things I've
discovered on my own.
 I will explain the reasoning behind all the technique I show here. The reason is
almost always that it sounds better. You should judge this for yourself. Another
common reason for these techniques is it is more efficient and will be easier in
the long run..

Finger Numbering
Unlike on piano and some other instruments, on bass your fingers are
numbered:

T = thumb

1 = index finger

2 = middle finger

3 = ring finger

4 = pinky finger
Fingernails
You will need to keep your fingernails trimmed short to avoid your nail catching
the string. (Unless, of course, you like the sound of it.)

Avoiding Hand Injuries

Keep your wrists as straight as possible to keep from getting carpal tunnel
syndrome and other nasty hand injuries.

Most musicians don't discover they've injured their hands until after 10-20 years
of playing. By then it's too late. The damage is done. And, it will be difficult to
break those old habits.

Just because it doesn't hurt now, doesn't mean it won't later.

Relax Your Hand

Let your plucking hand hang limp. This is the natural shape of your hand. Keep
your hand in that loose, relaxed shape as much as you can. There's no need for
tension...

Alternating Fingers
To develop plucking speed and efficiency, it is important that you use at least
two fingers to pluck. Most people use their index (1) and middle (2) fingers and
alternate them.

Using two fingers is half the work for each finger. Always do as little work as
possible. Using two fingers is sufficient for most playing styles.

Work on consistently alternating your fingers 1-2-1-2 (or 2-1-2-1). It doesn't

matter on which finger you start. It might be a good idea to be able to start on
either one. Just don't use one finger for a while, then the other, or one finger
by itself. It might seem easier in the beginning to use one finger, but you will
quickly hit a ceiling and you will have learned a very hard habit to break...
Where to Pluck
You will discover the bass guitar has a wide range of tones depending on where,
along the string, you pluck. Plucking nearer to the neck offers a fatter, warmer
tone. Plucking nearer to the bridge of the bass provides a brighter, more
percussive tone.

As you develop, you will become more comfortable with moving your plucking
hand around to access these different tones. In the beginning, I recommend
finding one place and staying there while you develop other, more important
plucking habits...

Positioning Your Thumb

Place your thumb on the face (not on top) of your pickup closest to the neck.
Let your thumb linger just above the E-string. You will see why shortly.

On most bass guitars this should put your plucking fingers in a central position
between the neck and the bridge. You should get a good, all-purpose tone from
your bass in this area.

Muting the Strings

Playing the bass requires about as much work keeping the strings quiet as it
does getting the notes to ring out. Most of the time you only want one string
ringing at a time. That means on a 4-string bass you have 3 strings to keep quiet.
You can't just let open strings ring freely in the background. This will muddy up
your sound and often create some unwanted dissonance. You should strive to
have control over every sound that comes out of your bass. This requires you to
develop a solid string muting strategy...

Muting with the Thumb

Your thumb will be sliding down to help mute the E-string whenever it is not
being played. To be efficient, you will want your thumb as close to the E-string
as possible. That's why you want to keep your thumb on the face of the pickup.
It will be much easier to slide your thumb down to mute the string. If you're on
top, your thumb has to hop.

You only need to lightly touch the E-string to mute it. No need to waste energy
pushing on the E-string...

Plucking Motion
When you pluck the string your finger should roll over the top over the string.
Most beginners and converting guitar players have the tendency to pull out
away from the strings. This results in a very thin, scratchy tone. You will get a
meatier, bassier tone by rolling over the string. It is much like the stroke of a
paintbrush. Your plucking finger should follow through towards your palm, or to
rest on the next string below the one you are plucking.

There's no need to pluck very hard. Let your bass amplifier do the work. That's
what it's for. Your fingers aren't amplifiers! Developing a light touch is a very
important part of developing speed and accuracy...

Follow-Through Muting
 After plucking a string, follow-through with your plucking motion letting your
plucking finger come to rest on the string below. Letting your finger rest on the
string below mutes that string. As you pluck using alternating fingers, one finger
is plucking while the other one is muting. This is essential to keeping the strings
quiet. Use this same motion for plucking on each string.

Yet More Muting...

As you ascend the strings (going from the fattest string to the skinniest) or skip
strings, you will find you can't mute them all with these techniques alone.

There are two solutions I show students: (1) use another finger to help with
muting or, (2) use your thumb to mute more strings.

Let's look at these two solutions...

Ring Finger Muting

The technique I prefer uses your ring finger (3) to mute the A-string whenever
you are plucking on the G-string. This is the only time you'll need it on a 4-
string bass. Your ring finger (3) just needs to lightly touch the A-string to keep
it from ringing. Placing your ring finger on the A-string every time you switch to
pluck the G-string may seem awkward at first. With practice the motion will
become automatic.

When you are plucking the G-string the muting will be as follows:

E-string is muted with thumb (T)

A-string is muted with ring finger (3)

D-string is muted with plucking fingers (1 or 2) landing on the D-string

Wandering Thumb Muting

Another popular way of muting the bass strings is what I call the Wandering
Thumb Method. Instead of leaving your thumb on the E-string, your thumb
moves up the strings muting them. This is very useful to develop especially if
you play, or plan to play, 5-string or 6-string bass.

Either string muting method is effective. You will have to decide which you
prefer and stick with it. If you are just starting or trying to change some old
habits, it will be strange and frustrating no matter what. Practice slowly and
accurately. It will come.

When plucking the G-string with this method the muting will be as follows:

E-string is muted with thumb (T)

A-string is muted with thumb (T)

D-string is muted with plucking fingers (1 or 2) landing on the D-string

About the Fretting Technique Lesson
In this bass technique lesson I will explain what I think makes up good fretting
hand technique. It's not the right way, but it's one good way and what many
bassists aim to do.

As with plucking hand technique, you want to strive for a relaxed hand, a clear
and consistent tone, and the use of efficient motions. This takes some time to
develop. Try to focus your awareness on these different points as you play.
Eventually they will become unconcious. Go slowly, be patient, and practice...

Finger Numbering
On bass your fretting hand fingers are numbered:

1 = index finger

2 = middle finger

3 = ring finger

4 = pinky finger

Fingernails
Keep your fingernails trimmed. It's not as important in your fretting hand as it is
in the plucking hand, but long nails can get in the way.

Avoiding Hand Injuries

Once again, you need to remember musicians are prone to getting hand injuries.
Keep your wrists straight.

Pay attention to pains. Your body is telling you something. Your fingertips will
hurt a little in the early stages. This is normal. You should never have shooting
pains in your wrists. Always change your practice routine gradually. Don't jump
into playing 12 hours a day. You can hurt yourself.

Fretting Hand Arm Positioning

Let your arm hang relaxed at your side. Avoid tension in your shoulder.

Don't rest your elbow on your leg when you practice sitting down. Your leg
won't be there when you stand up!

Fretting Hand Thumb Placement

Place your thumb on the middle of the back of the neck. Do not let it hang over
the top of the neck. Proper thumb placement will make it easier for your
fingers to reach notes on the fretboard.

Your thumb should point towards the ceiling. Your thumb should be straight and
the pad of your thumb should be flat against the neck.

Your thumb is there to help your fingers press the strings against the fretboard.
Keep your thumb behind your 1st and 2nd fingers for the most efficient support.
Don't move it off to the side.
Don't Touch the Underside of the Neck
Your palm should not be touching the underside of the neck. There should be a
pocket of space there. More friction against the neck may slow you down, and
you may accidentally mute your highest string.

One Finger per Fret

Most bassists use a one finger per fret position. That means your fingers will
cover a span of 4 frets on the fretboard. That doesn't mean your hand should be
straining to make that stretch all the time. Remember - relax! Stretch for the
notes as you need them assigning one finger per fret over a four-fret span.
After you've been playing for a while, you will know when you must stretch and
when you can relax. Most of the time you should be relaxed.

In my opinion you should never use two adjacent fingers to stretch over more
than one fret. For example, playing frets 1 and 3 with fingers 1 and 2. This will
increase the risk of hand injuries. You can use those fingers, but rather than
stretch you should shift your hand over a fret. This way you are using a natural
movement of your arm vs. an unnatural stretch of your fingers.

Stretching is Tricky
Getting used to the 4-fret span is always awkward in the beginning. It may even
seem impossible at first. It's not. Many people think their hands are just too
small, but they're not. I've seen very few students whose hands were too small
for the one-finger-per-fret technique. With practice it will happen. Try it for a
couple of months of real, solid practice. If you still can't do it, try using a three-
finger technique -- use your first, second and fourth fingers. You will end up
doing a lot more shifting to make up for using one less finger.

If something is a big stretch for you, try practicing it higher on the neck (nearer
the bass guitar's body) where the frets are closer together. Once it is
comfortable on the higher frets, try gradually moving it lower to stretch your
fingers.

Use First Finger's Pad More Than Tip

Do not stand on your first finger's fingertip. Use the pad of your first finger to
press the string against the fretboard. This will make it easier to lay your first
finger flat against the strings--an essential part of muting.

Press fingers 2, 3 and 4 with whatever feels most natural. Depending on the
length of these fingers, you may use more of the tip or more of the pad.

Muting with 1st Finger

Always keep your first finger laying flat against the strings to help mute them.
Let your 1st finger gently touch the strings without pressing them down.

When this technique is combined with good muting technique in your plucking
hand, you will have very good control over muting all strings.

Fretting Hand Finger Placement

This is very important. Each finger should press as closely behind the fret as
possible without being on the fret.
 Move your finger towards the bridge until you get to the fret. You should only
see the metal of the fret in front of your finger. Don't press right on top of the
fret.

The reason you do this is because this spot is the least likely to make unwanted
bass fret buzz or muffled notes, and it requires the least amount of pressing.

Press Lightly
Another important point: always press with the least amount of
pressure possible while still making a clear tone -- no buzzes or muffled notes.
Any more pressure is just a waste of energy. It is much like a sprinter doesn't
stomp his or her feet on the ground while running.

The closer you press near the fret, the more lightly you can press. Test just how
little pressure you need for a clear tone and never use more than that.

A light touch will increase your agility later when you play faster, and your
hand won't tire or cramp during long playing or practicing sessions.

A common tendency is to fret harder as you pluck harder or play at higher

volumes. Don't press any more than needed.

Keep Your Fingers Close to Strings

The further away your fingers are from the strings, the longer it will take for
them to press down a note. Try to train your fingers to hover right above the
strings. This requires a lot of mindful practice.

Beginning bass players tend to let their fingers fly off the strings when they're
not pressing a note. Don't do this. Hover.

Don't Bend The Strings

Avoid bending the string when you press down. Beginners often do this. This
will change the pitch and make you sound out of tune. That's not good!

Press the string straight down against the fretboard.

Developing Calluses
With consistent practice you will slowly develop thicker skin on the pads of your
fingers. It is normal for your fingers to feel tender in the beginning, or if you
haven't played bass for some time. This will go away. Stick to a regular practice
routine and you will develop calluses which make playing more comfortable.

Even if youve only been playing bass for a couple of months, youve already
developed some playing habits. If youve developed some bad ones, heres what
I recommend to help fix them:

Stick to the Unfamiliar

Take a break from playing anything you may have already learned to play on
your bass. If you play things you are familiar with, you will quickly jump back
into your old bass playing techniques. It will be easier to adapt new techniques
to new, unfamiliar exercises, basslines and patterns. Once youve gotten better
 with the new bass techniques, it will be easier to go back and apply them to
the music you were playing before.

Avoiding songs you often play can be difficult if you currently play in a band.
You will have to make an extra effort to work on your bands songs applying the
new techniques you want to develop.

Slow Down
If youve been playing for a while, youve built up some facility to play things
quickly. You need to slow things down and pay attention to what your hands are
doing. The faster you go, the more likely you will jump back into your old
habits and make mistakes. Pace yourself with a metronome. There's no shame
in working at things slowly.

Get Feedback
Watch yourself in a mirror. Point the neck of the bass at the mirror so you can
see the reflection of your plucking hand and, at the same time, you can see
your fretting hand. If you want more feedback try recording yourself with a
video camera. That can be very eye opening!

Legato And Staccato

One of the earliest technique issues bass players have to focus on is developing
control over the length and sustain of the notes they play. In music, the Italian
terms legatoand staccato indicate how much silence is to be left between notes
played one after another.

The point of this bass technique lesson is to firstly understand the concept of
legato vs. staccato notes, and secondly to focus on and develop these
articulations in your playing.

What is Legato? What is Staccato?

The term LEGATO (pronounced "leh-gaw-toe") means connected, or joined, notes.
That means there is no perceivable silence between two notes played one after
another. To remember legato means connected, think your leg is connected to
your body.

The term STACCATO (pronounced "stuh-caw-toe") means detached, or separated,

notes. Staccato notes have space, or silence, between them. There are
different degrees of staccato notes. Staccato notes can range from short to
very short (staccatissimo). To remember what staccato means, associate it
with to stop.

Notes of any rhythm can be played legato or staccato. Legato and staccato
simply refer to whether or not a note's length runs into the next note being
played. It has nothing to do with the start of a note. It's about the duration of
the note.

Playing and Practicing with a Legato Bass Sound

It takes a good bit of attention to gain control over these two ways of
articulating notes on the bass. Most beginning bassists, without realizing, play
leaving a lot of space between the notes. This comes from releasing
 notes before playing the next one. Releasing a note prematurely is easier to do
since it requires less stretching in the fretting hand. To play legato you must
sustain a note right up until the next note sounds. It doesnt matter if its on
the same string or on different strings.

To play legato, dont let go of a note until right when the next one starts.

Being able to play notes legato is essential. You will have a fuller bass tone and
beefier overall sound. Uncontrolled staccato notes sounds sloppy and weak.You
should practice all scales and chord patterns legato. Dont allow any space
between the notes. I know it seems a little harder at first, but youll appreciate
the results. Focus on sustaining the notes. Practice slowly so that you can hear
whether youre picking up your fingers too soon. Its less obvious when you play
faster. If stretching is an issue, remember you can play on the higher frets
(maybe between the 7th and 12th frets) where they are spaced more closely.
Then, slowly work your way down to the lower frets (1st through 5th frets).
Your hands will get more limber. Stretching seems impossible at first.
Eventually youll be able to stretch and relax at the same time.

Developing a Staccato Bass Sound

A lot of bass playing uses staccato notes of varying degrees. Like everything,
this needs to be a controlled, intentional sound.

As a musician, an essential thing to realize is that rhythm and feel not only
come from where notes begin, but where they end. When you play staccato
notes, you are shortening their duration creating various rhythmic effects.

How Do You Play Staccato Notes?

To make a note staccato, you have to stop the string from ringing. Lightly
touching a string usually stops it. Youll find you can completely stop a string
from ringing when you touch it in more than one spot along its length. If you
touch a vibrating string in only one spot, you risk getting a harmonic. Harmonics
are bell-like tones that ring along certain points of a string. (Well discuss bass
harmonics later.)

You can use either hand to stop the ringing note, or both. What you use will
depend on what you are playing.

With your plucking hand you can touch the ringing string with one of your
plucking fingers. Hopefully you are using an alternating plucking technique. You
can use either finger to stop the string. Try to keep your alternate plucking
consistent. If you use a pick, you need to use the heel of your hand to stop the
string.

In your fretting hand you can release a note off the fretboard while never
letting go of the string. That is, your finger should not come off the string. Let
your fretting hand lightly touch the strings to keep them silent.

This all takes consistent, conscious practice.

 How Are Legato and Staccato Notes Notated in Music?
When you see written music the notes are assumed
legato unless otherwise specified. Staccato notes are
indicated with a dot above or below the notehead.
(Dots to the right of a notehead mean something else.
Dont get confused!)

Sometimes, to point out the importance of holding out a note, a tenuto mark is
written above or below a note. Tenuto indicates hold for the notes full length.
It is a horizontal line written above or below the notehead.

Some of you may wonder why you can't simply notate a staccato note with a
realy short rhythm like a 16th or 32nd note. First, you want to think of this as
a feel type thing rather than a specific rhythm. Secondly, the staccato mark is
written much more cleanly and is easier to read.

In Summary
Playing legato and staccato notes is a very important concept to understand
and master. Though its subtle to beginners, it has a huge impact on your
overall sound. Listen to some recordings and pay attention to the length of
each note. Ask yourself whether theyre playing legato or staccato. How does it
lend to the overall sound of the bassline? Play some basslines you already know.
Try playing them legato. Try them staccato. Does it change the sound of the
bassline?

Youll discover most basslines use a variety of legato and staccato notes
throughout. And, youll hear that it has a lot to do with the overall
effectiveness of the bassline.

Pick Vs Fingers

A lot of people ask: Should I use a pick or my fingers to play bass? I think the
answer is always: Yes! My philosophy is to never limit yourself. Both are valid
and common methods of plucking the bass strings. Each has its place and,
ideally, you should be comfortable with either one. Many great players used
picks and many others used their fingers. There's no right answer. I'll outline
some more thoughts on the topic...

The Main Question Why?

Why do you want to use a pick? Why do you want to use your fingers? In my
opinion, there should only be one, honest answer to this question Because it
is the sound I want. Any other answer like its easier, or I can play faster, or
bass player so-and-so does it, doesnt matter. If its the tone you want or need,
choose that method. Do the work to develop that technique.

Thoughts on Using Fingers

 I favor using my fingers. I always feel I have a beefier tone, more tonal variety,
and control using my fingers. (Thats just me.) You may also find it easier
switching between fingers and slap technique. Plus, youll never forget to bring
your fingers to the gig or lose them.

For most people playing fingerstyle takes a little more work to learn. But, the
difference isnt that big. Both methods share the same muting issues and
technical obstacles.

Thoughts on Using a Pick

Most people like using a pick because they can develop speed more quickly. If
youre into styles of music that are speed intensive, a pick might make sense.
You can develop the same speed with your fingers, but most people find it
takes a little more time.

You can get different tones with different types of picks. Experiment a lot to
find the right sounding pick.

In Summary
Theres no right way to play the bass. As long as you are getting the sound
you honestly want and its not out of stubbornness or laziness, youve chosen
the right method. As I said above: Choose the sound not the technique.

Developing Bass String Crossing Skills

One technical skill you will always need on bass is to be able to cleanly jump
from one string to any other string. Going from one string to a neighboring
string is not too challenging. But, when you have to skip one or more strings,
you may find muting and accuracy challenging.

Your aim is to develop control over your bass plucking technique. By control I
am talking about:

rhythmic accuracy
tonal consistency
dynamic balance (volume) between different plucking fingers
dynamic balance between strings
string muting technique between both hands

Some Tips on String Crossing Technique...

Students have a tendency to rush the rhythm of the note prior to the string skip.
Probably so they have more time to get to the other string. Try to pay attention
to that. Use a metronome!

Try to get an even tone between your different plucking fingers. You don't want
one finger sounding much different than the others (or at least you want
control over it if you do).

Try to keep the volume even on each string and between strings. Sometimes
your bass strings and setup can create an uneven response between the strings.
If you are struggling with this, try another bass to see if it's you or your bass.
 Remember, to get a clear sound you need to allow just one string to ring at a
time. Both hands help mute the strings. When you pluck follow through and
land on the string below. Use your plucking hand thumb to mute the E-string. If
you're using my ring-finger technique, mute the A-string with it whenever you
play the G-string. Or, mute with the wandering thumb technique. Finally, use
your fretting hand to mute the strings by letting it lightly touch/rest on the
strings above the string you are playing. (Remember, above in pitch.)

Getting all of this down doesn't happen overnight. Take your time with these
exercises.

Expanding the String Crossing Exercises

If you have a 5- or 6-string bass, expand the exercises to include all your strings.

You can alter these exercises by applying any rhythm you want. You can also try
groups of 3 notes, or 4, or 5. How about 1 note per string? Or, 1 note on the
main string and 3 on the others. Challenge yourself. There are limitless
possibilities and permutations.

Music Notation for Bass

There are two common ways you will see music notated for bass: standard
musical notation and bass tab. Both forms are widely used in print and on the
internet, and should be understood in at least an elementary fashion.

The Pros of Bass Tab

Bass tab notation is easy to learn. It doesnt require knowing note names or
rhythm. All you need is what you learned in your first few years of life: numbers.
This gets beginners playing familiar basslines quickly and helps maintain their
motivation to play and practice.

Tab shows you the exact fingering to use for playing something.

Its easy to distribute electronically. It can be written without any special

software using plain ASCII characters.

Its everywhere on the internet.

The Cons of Bass Tab

Tab isolates you from the rest of the musical world. Only bassists and guitarists
speak this language of fret numbers.

It holds you back from learning the note names on the fretboard and the notes
of keys, scales, and chords.

Tab tells you one specific fingering to use when other possibilities are available.
Many tabs will have needlessly poor fingerings.

Rhythm isn't easy to read if at all. This is a big drawback since bass is a rhythm
instrument. Rhythm is an essential part of bass playing.
 Usually tab cant be read at first sight. Tab needs to be worked out by hearing
the music first and then piecing it together.

The Pros of Standard Musical Notation

Standard notation forces you to learn the notes on the fretboard, and within
keys, chords, and scales.

Standard notation is much more visual giving you a better sense of pitch, pitch
relationships, time, and rhythm.

Standard notation can be read at sight with little foreknowledge of the music.

Standard notation is common to all instruments and gives you access to the
language most musicians use and understand.

The Cons of Standard Musical Notation

Standard notation is more complex than bass tab. This makes it take longer to
learn how to read it and requires consistent practice and effort.

Often no fingering is given. This leaves the reader on his or her own to know
how to go about fingering the music.

Writing in standard notation electronically requires special notation software.

Standard notation is harder to come by for free on the internet.

Do I Have to Learn to Read Music?

If all you want to do is learn to play other peoples basslines for your own
enjoyment, then the answer is: No, you dont need to learn to read. And,
theres nothing wrong with that.

If you want to play in an original band or cover band (rock, blues, funk, etc.) or
just for your own fun, then the answer is: Its not expected of you, but it
couldnt hurt. Itd most likely help in your overall understanding of music.

If you plan on playing styles such as jazz, then it is expected of you to know
how to read.

If you plan to play gigs where you show up not knowing what youre going to
play jazz casuals, weddings, studio recording sessions then: Yes, you should
be prepared for someone putting notes in front of you.

If you want to thoroughly study music written over the past few hundred years,
then the answer is: Yes, you should read music.

If you want to study music written for other instruments, then the answer is:
Yes, you need to read. For instance, many bassists practice solos by saxophone
players, study rhythms of drummers, and play music written for cello.

If you want to write music down for other instruments to play, then the answer
is: Yes, it is essential.
 If you want to audition for a music school, then: Yes, it is mandatory.

In Summary
Reading music is not required for playing an instrument. Many great players
cant read music. But, many great players can read. You dont have to read
English (or whatever your native tongue is) to speak it. But, think about how
much being able to read a language aids you in your day-to-day life. Its the
same with music.

Im not going to tell you you absolutely must learn how to read music. Thats a
choice you need to make based on your own personal goals.

You will gain so much more insight into music even if you can only read standard
notation poorly.

Reading Standard Music Notation for Bass

Almost every language has its own written form. Standard music notation is the
written form of the language of music.

Breaking Down Written Music

Music can be boiled down to two basic components: sound and time.

Sound consists of:

Pitch
Dynamics
Timbre

Pitch refers to notes, or groups of notes. Dynamics refers to how loud or soft a
sound is. TIMBRE (pronounced TAM-burr) refers to the tonal "color" of a sound.
For example, the tonal color of a piano sounds different from the tonal color of
a trumpet even when playing the exact same note.

Time consists of:

Attack
Duration

Attack refers to when a sound occurs. Duration refers to how long the sound
occurs.

Graphing Sound and Time

Standard music notation uses a basic graph to notate what sounds occur at what
times. This form of music notation works the same way for all musical
instruments. Since this form of notation is common to all instruments, it is used
among musicians as a basis for talking about, recording, and describing music.
Many of the terms and concepts used in music theory and by musicians can be
learned and understood by learning to read standard music notation.

In standard music notation time is shown going from left to right. Pitch is shown
going up and down. Other symbols and markings are used to depict the other
aspects of music such as dynamics.
 In standard music notation pitch is notated vertically showing the highness or lowness
of each note.

The Staff
Music is written on the staff. The STAFF is a group of five lines
and the spaces around them. Each line and space represents a
letter of the musical alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G).

Dont be confused: the lines of the staff do not correspond to

the strings of the bass. The lines are a completely separate system from the
strings of the bass. This is a common misconception many beginning bass
students have.

The Clef
The CLEF is a symbol drawn at the beginning of each staff indicating how to
interpret the lines and spaces. Each clef assigns different letters to the lines
and spaces of the staff.

There are a number of different clefs. Each clef covers a

particular range of pitch. Each musical instrument reads a
particular clef depending on which range of notes it produces.
The bass, tuba, cello, trombone, and other low-pitched
instruments use the BASS CLEF. Higher-pitched instruments like
guitar, violin, and saxophone use the TREBLE CLEF. Some wide-ranging
instruments, like piano, read two clefs at the same time.

Bassists are mainly concerned with reading in bass clef.

However, it is a good idea for all musicians to know how to
read treble clef, too. Many books are written in treble clef
only expecting that every musician can read it.

Music Notes
MUSIC NOTES are drawn on the lines and
spaces of the staff. The location of
the NOTEHEAD (the dot part of the note)
indicates which note to play. If the
notehead is on a line for F, the note to be
played is F; a notehead on a space for A means to play the note A. We will
discuss what the various types of music notes mean in the lesson on rhythmic
notation. For this lesson you only need to understand the notehead part of the
note.

Ledger Lines
The range of the staff can be extended using ledger
lines. LEDGER LINES are added lines placed above and below
the staff adding extra places to draw notes.

Note Names on the Bass Clef Staff

The letters assigned to the lines and spaces of the staff go in order from low
pitch to high starting on the bottom of the staff moving up. The letters of the
lines and spaces cycle through the natural notes of the musical alphabet A, B,
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, and so on.
 The bottom line of the bass clef staff is the letter G. The next space above is
the letter A. The next line is B, then a space for C, and so on up the staff.

In the beginning people often learn a phrase to help remember the letters of
the lines and spaces. You can make up your own like: "Good Bassists Don't
Forget Anything" and "Always Create Excellent Grooves".

The range of the bass extends beyond the notes of the bass clef staff. To get at
the notes beyond its range we add ledger lines. A 4-string bass in standard
tuning (E-A-D-G) requires one lower ledger line to add the note for the open E-
string. Many of the higher notes on the bass fretboard will require multiple
ledger lines above the staff.

Accidentals
You may be wondering about how we get all of the other notes of the musical
alphabet on the staff. To give us the rest of the notes, there are three basic
symbols calledACCIDENTALS which can be attached to notes: the sharp, the flat,
and the natural.

The Sharp Symbol

When a SHARP symbol is added before a note, it means to raise
the pitch by one note. So if a note is on the line for F and a
sharp is placed before it, the note is F#. Notice how the
accidental is always placed before the note even though
when you say the note name the accidental is said after the
letter name.

The Flat Symbol

Similarly, a FLAT is placed before a note to get notes with flat
names. If a note is on the line for D and a flat is placed
before it, the note should be played as Db.

The Natural Symbol

Another sign you will see is the natural sign.
The NATURAL symbol means to return a note back to the
natural note. For example, if a note is Db but needs to be
followed by a D, a natural symbol would be placed before the
second note.

Bass Clef Notes and the Bass Fretboard

When you begin reading music for bass, you will quickly realize there are many
different ways to play the exact same thing in different locations, or positions,
on the fretboard. This is because the same notes appear all over the fretboard
in different places.
 For example, you may have learned to tune your bass by using the 5th fret of
one string to tune the next open string. Those two notes are the same pitch.
Then the 6th fret is the same as the next string's 1st fret and so on. All strings
are just staggered 5 notes apart.

With experience and knowledge of the bass fretboard, you will learn to choose
where to most easily play a piece of music. Where you play the notes is up to
you. Choosing where to play them will come down to whether you know a
particular area of the fretboard, which position requires the least amount of
shifting, and maybe even the tonal difference of a position on your particular
bass guitar. The tone of your bass might sound very different higher up the neck
vs. lower even if you are playing the very same notes.

A good rule of thumb (or finger?) is if you are constantly shifting around over
more than 5 frets, there is probably a better way to play it without so much
shifting. You should reconsider the fingering of bass tabs that have you playing
a simple line up and down one string. Just move the notes to the next string
instead.

This is one reason learning to read standard music notation instead of just bass
tablature will help you on the quest for fretboard mastery. Again, the better
your knowledge of the bass fretboard, the easier this will become. Learn to
think the note names on the fretboard, not fret numbers.

Key Signatures
A KEY SIGNATURE is a symbol used in music notation telling you what key a song or piece
of music is in. We havent started talking about keys just yet. There is a lot to discuss
about keys and we will do that in later lessons. This lesson is just to explain key
signatures used in written music. But, Ill give you a little preview about keys so you
can better understand key signatures.

What is a Key?
A KEY is the major or minor scale around which a piece of music revolves.

Every key has a unique set of seven notes. For example, the key of C Major uses
the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The key of C Major uses no sharps or flats. It
is the only major key using no sharps or flats.

As another example, the key of D Major uses the notes D, E, F#, G, A, B, and C#.
The key of D Major has two sharps F# and C#. Again, D is the only major key
with two sharps.

As a third example, the key of Eb Major uses the notes Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, and
D. Eb Major has 3 flats Bb, Eb, and Ab, and its the only major key with 3
flats.

What is a Key Signature?

The key signature is a group of sharps or a group of flats that tells you the key
of the written music. The key signature shows the unique group of sharps or
 flats contained in the key. The key signature is written on the staff after the
clef symbol and before the time signature.

There are 12 possible keys and 15 different key signatures for identifying them.
At this point in the lessons don't worry about memorizing the keys just yet. We
will cover them in more detail later.

Using our key examples above, the key of D would show 2 sharps as its key
signature.

The key of Eb would show 3 flats as its key signature.

The key of C would show nothing since it has no sharps or flats.

With time and practice you will memorize all 15 key signatures. This will go
hand in hand with learning scales and harmony.

How Do Key Signatures Work in Written Notation?

In music notation, the key signature tells the reader which notes to play sharp
or flat throughout the music. If you are playing a song in a certain key, the
same notes will be sharp or flat throughout the entire song. Instead of writing
sharps or flats for each note every time it occurs in the music, the sharps or
flats of the key are placed at the beginning of the music in the key signature.
The reader is expected to remember to sharp or flat those notes as he or she
plays.

In this example, you can see the notes of the D Major scale written without a
key signature. Next to it is the very same notes using the key signature for D
Major 2 sharps. That means every F and C you encounter in the music are to
be played as F# and C#. All key signatures work the same way.
The Order of Sharps and the Order of Flats
The sharps and flats of the key signature always follow a specific order and are
always written in that order. There is a logic for this order, but we will look at
this later.

The order of flats is: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb

The order of sharps is: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#

You might notice they are the same order of notes only reversed. When we
discuss keys and harmony I will explain why you want to memorize these orders
of flats and sharps. For now, it's enough that you know there is a specific order
in which the flats and sharps are always written.

Key Signature Summary

This key signature system may seem like more work than less, but its not. As
you begin to memorize keys like every musician should, you will see it makes
more sense this way and written music is neater and easier to read. Once again,
reading music will force you to learn the basics of music just a little bit better.

Rhythmic Notation
In standard music notation, time is notated from left to right. In this lesson I
will explain the basics of rhythmic notation and then show you some applied
examples. Rhythm is very important to study since bass is a RHYTHM INSTRUMENT.
Understanding rhythmic notation is essential to learning and studying rhythm.

The Beat
Music is based in time. Most music has a steady, recurring pulse called the beat.
Its the steady rhythm to which you want to tap your foot or dance. Think of
any music youve heard in a dance club and you can quickly imagine the beat of
the music. The element of time in a piece of music revolves around the beat.

Bars
To help keep our place in music, beats are grouped into BARS, or MEASURES as
they are also called. In many songs four beats make up one bar. The steady
pulse would be counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, and so on. Beat one always
marks the beginning of the bar. In other songs 3 beats will make up one bar.
Any number of beats can be grouped into a bar. The structure of the song will
 decide how it is counted. This will be explained in later lessons concerning time
signatures.

Rhythms
Rhythms in music are based on fractions. Dont be scared off when I say
fractions. If you can cut up a pizza fairly, you know all the fractions you need
for reading rhythm notation.

Since counting four beats to a bar is the most common, all rhythmic
terminology is based on a bar containing 4 beats.

Notes and Rests

Rhythmically, a note will tell you two things: when to play it, and how long to
hold it. How long a note lasts is called its NOTE VALUE.

We also need to notate when, and for how long to be silent, or not play
anything. For this we use rests. A REST tells you when and for how long
to not play anything. Every note value has a corresponding REST VALUE. Here are
the simplest and most common rhythmic values:

The Whole Note and Whole Note Rest

A WHOLE NOTE lasts for 4 beats taking up
a whole measure of 4 beats. It looks like a hollow
football. This means you would play and hold the
note for four beats.

A WHOLE REST also lasts for four beats. A whole rest

instructs you not to play for four beats. The whole rest looks like an upside
down hat. To remember that it's upside down just think you can hold a whole
lot of stuff in an upside down hat.

All the other basic rhythmic values are just simple fractions of the 4-beat
whole note

The Half Note and Half Note Rest

A HALF NOTE lasts for 2 beats (half of a whole note).
A STEMis added to the hollow circle to form the half
note symbol.

A HALF REST lasts for two 2 beats. This means

you dontplay for two beats. It looks like a right-side-
up hat.

The Quarter Note and Quarter Note Rest

A QUARTER NOTE lasts for 1 beat (a quarter of a whole
note). The quarter note looks like a half note with
the notehead filled in.

A QUARTER REST lasts for 1 beat. This means dont play

for one beat. The quarter rest looks like a squiggly
 line. A really young student once told me to him the quarter rest looked like a
seagull.

The Eighth Note and Eighth Note Rest

An EIGHTH NOTE lasts for half of a beat (an eighth of a
whole note). The eighth note looks like the quarter
note with aFLAG attached to the stem.

An EIGHTH NOTE REST lasts for half of a beat. The

eighth note rest looks like a slash with a flag on it.

Sixteenth Notes, Rests and Beyond

Rhythms can be subdivided further by adding more
flags to the note or rest. Sixteenths have two flags.
32nd notes have 3 flags, and so on. In most music
you wont see note values much smaller than 16ths.

Note Beaming
Sometimes, to make rhythmic notation easier to read,
the flags of notes are connected with BEAMS. Beams
still have the same meaning as flags: one beam
across a group of notes indicates 8th notes, two
beams across a group of notes indicates 16th notes,
and so on.

Note Stem Direction

You may wonder why some stems point upwards and
others point downwards. This is mainly done to save
space above and below the staff so more music can
fit onto a page of music. Typically the stems of notes
below the middle line point upwards. Stems of notes
above the middle line point downwards. Stems of
notes on the middle line of the staff may point either direction.

Rhythm Notation Summary

Thats the basics of standard rhythmic notation. Its just simple fractions of
time. Learning about rhythm will be a big part of your studies as a bassist.
Knowing rhythmic notation will help you out a lot in learning, hearing, thinking,
reading and discussing rhythm. The best way to learn it is to practice it.

Time Signatures
A TIME SIGNATURE tells you how the music is to be counted. The time signature is
written at the beginning of the staff after the clef and key signature.

Time signatures consist of two numbers written like a fraction.

The top number of the time signature tells you how many beats to count. This
could be any number. Most often the number of beats will fall between 2 and
12.
 The bottom number tells you what kind of note to count. That is, whether to
count the beats as quarter notes, eighth notes, or sixteenth notes. So the only
numbers you will see as the bottom number (the denominator) will correspond
to note values:

1 = whole note (youll never see this)

2 = half note
4 = quarter note
8 = eighth note
16 = sixteenth note

You could continue on with 32, 64, but you will hopefully never encounter
them! After a while it gets a bit unwieldy. The most common bottom numbers
are 4, 8 and 16.

Let me give you some examples so you better undertand the concept...

4/4 Time Signature Example:

A time signature of 4/4 means count 4 (top number)
quarter notes (bottom number) to each bar. So the
pulse, or beat, is counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and
so on.

That means all the notes in each bar must add up to

4 quarter notes. Any combination of rhythms can be usedas long as they add up
to 4 quarter notes. For instance, a bar could contain 1 half note, 1 quarter note
rest and 2 eighth notes. (See diagram.) Summed together they add to 4 quarter
notes total. You can never have more than or less than the sum total of the
number of beats in the time signature.

3/4 Time Signature Example:

A time signature of 3/4 means count 3 quarter notes
to each bar. This is an often-used time signature
giving you a waltz feel. 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3

Again, the rhythms in each bar can be anything as

long as they add to 3 quarter notes. This is where
time signatures start to seem illogical and students often get confused. How
can 3 quarter notes add up to a whole measure? You have to remember that all
of our rhythmic terminology is based on 4/4 time since it is the most common.
Youll just have to accept the fact that music has some weird conventions just
as any language. Think of all the illogical ways similarly spelled English words
are pronounced.

6/8 Time Signature Example:

A time signature of 6/8 means count 6 eighth notes
to each bar. This is also a very often-used time
signature. You would count the beat: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on

Now you will wonder why cant you just reduce 6/8
to 3/4? After all, they add up to the same amount. One reason you might pick
 one time signature versus the other is how the music
is organized.6/8 is grouped into 2 groups of 3 eighth
notes. 3/4 time would be grouped into 3 groups of 2
eighth notes. Depending on the structure of the
bassline or song, it may make sense to group it one
way instead of the other. So 6/8 feels more like two,
while 3/4 feels more like three.

Time Signature Abbreviations

A few other time signatures you may see use special
abbreviations instead of numbers. 4/4 is
called COMMON TIMEsince it is so common. 4/4 time is
often marked with a C instead of 4/4. It means the
same thing.

[Completely unimportant historical note: the C is not actually short for the
word common. It is actually an incomplete circle from an older form of notation
called mensural notation.]

Another common abbreviation is for CUT TIME meaning 2/2 time. Cut time is
usually written as a C with a slash through it.

Time Signature Summary

This was just a brief guide to what time signatures mean and their notation in
written music. In later lessons I will explain meter and time signatures in much
more detail.

The main thing to remember is a time signature tells you: How many of what
kind.

Thats it. A time signature is the number of beats and the type of note the beat
is.

Strings in Bass Tab

Bass tablature, or bass tab, is a pretty simple system of music notation for bass. You
will find it in music books, bass magazines, and all over the internet.

Bass tab shows the strings of the bass drawn horizontally. Most often bass tab is
written for 4-string bass, but you may see it for 5-string and 6-string basses, too.
That will depend on whether more strings are required to play the song.

The bass strings are drawn with the lowest-pitched string at the bottom.
Standard bass tuning from lowest to highest is E-A-D-G and looks like this:

G ----------------------------
D ----------------------------
A ----------------------------
E ----------------------------

Some music will require a different tuning or more strings, but the perspective
stays the same with the lowest (fattest) string at the bottom.
Fret Numbers in Bass Tab
In bass tab, notes are indicated by fret number. The fret number is written on
the string on which it is played. Most basses have between 20 and 24 frets. You
may see fret numbers from 0 (the open string) up to 24.

In this example you are to play the 3rd fret on the E-string followed by the 2nd
fret on the A-string, then the 5th fret on the A-string, and finally the 5th fret
on the D-string.

G -------------------------------
D --------------------5----------
A --------2----5----------------
E ---3---------------------------

Bars in Bass Tab

Bars are usually marked as they are in standard notation with a vertical barline.

G ----------------------------|-----------------
D ----------------------------|-----------------
A ----------------------------|-----------------
E ----------------------------|-----------------

Rhythm in Bass Tab

Many times rhythm is not indicated in bass tab. All you get is the order of the
notes. In this case you are left on your own to listen to the recording and piece
it together yourself.

Other times rhythm is marked underneath with the count written under the fret
numbers.

In this bass tab example there is an eighth note count written underneath...

G ----------------------|---------
D -------------------5-|---------
A --------2----5-------|--------
E ---3------------------|--------
1+2+3+4+

Other Bass Tab Markings

Many of the other markings found in bass tabs indicate the way notes are to be
played. These are not standardized. You may see many variations. Often these
markings are defined somewhere at the beginning of the bass tab. Some
common bass tab markings you may encounter:

For markings on the strings:

A forward slash ( / ) indicates a slide moving up in pitch.

A back slash ( \ ) indicates a slide moving down in pitch.
A caret (^) indicates a bend.
An X (x) indicates a ghost note.
An H (h) indicates a hammer-on.
 A P (p) indicates a pull-off.

For markings beneath the strings:

An S indicates a thumb slap.

A P indicates a pop.
A T indicates a tap. Often which hand is used is marked with an L or R and
assumes you are right-handed.

How to Read Bass Tab Summary

Theres not too much to reading bass tab. Its just fret numbers on string lines.
Bass tab can be a real aid to beginners before they have learned to read
standard music notation or have learned the note names on the fretboard. And,
it can be helpful to show complicated fingerings alongside standard notation.
You should be at least familiar with bass tab.

Alpha Tab for Bass

My solution, which I have used for some time, is to use the note name instead
of the fret number. I call it Alpha Tab. (Actually someone named it for me
years ago on The Bottom Line mailing list.) This way the student is forced to
think about the note names. Knowing the note names on the fretboard, and
those that make up chords and scales, is extremely useful in your development
as a bassist. You might notice I rarely describe things with fret numbers. It's for
this very reason.

Alpha Tab works the same way as regular bass tab. All that is changed is the
fret number becomes the note name. To distinguish between the same note
name above the 12th fret, you simply use lower case.

Here is regular bass tab:

G ----------------------------------------------------
D --------------------5--------------------------17--
A --------2----5-----------------14-----17----------
E ---3----------------------15-----------------------

Translated into Alpha Tab:

G --------------------------------------------------
D --------------------G-------------------------g--
A --------B----D-----------------b-----d----------
E ---G----------------------g----------------------

Alpha Tab Summary

Alpha Tab is pretty painless. As you can see it's going to make you think a little
more about the notes on the fretboard and that's a good thing! Once it starts
coming together for you, you'll be happy you learned the note names and not
just fret numbers.

What is practicing?
First, you need a concept of what practicing is. This is how I define it:
 Practicing is the absorption, mastery and maintenance of skills.

Lets examine that more closely. Skills are things we use to create music. Skills
can be bass techniques, concepts, rhythms, basslines, etc.

You can divide skills up into new, unlearned skills, and old, learned skills. Many
people learn a few skills and continue practicing those same skills over and over.
In order to advance, it is important to keep a balance of new and old skills in
your practice routine. Only working on things you can already do will take you
nowhere. The trap is you play old skills well and it is gratifying. Practicing new
skills can be frustrating. People often keep playing the same stuff to make
themselves feel better about their playing. Dont tread water only reviewing
things you can already do. Work on old and new skills.

Absorption is a process. Absorption means learning how to play and apply those
new bass-playing skills. Absorption is the art of practicing; it is how to learn.
There are a number of ways to learn skills.

Mastery is a result. Mastery means absorbing a new skill so well you have access
to it whenever you need it. Some skills can be mastered in an hour; other skills
take decades to master. If someone were to shake you awake you at 3 a.m. and
asked you to play something and you could, you probably have it mastered. If
you need to play through something once or twice before you can make it
through it, you havent mastered it yet. Mastery means being able to execute
at will. You will know when you really have something mastered. It will feel
effortless. Keep in mind it is possible to play bass fairly well without having
hardly anything mastered at all.

Maintenance means to review those skills you have mastered. Many learned
skills need to be used consistently if you want them ready at will. Its very easy
to forget skills like reading, fingerings, basslines, and the like if you dont use
them.

To practice is to absorb, master and maintain skills.

With that said, keep the following things in mind:

Dont think about practicing Practice!

Dont buy more stuff to practice Practice the things you have!
Dont buy more equipment Practice on the equipment you have!
Dont put it off Practice now!

Youve got to practice. Its the only way to get better. If playing bass didnt
require practice, everyone would be able to do it. Think about how few people
you encounter that can play a musical instrument well. Playing well is not easy
to come by. It takes a lot of work. And, it is work anyone can do if they want it
badly enough.

Practicing is a necessary sacrifice you are going to have to make if you want to
play bass and be a musician.
 How much you practice depends a lot on your goals and your schedule. I
believefrequency of practice is more important than quantity of practice.
You will retain more and learn at a faster pace if you consistently practice 30
minutes every day of the week rather than 6 hours one day a week.

It is very important to pick up your bass once a day even if it is only for five
minutes. Just a few minutes of practice when you dont have much time will
strengthen your memory of concepts, improve your musical ear, and reinforce
the muscle memory you are developing.

If possible, keep your bass out of its case. Make your bass accessible. That way
it is easy to pick up whenever you have some time. If you want to force yourself
to pick it up, leave it sitting in your favorite chair or in your bed! Put your bass
where it is in your way; dont keep it out of sight.

I think a decent, average amount to practice would be 45-60 minutes a day. If

you are consistent, you can make a fair amount of progress with that much
practice. If you are more serious about playing the bass, 2-3 hours a day would
be a good amount of practice time. And, if you want to be really good you
might practice as much as 6-8 hours a day.

As you increase how much you practice, you also need to be aware of the
increased health risks musicians face. Long practice sessions may stimulate
hand injuries, and you are at higher risk of losing your hearing. Remember to be
gentler on yourself as you increase your practice time.

Your practice routine doesnt always have to be the same length of time each
day. You could have a full practice routine (maybe 2 hours) and an abbreviated
one (maybe 30 minutes). Choose which one fits your schedule best each day.
Dont skip practicing for the day because you cant get in your normal amount
of practice time. This is a common trap into which students fall.

Above all, if you are pressed for time, be sure to pick up your bass and practice
for a few minutes. It will do you a lot of good.

Wrong Approaches to Practice Time

If you plan on practicing whenever you have "spare time", you will rarely
practice. There is so much competition for your attention that "spare time" will
rarely appear. What you need is a consistent practice routine. You need a set
schedule. If you want to learn to play bass well, you need to treat practicing
like a second job or like school. Don't treat it as optional. If you are serious
about playing bass, don't treat it like a hobby or else that's all it will ever be.
Remember to match your actions to your desires. Keep them in line or else
you'll be very dissatisfied.

Another trap is to practice only when you "feel like it." There will be times
when you have no desire to practice. There may be a lot of them. If you want
to learn to play bass well, you have to learn to do it regardless of how you
feel. Often you'll find you just needed to get started and then you're into it.
Again, don't treat practicing as optional. You go to school or work whether you
feel like it or not. You pay bills and brush your teeth whether you feel like it or
not. And, you practice whether you feel like it or not. Practice is the only
 way you progress. Eventually practicing will become a habit if not an addiction.
It will feel strange when you don't practice.

Scheduling Your Practice Time Wisely

Now you know not to only practice in your spare time or only when you feel like
it. An excellent thing to do is set a specific time each day to practice.
Something important to realize is a lot of people sabotage their musicianship
just by choosing the wrong time of day to practice! Try to strategically pick a
time when you are alert and no one will disturb or interrupt you. You need to
give it a lot of thought; most people don't. Examine your typical day-to-day life
and wisely choose the times when you practice.

Interruptions
Your practice session is an important appointment between you and your bass
that no one else should interrupt. I know avoiding interruptions can be difficult
for a lot of people. You need to get others to really understand what you are
doing. Even if you are deeply serious about practicing and playing bass well,
others don't perceive it that way. To others you are merely playing bass and
having fun. People rarely mind interrupting your fun. Unless you explain to
them how serious you are about your practicing, theywill interrupt you. If
possible, explain to the people who often interrupt your practicing that it really
interferes with your passionate goal of becoming a great bass player.

Another common interruption is the telephone. Avoid answering the phone.

When you do, your 1-hour practice session quickly turns into 20 minutes.

Prepare ahead so you don't interrupt yourself. Go to the bathroom, get

yourself a beverage and whatever else you need to do beforehand. Do your best
to clear your mind of things before you start to practice.

Be Alert
You won't practice very effectively if you are exhausted. Try to choose times
when you are most alert. Avoid practicing right after a meal or just before
going to bed if you can. You're better off with less practice time when you're
clear-headed and rested, than more time when you're not.

Wake Up and Practice

If you can manage it, I highly recommend practicing first thing in the morning.
You will develop a much more positive relationship with practicing. When you
practice in the evening, you have to think about it all day. It looms over you.
All day you will think, "Will I have time to do it today?" And, many things are
bound to occur throughout the day that will eat up your practice time. When
you practice in the morning, all day you feel good about having it finished. You
will feel positive with your progress. The morning is also good because there
are usually fewer interruptions and distractions. Learning to play bass or any
instrument is always a sacrifice for someting else.

Make It a Routine
Once you have your set time and people know not to bother you, you must
learn to stick to your practice routine. It may take several weeks to get into
the habit of consistently practicing. The beginning is always the most difficult.
Most importantly, if you slip, don't give up on your routine. Failing is part of the
 whole learning process.Just as you are learning to play bass, you are learning
how to practice bass.

A common pattern of failure is setting up your practice routine and you miss a
day or two and feel like you can't pull it off. Then you give up completely and
don't practice at all. What you need to do instead is determine what caused
you to fail at your practice routine just as when you run into problems
playing a bassline or exercise on your bass. Maybe you set yourself up to fail.
Maybe you picked a time you didn't expect a lot of conflicts, but there were
some. How can you avoid them? What other time could you choose? Is
it you causing the problems? Or is it others bothering you? Maybe you expect to
practice more than is really possible right now. Figure it all out and adjust
accordingly.

Also, there's nothing wrong with easing into your routine. If this is something
new in your life, it will take some getting used to. I often recommend getting
comfortable with the every day aspect of a routine first. Practice every day
for at least five minutes. If you do more, fine. Once you successfully get the
every day part going, increase the amount of time you practice each day. Do
that until you get to your goal amount of practice time.

Commit to Yourself
You need to come up with a well-conceived practice plan and stick to it. You
can be a great bass player if you do this and focus your practice time on the
right things.

You will find it is very easy to let yourself down. When there is no one else to
answer to for not doing something, we don't feel the same kind of pressure as
when there is. This is one of the many reasons teachers help you progress. You
don't want to let them down and they push you. You must learn to live up to
your commitments to yourself just as you should live up to commitments you
make to others. Don't let yourself down by not practicing. If you want to learn
to play bass well, you need to put in the time. If you've read this far, you know
it's something you want to do. You can do it with the right plan and
commitment.

Setting Up Your Practice Environment

Make sure everything around you is comfortable. You don't want anything to
distract you.

Make sure everything is in arm's reach so you don't have to go searching for
anything mid-practice. You might be sure to have a glass of water handy, too. If
you get up mid-practice, there's a chance you might stop practicing early!

You need a quiet spot with good lighting. If you plan to sit, find a comfortable
chair with no arms to get in the way. Don't sit on the edge of a bed or anywhere
awkward. You want to practice with good posture.

Make sure you have a music stand to hold your study materials where you can
see them easily. You shouldn't be twisting your body or craning your neck when
you practice.
 Make sure the temperature is comfortable. According to research, cooler
temperatures relax you and stimulate your creativity. Warmer temperatures
arouse you and help your memory.

Keep plenty of pencil and paper on hand in case you want to make notes or
write some music down.

You'll want a CD player, MP3 player and/or computer nearby for playing songs.
And, you might want a cheap recorder to record and listen to your playing.

A Dedicated Practice Area

Something I highly recommend is creating an exclusive practice place. If
possible, find a place where the only thing you ever do there is practice. Don't
allow anything but practice to happen in that spot. That way as soon as you sit
in your practice area, your mind will go into practice mode. After a while, all
you need to do to motivate yourself to practice is force yourself to sit in your
practice area. It really works.

If you can't find an entire spot, you can try dedicating just a chair instead. Sit
in your "practice chair" only when you practice. Never do anything else in that
chair. Really anything could be used to trigger your practice mode like this. I
know it sounds silly, but you could have a practice shirt or hat. Or, maybe you
practice only after having a glass of orange juice. Be creative. Do something
consistent to get you into the practice groove.

Much of playing music and being a musician is mental, not physical. That means
you can practice music anywhere you are. You dont need your bass to practice
a lot of the things there are to master. In music there are many technical things
to memorize. There is ear training. There is rhythm. There is harmony.
Learning all these things, and many others, doesn't always require a bass guitar
in your hands. Don't miss out on the constant learning opportunities you have all
day, every day.

Visualization
One of the most powerful ways you can practice is mentally visualizing plucking
the strings or pressing down the notes on the fingerboard. You will be surprised
how effective this can be. Sometimes its as good as practicing with your bass.
Visualize yourself practicing something and then pick up your bass and see how
well you can play it. You might be surprised at how well it works.

Down Time
Whenever you have some down time during the day, use it to mentally rehearse
something. Maybe youre stuck in traffic, waiting for a bus, waiting in line at
the grocery store or any of the other time wasting situations we get caught in
every day. Use that time to practice!

Bass Playing Ruts

Are you in a rut with your bass playing? Its ok. Sometimes you get in a rut.
Maybe youre not motivated. Maybe you dont know what to practice or dont
feel creative. It could be many things. At these times I suggest shaking things
up a little. Force yourself into doing and experiencing new things.
 Here are some ways you could get out of your bass playing rut:

Listen to a radio station you never listen to.

Go see some live bands youve never seen.
Investigate an unfamiliar style of music.
Listen to famous bassists youve never heard.
Tune your bass in an unfamiliar way.
Take a lesson from a different teacher it doesnt have to be a bass teacher
or even a music teacher!
Travel somewhere.
Dont listen to any music or play any bass at all for a week. Completely avoid
music. Then pick up your bass and see what happens. Just make sure you
dont quit playing bass altogether!
Play music written for other instruments or voice on your bass.
Play something on another instrument and then try to play it on your bass.
Play your favorite basslines backwards.
Write out some music chords or notes that you cant imagine what they
might sound like and play or compose around them.
Play in the dark.
Play in an unusual place.
Stare at a painting while you play.
Play notes on your bass using strange objects instead of your fingers or a pick.
Find some new musicians to play with.

Learning Patterns on Bass

Learning note patterns on bass is a natural, early step in learning to play bass.
There are a handful of note patterns which are used over and over in bass
playing. I think it's a good idea to start out with the simplest patterns and learn
how to apply them and recognize them. This will give you a solid foundation on
which you can build more complex patterns and ideas. The note patterns I'll be
showing you in this lesson category are a great place to start.

Sound Patterns, Not Finger Patterns

It is very important to have the correct perspective on note patterns. You have
to realize that these are sound patterns, not finger patterns. Though your
fingers may be moving in a particular pattern or shape, it is the musical sound
pattern we are learning. It's the sound of the notes which is important.

All of this amounts to one thing: you need to listen to what you are playing. In
fact, you should hum along matching the pitches as you play. The more often
you do this, the more quickly you will absorb and internalize each sound
pattern.

So, as you study these note patterns on bass please be sure you are thinking of
them and listening to them as patterns of sound. Thinking this way will really
benefit your musical development.

Building Basic Bass Skills Playing with Others

Playing with others is important. The sooner you start the better. The first day
you get your bass is the day you are ready to start playing with other musicians.
You will learn much more quickly if you do.
 One advantage of being a bassist is there are very few of us around. Youre
always in demand even if you can barely play! This makes for great learning
opportunities. You should take advantage of them. You can build up a lot of
skills very quickly.

Chords and Root Notes

You might remember from reading the role of the bassist lesson that it is your
job to help define the harmony, or chords, to a piece of music. You can't define
something unless you know what it is. A large part of studying bass involves
learning about chords and the notes in them chord tones. The first step is
learning about root notes to chords.

What is a Root?
A ROOT NOTE is the main note on which a chord is built. It is the foundation,
or root, of the chord. For example, the three notes G, B, and D form a G major
chord. The note G is the chord's root note.

As another example, the notes Bb, Db, F, and Ab form a Bb minor 7th chord.
The note Bb is the chord's root note.

Remember, the bassists most basic responsibility is to define the sound of

each chord with a steady rhythm. A simple, common way to achieve this is by
playing the root note of each chord. Playing the root note helps establish the
foundation of the chord the root grounds the chord.

Bassists play root notes of chords more than any other chord tone.

Identifying the Root Note

Root notes of chords are easy to identify. Each chord is always named with its
root followed by its chord type, or CHORD QUALITY.

Here are some example chord names and their roots:

(We're focused on the root, so dont worry about what the chord qualities
represent just yet. We'll get there.)

For the chord A7 the root is A, the quality is 7th

For the chord Fm7 the root is F, the quality is minor 7th
For the chord Gb7#11 the root is Gb, the quality is 7 sharp 11

Playing the Root Note

To play the root note of any chord, just play the note after which the chord is
named. If you know the chords to the music (someone tells you, or gives you
the chords in written form), you now have something to play the root note.
You can play any root note.

Let's say you have an E minor chord. You could play the note E anywhere on the
bass and be playing the root note. You can use a low-pitched E, a higher one, or
switch between them. The choice is yours. Choose what sounds best to your
ears.
 A good starting point for creating basslines is to play the root of each chord at
the moment the chord changes. This is often on beat 1 of the bar.

Roots and the Bassist

You will be surprised by how many songs just have the bass player banging away
on root notes. Sometimes that is what is appropriate. There is a whole lot a
bassist can play in addition to the root note. And, it takes a mature bassist to
know when to play more or just stick to the roots. We will be exploring what
else can be played in addition to roots in later lessons.

Playing roots is essential and elementary to bass playing. After a while you may
feel just sticking to the roots is boring to play. You should realize, at the most
basic level, this is what other musicians want and need from you as a bassist.
The root notes are a big reason you are around.

Obviously, you want to be capable of doing a whole lot more than just playing
roots to chords. But, this is a good starting point and is the first skill you should
develop for creating your own basslines. If you can play root notes and keep a
steady rhythm, you're ready to play in a band! This is where the false idea that
"bass is easy to play" comes from. The barebones basics of playing bass is fairly
easy. All the other stuff is going to take a little more work.

What is an Octave?
An OCTAVE is the same note at a higher or lower pitch. You'll recall from
the musical alphabet lesson there are only 12 notes in music. That same cycle
of 12 notes is repeated over and over in what are called different octaves. That
means there are multiple 'A' notes, multiple 'Bb' notes, and so on. Each one is
just a higher-, or lower-pitched version of the others.

The Same but Different

The idea of octaves can be confusing at first. How can it be the same note
when it sounds different? The simplest answer is octaves ring similarly. If you
play them at the same time, you will hear how they sound very consonant with
one another. The more technical answer (feel free to skip this) is the octave of
a note is either half or double the frequency of the note. The note 'A' rings at
440Hz; 'A' an octave lower rings at 220Hz; an 'A' an octave higher rings at 880Hz.

Playing Octaves on the Bass

The most common way bassists play octaves on the bass is: from any one note
the higher octave can be playedtwo strings up and two frets over. This octave
pattern exists on any fret of any string of the bass so long as you don't run out
of strings.

To get any note's lower octave, reverse the pattern:play the note two strings
down and two frets back.

This pattern also works for open strings. You can see the octaves of open E and
open A in the interactive fretboard diagram.

Fingering Octaves on the Bass

Sticking to the one-finger-per-fret rule would mean you play the low note with
finger 1 and the higher octave with finger 3. You should be able to do this. It's
 also okay to break the one-finger-per-fret "rule" and play with your 1st and 4th
fingers. This is more comfortable and makes it easier when you are playing a lot
of octaves. Practice it both ways.

When you play and practice octaves, don't let them ring together at the same
time. Instead, use a see-saw rocking motion to play the octave notes
individually where only one note is ringing at a time. It's not that you can never
play octaves at the same time. It's common to do so. But, playing them
independently takes a little more work and is more common.

Other Octave Patterns on Bass

Remember, octaves aren't a finger pattern, but a pattern of sound. There are
many more ways to play octaves on the bass. You can play the octave of any
note 12 frets higher on the same string. You can also play a higher octave of a
note 7 frets higher on the next string as shown in the Open D-string example.

Using Octaves in Bass Playing

The use of octaves in basslines is very popular. A lot of times a bassist needs to
keep the notes simple. For instance, a bassline might only call for root notes.
To add some variety without adding more notes to the mix, we could add in
octaves of those root notes.

You will find that octaves are used in all styles of bass playing and styles of
music. Some of the most obvious places you can hear octaves are in slap
basslines and in disco basslines. But, as I said, octaves are used in everything
under the sun.

The Sound of the Octave

As you start learning different note patterns on bass and in music in general,
you should try to absorb the sound of the pattern. You want to learn to
recognize these sounds when you hear them. This takes time. A good first step
is to relate it to something familiar like a well-known melody or bassline. Learn
to sing or hum the pattern.

What Are Roots and Fifths?

The root and fifth pattern is one of the most common note patterns used by
bass players. When a guitarist or keyboardist plays a chord, he or she is playing
several notes at the same time usually 3 or more different notes. Two of the
notes which form each chord are called a root and a fifth. The root and fifth of
the chord are the most supportive sounding notes a bassist can play beneath a
chord. We are just adding one more note to the root note you learned about in
the roots lesson.

Roots and fifths are conveniently the same pattern for almost every chord. It
doesn't matter if it's a major chord, minor chord, or a power chord. You can
apply this pattern pretty broadly when creating basslines. If you know the root
note to play, you can use the fifth, too. It almost always works.

Why is It Called a Fifth?

I don't want to get into the details of this too deeply in this lesson. The short
answer is the notes of scales and chords are assigned specific numbers. The
 fifth is simply the fifth note of the scale from which it comes. In future lessons
we will cover this more thoroughly.

Playing Roots and Fifths on the Bass

The root-fifth pattern is pretty easy to remember on the bass fretboard and it's
not too hard to play. Just like the octave pattern, the root-fifth pattern is the
same shape all over the neck of the bass. Remember when we say above/below
and up/down, we are talking aboutpitch, not physical space. The
fifth above any root note is always on the next higher string, two frets higher.

The fifth below any root note is always on the next lower string, on the same
fret.

When you combine the octaves of the root notes and the octaves of the fifths,
you have a lot you can play with for nearly any chord.

Study the diagram which includes the octaves. Notice for any root note there is
a fifth a string below. Notice how the 5ths are octaves of each other.

Fingering Roots and Fifths on Bass

You will be playing roots and fifths a lot regardless of style. It's good to develop
a consistent fingering and learn to play the patterns cleanly. When you play
these patterns by themselves, use your 1st finger on the root and play the
higher 5th with your 3rd finger. You can still use either the 3rd or 4th finger on
the higher octave of the root.

When playing the lower 5th, always use the same finger you used on the root
note.

The Use of Roots and Fifths in Bass Playing

You will quickly notice that roots and fifths are the most common bass note
pattern after just roots by themselves. If roots and fifths aren't being used all
by themselves in a bassline, a lot of the time they anchor more complex
basslines. The reason roots and 5ths are used so often is because they
consistently sound good, they fulfill the bassist's supportive responsibility, and
they're not too hard to play.

You'll most easily recognize root-fifth basslines in styles like country, polkas,
tejano, and tuba basslines. Those are just very obvious uses. Don't think for a
minute that these are the only uses of roots and fifths. They are absolutely
everywhere in every style from Classical music to metal. The root and fifth
pattern is critical to bass playing. You must have a thorough grasp of these
patterns regardless of what you intend to play.

The Sound of Roots and Fifths

Try to get the sound of roots and fifths in your head. They are everywhere.
Building on a Foundation
So far in the common bass pattern lessons we've covered roots, octaves,
and roots and fifths. These note patterns are applied by bassists to provide
each chord of a song with a solid foundation. Think of roots, 5ths, and their
octaves as a solid, simple anchor for each chord played in a song.

Obviously bass players play a lot more than just roots and 5ths. There are 12
notes in all and they are all fair game if you can place them correctly. We can
add a new dimension to these basic bass patterns just by adding one frequently
used note to them. Though it's only one more note added to the root/5th
foundation, it greatly increases the possibilities of the basslines you can create.

Root - Fifth - Flat 7th

In this lesson we will add a note called the flat 7th into the mix of roots, 5ths
and octaves. You'll remember that the root and the 5th were two notes found in
almost all chords. Even though the flat 7th is used a lot in basslines, it is a little
less universal and a little more care needs to be taken when applying it. When
you apply it always listenthat it fits with the sound of the chord.

Some chords have a flat 7th in them, others don't. On those chords which do,
you can always apply the flat 7th. On those chords which don't, many times you
can still apply the flat 7th and it will sound good. But, you have to be careful.
Listening, experience, and more knowledge of chords and scales will teach you
when to apply this note.

Why is It Called a Flat Seventh?

In the roots and fifths lesson I mentioned that notes are assigned number names
in relationship to the root note. We will discuss this more thoroughly in later
lessons on scales and chords. I'm sure many of you are curious, so I will give you
a quick explanation:

The 7th is the seventh note of the major scale. To flat a note means to lower it
by one note (meaning one fret lower). Therefore a flat 7th means one note
lower than the 7th.

Playing R-5-b7 Patterns on Bass

The flat seventh is easy to locate on the bass fretboard. The flat 7th is always
two notes, or frets, below any root note. In the first fretboard example above,
the root is A on the 5th fret of the E-string and the flat 7th is the note G two
notes lower.

You can also find it two strings above on the same fret. In the second fretboard
example above, the same root note A is shown with its higher flat 7th. (Notice
how this higher flat 7th is just two notes below the octave of the root note
which is ghosted in.)

When you add the flat 7th to the root, fifth and octave patterns, you get a
number of new note patterns to play. You can shift these patterns around to
any root note on any string.
 The third example just above shows a flat 7th on a string below the root
fingered with the 1st finger. This flat 7th is still two notes below the root note.
It's only on a lower string. This fingering may confuse you in the beginning, but
eventually you might find it very useful.

Fingering Root - Fifth - Flat 7th Patterns on Bass

When playing the R-5-b7 pattern you will most often stick to the one-finger-
per-fret position. With your mouse pointer hover over the notes of the above
diagrams for suggested fingerings. This is a fairly comfortable note pattern to
play. Since it sounds good and is easy to play, it gets played a lot.

Note names and the Flat 7th

A common point of confusion for beginners is that they think the flat 7th must
be a note named with a flat. It doesn't. The flat 7th can be any note of any
name. For example, the flat 7th of the root C# would be B.

The Use of Root - Fifth - Flat Seventh Bass Patterns

The root-fifth-flat 7th pattern is a really common bass sound in most popular
styles of music. It's hard to think of a style that doesn't use this pattern
somewhere. You will hear many blues basslines make use of it. Since the blues
has influenced nearly every other style of music (rock, jazz, soul, funk, etc.),
this sound lives on in each one of them.

The Sound of Root - Fifth - Flat Seventh Bass Patterns

You will encounter this bass pattern everywhere.

More Bass Foundation Building

In this lesson we will once again add one note to our roots and fifth foundation
just as we did in the root-5th-flat 7th lesson. Since it is so important, I will
repeat myself for emphasis:

When creating a bassline one of your major responsibilities is to support the

sound of each chord. Each chord is made up of a specific set of notes. The most
supportive bass notes you can play are the root and fifth of each chord followed
by other notes in the chord (we will examine chords in more detail later).

There are many other notes in addition to the root and fifth which you can mix
in to your basslines. As you learn more basslines, you will see how the strongest,
most supportive sounding basslines have that all-important root/5th anchor in
them somewhere often at key points in the line.

Root - Fifth - Sixth

In this lesson we will add a note called the 6th into our well-practiced and
understoodroots, 5ths and octave patterns. A lot of times we are looking to
create a bassline which is simple and supportive. After that we want it to be
melodic or we just want to add some variety to the basic supportive sound of
the line. The sixth is a highly melodic note we can add to our roots, fifths and
octave patterns.

The sixth can be applied to virtually any major type of chord. It can also
work on some minor chords. Remember, your ear is always the final judge (or
 the ear of whomever is paying you). Sometimes the sixth may not be the best
note choice. Always listen!

Why is It Called a Sixth?

You're not required to know why it is called the sixth at this point in the lessons.
If this part doesn't make sense, don't worry. In time it will.

In music it is common to assign number names to notes. These number names

are calledSCALE DEGREES. The note we are discussing in this lesson is called the
sixth because it is the sixth note of the scale from which it comes. Since we
haven't even talked about scales yet, I don't expect you to know what the scale
is. For the purposes of this lesson, it's not important.

Playing R-5-6 Patterns on Bass

The sixth can always be found two notes above a chord's 5th. You can also think
of it as three notes below any root note.

We can combine our new friend the sixth with the root, fifth and octave
patterns learned in previous lessons to create larger note patterns. See if you
can cobble together your own R-5-6 patterns. And don't forget you can shift
these note patterns to a root note on any string and any fret.

Fingering Root - Fifth - Sixth Patterns on Bass

When you play the R-5-6 pattern you should stick to the one-finger-per-fret
position. This is another easy-to-play bass note pattern.

The Use of Root - Fifth - Sixth Bass Patterns

The root-fifth-sixth pattern has a brighter, happier sound to it. It's a very
universal pattern and you will find it all over. I first picked up on this pattern's
use in soul music, Motown, and funk where it is used extensively. It is used in
everything, however. The root-fifth-sixth pattern is a very useful and easy-to-
learn tool to add to your bass playing vocabulary. And like it or not,
you will use it at some point. Many more things combine the sixth with other
notes. In later lessons we'll be learning about those possibilities. For now you
have one more easy-to-play pattern useful in a lot of situations.

Forward Motion
Hopefully by now I've beat into your brain your responsibility of defining and
supporting the sound of each chord as it goes by in a song. You probably realize
there is a lot more to playing the bass than just that.

Another important function of a bassline is to connect one chord to the next.

Many good basslines propel a song through its chord progression. A CHORD
PROGRESSION is a sequence of chords. Progress means to move forward. So a
chord progression moves forward through a series of chords.

Approach Notes
One way of creating forward motion is by using notes that lead
into, or approach, the main notes which you are playing. Basically the approach
note creates a little bit of tension which pulls you into some other note.
 In this lesson we will talk about chromatic approach notes.

Chromatic Approach Notes

A simple way of defining the word chromatic is it means from one note to the
very next. Chromatic approach notes lead from one note to the very next note.
The chromatic approach note can come from one note above or one note below
the target note.

For example, if you were approaching the note C you might approach it from
the note C# (one note above), or from the note B (one note below).

Passing Tones
Many times when two main notes are separated by one note you can use the
note inbetween to connect them. In this instance we'd call the chromatic note
a PASSING TONE. It works in the same way chromatically leading from one place
to another.

For instance, if you were going from the note C to the note D you could use the
note C# to smoothly connect them.

Rhythmic Placement of Chromatic Notes

The chromatic approach note should always be handled with care. It can sound
downright awful if it is applied poorly.

The chromatic approach note is usually a very weak, unstable note to play. If
you emphasize it in the wrong place rhythmically, you can really upset things.
Most often these chromatic notes fall in weak places like inbetween the beats,
or on beats 2 & 4. Rarely do they fall on beats 1 & 3 where your ear expects to
hear strong supportive notes like the root and fifth instead. Once again, the
rule is listen and let your ear be the judge!

Common Bass Patterns Summary

In this lesson section we have covered a number of easy bass note patterns
often used by bass players. We looked at roots to chords, octaves, roots and
fifths, the root-fifth-flat seventh pattern, the root-fifth-sixth pattern,
and approach notes. As you gain more experience learning and creating
basslines, you will be surprised just how much this handful of patterns covers in
basic bass playing.

A lot can come from learning these patterns in the beginning. I chose these bass
patterns for several reasons:

to help give beginners some easy to apply patterns right away

to help beginners start to recognize the sound of these patterns
to begin an understanding of notes and their relationship to chords, the bass
fretboard, and fingering possibilities
the patterns are comfortable to play
the patterns can be applied broadly in all styles of bass-playing
the patterns require little, if any, knowledge of chords or scales, so as to not
overwhelm beginning bass players

Start Creating Basslines

 One point of this lesson section is to give you beginning bass players some
simple note patterns for creating your own basslines. I think its a good idea to
start making up your own basslines from day one. Why wait? As a bassist youll
be expected to create your own lines most of the time often on the spot. Its
very important to include creating basslines in your daily practice routine. You
have to practice creativity, too. (A lot!)

Absorbing the Sounds of the Common Bass Patterns

The more time you spend exploring each note patterns sound, the sooner you
will start hearing them in your head and knowing where to put your fingers to
find them. You need to remember music is just another language. These
patterns become part of your bass-playing vocabulary just like words in your
speaking language vocabulary. With time you will be able to thoughtlessly spit
them out in nanoseconds placing them correctly, just like words.

Combining the Common Bass Patterns

Most basslines dont stick to one note pattern and use it throughout. I just
made the examples that way for the sake of teaching each concept. Instead,
various note patterns are mixed, matched and combined in numerous ways.
Just think of the patterns as tools. Some jobs just require a hammer; others
require a hammer, a saw, glue, and a drill. You might use one pattern on one
chord or a combination of three of them. On the next chord you might use some
other combination. The possibilities are limitless.

What is Rhythm?
The word rhythm is believed to come from the Greek word Rhein meaning to
flow orstream. Rhythm is when things happen in the flow of time. In
music, RHYTHM is about when notes, chords, and other musical sounds begin and
end.

Rhythm the Most Important Element

Rhythm is the essential ingredient in all music. You can mix together any sounds
you want, but if there is no underlying rhythm to the sounds, there is no music.
For example, listen to the intro of Money by Pink Floyd. They took the
unmusical sounds of a cash register and set them to a consistent rhythmic pulse.
Suddenly sounds that never sounded like music before sound like music. Rhythm
is the key element of music.

Here, There, and Everywhere

I dont want to get too philosophical on you, but humans have a deep
connection to rhythm. Rhythm is everywhere, not just in music. Walking,
running, speech, ocean waves, and all sorts of things we do and experience
have rhythm. In fact, your first experience was the rhythms of your mothers
heartbeat.

But, That Music Stinks!

You will often hear skilled musicians bitterly complaining about some song or
style of music they despise. Usually the complaint is something like, How can
people listen to this? It has no melody and there are two chords in the whole
song! The answer is almost always that people like the rhythm. You wont
hear too many popular songs or styles with terrible rhythm. People wont listen
to it. Listeners tune into rhythm more than anything else. Most non-musicians
 dont catch or dont care about the occasional bad note or chord. But, if the
rhythm goes awry at a performance, its the first thing the audience will notice.

Rhythmic Evolution
One theory of mine is that styles evolve partly because the audience gets bored
with the current rhythms in music.

As you study music you will notice every style has its own set of unique rhythms.
The rhythms are part of the language of each musical style. To master a style,
you need to master its rhythms.

As you see music evolve in your lifetime (and maybe complain about it), look at
the rhythms. My guess is that's why a style will stick. Rhythm is, and will always
be, a large part of the evolution of music.

OK, OK! Rhythm is Important!

You might be wondering why I am going on and on about rhythm being so
important. For one, it seems like most instructional methods dont give it
enough focus or emphasis. Instead, students are drowned in scales and special
techniques right away. These things are obviously very important, but if the
student has no basic rhythmic foundation none of it will sound good anyway.
You could know every scale and chord pattern in existence and still not be able
to play anything decent if your rhythm is faulty.

If rhythm is the common denominator in music, then it should probably be

the common denominator in your playing and practicing of music, too.

As you learn and grow musically, any time something doesnt seem to be
working the first thing you should question is the rhythm. A lot of times it is the
rhythm which needs work or changing.

Why do Bass Players Need to Study Rhythm?

Bassists are a part of the rhythm section. The RHYTHM SECTION consists of the
bassist, drummer, and other instruments playing a rhythmic role such as
guitarists and pianists. Melodic parts of singers and when musicians play solos
are not part of the rhythm section. They instead sing or play on top of the
rhythm section.

The rhythm section is the backbone of the band. Much like the rails for a train,
the rhythm section provides a steady, seamless track for the rest of the band to
ride along. In fact, when things completely fall apart in performance musicians
call it a TRAIN WRECK. If the rails are bad, the train is going nowhere.

About Rhythm Summary

Rhythm is crucial. Practice your rhythmic skills daily. Mix rhythm practice
together with all of your other practicing when you play scales, arpeggios,
songs, and various techniques. Remember rhythm is one of your biggest
responsibilities. If your rhythm is poor, working on anything else will be in vain.

What is a Metronome?
 A METRONOME is a device that provides a steady beat. A metronome makes a
pulsing click sound that can be set at various speeds.

Musicians use metronomes to practice rhythm, pace themselves, and to learn to

keep a consistent beat. Metronomes are a great practice tool.

Most metronomes nowadays are digital and run on batteries. They are highly
accurate. The older style metronomes use a pendulum that swings back and
forth making a click with each swing. Pendulum-style metronomes are usually
wound like watches used to be.

Buying a Metronome
I recommend purchasing a digital quartz metronome. Ive always liked Seiko
metronomes, but there are many choices. Make sure you listen to it and that it
makes aclicking sound, not a beeping sound. That will be important in coming
rhythm lessons. I also prefer the metronomes with dials rather than push
buttons.

How to Use a Metronome

Beginners are often unsure of how to use a metronome. Its not very
complicated. Most often you will play music in 4/4 time and count 4 beats to a
bar. Each click of the metronome will equal one of those four beats. Counting
one beat on each click you would count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on. You
can count other time signatures the same way. In 3/4 time you'd count: 1, 2, 3,
1, 2, 3, and so forth.

The metronome will help you learn to keep a steady pace. Keeping a steady
beat is a critical skill for bassists and musicians. Good music almost always
requires a consistent pulse. Think of a metronome as your rhythmic training
wheels.

Beginners will often slow down on difficult parts and speed up on easy ones.
You cantdo that. The beat must be consistent throughout. This is where the
metronome will help.

If you are running through some music for the first time, you dont have to start
with the metronome. Get familiar first, then work out the rhythm with the
metronome guiding you.

There are other ways to count with the metronome, too. The click can be
interpreted any way you want. You could set the click faster and count two
clicks per beat. Or, you could set it slower and let it click on every other beat.
Metronomes are very versatile. Ill be showing you a number of ways to use
them to develop your sense of rhythm. How to play with a metronome will
become more obvious as we play and practice rhythm.

Metronome Tempo
Metronomes allow you to select the tempo. TEMPO is the rate, or speed, at
which the beat occurs. Tempo is often expressed in Beats Per Minute (BPM).
 A slow song might have a tempo of 60 bpm. A rock song may range from 100-
200 bpm. A really fast jazz tune may hit 300 bpm or more.

Metronomes allow you to adjust the tempo usually by twisting a dial or by

pushing buttons.

What Tempo Do I Set the Metronome To?

What tempo you set it on will depend on what you are practicing. Perhaps you
want to play a song that is 150 bpm, but its too fast for you to play. You might
start at 60 bpm and incrementally work your way up to 150. If you cant play
something slowly, you probably cant play it fast. Working a bass part out
slowly and building up your speed is always a good idea.

Emphasized Beats
Many of the newer metronomes have features that emphasize the first beat of
each bar with a louder click. Dont use it. As a bassist you need to develop a
strong internal sense of where beat one is. You cant let the metronome give
you the answer. You need to learn to feel the beat and develop confidence you
know where beat one is. The emphasized beat may seem like a useful feature,
but it is a crutch and you are only delaying your progress in developing this
essential skill.

But, I Hate the Metronome

Ive heard this a million times. Theres no reason to hate the metronome. What
you hate is your inability to play in sync with the metronome. If you hate the
metronome it tells me even more you need to use it. If you can accurately play
with the metronome the click will disappear into the background of your
bassline. You'll hardly know it's there. If you are off rhythmically, the
metronome will seem erratic, but it's you. Dont kill the messenger for your
unsteady timing.

Keeping The Beat

The beat, or pulse, of the music serves as the reference point for all the other
rhythms occurring in the music. All rhythm is felt in relation to the beat. All of
your rhythmic skills, therefore, will rely on the ability to maintain a steady beat.

Learning to Keep a Steady Beat

As a bassist and musician, you need to learn to keep a steady beat. This is what
musicians refer to as ones sense of time. Most people have a good general
sense of time. As a responsible member of the rhythm section, you need to
really fine-tune and develop your sense of time.

You should never rely on another musician like the drummer to help you feel
where the beat is. Your internal clock needs to be independent of everyone
elses. Everyones independent sense of the beat should then be synchronized
when playing together. Everyone should lock in with each other.

Ideally if one person is thrown off rhythmically, it should not upset everyone
elses rhythm. Additionally, that will make it that much easier for the person
who does slip off the beat to jump back into the music.
Clapping with the Metronome
One of the best ways to check your rhythmic accuracy is to clap with a
metronome. Yes, it is very boring to do. But, every clap will give you instant
feedback about your rhythmic accuracy. It really works. Just doing it a few
minutes a day will really help you improve your sense of time.

How to Clap with the Metronome

First, you need a metronome that clicks. It cant beep. You will discover that
when you clap accurately with the metronome the click of the
metronome disappears. It almost sounds like someone turned off the
metronome. Check out the example page for this lesson.

This takes a good bit of practice. Youre probably not going to be 100% accurate.
Youre not a robot. But, you should shoot for accuracy in the 90%-99% range. If
youre slightly off one out of every ten claps and can jump right back in time,
youre doing pretty well.

Start with a tempo around 60-70 bpm. You can do this exercise at any tempo.
Youll find slower tempos are often more challenging since theres a wider
margin of error between the beats.

Start by clapping on every other click of the metronome. It doesnt matter how
you count the beat for this exercise. Once you can make every other click
disappear consistently, try clapping on every beat.

Whenever you drift off the beat, stop clapping and listen to a few beats to get
your rhythm back in line.

Rushing and Dragging

Nearly every student with whom Ive done this exercise has had the tendency
to rush the beat. RUSHING means to play (or clap) too early and speeding up the
pulse as a result. The opposite of rushing the beat is dragging the
beat. DRAGGING is where you play too late and slow the beat down.

Most of the time the student is trying too hard and slightly anticipates the beat.
If youre doing this you need to relax and focus. It may even help to try and
consciously delay your clap a bit. Try and clap a little later than you want. With
practice you will align your sense of time to the click.

Rhythmically Challenged
This exercise can be very frustrating. I remember when my teacher showed me
this exercise. He said I needed to work on my time. As a know-it-all teenager I
thought he was crazy. My time was just fine, I thought. When I tried to do the
exercise at home, sure enough I could hear every click! I kept clapping harder
and harder until my hands turned red. Click, click, click I heard. Finally I gave
in that my time was horrible.

But, the metronome doesnt lie. And it has nothing to do with how loudly you
clap. So, I worked at clapping with the metronome and it made a huge
difference in a short amount of time. Having the constant feedback of the
metronome really helps. It keeps you rhythmically aware.
 I highly recommend clapping with the metronome. I know its not exciting to do.
Just 5 minutes a day for a few weeks works wonders.

Feel the Pulse

A large part of your rhythmic abilities depends on feeling a steady, even pulse.
After clapping with the metronome, another way to develop it is to practice
playing a steady stream of evenly spaced notes on the bass. You need to
connect your inner sense of the pulse to your bass playing technique.

Its not super exciting to practice, but it helps a lot. If you cant manage to
play a stream of notes steadily, any other rhythms are going to be shaky and off.
No one wants a bassist with bad timing.

Practicing the Pulse with the Metronome

To develop your steady pulse, you can practice plucking on every click of the
metronome. Start slowly between 50 and 60 bpm. Then gradually increase the
tempo until youve reached the fastest tempo on your metronome (usually
around 200 bpm).

Playing on every click will insure you are playing the notes evenly. Most
beginning students think they are playing notes evenly when they are not. You
can record yourself or ask another musician or your teacher if your notes sound
evenly spaced.

You should also focus on playing the notes with a consistent volume. One finger
or pick stroke should not be louder than the other. It takes time and practice to
gain control. Again, you're not a robot so don't expect absolute perfection all of
the time. With work, you can get pretty consistent however.

Then, Without the Metronome

Next, youll want to practice playing that pulse without a metronome. After all,
thats what youll be doing when you play with others. You may even want to
think of yourself as everyone elses metronome. Practice the same steady pulse.
Pay attention to your tempo. Try to not speed up or slow down. Its not easy at
first. Record yourself.

You'll find that when you play with others some people tend to rush or drag.
You have to learn to not let their bad time influence yours. You don't want your
70bpm ballad accidentally speeding up to 100! This is where having a strong
internal sense of rhythm is going to help you. It's best when everyone has it, but
a lot of times others will lean on you.

In Summary
As simple and boring as this stuff is to practice, it will pay off in everything you
ever play. Work on it a few minutes a day until you can keep it going for long
stretches of time without making any mistakes. Eventually you'll get to where
this doesn't require any of your attention when you play.

What is an Interval?
An INTERVAL is the distance between two notes. An easy way to understand what
is meant by distance is to think of two notes on the same string. How far
apart the notes are is the interval between the two notes.
 Any pair of notes creates an interval. Each interval has a unique name (some
have several names). And, each interval has a unique sound. In this lesson
category well be learning all about intervals.

Half-Steps
Intervals are measured in half-steps. A HALF-STEP is from one note to next
adjacent note. Half-steps are the smallest distance between two notes.

For example, from the open note E a half-step above is the note F on the 1st
fret. The distance from E to F is one half-step. Going the other way E would be
one half-step lower than F. (Remember the terms higher and lower always refer
to pitch.)

Half-steps work the same way starting on any note.

On bass dont think half-steps have to be on the same string. From G# to A is a

half-step. On bass you could play this on the 4th fret of the E-string to the open
A-string. The point here is: intervals are not the distance between your fingers.
Intervals are the distances between the sounds of the two notes.

Why Do You Need to Learn Intervals?

Any time you play notes, you are playing intervals. Intervals can be likened to
atoms in chemistry. Atoms are combined in unique ways to create molecules. In
music, intervals are combined to form scales, chords, and various useful note
patterns.

Each scale and chord used in music has a unique pattern of intervals. Its this
arrangement of intervals that gives the note pattern its individual sound and
sets it apart from the other note patterns.

Knowing and understanding intervals is an important key to learning all the

various note patterns used in bass playing and music. It will make learning
chords and scales much easier. Intervals are also one key to understanding and
learning your way around the bass fretboard.

Luckily, the basic intervals you most need to learn are pretty easy.
I highly encourage you to learn them.

Forms of Musical Intervals

There are two forms of intervals melodic and harmonic. A MELODIC INTERVAL is
when the two notes are played one after another (as in a melody). A HARMONIC
INTERVAL is when the two notes are played at the same time (as in chords).

Ascending and Descending Intervals

Musical intervals are often described as ascending or descending. These are just
what they sound like. An ASCENDING INTERVAL goes from one note up to the second
note. And, aDESCENDING INTERVAL goes from one note down to the other note of
the pair. (Remember, up and down refer to pitch.)

Most of the time people refer to ascending intervals when talking about
intervals within scales and chords. Ill continue this section with basic
 ascending intervals which will be a great aid in learning bass scales and chord
tones.

Basic Intervals
Scale and chord patterns are often described by their unique interval pattern.
Most of the time this set of intervals falls within the span of one octave.
(See octaves.) It is a good idea to memorize the names and fretboard patterns
for these basic intervals to help you in memorizing all the different scale and
chord patterns.

Basic Musical Intervals on the Bass Fretboard

There are 12 basic intervals in music you should commit to memory. That
means you need to memorize each intervals name and its shape(s) on the bass
fretboard. I will show you all of these intervals starting on the note C. But,
these intervals may be started on any note or any fret so long as
the distance between them remains the same.

You should play these intervals on your bass as you read about them. It's not as
much to learn as it looks, but I always like to be thorough in my explanations.

Minor Second Interval

Our first interval is called a minor second. A MINOR SECONDis the same as one
half-step. It is the smallest musical interval. Another common name for a half-
step is SEMITONE.

The minor 2nd interval is abbreviated m2. A lower case m means minor.

A minor second above C is Db. You could also name the note C# which is the
same note as Db. For simplicity in this lesson I will mainly use the flat name for
notes. You could use either flats or sharps.

Major Second Interval

The next interval is a major second. A MAJOR SECOND is equal to 2 half-steps. This
may also be called a whole-step (two halves make a whole), or a wholetone (2
semitones make a wholetone).

The major 2nd interval is abbreviated M2. An uppercase M means major.

A major second above C is D.

In the fretboard diagram notice the two ways you can play the same interval.
The interval of D two half-steps above C is always a major second regardless of
fingering.

Most scales are made of a series of minor and major seconds (that is, half-
steps and whole-steps).

Major Intervals and Minor Intervals

Many of the musical intervals are labeled as major or minor. You will notice
the minor interval is always lower than the major interval.
Minor Third Interval
Continuing, our next interval is a minor third. A MINOR THIRD is equal to 3 half-
steps.

The minor 3rd interval is abbreviated m3.

A minor third above C is Eb.

Again, Ive drawn two ways to play the same interval. Listen and youll see they
are the same note.

Major Third Interval

Next is the interval of a major third. A MAJOR THIRD is equal to 4 half-steps.

The major 3rd is abbreviated M3.

A major third above C is E.

Most chords are built from combinations of major and minor thirds.

Perfect Fourth Interval

A PERFECT FOURTH is equal to 5 half-steps. Perfect intervals have a very
consonant sound and are not said to be major or minor.

A perfect 4th interval is abbreviated P4.

A perfect fourth above C is F.

The bass is tuned in perfect 4ths from E to A is a 4th, from A to D is a 4th, and
so on.

Augmented Fourth Interval/Diminished Fifth Interval

To augment means to make bigger. (Think of your own examples of
augmentation.) An AUGMENTED FOURTH INTERVALis a bigger fourth. It is equal to 6
half-steps.

This interval can also be called a diminished fifth. To diminish means to take
away or make smaller. A DIMINISHED FIFTH INTERVAL is a smaller fifth. (The fifth is
coming up next.)

There is yet a third way to name this interval. It is often called a tritone.
A TRITONE is the same as 3 wholetones (6 half-steps).

An augmented 4th/diminished 5th is abbreviated A4 or D5. More often

musicians will call it a #4 ("sharp four") or b5 ("flat five") when speaking of
chords or scales.

An augmented fourth above C is F#. A diminished fifth above C is Gb.

Perfect Fifth Interval

A PERFECT FIFTH INTERVAL is equal to 7 half-steps.
 A perfect 5th is abbreviated P5.

A perfect fifth above C is G.

Minor Sixth Interval

A MINOR SIXTH INTERVAL is equal to 8 half-steps.

A minor 6th is abbreviated m6.

A minor sixth above C is Ab.

Major Sixth Interval

A MAJOR SIXTH INTERVAL is equal to 9 half-steps.

A major 6th is abbreviated M6.

A major sixth above C is A.

Minor Seventh Interval

A MINOR SEVENTH INTERVAL is equal to 10 half-steps.

A minor 7th is abbreviated m7.

A minor seventh above C is Bb.

Major Seventh Interval

A MAJOR SEVENTH INTERVAL is equal to 11 half-steps.

A major 7th is abbreviated M7.

A major seventh above C is B.

Perfect Octave Interval

A PERFECT OCTAVE INTERVAL is equal to 12 half-steps.

A perfect octave is abbreviated P8.

A perfect octave above C is C.

There are names for intervals spanning beyond an octave. Those will be covered
in a later musical intervals lesson.
Subdividing The Beat
After youve developed your ability to maintain a steady pulse, the next step in
your rhythmic development is learning to subdivide the beat.

Subdividing the beat means to play at the rhythmic points in-between the beats.
This is an essential skill for all musicians and a critical one for rhythm section
players like bassists. If you can't correctly play the subdivisions of the beat, you
will cause unending problems for everyone in the band.

Where the Groove Is

One day you may realize all of the good-feeling rhythm stuff falls between the
beats not on them. The beat serves as a reference point around which other
rhythms dance.

Nearly all good basslines, regardless of style, contain rhythms falling in-
between the beats. If you want to groove, you need to develop a strong sense
of where these divisions of the beat fall. This will take practice, time, and
experience. Its frustrating for many in the beginning. Be patient and practice.
Eventually you will feel these subdivisions without a thought.

How Beats Are Commonly Subdivided

A beat can be subdivided in numerous ways. Most commonly beats are evenly
divided in two, in four, or in three.

Most music is played in 4/4 time, or Common Time. (See time signatures.)
[Note: I will use this time signature of 4/4 for the coming examples even though
these subdivisions apply to all time signatures in the same way.]

Each beat is a quarter note and there are 4 quarter notes in a whole measure,
or bar, of 4/4 music.

When you evenly divide the quarter note beat in two, you get two eighth notes.

When you evenly divide the quarter note beat in four, you get four sixteenth
notes.
 Another common way to divide the beat is into three evenly spaced notes.
These are called eighth note triplets. Triplets are grouped together with a
beam or bracket and have the number 3 written over or under them.

How To Count Rhythms

Early on in your rhythmic development you will find it very helpful to count
rhythmsaloud. You might feel silly doing it, but something about the physical
act of vocalizing rhythms really helps you absorb them and play them
accurately. Dont be shy about counting rhythms out loud. You won't have to do
it forever, but in the beginning it really helps.

Nearly every time I have a student struggling with a rhythm it clears up as soon
as they count the rhythm out loud. Until they've absorbed it, often it falls apart
as soon as theystop counting. Count the rhythm, absorb and master it, then set
it free in your subconcious.

Traditional Rhythm Counting

Traditionally teachers teach you to count rhythms using numbers along with
some other words or sounds. You would count the beat 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1,
and so on. In-between you would fill in the word and for the eighth note
subdivisions of each beat. A measure of eighth notes would be counted aloud,
1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and.

Since this is how most people learn it, its a good idea to know it that way, too.
A musician might communicate to you, Play that B-flat on the and of 2. That
would mean to play it on the eighth note falling between beats 2 and 3.
 Similarly, 16th notes are traditionally counted 1-e-and-a-2-e-and-a-3-e-and-a-
4-e-and-a and so on dividing each beat into 4 syllables.

You might discover counting rhythms this way is a little awkward. You might run
out of breath. Many people teach rhythm counting another (in my opinion
better) way that is less awkward.

Counting Rhythms with Nonsense Syllables

To make vocalizing rhythms more comfortable, you can assign some simpler-to-
say nonsense syllables to each of the 1-e-and-as. I like to teach students to
divide each beat into 4 syllables I made up: doom-ba-tek-ah. Naturally, you
can make up your own syllables. Just be consistent and use ones that are
rhythmic and easy to vocalize.

Doom is the beat where you'd be counting 1, 2, 3, 4. Just vocalizing the beat
youd say, Doom-doom-doom-doom.

Tek is the and, or eighth note, between each beat. To count all eighth
notes youd say, Doom-tek-doom-tek-doom-tek-doom-tek.

Finally, you can add ba and ah for the 16th notes between the dooms
and teks. To count sixteenths youd say, Doom-ba-tek-ah-doom-ba-tek-ah-
doom-ba-tek-ah-doom-ba-tek-ah.

Practice Counting Rhythms

Find any music notation you can and count the rhythm out loud using the
appropriate nonsense syllables. Don't concern yourself with speed. Focus on
accuracy first. Use a metronome to pace yourself.

As you study more rhythms youll start to recognize their sound and feel from
the nonsense syllables you learned to vocalize. You'll see this really helps with
complicated and syncopated rhythms.

Count and vocalize those rhythms out loud!

Feeling the Eighth Note Subdivision

 The first place to start with subdivisions of the beat is learning to feel the
eighth note subdivision. Most music is in 4/4 time (see time signatures). That
means 4 beats per bar/measure and each beat equals 1 quarter note. If we
divide each of those quarter note beats in half, we get 8 eighth notes.

You need to learn to feel where those eighth note divisions fall and be able to
consistently play them. This requires knowing where the beat is, knowing where
the subdivisions are, and developing the technique to play them on your bass.

Playing Steady Eighth Notes

The first 8th note rhythmic skill to practice is playing a steady stream of eighth
notes. The notes need to be spaced evenly. The 'ands' should fall right between
the beats. You need to focus and practice a lot to achieve consistency. They
can't feel unsure or wobbly. Beginners often think they are playing evenly when
they arent. You might record yourself playing or ask others for feedback.

Playing the Upbeats

Next, you need to learn to feel these eighth note subdivisions when you're not
playing notes on the beat. This can be tricky for a lot of beginners. Again, get
some feedback from other people, a teacher, or record yourself. A lot of
beginning bassists don't realize they're playing the upbeats in the wrong place.
These upbeats should fall exactly between the click of the metronome. Don't
get turned around and start playing on the click. Pay attention. It'll groove
when it's right. Count out loud - "One-and-Two-and-Three-and-Four-and" and
pluck on the 'ands'. Or, count "doom-tek-doom-tek..." and play on the 'teks'.
The counting will really help you when you're starting out.

Alternate Notes on the Beat and on the Upbeat

Once you can play steady 8th notes and play the upbeats independently, you
can practice alternating one bar playing on the beat and one bar playing only
the upbeats. This will test whether you've got the concept or not. It should feel
free and easy when you play it.

Hit Any 8th Note Subdivision with Confidence

Another thing to practice is being able to play any of the 8th note subdivisions
by themselves. You want to be confident you know where each subdivision
lands. Pick one and practice it by itself.

Practice and Apply Your Rhythmic Skills

Once you can play these 8th note rhythmic skills consistently with the
metronome, try them without the metronome. Also, create your own basslines
applying upbeats.
 Don't forget, you can work on this anywhere. Feeling rhythm is internal; it's not
in your fingers so much as it is in your mind. Your mind tells your fingers what
to do just like it instructs your tongue to make certain sounds when you speak.
Work on your internal sense of rhythm as often as you can. It doesn't matter
what you can play if the rhythm isn't happening in your bass playing.

Getting Triplets All Wrong

Triplets are probably the most misunderstood rhythm for beginning musicians.
The most troublesome part is beginners often think they understand it when
they dont! Even if youre certain you understand triplets, you should go
through this lesson.

First, because this is where most people go wrong, I want to point out what
triplets arent before I explain what they are.

A triplet is not simply any grouping of three notes. Students are often confused
thinking that when 3 notes are played close together, or if they are beamed
together in written music, that they are triplets. Thats not necessarily so. A
triplet is a specific rhythm, not a note grouping.

What Are Triplets and

Eighth Note Triplets?
A TRIPLET is a rhythm
playing three notes
in the space of two.
That is, three evenly
spacednotes in the
space of two notes
of the same
rhythmic value.

The most common example is the 8th note triplet. An EIGHTH NOTE TRIPLET rhythm
is 3 notes played in the space of 2 eighth notes. You may find it easier to think
of the eighth note triplet as being 3 notes dividing a quarter note (since 1
quarter note = 2 eighth notes).

Other triplets exist, too. The next most common is the quarter note triplet.
A QUARTER NOTE TRIPLET is three notes dividing the space of two quarter notes
(the same space as a half note).

Again, a triplet is not just 3 notes grouped together, but a specific rhythm
consisting of three equally spaced notes.

Eighth Note Triplet

Notation
In music notation,
triplets are always
marked with the
number 3 over or
under the triplet
notes. Sometimes
triplets have a slur
 mark (an arc-shaped line), or they may have a bracket. Other times the 3 notes
are just beamed together with the number 3 written near the beam. All of
these forms of triplet notation mean the exact same thing.

Depending on what the music calls for, it's possible for one or two of the notes
to be a rest.

Counting 8th Note Triplets

There are lots of ways musicians count triplets. Theres no one correct way to
count triplets.

You might just say "trip ah let" for each triplet.

Or, you might count "1 Ah Lee 2 Ah Lee 3 Ah Lee 4 Ah Lee."

Or, "One Trip Let, Two Trip Let, "

Playing 8th Note Triplets

Its really important to learn to feel and play the 8th note triplet rhythm. You
will encounter it in most every style of music. The 8th note triplet is a essential
rhythmic element for many styles like blues, jazz, and a lot of rock.

A lot of people ask whether they need to pluck triplets with 3 fingers instead of
just two. Some people do that, but its certainly not necessary.

After playing steady 8th triplets comfortably, youll want to be able to go freely
between other rhythms and the triplets. As with everything, practice enough
and it will become automatic. No one can do it for you!

Shuffle And Swing Rhythms

There are two varieties of eighth note rhythms musicians use: straight eighth
notesand what are called shuffle eighth notes or swing eighth notes. Its
essential to know the difference and be comfortable playing either type of
eighth note.

What are Straight Eighth Notes?

If youve studied the eighth note subdivision lesson, youve already learned to
play straight 8th notes. STRAIGHT EIGHTH NOTES are 8th notes which evenly divide
each beat in half. Since theyre an even division, we call them straight.

Unless youre told to do otherwise, in most styles you are expected to play 8th
notes straight.

What is Shuffle Rhythm?

SHUFFLE RHYTHM is a specific 8th note rhythmic feel. It is based on triplet
subdivisions of the beat rather than on dividing each beat perfectly in half
(a.k.a. straight 8th notes). Its easiest to understand it by hearing it. It is a very
familiar rhythmic feel thats heard in rock, blues, and jazz.

Shuffle eighth notes alternate a long note and a short note. The long note falls
on the beat and the short one in-between on the upbeat.
 You are essentially playing the eighth note triplet, but not playing the middle
note of the triplet. You may think of the first two notes of the triplet as being
tied together or, just missing the middle note of the triplet.

What is Swing Rhythm?

People will say SWING RHYTHM is pretty much the same as shuffle rhythm. This is
more or less true. And, in the beginning you may as well think that way. To me,
I think of shuffle as rigidly based on the underlying triplet rhythm. Swing is
similar, but open to more interpretation. If you listen to different jazz
musicians, they all swing rhythms slightly differently. There's a lot of room for
subtle variation. Most people will tell you swing cannot be accurately notated,
only felt.

In jazz you're always expected to swing 8th notes unless it is a Latin tune (i.e.
Bossa Nova, Samba) where you use straight 8th notes. The swing rhythm is a
defining element of jazz.

Shuffle Rhythm Notation

Most of the time if a song uses
theshuffle feel it does it all
throughout the song. To make it easier
to read the notation the notes are
written just like straight eighth notes
appear. But, at the beginning of the
music it will tell you to interpret the
8th notes as shuffle eighth notes.

A common marking for shuffle 8th notes is a little equation written at the
beginning expressing 2 eighth notes are to be played like a triplet with the first
two notes tied. Or, the first two 8th notes of the triplet are written as a
quarter note. (See Shuffle Markings diagram.)

I'm sure you'll see why it is common

practice to notate shuffle rhythms this
way. In the Equivalent Shuffle
Notation diagram the two rhythms are
identical. By adding the shuffle
marking at the beginning of the music
we can avoid a busy mess of notes and
end up with an easier-to-read line of
music. It's also an easier way to think
of these rhythms in your head.

Another very common way of indicating shuffle or swing in music is by just

writing "shuffle" or "swing" at the beginning of the music. It might say something
like Medium-Tempo Shuffle, Fast Rock Shuffle, or "Up-Tempo Swing". How
easy is that?

What Are Scales?

A SCALE is a specific set of notes. Though the musical alphabet has only 12 notes,
those 12 notes can be grouped in many unique ways. Some scales use a group of
 5 of the 12 notes, others use 6 notes, many use 7, and others use 8 or more. As
a result, there are many, many scales available and used in music.

Scales Are a Tool

As a student of music you are learning to manipulate sound much like a sculptor
learns to manipulate stone or clay. A sculptor learns to use tools like chisels
and hammers used by sculptors of the past. Even though new tools can still be
created and used, the old, well-known tools work and continue to be used, too.

In music, scales are among the tools used to sculpt sound.

Why Do We Need Scales?

For centuries, musicians have grouped notes into scales. Every scale has its own
unique sound and musical purpose in the musical universe. Essentially, each
scale produces a distinct musical effect.

Depending on how a scale is used, it might produce musical tension, or it might

resolve musical tension. A scale can create harsh, discordant sounds, or create
soft, soothing sounds. A scale can sound exotic, or it can sound plain and simple.

Scales are simply a way of categorizing and identifying particular sounds found
in music. They help organize what you and others hear in music. Practicing
scales on bass will help you learn where to find particular sounds on the
fretboard and mentally organize your understanding of music.

Why Musicians Practice Scales

Many people before you have spent time studying music and the sound of
various note combinations. As music progresses this knowledge is passed along
in the form of music theory. Rather than working out all the sounds on your own,
you can use scales and other music theory to study the most common sounds
found in music and give yourself a head start. You dont have to learn this stuff,
but it sure makes learning music faster. And, thats why you learn scales and
practice them.

Ways To Know Scales

There are a number of different ways in which you can know a scale or any
other musical pattern. When I explain a scale or pattern, we will look at it in
several ways. The more ways in which you know and understand a scale, the
better off you will be.

Some of these ways of learning a musical pattern may take five minutes of
study, while other may take years. There is a lot to know. If it didn't take time
and effort,everybody would be a great musician! Be patient with yourself.

Lets look at these ways of knowing scales and other note patterns...

By Sound
Learning the sound a pattern makes is the most important thing to pick up.
After all, in music the sound is the final result we are seeking.
 For many people learning the sound a pattern makes is what takes the longest.
The more you play and practice, the more the sounds of music start popping
out at you. You have to listen to what you play and practice in order to absorb
it. Playing bass is not just about wiggling your fingers. It's about making sound.
Training your ear will be a big part of your musical development.

By Interval Construction
An interval is the distance between two notes. (See musical intervals.) Each
scale has its own unique pattern of intervals. This is really the key to each
scales sound. A scales intervallic makeup is what makes it sound the way it
does. The better you know intervals, the easier it will be to learn scales and
other patterns. Make sure you learn the basic musical intervals.

Off of Each Root Note

Any scale or pattern can be started on any one of the 12 notes of the musical
alphabet. For any pattern there are 12 possible root notes. For instance, there
are 12 major scales each built on one of musics 12 notes. There is a C major
scale, a C# major scale, a D major scale, and so on.

Sometimes the same scale can be named two different ways. For example, C#
major and Db major contain the same pitches. The difference is one uses sharps
to name the notes while the other uses flats. Eventually, you should know
scales like this both ways.

By Note Name
One important way of knowing a scale is by knowing the note names of the
notes within the scale. For example, you should learn that the C major scale
contains the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B.

Why would you want to know all the note names of a scale?! There are many
reasons. The main reason is it will help you find your way around the fretboard
a lot faster. It will make reading music easier. And, it will make improvising
easier.

Learning all the note names of scales might seem like an insane amount of stuff
to memorize. But, its only the first few scales that require some work. After
that youll experience the snowball effect of learning. Youll start to think, Oh,
this scale is just like the C major scale with only one different note. Most
scales are just one or two notes different from a few simple scales. So, dont
fear learning all of those note names for each scale. It keeps getting easier and
the payoff is huge. Ill be showing you some ways to memorize the note names
of scales as we progress.

By Finger Patterns
When you learn a scale you need to be able to physically play it and locate it on
the fretboard. All scales and note patterns form patterns on the bass fretboard.
Usually when people talk of learning scales, this is the part on which they focus.

Its critical to remember scales are not just finger patterns. Dont get trapped
in that frame of mind. Think of them as sound patterns. The finger patterns
merely help you access the sound of the scale or pattern. The scales you learn
would sound the same on other instruments, too.
 Learning musical patterns on string instruments has advantages and
disadvantages. The biggest obstacle is the many ways the same pattern can be
played. On piano there is one place to play one specific note. On a 4-string bass
there might be four. Its like stacking four piano keyboards on top of one
another. Think of the possible combinations of playing a group of 7 notes on 4
pianos.

Another problem with string instruments is the note names are not obvious. On
piano all C's look the same and are a breeze to find. On the bass fretboard
nothing distinguishes the individual notes. This makes learning the note names
more memory intensive.

One advantage of the bass is every pattern is movable up and down the
fretboard and on other strings. This makes the physical motions of playing each
scale or pattern easier to master and remember. However, this often becomes
a crutch for musicians and they often avoid learning patterns in the many other
ways I outlined above. Sometimes an advantage creates a disadvantage and vice
versa.

The Path of Least Resistance

For me, when I play my brain always takes the path of least resistance to get
me to the note Im imagining. Lets say I imagine the sound of the 3rd note of
the major scale Im playing in. If I know from memory its an E, I can find an E
on the fretboard. If I know where it is from a finger pattern, I might use that
route. If I know how far away the note is intervalically, I may find it that way.

Becoming Fluent
With practice all of this starts to happen with hardly a thought at all just like
when you speak any language with fluency. Its not as though youre thinking
about all of these aspects with every note you play. Youd go crazy. But, when
you are initially learning, all of these approaches help you get to that
instinctive, automatic state.

Learning music is similar to learning any task. Think about learning to drive a
car. You learned what cars do just from watching they go and stop. You see
other people use foot pedals to make a car go and stop. You learn the gas pedal
makes the car go and the brake pedal makes it stop. Then you learn to
sensitively use these pedals without even looking. It all becomes automatic.
You dont think about all of these fine points before you slam on the brakes to
avoid hitting a cat. You just do it because you know it. But, it took all of that
initial learning you don't even remember doing to get there. Now think how
much more complex driving is beyond the gas and brake pedal alone.

If you study the right things with enough consistent practice, the same
automatic behaviors and fluency will happen with music, too. But, you have to
do the work.

In Summary
I believe the more ways you learn about scale patterns, chord patterns, and
other note patterns, the better off you'll be and the more creative you'll be.
There are reasons why all of these musical concepts exist. Don't fear learning
them.
Scales Up and Down
Most of the time scales are thought of as a series of notes to be played up and
down from low to high and back. Scales are numbered using SCALE DEGREES. For
example, the scale degrees of a seven-note scale would be: Root, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
and 7.

A scale covering a one-octave range is often practiced up and down like this:

Root-2-3-4-5-6-7-Octave of root-7-6-5-4-3-2-Root

Thats the first way you should practice a scale. Its also a good idea to start on
the high note, go down and then back up to the high note.

Mixing Up Scales
In music, scales are rarely used going straight up and down. This is only a
starting point for getting comfortable with playing a scale and learning it.
Instead music uses the notes of scales in various combinations. Sometimes the
notes of scales get played in order; other times notes get skipped and
reordered. To really learn a scale you need to practice jumping from any one
note to any other note within the scale. Its important to practice scales not
only up and down, but in other patterns and combinations as well. Which brings
us to...

Scale Sequences
One of the best ways to practice scales is by practicing sequences. A SEQUENCE is
a repeated melodic pattern played on different notes. When practicing scalar
sequences you would play the melodic pattern off of each note of the scale.

For example, using a seven-note scale you could practice a 3-note sequence
like this:

Root-2-3 / 2-3-4 / 3-4-5 / 4-5-6 / 5-6-7 / 6-7-8

Here the sequence pattern is:

play three notes up the scale / go to the second note of the scale, play three
notes up the scale / go to the third note of the scale, and so on...

Or, you could practice skipping notes in the scale like this:

Root-3 / 2-4 / 3-5 / 4-6 / 5-7 / 6-8

You can create any pattern of any length and use it as a sequence to familiarize
and challenge yourself in playing a scale.

Practicing sequences not only gets your fingers familiar with the mechanics of
playing a scale, but they also help you learn to hear the scale. Youll find the
more ways in which you practice a scale, the more ideas youll have at your
fingertips.
 When you practice a scale, first learn to play it up and down. Then, try playing
the scale with various sequences. Ill be showing you sequence patterns along
the way. If you are confused about sequences, you will play and understand
them soon enough.

Practice All Over the Fretboard

You should practice scale patterns all over the fretboard. Any pattern you can
play in one area of the bass fretboard can be shifted to any other area of the
fretboard. Practice scales on the upper frets as much as on the lower frets.
When possible shift scale patterns to other strings, too.

An excellent way to slowly stretch out your fingers is to practice a scale

starting on the upper frets where they are closer together. Then, shift down a
fret, play the scale again. Progress until you reach the lower frets which are
further apart.

Experiment with the Scale

Finally, I always encourage you to play around with the notes of a scale and try
to create something with it. It doesn't even have to be good! Just treat it like
an exercise. Nothing helps you learn scales and patterns better than inventing
things using it. Don't be shy. The sooner you start creating, the sooner it'll
sound good.

One Octave Scales

I like to begin students by teaching them one-octave scales.

What is a One-Octave Scale?

A ONE-OCTAVE SCALE just means a scale spanning the range of one octave.
(See octaves.)

For example, a one-octave C major scale is:

C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C from one C to the next C an octave above.

Why Start with Only One-Octave?

Firstly, I like to do this because one-octave scales are easy to play and
memorize and are very usable right away. But, I also like to do this because it
gives you a good sense of the scales structure the notes in the scale and the
intervals used to build it.

One-octave scales also fit in with how I teach scales covering the entire
fretboard. The better you know the one-octave scale patterns, the easier
learning the scale all over the neck will be.

Scales Can Be Played Beyond One Octave?

Absolutely. Scales can be played across as many octaves as the range of your
instrument allows. Playing two-octave and three-octave scales on bass is
common to practice, too.

A two-octave C major scale would be:

 C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C from one C to a C two
octaves above.

Knowing the one-octave scale well will make learning larger scale patterns
easier.

Remember that scales are just a set of notes. If the note "B" is in a particular
scale's set of notes, then any note "B" on your bass is in that scale.

What is the Chromatic Scale?

The CHROMATIC SCALE consists of all 12 notes of the musical alphabet. A one-
octave chromatic scale is all 12 notes within a one-octave range.

Chromatic means from one note to the very next, or in half-steps. The
chromatic scale is constructed entirely of half-steps no notes are skipped.

Why Learn the Chromatic Scale?

You probably wont play this scale a lot outright, but all the other scales and
patterns you will learn and play will fit within it. It is much like learning the
periodic table of the elements in chemistry or the color wheel in art. You dont
use all of it at once, but in a sense you use it all the time.

Most importantly, learning the chromatic scale will help you understand the
way notes are arranged on the fretboard. That is the main reason I am
beginning with this scale.

A Note on Finger Positions

POSITION refers to where on the fretboard your first finger (index finger) is
located. Your other fingers should follow one-finger-per-fret from there.
(See fretting technique for bass.)

If you are in 1st position your first finger is on the 1st fret, 2nd finger on the
2nd fret, 3rd on the 3rd fret, and 4th on 4th fret.

In third position your first finger plays notes on fret 3, 2nd finger on fret 4, 3rd
finger on fret 5, and 4th finger on fret 6.

One-Octave Chromatic Scale Fingering in First Position

Using open strings while in first position makes the chromatic scale easy to play.
You play the open string, 1st fret, 2nd fret, 3rd fret, 4th fret, next open string,
1st fret, 2nd fret, and so on

Play the E chromatic scale as shown in the diagram. Make sure you finger it
one-finger-per-fret. Dont just use one finger!

Ascending the scale, you should play it in this order:

Open E, F, F#, G, G#,
Open A, A#, B, C, C#,
Open D, D#, E,
and then play it in reverse descending the E chromatic scale...
One-Octave Chromatic Scale Fingering in Other Positions
If you're not in first position using open strings, playing the entire chromatic
scale in one position requires some shifting. Without open strings, the
chromatic scale covers a span of 5 frets. Since you only have 4 fingers to use,
you will have to shift one fret up or down at some point. Dont stretch your
fingers shift your whole hand one fret over and then shift back to your
original position. You could hurt your hand stretching beyond four frets.

Play the G chromatic scale as shown in the diagram. Hover with your mouse
over the notes in the diagram to see my suggested fingering.

Ascending the scale, you should play it in this order:

G, G#, A, A#, (shift to next string and into 2nd position)
B, (shift back to 3rd position) C, C#, D, D#, (shift to next string and one fret
over to 2nd fret)
E, F, F#, G
Play it the same way backwards going back down to G.

You can use this fingering for any chromatic scale starting on any fret. You can
even move it up to the next string. (See the C chromatic scale example.)

You should practice it all over the fretboard using this fingering. Dont concern
yourself with playing it fast. Focus on accuracy, a good, clear tone, and smooth
shifting.

Why the Chromatic Scale is Important

The main thing I want you to get from learning the chromatic scale is visually
seeing the notes of the musical alphabet and how they flow across the strings of
the bass. This will aid you in learning all other patterns on the fretboard. The
chromatic scale is your entire note palette.

Chromatic Scale Details

Whole-step/half-step construction: H H H H H H H H H H H H

Intervallic construction: Root, m2, M2, m3, M3, P4, A4, P5, m6, M6, m7, M7, P8

C chromatic scale spelling: C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C

About Bass Chord Patterns

Understanding chords is a critical part of mastering the notes side of bass
playing (as opposed to the rhythm side). If you find yourself frustrated not
knowing what notes to play in an original bassline, its probably because you
dont know and understand chords.

Chords are essential. I urge you to be very thorough in reading this and other
lessons I add in this category.
What is a Chord?
A CHORD is a group of notes played together at the same time. Bassists dont
play chords as often as guitarists or pianists do. This is because playing several
low-pitched notes at the same time can sound muddy. Playing chords on bass
can sometimes fill up too much sonic space competing with the rest of the band.
It can be done, but must be done with care.

Instead of playing chords directly, bassists outline the notes of chords. Bassists
emphasize the individual notes that make up chords. By outlining the notes of
chords a bassist implies the sound of a particular chord.

I always explain to students its like guitarists say a whole word (e.g. dog),
while bassists spell it out (e.g. D O G). We get the same point across, but
in a different way.

To give you an example, a C major chord is created by playing a combination of

the notes C, E, and G at the same time. As a bass player I can create the
impression of a C major chord in the bassline by outlining the notes C, E, and G
individually. I could play them in order, repeat notes, change the order, etc. If I
played C-C-E-E-G-G-E-E, I would be implying the sound of a C major chord.

If you studied some of the common bass pattern lessons, youve already learned
some important notes that outline chords. The root, fifth, and seventh are all
notes from common chords.

Defining Chords, Arpeggios, and Chord Patterns

Since well be discussing chords and the notes within them a lot, we need to
make some clear definitions and distinctions between chords, arpeggios, and
chord patterns:

A CHORD is three or more different notes played at the same time.

An ARPEGGIO (pronounced ar-pay-zhee-oh) is the individual notes of a chord

played one after another. For example, a C major arpeggio is played C, E, G,
and C an octave higher. An arpeggio typically implies that the notes are
played in order from lowest to highest and often back down.

You will play and practice arpeggios up and down a lot. A healthier perspective
on thinking about chords and arpeggios is thinking about the notes as a specific
set of notes. I will usually refer to this set of notes as chord tones. CHORD
TONES are the individual notes that make up a particular chord. C, E, and G are
the chord tones for a C major chord. No order of notes from low to high is
implied when I say chord tones.

A CHORD PATTERN is a pattern of chord tones on the bass fretboard. I will start
you off with easy chord patterns and eventually teach them to you all over the
 fretboard.

Whats the Difference Between a Scale and a Chord Pattern?

I get asked this question a lot. Scales and chords are both specific groups of
notes, but there are a couple of important differences. The main difference is
the notes of a chord are played all at the same time. The notes of a scale are
not. It is possible (and common) to derive chords from the notes of scales.

Chords usually have fewer notes than scales. Most chords contain 3 or 4
different notes. Most scales contain 7 notes.

Why Learn Chord Patterns?

As a bass player your role is to support the sound of each chord. If you dont
know chord patterns, you cant fulfill your obligations. The better you know
your chord tones, the better youll be able to define the sound of each chord.
And, youll be able to do it more interestingly and creatively.

Dont Bassists Play Things Other Than the Notes of Chords?

Yes, they absolutely do. The key thing to understand is that chord tones are the
heart of a bassline. Other notes derived from scales, or chromatic notes, serve
to complement and embellish the chord tones. Without properly emphasizing
chord tones, you will end up with a weak bassline.

In Summary
If you havent guessed by now, studying chord tones is going to be a major part
of your studies as a bass player. The better you learn about chord tones, the
stronger your basslines will be. The stronger your basslines are, the more
people will want your bass playing services.

Chord Tones Are Primary

Many books and teachers have students focus on scales before teaching you
much about chords. In my opinion (and I'm not alone), this is a very backwards
approach to teaching and learning bass. I feel it's one of the biggest mistakes in
instructional material for bass.

Practicing scales and modes with no understanding of chord tones will lead you
to many dead ends in understanding music, the bass, and how to create your
own basslines. As a bassist, you need to give a lot of attention to studying chord
tones.

What Are Chord Tones?

 In case you're unfamiliar or unclear with the term, CHORD TONES are the
individual notes that, when played simultaneously, create a chord. Bass players
don't usually play several notes at the same time, but basslines are intimately
connected to the chord tones as I'll explain below.

My Main Point
In this article I really want to drive home one point:

Dont get too caught up in learning scales and modes before learning about
chord tones.

Dont misunderstand me. Scales are important, too. Theyre very important.
You need to learn about both to be an effective bassist and musician. You need
to learn how scales and chords interact and relate. Just remember that chord
tones are primary. Songs revolve around chords and chord progressions. Even
melodies, despite having scalar qualities, have a strong connection to chord
tones.

The better grasp you have of chord tones, the better you will understand all
other note patterns. I wish this wasn't such an oversight in instructional
material, but it is.

An Example of the Importance of Chord Tones

Ill give you an example of how I think many books and teachers misguide
students by only talking of the scales used in basslines rather than the chord
tones used in basslines.

One of the first basslines many books and teachers teach is the classic boogie-
woogie bassline. (We will fully learn this bassline when we discuss blues bass.)

The boogie-woogie bassline uses a two-bar pattern:

Often this bassline is explained as coming from the C mixolydian

scale/mode containing the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and Bb.

This explanation is not wrong; its just a bit incomplete. Sure enough, all the
notes of the bassline are contained within the scale. But, the explanation
misses the critical point of how the notes of the chord are the heart of the
bassline.

This bassline would be played on a C7 chord. The notes of a C7 chord are C, E,

G, and Bb. I've highlighted the chord tones in blue.
 The only note of the boogie-woogie bassline pattern not in the C7 chord is A.
The note A can be explained as coming from the mixolydian scale. The rest of
the line, however, purely emphasizes chord tones.

Since the bassists role is partly to outline chords, I think this is a large piece of
the puzzle to skip especially right at the beginning when you're trying to
learn what's important to study. Students excitedly think, "Hey, I need to learn
scales to make basslines!" Learning scales won't hurt you, but you need to learn
the chord tones first and then how the scales apply to them.

The reason the boogie-woogie bassline has been repeatedly used over the past
one hundred years or so and is still being used today is because it successfully
outlines the chord tones. That's what makes it a strong, supportive bassline.
You will notice the basslines and patterns that get used over and over always
have this trait in common. Don't just believe me. You should study, analyze,
and discover this in your favorite basslines.

A Common Bass Teaching Approach

As a learning bassist you will encounter a lot of instructional material telling
you: "Apply scale X when you see chord Y." What you'll discover when you try it
in a bassline is it'll often sound weak and wrong to your ears. The reason why is
because some of those scale notes like the 2nd, 4th and 6th aren't
supportive of the chord. If your original bassline sounds weak you are probably
underemphasizing the chord tones and overemphasizing scale tones. (Or else
your rhythm is off. That's a whole different problem.)

This approach is giving you the right notes, but it's also giving you some notes
that require special handling. That's not the way I teach and I hope you work
through my lessons and prove it to yourself.

So Why Is It Taught That Way?!

There are a couple of reasons why the scale teaching approach is often used.
Firstly, as I pointed out there is enough right about it that people eventually
work it out and never think to look at it differently. People then continue to
teach it to others the way they learned it.

Next, this approach of teaching scales works fine for most other instruments
like guitar and piano. As a result, it trickles down to bass teaching. But, bass is
a unique instrument playing a very critical role of supporting the chords. Other
instruments won't sound as weak if they don't support the chords as well.

In Summary
Both chords and scales are essential to learn to become an effective bass player
and musician. Effective bass players outline chords well. No matter what path
you take, your ear will eventually lead you to defining the chords in your
basslines anyway. Its what sounds right.

I feel its important that you not be misguided in your learning efforts. There's
no reason to delay your progress and point you in the wrong direction at the
start. Focus on chord tones. Youll have an easier time making sense of music
and the bass if you do.
What is the Major Scale?
The major scale is the scale on which most music is built and revolves around.
It is the scale most familiar to people. You may have heard someone sing Do,
Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do. This is the major scale.

The major scale contains seven different notes. When we talk about the major
scales notes they are identified as Root (R), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The numbers
used to identify the notes of a scale are called SCALE DEGREES. Scale degrees are
important to memorize whenever you learn a scale or pattern.

One Octave Major Scale Fingering

There are many ways to play the major scale on the bass fingerboard. The first
major scale fingering you should learn covers a four-fret span. This fingering
uses one-finger-per-fret and begins with your 2nd finger on the root note of the
scale. Your hand should not shift.

To play the scale going up, play the notes in order: Root, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, octave
of the root.

To play the scale going down, start on the high root note and reverse it: high
root, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, R.

This major scale fingering is very versatile. It can be moved around to anywhere
on the fretboard with the low root note on either the E-string or A-string. This
means you can play every major scale there is.

For example, to play a G major scale youd start the root on G. (See G Major
Scale diagram.)

Or, to play the D major scale youd start the patterns root on D. (See D Major
Scale diagram.)

You should practice the scale by playing it up and down and in all areas of the
fretboard.

Whole-Step/Half-Step Construction of the Major Scale

Scales are often described as a series of half- and whole-steps. We said
the chromatic scale was all half-steps. The major scale uses a combination of
whole- and half-steps.

The major scale is built with the whole-step and half-step series: W W H W W W
H

A half-step occurs between the 3rd and 4th notes of the scale, and again
between the 7th and octave root of the scale. All other notes are a whole-step
apart.

As an example, the C major scale contains the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and

finishes on C an octave higher. Half-steps occur between the 3rd and 4th notes
E and F, and between the 7th and octave notes B and C.
 The location of these half-steps plays a big role in the sound of the scale. No
other scale has this whole-step/half-step construction. It is what gives the scale
its uniqueness.

Intervallic Construction of the Major Scale

The major scale contains all the major and perfect intervals from the basic
musical intervals we discussed. Those are: M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, and M7. Again,
it is the only scale with this unique combination of intervals giving it its unique
sound.

Every major scale has its own unique set of notes, but with the same intervallic
structure. Since there are 12 notes in the musical alphabet, there are 12 unique
major scales. One major scale based on each of the 12 notes.

Why Learn the Major Scale?

The major scale is essential to learn for many reasons. Firstly, most songs
revolve around the notes of one particular major scale. The seven notes of the
major scale serve as a piece of musics main note palette.

If a piece of music is built around the C major scale, the melody and chords
would contain various combinations of the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B the
notes of the C major scale. We would say this piece of music is in the key of C
major.

Youll remember that one of your biggest responsibilities is to define the sound
of each chord played in the music. As you study music you will see that chords
and scales are linked in a number of ways. Knowing the scale will help with
knowing the related chords and vice versa.

Another important reason for learning the major scale is most of the other
common scales and patterns used in music are described in relationship to the
major scale.

For instance, another scales structure may be described as differing by one or

two notes from the major scale pattern. In that way the major scale serves as a
musical standard and reference point. Knowing the major scale well will make
learning and understanding all other scales and musical patterns much easier.

Yet a third reason is many other scales are directly derived from the major
scale. You will hear a lot of talk of the modes of the major scale. Modes will be
discussed more in future lessons. Just as a quick preview a mode is a scale
obtained by starting and ending on the other notes of a parent scale. For
example, the first mode of the C major scale is C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.
The second mode would be D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D the same notes but now
from D to D. Similarly, the other modes would be from E to E, from F to F, G to
G, and so on. There are seven modes for each major scale since there are seven
possible starting points (notes) in each major scale.
 Major Scale Details

Whole-step/half-step construction: W W H W W W H
Intervallic construction: Root, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7, P8
C major scale spelling: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C

What is a Triad?
A triad is a chord that contains 3 different notes. There are several types of
triads. Triads are the most basic chords and are very common in every style of
music.

What is a Major Triad?

The major triad is the most common triad. Its sound is often described as
simple, bright, and happy.

The MAJOR TRIAD is comprised of a root, major 3rd, and perfect 5th.
(See intervals.) We would refer to these notes simply as the root, third, and
fifth of the chord.

Another way of thinking about chord construction is to see them as different

combinations of major and minor 3rd intervals stacked on top of one another.
In this way a major triad is comprised of a major 3rd interval (root to the 3rd)
with a minor 3rd interval on top (3rd to the 5th).

The major triad is the only chord built from this unique combination of intervals.

Major Triad Pattern Fingering

There are, as with everything on the bass, numerous ways to play major triad
patterns on the fretboard. I will start you out with one simple, versatile
fingering. Later well come back and more thoroughly explore other fingering
possibilities.

This fingering (see the major triad diagram) begins with your 2nd finger on the
low root note. Play the third of the chord with your 1st finger, the fifth of the
chord with your 4th finger, and the high root note with your 4th finger.

12 Major Triads
The major triad pattern can be started on any of music's 12 notes. For a D
major triad, youd start the root note on D. Its notes would be D, F#, and A.

For a G major triad, youd make G the root note. Its notes would be G, B, and D.
There are 12 major triads all sharing the same structure, but containing
different notes.

Major Triad Notation

Chords have their own separate notation system called CHORD SYMBOLS. The
chord symbol for the major triad consists of just the root note of the chord.

For example, in written music a C major triad is notated C. An Eb major triad

is notated Eb.
 Someone may tell you, The chords for the verse are F, C, Bb, C. This means
the chords are an F major triad, C major triad, Bb major triad, and another C
major triad.

Chord symbols are written above the staff and notes of the written music. The
chord is written above the beat where the chord change takes place. This is
most often beat 1. But, chords can change anywhere within the measure.

Applying the Major Triad

When you come across a major triad in a song, your role is to provide a
foundation for its sound. You can do this by emphasizing the notes of the major
triad pattern.

Many basslines emphasize the notes of the major triad by simply going up and
down the notes of the triad.

When creating a bassline the notes of the triad do not need to be played in any
particular order. And, you dont necessarily need to play all of the triads notes
to imply its sound. For instance, you might only play the root and the third.

Any of the notes of the triad can be repeated in your bassline, too. You might
play a root, 3 fifths, and 1 third in your line.

Even more is possible with where you place the notes rhythmically. Most often
basslines emphasize the root of the chord on beat 1. Everything else is open
territory.

Even though the triad only contains 3 notes, it is ripe with possibilities. When
you combine all of the possible ways of ordering and repeating the notes along
with the rhythmic possibilities for placing the notes, you will realize the
possibilities are infinite. Experiment and try to create your own basslines
outlining the notes of any major triad or a series of them.

Major Triad Details

Chord symbol notation: C

C major triad spelling: C, E, G
Intervallic construction: Root, M3, P5
Thirds construction: M3, m3
What is a Seventh Chord?
If you read the major triad pattern lesson, you should remember a triad
contains three notes a root, a 3rd, and a 5th. A SEVENTH CHORD contains four
notes a root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th.

There are several varieties of seventh chords. When notated, chord symbols for
seventh chords have the number 7 in them somewhere. Emaj7, E7, E7+ are all
different types of seventh chords. The first seventh chord we will look at is the
major seventh chord.

What is a Major 7th Chord?

A MAJOR 7TH CHORD is the same as the major triad plus one more note the 7th.
This 7th is a major 7th above the root. (See intervals.) The intervallic
construction of the major 7th chord is root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, and major
7th.

Building the chord from stacked thirds is the same as the major triad plus
another major 3rd. The root to the 3rd is a major 3rd. The 3rd to the 5th is a
minor 3rd; and the 5th to the 7th is a major 3rd.

Since this chord has four notes in it, it is a little denser and fuller sounding. The
major seventh chord has a bright, pretty sound to it.

You will come across this chord a lot in jazz. You will also run into it in rock and
other pop music. Since it has a prettier sound, it sees less use in heavier styles,
blues, and funk. Its not forbidden however.

Depending on the style, this chord is less common than other seventh chords we
will learn, but it will help you understand those chords and their construction
better. Its good to learn, and its easy.

Major 7th Pattern Fingering

Just as with the major triad pattern, we're going to explore one versatile
fingering first. Fingering the major 7th chord pattern is easy if you learned the
major triad. All you do is add the 7th to the major triad pattern. For this
fingering use your 3rd finger to play the 7th. The 7th of the chord is always a
half-step below the root.

Just as with all patterns, you can move the major 7th pattern anywhere on the
fretboard. It can be built on any of the 12 notes of the musical alphabet.

Major 7th Notation

Major 7ths are most often notated with the chord symbol maj7. A major 7th
built on the root C would be notated Cmaj7.

You may see other chord symbols, too. Sometimes you will see M7 where the
capital M stands for major. This is a poor symbol since it can be easily confused
with a lowercase m used for minor. Avoid writing this way. Other times you
might see a triangle followed by a 7 like C7. This is also hard to read and
should be avoided.
Applying the Major Seventh Chord
The 7th of the major 7th chord is not a very supportive, foundational note. Its
not a note you would typically sustain through the entire chord in a bassline.
Instead, you will more often use this note in passing while supporting the sound
of the base major triad.

Often times you might not play the 7th of this chord at all in your bassline.
Usually the other instruments in the group will play the 7th in their parts to
create the sound of the major 7th chord even if you just stick to the basic triad.

Major 7th Details

Chord symbol notation: Cmaj7, [also CM7 and C7]

C major 7th spelling: C, E, G, B
Intervallic construction: Root, M3, P5, M7
Thirds construction: M3, m3, M3

What is a Dominant 7th Chord?

The dominant 7th chord is the most common type of seventh chord you will
encounter in music. It is used extensively in every style Classical, blues, jazz,
rock, R&B, funk you name it.

If youve studied the major 7th chord pattern, the dominant 7th is different by
only one note the 7th. The dominant 7th chord uses a flatted 7th; that is, it
uses a 7th which is a half-step lower than the 7th used in the major 7th chord.
It is a major triad with the addition of a flatted 7th. You should recognize this
as the same 7th we used in the root-5th-flat 7th pattern in the common bass
patterns category.

Dominant 7th Chord Construction

Intervallically the dominant 7th chord contains a root, major 3rd, perfect 5th,
and aminor 7th. (See intervals.)

The stacked thirds construction is a major 3rd (root to the 3rd), plus a minor
3rd (3rd to the 5th), plus a minor 3rd (5th to the 7th).

Dominant 7th Chord Pattern Fingering

Again, we will start with one common fingering for the dominant 7th chord
pattern even though there are many other ways of playing it. If you know the
major 7th chord pattern fingering, you only need to change one finger to
account for the flatted 7th. You should play the flatted 7th with your 2nd finger.

Finger the dominant 7th pattern this way:

Root (2nd finger)

3rd (1st finger)
5th (4th finger)
Flat 7th (2nd finger)
Octave of the root (4th finger)
The Dominant 7th Chord Symbol
The chord symbol for a dominant 7th is simply the chords root followed by the
number 7.

For example, a C dominant seventhchord is notated C7. Its notes would be C-

E-G-Bb.

An Ab dominant 7this notated Ab7. Its notes would be Ab-C-Eb-Gb.

When a musician says a chord is a seventh chord they are almost always
implying it is a dominant 7th chord. Otherwise they will specify if it is some
other type of seventh chord (e.g. major seventh, diminished seventh, etc.). A
musician would say the above chords' names as "C seven" and "A flat seven"
when communicating to other musicians.

The Sound of the Dominant Seventh Chord

The sound of the dominant 7th chord is often described as tense, dissonant, and
maybe even harsh. Its this sound that makes it especially useful in blues, jazz,
rock, and funk. Again, you will come across this chord everywhere.

The tense sound of this chord comes from the discordant relationship between
the third and seventh.

You may recognize the sound of the riff to the song Pretty Woman as outlining
the notes of the dominant 7th chord. [Play: Root-Root-3-5-b7] Notice the
tension produced by the sound of the flat 7.

The Power of the Dominant 7th Chord

In the world of chords the dominant 7th chord commands a lot of power. As you
study more about harmony you will recognize this chord creates a lot of tension
that has a tendency to drive the music in certain directions. The dominant 7th
strongly directs the music towards other chords. Other times this tension is
used to produce a constant unresolved state as is common in funk. Many funk
songs stick to one dominant 7th chord all the way through.

Since a big part of music is about taking the listener somewhere, knowing how
to use this chord well and understanding its place in music is a critical part of
playing and creating music and playing the bass.

Applying the Dominant 7th Chord Pattern

The sound of the dominant sevenths flatted 7th is a very strong sound. It is
very common for basslines to emphasize the sound of the flatted 7th when the
band is playing this chord.

Similar to the other chord patterns weve looked at, you can practice the
dominant 7th pattern up and down each fret and all over the fretboard of your
bass.
 Dominant 7th Details

Chord symbol notation: C7

C dominant 7th spelling: C, E, G, Bb
Intervallic construction: Root, M3, P5, m7
Thirds construction: M3, m3, m3

What is the Mixolydian Mode?

The Mixolydian mode is one of the most commonly used scales in music. It is the
fifth mode of the major scale.

A mode, you may remember from the major scale lesson, is a scale derived
from another scale. The mixolydian scale starts on the 5th note of the major
scale and ends on the fifth note. For instance, the C major scale is C, D, E, F, G,
A, B, and C. The fifth note of C major is G. Therefore the 5th mode of C
major is G mixolydian: G, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its the same group of notes
only starting and ending on G, the 5th.

The structure of the mixolydian mode is only different from the major scale by
one note the 7th. Compared to the major scale the mixolydian mode has
a flatted 7th.

The scale degrees are R, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and b7.

Although it is only the difference of one note, the overall sound of the scale is
very different. You will notice the sound of this scale contains tension and feels
unresolved. Its like a grittier version of the major scale.

Whats with the Funny Name?

The scales name is pronounced mix-OH-li-DEE-an. The modes of the major
scale were given Greek names. Ancient Greece is the birthplace of scale theory
and acoustics. If youre interested you might read up on the
philosopher/mathematician Pythagoras.

Whole-Step/Half-Step Construction of the Mixolydian Mode

Like all scales, this scale has its own unique whole- and half-step construction.
Remember, a half-step is from one note to the very next. A whole-step is two
half-steps. The mixolydian scale goes W W H W W H W. That is, there is a half-
step between the 3rd and 4th notes and a half-step between the 6th and 7th
notes of the scale. Everything else has a whole-step between them. Remember,
this is the only scale with this configuration of whole-steps and half-steps.

Intervallic Construction of the Mixolydian Mode

The intervals for the mixolydian mode are M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, m7, and P8. The
only difference compared to the major scale is the 7th is now minor 7th rather
than major 7th.

One Octave Mixolydian Mode Fingering

To play the most common mixolydian mode fingering, just lower the 7th note of
the major scale pattern you already learned by a half-step. Just as with any
 scale or chord pattern, you can play this pattern anywhere on the bass
fretboard. In the diagrams you can see two examples - one on C and the other
on G. You can start this scale on any note.

Applying the Mixolydian Mode

The most common chord to which the mixolydian mode is applied is
the dominant 7th chord. If you take the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th of the
mixolydian scale, youll see this gives you a dominant 7th chord. For a C
mixolydian scale, the associated chord would be a C7 chord. For a G mixolydian
scale, the related chord would be a G7 chord.

The mixolydian scale works with the V chord (see diatonic chords in
the harmony section), since it starts on the fifth note of the key. In this way,
the mixolydian scale is said to go along with the V chord in a major key. Later
we'll discuss modes applied to chords more thoroughly.

The mixolydian scale will work a lot of the time on dominant 7th chords
especially in rock, blues, funk, soul, and R&B. Keep in mind that this is not
the only scale you can apply to the dominant 7th chord (especially when it
comes to jazz). There are many others! I stress this because I see a lot of books
and lessons that, to beginners, make it seem like this scale always fits every
dominant 7th when it doesnt. As usual, it always comes down to what sounds
best, not what you might think is theoretically correct.

Chord Meets Scale

It's essential that you don't forget your role of defining the notes of each chord
by stressing the chord tones. If you overemphasize the non-chord tones in the
scale, you will confuse the sound of the chord to peoples' ears. Instead think of
the scale tones 2, 4, and 6 as a way to "melodicize" the notes of the chord R, 3,
5, and flat 7. This is really critical to building effective basslines! You can play
the "correct" scale until you're blue in the face, but it'll sound weak if you're not
stressing the essential chord tones.

Mixolydian Mode Details

Whole-step/half-step construction: W W H W W H W
Intervallic construction: Root, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, m7, P8
C mixolydian scale spelling: C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C

What is the Major Pentatonic Scale?

Penta means five. A pentatonic scale is a five-tone scale. The major
pentatonic scale is the most common pentatonic scale. This 5-note scale is
found in virtually every style of music.

This scale is very versatile, is easy to play on the bass, and contains a very
pleasing-to-hear group of notes. Thats why it is such a commonly used scale.

Whole-Step/Half-Step Construction of the Major Pentatonic Scale

Many times scales are described as a series of half-steps and whole-steps. We
said the chromatic scale contained only half-steps, and the major scale uses a
 combination of whole- and half-steps. The major pentatonic scale is different
since it contains a step-and-a-half between two pairs of notes in the scale. This
helps create its unique open, airy sound.

The major pentatonic scale contains no half-steps. Starting on any note, it is

built from the series: W, W, step-and-a-half, W, step-and-a-half.

Intervallic Construction of the Major Pentatonic Scale

The major pentatonic scale is constructed of the intervals M2, M3, P5, and M6.
This intervallic construction is unique to this scale. This scale can be built on
any note of the musical alphabet. As a result there are 12 major pentatonic
scales.

A one-octave C major pentatonic scale is spelled C, D, E, G, A, and C an octave

above. Thats five different notes dont count the root twice.

One Octave Major Pentatonic Scale Fingering

You will notice the major pentatonic shape and fingering is similar to the one-
octave major scale pattern. The major pentatonic scale can be most easily
remembered as a major scale missing two of its seven notes the 4th and the
7th.

Just as with the major scale pattern, you can play this fingering anywhere on
the fretboard.

Begin your fingering on your 2nd finger and apply the one-finger-per-fret rule:

Root with your 2nd finger

2 with your 4th finger
3 with your 1st finger
5 with your 4th finger
6 with your 1st finger
8 with your 4th finger

Why Learn the Major Pentatonic Scale?

You will run into and use this scale a lot. You might use it more often than any
other scale. It works very well in basslines and many melodies use the major
pentatonic scale. This is a must learn scale.

Major Pentatonic Scale Usage

When applied in the most common way, this scale has a simple, bright sound to
it, and works well over many major chords. You should notice that three of the
five notes are the notes of the major triad. That is why this scale often
complements and is played over major triads. It also often works over
the major 7th and dominant 7th chords. It can also be applied to some other
chords we have yet to discuss like the major 6th chord (R, 3, 5, 6) and the
major 6 9 chord (R, 3, 5, 6, 9).

When creating your own basslines you always have to use your ear to judge
when applying a scale to a chord works and when it doesnt. Hopefully youve
read chord tones are primary. In a way the major pentatonic scale is a slightly
 modified major triad. I think the popularity of this scale is more evidence
that chord tones are the real key to understanding music. Youll notice most
basslines applying the major pentatonic scale still heavily emphasize the basic
underlying major triad. Dont get too caught up in scales without first knowing
the chords they complement.

Also, notice the major pentatonic's similarities to the root-fifth-sixth pattern in

the common bass patterns section.

Major Pentatonic Scale Details

Whole-step/half-step construction: W W 1-1/2 step W 1-1/2 step

Intervallic construction: Root, M2, M3, P5, M6, P8
C major pentatonic scale spelling: C, D, E, G, A

What Is the Difference Between Major and Minor?

The difference between major and minor chords and scales boils down to a
difference of one essential note the third.

The third is what gives major-sounding scales and chords their brighter,
cheerier sound, and what gives minor scales and chords their darker, sadder
sound.

What Do You Mean by Third?

If youve spent any time studying a few scales you should know many scales
contain seven different notes. For example, the major scale contains a Root,
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th.

Similarly, most chords and arpeggios usually contain 3 or 4 different notes like a
Root, 3rd, and 5th (triads), or a Root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th (seventh chords).

All of these scales and chords contain that important note the 3rd in them.
Compared to major scales and chords, minor scales and chords have different
3rds.

How Are the Thirds Different?

If youve studied the basic intervals that are the building blocks of all scale and
chord patterns, you should remember there were two types of thirds major
thirds and minor thirds. A minor 3rd is one note lower than a major 3rd.

Here is an example of a major 3rd (C to E) and a minor 3rd (C to Eb)

All major-sounding scales and chords contain major 3rds while all minor-
sounding scales and chords contain minor 3rds.

Understanding Flatted Thirds

To flat a note means to lower it by one note. Since the minor third is always
one note lower than the major third, we often describe the minor third as
a FLATTED 3RD.
 That does not mean the minor 3rd must be spelled with a flat letter name. For
example, these intervals all form minor thirds: A to C, A# to C#, D to F, C to Eb,
Bb to Db, and many others. A flat third can be spelled with any letter of the
musical alphabet whether its a natural note name, flat note name, or sharp
note name.

Remember, its the distance between the notes that forms the interval and its
unique sound. (Please review intervals if you are still confused on this. Intervals
are essential to understanding scale and chord construction.)

Lets compare a few examples of major and minor scales and chords:

The Difference Between the Major and Natural Minor Scale

An A Major Scale is spelled: A B C# D E F# G# (A).
An A Natural Minor Scale is spelled: A B C D E F G (A).

Notice the third of the major scale (C#) is one note lower in the minor scale (C).
Again, flatting the third makes the scales third a minor third interval instead of
a major third. This gives them their major and minor sound qualities.

You will notice there are actually three different notes between a major scale
and a natural minor scale which start on the same note. While there are 3
different notes, the essential note giving these scales their major or minor
sound quality is the 3rd. As you continue studying scales you will learn there are
many different major-sounding scales (e.g. Major, Major Pentatonic, Mixolydian,
Lydian) and many different minor-sounding scales (e.g. Natural Minor, Harmonic
Minor, Melodic Minor, Minor Pentatonic). Regardless of what other notes differ,
it is the 3rd that gives a scale its "major-ness" or "minor-ness".

The Difference Between Major and Minor Chords

A C Major Triad is spelled: C E G.
A C Minor Triad is spelled: C Eb G.

Notice the third of the minor triad is one note lower, or flatted as we
musicians say. Flatting the 3rd creates a minor 3rd interval giving the minor
triad its minor sound.

Dont Overextend Your New Knowledge of Major and Minor

Dont start thinking that minor-type scales only contain minor intervals and
major-type scales only have major intervals. Thats not strictly true. Its the
third that sets major and minor apart. The other intervals that build scales and
chords can and will be a mixture of major, minor, and perfect intervals.

For instance, remember the dominant 7th chord? It contained a major 3rd,
perfect 5th, and minor 7th. Despite having a minor 7th, this chord has a major-
sounding quality to it because it has a major 3rd.

Summarizing the Difference Between Major and Minor

Major-type scales and chords contain major 3rds. Minor-type scales and chords
have minor 3rds (a.k.a. flatted 3rds).
 As you learn various scales and chord patterns on your instrument, pay
particular attention to each pattern's third. You will soon recognize the
difference between 3rds and flat 3rds and the sound of major versus minor.

What is the Natural Minor Scale?

The natural minor scale is one of musics most commonly used scales. Like
the major scale, many songs revolve around the notes of the natural minor
scale. When this happens we say the music is in a minor key. For example, if a
song is said to be in the key of G minor it means the song is built using, and
revolves around, the notes of the G natural minor scale.

The natural minor scale is a seven-note scale (dont count the octave). Like the
major scale it contains a Root (R), 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th.

Natural Minor vs. Major

For reference, musicians often talk about scales in how they compare to the
major scale. The natural minor scale differs from the notes of the major scale
by three notes. In the natural minor scale the 3rd, 6th, and 7th scale degrees
are all a half-step lower than they are in the major scale. We would then say
the natural minor scale has a flatted 3rd, flatted 6th, and flatted 7th.

Root 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

C Major Scale: C D E F G A B

C Natural Minor Scale: C D Eb F G Ab Bb

One Octave Natural Minor Scale Fingering

All scales and patterns can be played many different ways on the bass fretboard.
The first fingering to learn for the one octave natural minor scale is fairly easy.
This fingering covers a four-fret span. You will want to use one finger per fret
to cover the four-fret range. Be very consistent with your fingerings for any
scale or pattern you learn. You will advance more quickly if you always use the
exact same fingering.

Most of the easier minor scale and chord pattern fingerings begin on your first
finger. The initial major patterns you've probably already learned and practiced
(major scale, major triad, etc.) begin on your second finger. Starting on finger
one may take some getting used to, so pay attention. This fingering works
anywhere on the fretboard of the bass when begun on the E-string or A-string.

To finger the natural minor scale, begin on the E-string or A-string and play
fingers 1, 3, 4. Shift to the next higher string, play 1, 3, 4. Shift one string
higher and play 1 and 3. To descend the scale, play the same fingering
backwards.

Whole-Step/Half-Step Construction of the Natural Minor Scale

To understand the next two sections, be sure you have studied the basic
musical intervals.
 Most scales are often described as a series of half- and whole-steps. You should
remember a half-step is the smallest musical interval and a whole-step is equal
to two half-steps.

The natural minor scale whole-step/half-step construction is: WHWWHWW

The location of the two half-steps between the 2nd and 3rd degrees, and the
5th and 6th degrees, is what gives the natural minor scale its unique sound. It is
the only scale that has this unique series of whole-steps and half-steps.
Compare it to the major scales whole-step/half-step construction.

Intervallic Construction of the Natural Minor Scale

Another way of looking at a scales construction is the intervals between the
root and each of the other notes in the scale.

The natural minor scale is constructed with the intervals: M2, m3, P4, P5, m6,
m7, and P8.

This is the only scale using this unique set of intervals.

12 Natural Minor Scales

You can build the natural minor scale on any of musics 12 notes. That means
there are a total of 12 natural minor scales.

Why Learn the Natural Minor Scale?

Much like the major scale, the notes of the natural minor scale serve as basis
for many, many songs. When a song is in a minor key, the notes making up the
songs chords, melody and bassline mostly come from the natural minor scale.
As a bassist, its critical for you to properly define the key and the chords of a
piece of music. The better you know and understand the natural minor scale,
the better youll be able to do this in minor key songs.

Natural Minor Scale Details

Whole-step/half-step construction: W H W W H W W
Intervallic construction: Root, M2, m3, P4, P5, m6, m7, P8
C natural minor scale spelling: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C

What is a Minor Triad?

After the major triad, the minor triad is the next most common chord youll
encounter in music. It is one of the four basic triads, or three-note chords,
found in music.

The minor triad is constructed with a root note and the intervals of a minor
third and perfect fifth. (See intervals.)

If you look at the minor triad as a pair of stacked thirds, youd have a minor
third interval from the root to the third and a major third interval from the 3rd
to the 5th.
The Minor Triad vs. the Major Triad
The minor triad differs from the major triad by one note the third. The minor
triad has a flatted, or lowered, third. The three notes of a minor triad are then
described as: root, flat 3rd and 5th.

Again, flat third means it is one note lower than the third of a major
triad not that it is spelled with a flat note name. The flat third could be spelled
with any possible note in the musical alphabet. For instance, an A major triad is
spelled A C# E. If you flat the third you get A C E an A minor triad. The C is a
flat third in comparison to the C#.

The flatted third of the minor triad gives this minor chord its darker, sadder
sound.

Minor Triad Fingering

The easiest and first fingering you should learn for the minor triad starts with
your first finger on the low root note. Using a one-finger-per-fret position play
the flat 3rd with your 4th finger on the same string. Be sure to reach all the
way to the fret with your 4th finger to avoid fret buzz. (See the fretting
lesson.) Play the fifth and high root note with your third finger.

Hey, Those Roots and Fifths Look Familiar!

If youve studied my lesson on the root and fifth pattern you might now
understand why that pattern is so useful and universal. Its useful because,
whether a chord is a major triad or a minor triad, the root and fifth are the
same. That covers musics two most common chords (not to mention many,
many others that also have the same root and fifth pattern).

12 Minor Triads
Just as with the major triad, there are twelve minor triads, too. You can build a
minor triad on each of the 12 notes we use in music.

If you wanted to play a G minor triad youd play the pattern starting on the
note G. It would contain the notes G, Bb and D. Starting on an E root note gives
you an E minor triad. It would be spelled E, G and B.

You can shift this pattern all over the fretboard to start on any note giving you
all 12 minor triads.

Minor Triad Notation

The chord symbol for a major triad was just its root note like E for an E major
triad or D for a D major triad. All other chords have a suffix attached to the
root note to describe what type, or quality, of chord it is.

The most common chord symbol for a minor triad is the root note followed by a
lower case m. An A minor triad is notated Am. A C# minor triad would be
notated C#m.

An alternate chord symbol meaning the same thing is the root followed by a
dash (-). For instance, A- or C#-. This can be hard to read in low light situations
and I encourage you to not write it like this.
 Other common minor chord symbols are a root followed by mi or min. Both
of these are common and easy to read since they unmistakably mean minor.

You will run into all of these variations that mean the same thing a plain old
minor triad. Choose the suffix you like best when writing your own chord charts.
Always strive to make them clear and legible.

Applying the Minor Triad

In some songs youll encounter only minor chords. But, most times youll
encounter a combination of major and minor chords throughout the course of a
song.

Just as with the other chords found in this section, you can construct very
supportive basslines by outlining and emphasizing the notes of the chord. The
chord tones are always the main notes to emphasize.

Though this rule can be and often is broken, in the early stages of crafting
basslines you will want to emphasize the chords root on beat one of the bar.
You wont ever go wrong doing that. From there you can mix up the other notes
of the chord however you like.

Minor Triad Details

Chord Symbol Notation: Cm, C-, Cmi, Cmin

C minor triad spelling: C, Eb, G
Intervallic construction: Root, m3, P5
Thirds construction: m3, M3

What is a Minor 7th Chord?

Seventh chords, as weve seen with the major 7th and dominant 7th, contain 4
different notes a root, 3rd, 5th and 7th.

The minor 7th chord is the most common minor-type seventh chord youll come
across. Its used frequently in rock, funk, jazz, and most everywhere else.

Many times youll find minor 7ths as the main, foundational chords when youre
in a minor key. More often youll see them, like minor triads, mixed among
other types of chords.

Minor Seventh Chord Construction

The minor 7th chord just adds a minor 7th interval, or flatted 7th, to the minor
triad pattern of root, 3rd and 5th. (See intervals.) The minor 7th is built with a
minor 3rd, a perfect 5th and a minor 7th.

If you examine the thirds construction of the minor 7th, youll see it is built
from stacking a minor third (root to 3), major third (3 to 5) and minor third (5
to 7) on top of any root note.

Minor 7th Chord Pattern Fingering

 If youve learned to finger the minor triad, you only need to add one more note
with your first finger to play the minor 7th pattern.

Play:

Root (1st finger)

b3 (4th finger)
5th (3rd finger)
b7th (1st finger)
Octave root (3rd finger)

Be mindful of reaching all the way to the fret with your 4th finger on the flat
3rd. The tendency is to not reach and get some fret buzz.

Minor 7th Chord Symbols

The chord symbol for a minor 7th chord simply adds the number 7 to the minor
triad chord symbol. A minor 7th built on the root note C would be notated Cm7.

Just as with the minor triad, there are a number of other suffixes indicating
minor. The minor 7th may also be indicated by C-7, Cmi7 or Cmin7. These all
mean the same thing. Again, Im not a fan of the dash because it can be hard to
see (and I have pretty good eyesight).

Applying the Minor 7th Chord

You can use this pattern much like the other chord patterns. Remember to
emphasize the notes of the chord when you create basslines.

A lot of times you can use this chord pattern over a plain old minor triad
without disrupting the basic minor sound being played by the rest of the band.
Even though the triad doesnt have a 7th, it can still work. Follow what sounds
good.

Minor 7th Details

Chord Symbol Notation: Cm7, C-7, Cmi7, Cmin7

C minor 7th spelling: C, Eb, G, Bb
Intervallic construction: Root, m3, P5, m7
Thirds construction: m3, M3, m3

What is the Minor Pentatonic Scale?

The minor pentatonic scale is one of the most used scales found in all styles. It
is used heavily in rock, blues, jazz and funk.

The scale contains 5 notes (dont count the octave). It is a minor-sounding scale
because of its flatted third. Remember, the flatted 3rd is what makes chords
and scales have a minor quality.

This scale is popular because it is easy to play falling comfortably under your
fingers. And, its sound is very pleasing. The notes of the scale go together so
 well its hard to play something bad with them. (Unless your rhythm needs work,
of course.)

Whole-Step/Half-Step Construction of the Minor Pentatonic Scale

Part of the open-sounding nature of this scale comes from its whole- and half-
step series construction. The minor pentatonic scale has no half-steps. It is only
made up of whole-step and step-and-a-half intervals.

Starting on any root note the scale is built: 1-1/2 W W 1-1/2 W

Intervallic Construction of the Minor Pentatonic Scale

The intervals for the minor pentatonic scale are Root, m3, P4, P5, m7, and P8.

If youve learned the minor 7th chord pattern, youll notice this scale only has
one note in addition to the minor 7th chord the 4th.

One Octave Minor Pentatonic Scale Fingering

One of the most common fingerings for the minor pentatonic scale starts on
your first finger. Play:

Root 1st finger

Flat 3rd 4th finger
4th 1st finger
5th 3rd finger
Flat 7th 1st finger
Octave 3rd finger

Applying the Minor Pentatonic Scale

The minor pentatonic scale is most easily applied over minor triads and minor
7th chords with the same root. You should notice that the minor pentatonic
scale contains the notes of both of these chord patterns (Root, flat 3rd, 5th and
flat 7th). Sharing notes in common is what makes this scale complementary to
these types of chords. In nearly any style this scale should sound good played
over these minor chords.

In my customary style I always have to point out how chords need to come
before scales in your thinking as a bassist. This minor pentatonic scale is really
a minor 7th chord with an extra note (the 4th). The reason this scale is so
strong sounding and gets used so much is because its doing the chord-
emphasizing for you. Unfortunately, since its a scale it gets beginners
thinking scales are where its at, rather than chord patterns. Study your bass
chord patterns!

The minor pentatonic scale can also be applied over dominant 7th chords. We'll
examine this concept in future lessons. Playing the minor pentatonic over a
dominant chord results in a bluesy sound found often in rock, blues, funk and
jazz. This bluesy sound comes from the clash of the scales minor 3rd played
over the dominant chords major 3rd. Many times it is the bass player who
holds down the dominant sound while a soloist (guitar, piano, etc.) applies the
minor pentatonic sound. But, bassists get to do it in riffs, solos and fills, too.
 Since the minor pentatonic scale can be applied over minor chords and
dominant 7th chords, it should be no surprise it is so widely used. Rock, blues,
jazz and funk all make heavy use of minor and dominant chords and, as a result,
the minor pentatonic scale.

Minor Pentatonic Scale Details

Whole-step/half-step construction: 1-1/2, W, W, 1-1/2, W

Intervallic construction: Root, m3, P4, P5, m7, P8
C minor pentatonic scale spelling: C, Eb, F, G, Bb, C

What is the Minor Blues Scale?

The minor blues scale is a very common scale used in blues, rock, jazz and funk.
Although this scale has its origins in the blues, thats not the only place youll
encounter it. Its often used for rock riffs, funk grooves, bass fills and solos. Of
the beginning scales I teach to students, this is always a favorite due to its
distinct sound.

The minor blues scale is a six-note scale (not counting the octave). If youve
studied the minor pentatonic scale, you will see the minor blues scale is the
same scale with only one added note the flatted 5th.

Whole-Step/Half-Step Construction of the Minor Blues Scale

The construction of the minor blues scale is very unique. It contains half-steps,
whole-steps and step-and-a-half intervals. Few scales do that.

From any root note the minor blues scale is built: 1-1/2 W H H 1-1/2 W

Intervallic Construction of the Minor Blues Scale

The intervals for the minor blues scale are: Root, m3, P4, D5, P5, m7, and P8.

Again, notice you are only adding a note in-between the 4th and the 5th. You
would call this note the flat 5th or, less-commonly, the sharp 4th. The
interval between the root and the flat 5th is called a diminished 5th.

Blue Notes
The minor blues scales bluesy sound comes from the blue notes it contains.
The flat 3rd, flat 5th and flat 7th notes are referred to as BLUE NOTES. When
played over major chords, these blue notes clash in a pleasing way creating the
distinct blues sound.

One Octave Minor Blues Scale Fingering

A common and easy fingering for the minor blues scale starts on your first finger.
Play:

Root 1st finger

Flat 3rd 4th finger
4th 1st finger
Flat 5th 2nd finger
5th 3rd finger
 Flat 7th 1st finger
Octave 3rd finger

Applying the Minor Blues Scale

Use of the minor blues scale is, not surprisingly, very common to the blues style.
Some blues tunes may revolve around a minor blues scale-based riff where
everyone plays the same riff. This isnt that common, but does happen. What
happens more often is the blues scale is used on and off throughout a blues
song usually by a soloist or singer and less often by the bassist.

In typical blues basslines you rarely use the minor blues scale for extended
periods of time. Instead, youll most likely use a blue note here and there while
emphasizing the major-type chords found in the standard blues chord
progression.

Emphasizing the major-sounding aspects of the chord progression in your blues

bassline is important. When other players apply the blues scale, they need that
major sound foundation there to help create the clashing sound of the blue
notes.

In the blues youll probably use the scale lightly in a blues bassline, in bass fills
or more heavily in a bass solo.

In other styles like rock and funk, youll use this scale much like you might in
the blues, but youll also encounter a lot of riffs applying this scale. The minor
blues scales darker sound works really well for heavy sounding riffs. With more
syncopated rhythms the minor blues scale can create some great funk grooves.

Minor Blues Scale Details

Whole-step/half-step construction: 1-1/2 W H H 1-1/2 W

Intervallic construction: Root, m3, P4, D5, P5, m7, P8
C minor pentatonic scale spelling: C, Eb, F, Gb, G, Bb, C

What is a Tie?
A very common musical marking you will
see is called a tie. A tie is drawn as an
arc-shaped line connecting two identical
notes.

A TIE binds, or ties, together two written

notes of the same pitch. The pair of tied
notes acts as one note with their
rhythmic values added together.

Playing Tied Notes

When a pair of notes is tied, the second note of the pair is not plucked or
attacked again. Instead, the first note is plucked/attacked and held for the
duration of both notes.
Why Do We Need Ties?
There are certain musical situations where the only way to indicate a rhythm is
by using a tie. The most common situation is when a note sustains over the
barline.

Youll remember that all the rhythms in a bar must add to the correct number
of beats in the time signature. Sometimes the last note in one bar is sustained
into the next bar.

For instance, you might play

a note that lasts the length
of a quarter note but start it
on the last 8th note of a bar.
(See example.) That means
half of that quarter note will
carry over into the next bar.
Since a bar of 4/4 music cannot add to nine eighth notes, the only way to
indicate this is by using a tie. You must tie the first half of the note (the last
eighth note in the first bar) to the second half (the first eighth note of the next
bar).

This is called "playing across the barline" and is very common in many styles of
bass playing and music.

Another reason for using ties is to make reading rhythms in music a little easier.
Using ties often makes seeing where the beat falls clearer.

Dont Confuse Ties and Slurs

The marking for ties and slurs is
identical and often confuses students.
The difference is a tie connects two
notes of the same pitch (on the same
line or space of the staff). A slur applies
to two or moredifferent notes and
means the two different notes should
be played legato. For bass players the
slur usually means to apply a hammer-
on or pull-off technique to the notes.

What Are Repeats?

In notation you are often instructed to play a part of the music again and,
sometimes, many times over.

A repeat symbol is drawn with a double barline and two dots surrounding the
middle line of the staff. Most often youll see two repeats symbols one
marking the beginning of the section to repeat and one marking the end. If no
beginning repeat symbol is written, it means you go back to the very beginning
of the music and repeat from there.

In standard practice, the reader should just repeat once unless there are
instructions to repeat more times. (i.e. Repeat 3x or 3x)
What Are First and Second Endings?
Sometimes a repeated section has two different endings. The first time through
you play the first ending and the second time through you play the second
ending. This happens a lot in music and there is a common way of notating it.

For each ending, a bracket is drawn above the endings bar (or bars) along with
an ending number (i.e. 1, 2, etc). On the first pass through the music youd
play to the repeat sign of the first ending. Then youd go back to the beginning
of the repeat section, play to the bar before the first ending and skip to the
second ending.

Why Use Repeats and Multiple Endings?

Why not just write the music bar-by-bar from beginning to end? Repeats make
reading music easier and help save space on the page. Since most pieces of
music contain a lot of repetition, using repeats allows the music writer to
condense repetitive parts instead of writing pages and pages of the same part.

Using repeats also makes it easier for the music reader. Once the part has been
read, the reader knows what to expect on subsequent passes. So, the reader
doesnt have to concentrate quite as much. (Or, the reader can focus on fixing
his or her mistakes the next time through the section. Ha!)

What is a Chord Symbol?

A CHORD is a group of 3 or more different notes played at the same time. Chords,
in standard notation, are notated as a group of notes stacked together.

Another way of notating chords is with a chord symbol. Chord symbols may look
like:

C, F#m, Gmaj7, E9, Badd9, or even Db7b9#11b13

A CHORD SYMBOL describes the notes that make up a chord without specifically
telling you what notes to play.

Chord symbols are written above the top staff of the written music.

A chord symbol has two basic parts to it the chords root note followed by the
chord quality. The root note is the main note on which the chord is built. The
quality indicates the type of chord (i.e. major, minor, dominant, diminished,
etc.).

With time, experience and study musicians (especially bassists) should know
what notes are in various chords and what chord symbols are used to identify
them.

Why Would a Bassist Need Chord Symbols?!

Even though bassists dont typically play a lot of chords by themselves on bass,
bassists are still very involved in forming the sound of the chord along with the
whole band or ensemble. As a bassist, when you play with a group of musicians
you are playing one of those 3 or more different notes that forms the chord
being played by the whole band.
 In many situations bassists are not told what specific notes to play, but only
what the chords of a song are. In this common situation the bassist is expected
to play notes that support and complement the sound of each chord as it passes
by.

So, bassists often read chord symbols in written music and make up or
improvise a bassline that matches the chords of the song instead of playing a
specific, written out bassline.

The Location of Chord Symbols

Chords change at specific times through the course of a song. Most commonly
chords change on beat 1 of each bar of music. Chords can, however, change at
any time within a measure (bar).

Chord symbols are written directly above the beat or rhythm where they
change in the music. Again, this can happen anywhere and depends on what is
called for in the song.

Bars Without Chord Symbols

Sometimes youll be reading chord symbols and suddenly a bar (or several of
them) has no chord symbol. This doesnt mean there is no chord to be played. It
means youre to continue playing the same chord as indicated in the previous
measure.

Slashes and Rhythms Under Chord Symbols

As mentioned earlier, bassists are often expected to invent their own bassline
based on the chord symbols. Basically you are expected to do this any time you
dont see a specific bassline to play in the written music or rests marked on the
bass clef.

Commonly you will see a bass clef staff with chord symbols written above and
slashes marking the beats of each bar. These are not rests. The slashes mean
make something up based on the chords and the style of music. When we
accompany (or complement) other musicians it is called "comping" and so you
might call these slashes "comping slashes".

Other times you may see a combination of written notes and slashes. This would
mean improvise except for these key parts where you need to play these
specific notes and rhythms.

Lead Sheets
Another written form you may see is what is called a lead sheet. A LEAD SHEET is
song written in shorthand. It includes the essential parts of a song the melody
(usually written in treble clef), the lyrics, and the chords (a.k.a. the harmony).
Everything else is left up to the performers to improvise based on the melody
and chord changes.

Lead sheets are the common notation used in fakebooks. A FAKEBOOK is a book
of songs in lead sheet notation where the performer is to fake his or her way
through a song only using the melody and chords as a guide. Knowing what to
play comes from experience, knowledge of specific styles, and really knowing
your chords, scales and rhythm.
N.C.
Occasionally youll see the chord symbol N.C. The symbol N.C. means No
Chord. That means there is no specific group of notes being played at the
same time.

I think N.C. is often used inappropriately. Many times a riff to a song is based
on the notes of a chord or harmony, but the notes of the chord arent played
simultaneously. A lot of times this is marked with N.C. While its true an actual
chord is not being played, a harmony is still present and being implied by the
notes of the riff. In this case Id always indicate the chord symbol for the chord
implied by the riff when writing the music. N.C. doesnt really aid to
understanding the harmonic content of the song.

Lyrics, Chord Symbols and No Written Music

Yet another situation in which youll encounter chord symbols is on lyric sheets.
Lyric sheets are a very common form of notation found on the internet. All they
include are the songs lyrics and the chord symbols separated into the various
sections of the song (i.e. verse 1, bridge, chorus, etc.). The chord symbol is
written directly above the lyric where the chord change occurs.

Lyric sheets are hard to read because they lack any rhythmic information.
Instead, you have to be familiar with the song enough to follow the lyrics and
know when to change chords at the correct time.

Summary
As a bassist youre going to read a lot of chord symbols. Make sure you
understand what all the chord symbols represent and when the chords change.

When you read music containing both chord symbols and a written bassline,
study how the two fit together. Analyze the notes of each chord in relation to
the notes in the bassline. The more you do this, the more youll understand
what you can play when youre only given a chord symbol and expected to
fake your way through the music.

What is a Slash Chord?

A SLASH CHORD is a chord which indicates emphasis of a bass note other than the
root of the chord. When a chord is played it is typically assumed the bass will
emphasize the root of the chord. Occasionally a different note is preferred and
results in a chord with an alternate bass note.

Slash Chord Notation

Slash chords are notated with a chord's standard chord symbol, followed by a
forward slash, followed by the alternate bass note. For example, G/B or D7/F#
are slash chords.

When discussing slash chords musicians will typically say, "Play G slash B," or
"play G over B," or "play G with a B in the bass." These descriptions all mean the
same thing.

The Purpose of Alternate Bass Notes

 The first question most students ask about slash chords is "Why would you need
a different bass note?" The most common reason is the music's composer wants
to stress a particular bassline in a chord progression.

An often seen chord progression is: G - G/B - C. In this progression the G chord
is being played by the entire group on the first chord G. But, on the G/B chord
the band continues playing the G chord while the bass player is to stress the
note B which makes a smooth, chromatic transition to the root of the C chord.
So, the bass would emphasize the notes G, B, then C on each of these 3 chords.

Another example progression might be: Am - Am(maj7)/G# - Am7/G - D/F# - F.

This is a very common scenario where the alternate bass notes create a smooth,
descending chromatic bassline -- A, G#, G, F#, F.

Though it's not required, very often the alternate bass note of a slash chord is
another note from within the chord. In the previous example of G/B the note B
is the third of the G major triad (G, B, D). Or, in Am7/G the note G is the 7th of
the A minor seventh chord (Am7 = A, C, E, G).

How Bassists Address Slash Chords

Many times the alternate bass note is the only note you'll play on a slash chord
though it doesn't have to be. Generally you'd at least want to stress the
alternate bass note on the beat when the slash chord occurs. After that, if it is
musically appropriate to play other notes you could address the chord like you
normally would.

What is Musical Harmony?

The word 'harmony' comes from the Greek
word harmonia meaning agreement. MUSICAL HARMONY deals with how pitches
relate (or agree) with one another.

Pitches relate in many ways. Groups of pitches can be played at the same time
formingchords. Or, groups of pitches (chords) can be played successively
forming chord progressions. And, individual pitches can be played successively
forming melodies. Harmony is the theory behind all of these musical
relationships.

Harmony is Not Random

The ways in which pitches relate are not random. There are consistent patterns
used over and over in music regardless of style. The more pleasing a pattern
sounds, the more often it gets used. Likewise, less pleasing patterns tend to be
avoided.

The more you learn about harmony, the less random chords and melodies will
all appear. As you start to see, hear, and memorize the common patterns found
in harmony, you will have an easier time learning songs and basslines,
composing, and improvising. You may even be shocked at how many songs use
the very same harmony. There's not as much harmonic variety as you'd like to
think.

Harmonic Logic
 As you study harmony you should eventually discover the best sounding
harmonies always have some sort of strong, internal logic to them. By that I
mean there are certain key elements that, when present, create strong
harmonies, and when absent, create weak harmonies.

With study, you will understand how to create and control harmony. In fact,
you will realize just how much control the bass has over the harmony in a group.
If you want to do anything creative with the bass or music, you need to study
harmony.

Chord Progressions
A chord progression is a succession of chords. Progress means to move forward.
A large aspect of playing the bass deals with defining the sound of the chord
progression as it moves forward.

The bassists job especially revolves around the root movement of the chord
progression. Defining each chords root is one of the bassists most rudimentary
responsibilities. Beyond defining the root, bassists typically strive to create
interesting connections between the roots of each chord in the progression. The
better a bassist understands harmony, the more interesting and effective his or
her basslines and solos will be.

About the Harmony Lessons

Some of the other lesson categories like bass chord patterns and bass
scales already focus on some elements of harmony. In this lesson category we
will be focusing on the broader aspect of harmony keys and how chords relate
to one another. That is, how and why certain chords go with one another. We
will also explore many common chord progressions, their internal logic, and
what we can play over them.

Harmony is a vast subject. You will see the most common harmonic
relationships are very simple and easy to learn. And, as you study more
advanced harmony, you will see they are built on the same principles as the
simple harmonies you first learned.

What is a Key in Music?

In music a KEY is the major or minor scale around which a piece of music
revolves. A song in a MAJOR KEY is based on a major scale. A song in a MINOR KEY is
based on a minor scale.

A song played in the key of C major revolves around the seven notes of the C
major scale C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. That means the fundamental notes making
up the songs melody, chords, and bassline are all derived from that group of
notes.

A song in the key of F major uses the notes of the F major scale F, G, A, Bb,
C, D, and E.

Similarly, a piece of music can be in a minor key and revolve around a natural
minor scale. For example, a song in the key of D minor uses the notes of the D
minor scale D, E, F, G, A, Bb, and C.
 Any major scale or natural minor scale can serve as a key for a piece of music.

The Center of It All - The Tonic

The root note of the key acts as the center of the key. Similar to the root notes
of chords, the root note of a scale is the note on which a scale is built. For
example, the root of the C major scale is C. The root note of an Eb minor scale
would be Eb. When speaking of keys, the root note of the key is called
the TONIC (pronounced TAWN-ik).

I think of keys and the tonic like gravity on Earth. All objects are constantly
pulled toward Earth until they come to a state of rest on its surface. Objects
can move away from Earth, but eventually come back down.

When you play music, the music is constantly being pulled toward the tonic, or
root of the key, wanting to come to a state of rest or completion. The tonic is
the most resolved note in a key. The tonic is a keys center.

Moving away from and back to the tonic resting point of the key is partly what
makes music interesting and why it has a pleasing effect on us. Continuing the
gravity analogy, music momentarily defies gravity, but then comes back down.
Its exciting much like a pole-vaulter, basketball player, or juggler might be.

Tonality
When music has this centered sound to it, it is said to be TONAL (pronounced
TOE-nul), or possessing TONALITY. Almost all music to which we listen is tonal.
When a piece of music lacks a tonal center it is said to be ATONAL (pronounced
AY-toe-nul). Most people don't like the sound of atonal music.

Listen for the Tonic

As you listen to music, try to pay attention to these concepts of tonality and
resolution. Although points of resolution occur all throughout a song, you will
most noticeably hear it at the end of a song. Most songs finish on the tonic of
the key to make the song sound complete or finished. Its a very natural sound
to expect and it will sound strange when you dont hear it. When the end of a
song goes unresolved it often has a comical effect. This effect is possible
because of everyones natural sense of tonality.

Can a Piece of Music Only Use Notes Within the Key?

Notes not in the scale are considered to be outside of the key. Outside notes
can be (and often are) used, but the bulk of the notes will still center around
the notes of the key and the keys tonic. If outside notes are used improperly
its possible to throw off a songs tonality and create an unpleasant effect.

Skilled musicians and composers have learned to use these outside/off key
notes without upsetting the tonality of the music. Outside notes occur in most
styles of music to some degree. You will hear the use of outside notes heavily in
many jazz solos. Or, you might find them used in heavy metal riffs. Or, you may
find them in a simple pop song.

How Many Music Keys Are There?

 Since there are 12 major scales, there are 12 major keys. Likewise, there are
12 minor scales and, therefore, 12 minor keys. So there are 24 keys all
together.

Three of the major keys can be named 2 different ways one way with sharp
note names, and the other way with flat note names. This results in 15
different major key spellings.

As an example, the keys of Gb major and F# major contain the exact same
notes. The former is spelled using flat note names (Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, and
F), while the latter is spelled with equivalent sharp note names (F#, G#, A#, B,
C#, D#, and E#). There will be times when choosing one spelling over another is
preferable. (More on that later.)

In the same way, there are 15 different minor key spellings.

In total, there are 24 keys and 30 ways to spell them. In the next few lessons
covering the circle of 5ths, I will show you how you can start memorizing all 30
key spellings. It sounds far scarier than it is, but it will take some effort.

What is the Circle of 5ths?

The circle of fifths is a diagram used in music theory that helps students
memorize and understand the 24 major and minor keys used in music, key
relationships, and many chord relationships.

Logically, this diagram is pretty fascinating. It ties together many common

relationships found in music. The circle of fifths illustration was conceived by
German musician Johann David Heinichen in 1728.

Memorizing the circle of 5ths diagram is worthwhile. Its not as hard as it seems
once you understand the logic behind the circle.

In this lesson we will just examine the idea of fifths and fourths on the circle. In
following lessons, we'll apply it to keys, chord progressions, and the like. (If
youre still unsure of the basic musical intervals, you should review them before
proceeding.)

How Does the Circle of Fifths

Work?
Fifths are musical intervals. The
circle of 5ths is an arrangement
of the 12 notes of the musical
alphabetin a circle. Each note on
the circle is a perfect fifth apart.

At the top of the circle we begin

on the note C. As you go
clockwise around the circle, the
notes move in perfect 5ths.
 A perfect fifth above C is G, and G is the next note on the circle going
clockwise.

A perfect fifth above G is D. D is next on the circle.

Next, a perfect fifth above D is A, and so on. Clockwise, the circle moves
through all 12 notes of the musical alphabet going in 5ths finally returning to C.

You will notice at the bottom of the circle three of the notes (B, F#, and C#)
have two spellings each. The same pitch can have multiple spellings. These are
called ENHARMONIC NOTES. On the circle B and Cb are enharmonic equivalents. F#
and Gb are equal. And, C# and Db are the same note. If you are confused about
this, read over the musical alphabet lesson.

The Circle of Fourths

You may notice I call it a circle
of 5ths and 4ths. Fourths are
another musical interval. If you
go counter-clockwise on the
circle you will see the notes go
in ascending perfect fourths.

From C, a perfect fourth above

is F. A perfect fourth above F is
Bb, and so on. The notes go in
4ths all the way around the
circle when movingcounter-
clockwise.

Memorizing the Circle of 5ths and

4ths
It will be quite useful for you to
memorize the sequence of note
names in both fifths and fourths.
For starters, bassists play lots of
fifths. Knowing the fifth above any note will come in handy. Also, you will see
many chord progressions move in fourths. And, it will make memorizing keys
and key signatures easier, too.

Learn to recite the notes on the circle from memory. Be able to start on any
note (not just C) and go all the way around the circle in both directions. You
already know four of them your bass is tuned in fourths: E A D G. Backwards is
G D A E fifths! This is something you can practice in your head without your
bass.

All you really need to remember is BEAD GCF. The cycle of fourths is BEADGCF
with natural notes, followed by BEADGCF with flats. Notice Fb would be
equivalent to E. Somewhere you have to flip to the enharmonic equivalent in
order to go all the way around.

5ths are the same only backwards FCGDAEB.

 4ths: C F Bb Eb Ab Db/C# Gb/F# Cb/B E A D G (C)

5ths: C G D A E B/Cb F#/Gb C#/Db Ab Eb Bb F (C)

Applying the Circle of Fifths and Fourths

Just laying out the notes in 5ths and 4ths isnt anything amazing. But, when you
look at the keys for each note an interesting pattern occurs and helps you
memorize the notes in each key.

Major Keys On The Circle Of Fifths

The most common application of the circle of 5ths is to aid in the memorization of the
note names in each key. Knowing the notes in each key is essential to being able to
play, create, read, and improvise music on any instrument. A little work learning your
keys will make a lot of other learning easier for you.

Each Major Key is Unique

In the major scale lesson I explained how the structure of the major scale is
always constant. The major scale can be built off of any of music's 12 notes,
therefore there are 12 major scales and 12 major keys.

While the structure is always the same, the specific notes in each major scale
are different. Each major scale/major key has a unique set of notes.

In music we uniquely identify each major key by the number of sharp notes or
flat notes it contains.

The circle of fifths and fourths logically orders the keys making it easy to learn
how many sharps or flats occur in each key. In this lesson I'm going to show you
how to memorize the number of sharps or flats in each major key using the
circle of 5ths and 4ths. Each note on the circle will serve as the root note for a
one of the 12 major scales.

The Key of C Major

The key of C major is the only major key with no sharps or flats. It only contains
natural notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. That's why we start with C at the top of
the circle.

Moving in 4ths on the Circle

To move in fourths around the circle we need to move counter-clockwise. You
can find a perfect 4th on your bass on the same fret, next higher string.
Another easy way to think of 4ths is by going up the major scale from the root
to the 4th note. From C youd go C, D, E, F. F is the 4th above C.
 When you go up a fourth on the circle you arrive at the next key F major.
(You can start on any F note on the fretboard.) The key of F major contains the
notes F, G, A, Bb, C, D, and E. F major contains 1 flat the Bb. F is the only
major key with 1 flat. Play it on your bass and spell out the note names.

To get to the next key, go up a 4th from F. That will bring you to the key of Bb
major on the circle. Bb major contains 2 flats Bb and Eb. Bb major has the
notes Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, and A. Again, play the scale and spell it out.

The pattern is always the same: each time you move to the next key a 4th
above, you add 1 flat. The same pattern continues all the way around the
circle until there are no more notes left to flat. (In the key of Cb major, all 7
notes are flat.)

Moving in 5ths on the Circle

Going the opposite direction on the circle creates a similar pattern only now
addingsharps.

Clockwise the keys move in 5ths. Again, if you know your intervals it is a
perfect 5th above. Or, you may recognize the pattern from the root and fifth
lesson. An easy way to find the fifth is to count up the notes of the major scale
starting on the root. From the root C youd go C, D, E, F, G. G is a fifth above C.

Each time you go to the next key a fifth higher, you add 1 sharp.

C major contains 0 sharps or flats. A fifth above C is G. The next key on the
circle is G major and it contains 1 sharp F#. G major is spelled: G, A, B, C, D,
E, and F#.

Moving a fifth up from G brings you to the key of D. D major contains 2 sharps
F# and C#. D major is spelled: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#.

The pattern of adding one sharp each time you move up a fifth continues all the
way around the circle until there are no more notes to sharp. (The key of C#
major has all seven notes sharped.)

Enharmonic Keys
At the bottom of the circle of fifths diagram you will notice 3 keys each spelled
two different ways. These keys use the same pitches, but one spelling uses
sharps while the other spelling uses flats. Sometimes choosing a spelling in flats
is preferable to a sharp spelling. At a later time we will look at why one might
be preferred to the other. You should memorize all 15 major key spellings.

Summary
 Now you know how to determine how many sharps or flats are in each key, but
how do you know which ones are sharp or flat? That's where you need to learn
one more piece of information the order of sharps and flats.

What is the Order of Sharps and the Order of Flats?

In the lesson about the major keys on the circle of 5ths you learned every key
has a unique number of flats or sharps. The flats and sharps from key to key are
not random . The flats and sharps of each key follow a specific, unchanging
order that you need to memorize. This order is called THE ORDER OF FLATS and THE
ORDER OF SHARPS.

Once you have memorized how many sharps or flats are in each key in
combination with the order of sharps and flats, you will be able to spell the
notes of each key. Since you're always playing in some key, knowing your keys
in this manner will always be of great benefit.

What is the Order of Sharps and the Order of Flats?

In the lesson about the major keys on the circle of 5ths you learned every key
has a unique number of flats or sharps. The flats and sharps from key to key are
not random . The flats and sharps of each key follow a specific, unchanging
order that you need to memorize. This order is called THE ORDER OF FLATS and THE
ORDER OF SHARPS.

Once you have memorized how many sharps or flats are in each key in
combination with the order of sharps and flats, you will be able to spell the
notes of each key. Since you're always playing in some key, knowing your keys
in this manner will always be of great benefit.

The Order of Flats

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

The order of flats: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb

The order of flats is a sequence of seven flat note names. This order tells you
which notes are flat in a key containing flats. If a key has one flat, it only
contains the first flat from the order of flats Bb. If the key has two flats, it
uses the first two flats from the order of flats Bb and Eb. A key with 5 flats
would contain the first 5 flats from the order Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, and Gb.

With that bit of information you can spell any key containing flats...

The key of F has 1 flat. That means the flat must be the first flat (Bb). All the
other letter names are natural notes. Now, starting on the root of the scale F,
we can spell the key of F major F, G, A, Bb, C, D, and E.

As another example, the key of Ab major contains 4 flats. It would use the first
4 flats of the order of flats Bb, Eb, Ab, and Db. Starting on the root Ab, the
key of Ab major is spelled Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, and G. It contains those 4 flats
and the rest of the notes are natural.

The Order of Sharps

 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

The order of sharps: F# C# G# D# A# E# B#

The order of sharps works the same way as the flat order...

The key of G major contains 1 sharp. It has to be the first sharp F#. Starting
on G we can spell the G major scale: G, A, B, C, D, E, and F#.

The key of A major contains 3 sharps. Those sharps would be F#, C#, and G#. A
major is spelled: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, and G#.

Memorizing the Order of Flats and Sharps

All you need to remember is the order of flats as the word BEAD plus three
letters GCF. The order of sharps is the same, but reversed FCG DAEB.

If you've memorized the notes on the circle of 5ths and 4ths, you will notice
flats go in 4ths starting on B and sharps go in 5ths starting on F.

Sometimes people like to make sentences to remember the notes. The classic
memory aid works both directions:

Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father (order of flats)

Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle (order of sharps)

Why Do We Need Notes Like Cb, Fb, E#, and B#?

Students are often confused about why we need these notes like Cb, Fb, E#,
and B#. Isn't Cb the same as B? And, Fb the same as E?! There is a reason for
these "funny" note names.

When we spell scales, we can't skip letters and we want to avoid having two
letters such as a B and a Bb in the same scale. That would cause trouble with
reading music and just be confusing.

For instance, the key of Gb major could be improperly spelled Gb, Ab, Bb,
B, Db, Eb, and F. Notice there are then two B notes and no C. Properly spelled
it is Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, and F.

You also can't mix sharps and flats in a key spelling. It's always one or the other.

What Are Relative Major and Minor Scales?

Relative scales are scales that share the same set of notes much like you
have DNA in common with your relatives.

Every major scale has a relative minor scale, and every minor scale a relative
major.

For example, the C major scale and the A minor scale are relative scales. C
major contains the notes C, D, E, F, G, A and B. The A natural minor scale
 contains the notes A, B, C, D, E, F and G. They have the same exact group of
notes only their root note is different.

Don't let different fingerings for the same set of notes confuse you. There are
lots of ways to play the same group of notes across the fretboard.

Why Is It Useful to Know Relative Major and Minor Scales?

The main reason to know the relation between major and minor scales is it
makes memorizing a lot of essential things in music easier. You only have to
memorize 12 scales to know all 24 keys used in music.

If youve studied the circle of fifths in the harmony section, youll notice the
relative minor scales listed right beneath the major scales. Theyre the same
set of notes and have the same key signature.

Not only are the notes the same between relative scales, but so are
the diatonic chords.

Youll also see that many songs bounce back and forth between the major key
and its relative minor or vice versa.

So, knowing the scale relations will really simplify memorizing a lot of essential
stuff, and help you understand keys, chord progressions and songs better.

Finding the Relative Minor from a Major Scale

The root of the relative minor is always the sixth note of the major scale.

For example, E is the sixth note of the G major scale (G, A, B, C, D, E, F#). E
natural minor is the relative minor of G major.

It works the same for all major scales.

Finding the Relative Major from a Minor Scale

If you know the minor scale, the root of the relative major is always the third
note of the minor scale.

For example, F is the third note of the D minor scale (D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C). F
major is the relative major of D minor.

It works the same for all minor scales.

Relative Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales

Another important relative scale relationship to realize is the major
pentatonic andminor pentatonic relationship. These two scales relate just like
the major and minor scales do. The C major pentatonic scale (C, D, E, G, A)
shares the same notes as the A minor pentatonic scale (A, C, D, E, G).

All major and minor pentatonic scales work in the same way.

Memorizing the Relative Scales

 Part of your essential basic knowledge as a musician is memorizing all of the
major and minor keys (scales). For more on this, study the harmony section.
There are 12 major keys and 12 minor keys. If you memorize the 12 major keys
well, you will be able to quickly figure out the relative minor keys.

Memorizing the keys takes some work. There arent many useful shortcuts. You
just have to spend time reviewing them every chance you can. Pick a key or
two and focus on them. Start with the keys you find yourself playing in most
often. If you work with guitarists a lot, they tend to use a lot of sharp keys (G,
D, A, E, B). Horn players favor flat keys (F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db).

Think about the note names as you practice your scalesdont just think about
finger patterns. Work on reading music. Itll force you to concentrate on the
note names, not fret numbers. Recite the note names of keys whenever you
have down time standing in line somewhere, in the shower, etc. All of this will
help you memorize the keys.

A few relative scales are easy to remember once you get going. If you already
know G major and E minor are relative, you should notice Gb major and Eb
minor are relativethey're just a half-step down. Likewise, C major/A minor
gives you Cb major and Ab minor and C# major and A# minor. They're just offset
by one note. See which others you can find.

Intro To Diatonic Harmony

When speaking of music and harmony, you will frequently encounter the term diatonic.
Its important to understand its meaning. Youll be applying this concept all of the
time whether you realize it or not.

What Does Diatonic Mean?

The Greek prefix dia- means through, or across (as in the words diameter
and diagonal). As I said in keys in music, the tonic is a keys
center. DIATONIC meansthrough a tonal center, or across the notes of a key.

When we use the musical term diatonic, we mean the notes being used all
come from the key. In that way the terms diatonic and key mean much the
same thing.

For instance, the key of C major contains the seven notes of the C major scale
C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Any music said to be diatonic and in the key of C only
uses combinations of those 7 notes from C major.

If a melody is said to be diatonic and in the key of C, it only uses the 7 notes of
the C major scale/key.

If a chord progression is said to be diatonic and in the key of C, all of the notes
used to build the chords would come from the notes of the key of C major. So,
an F major triad would be a diatonic chord in the key of C because F major
contains the notes F, A, and C all notes within the key. An F minor triad
contains the notes F, Ab, and C. Since the key of C does not contain an Ab, F
minor is not a diatonic chord in the key of C.
Diatonic Harmony and Music
A lot of music is purely diatonic. Purely diatonic music has a simple,
straightforward sound to it. For instance folk songs and nursery rhymes are
often strictly diatonic.

More often, songs are mostly diatonic only straying from the notes of the key
once in a while.

In order to fully understand music containing non-diatonic notes, you first need
to understand basic diatonic harmony. DIATONIC HARMONY is the study of how
notes within a key relate to one another.

In Summary
This lesson is just to give you a quick introduction to the concept of diatonicism.
In the coming harmony lessons well start to apply the concept so you gain a
working knowledge of simple diatonic harmony.

What are Diatonic Chords?

DIATONIC CHORDS are the chords that are derived from the notes of a key.

You should think of diatonic chords as a family of chords all tied to one another
by the notes of a key. They all sort of share the same gene pool.

Weve established that each key contains seven different notes. It is possible to
build a chord on each of the seven notes in every key. Each note of the key
serves as a root note for a chord. Therefore each key has 7 basic diatonic
chords.

Naming the Diatonic Chords with Roman Numerals

You should remember that the notes of the major scale were numbered Root
(or, 1), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. We called these SCALE DEGREES. When we discuss
diatonic chords we name them with Roman numerals corresponding to the scale
degree on which each chord is built.

In practice we use uppercase roman numerals to indicate major chords and

lowercase to indicate minor chords. There are some other symbols sometimes
added to the Roman numerals, but well get to them later.

The Diatonic Chords of the Major Scale

In a major key we would number the chords I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, and vii. When
speaking to other musicians you would call them the one chord or the five
chord and so on.

For example, these would be the diatonic chords in the key of C major and in A
major:
 I ii iii IV V vi vii

Key of C C Dm Em F G Am B

Key of A A Bm C#m D E F#m G#

Once you have memorized these diatonic chords and another musician says to
you the verse is one-four-five in C, youd know the chords were C, F, and G.
If they said lets change it to the key of A, youd know to change to A, D, and E.

Again, this is a preview of where were going with this. Dont be too concerned
about memorizing it all just yet or if there are some things you dont
understand. I only want you to get the concept of numbering the chords in a
key.

Why Number Chords This Way?

You might be wondering why we need this system of numbering chords with
Roman numerals. Why not just name the chords with their letter names? Youll
see that numbering the chords makes things much easier to understand.

Most chord progressions closely adhere to the set of 7 chords in one key. Not
surprisingly, there arent that many different chord progressions that can result
from this small group of chords. As a result, many of the same chord
progressions get used over and over though they can occur in different keys.

Heres an example of a common chord progression in the key of C. The

progression goes I V vi IV. The chords are C G Am F. Its very common.
You may recognize it from The Beatles song Let It Be, U2's With or Without You,
or countless other songs. The roots to the chords are all contained in the C
major scale.

Heres the same I V vi IV progression in the key of A. The numbers are the
same, but now the chords are A E F#m D.

You should be able to hear these two examples sound the same, but they also
sound slightly different. The only difference is the key. Since each key has the
same intervallic structure, the distances between the chords and the types of
chords (major, minor, etc) are always the same.

After a while many of these progressions will start sounding familiar to you.
Youll be able to hear whether youre on the I chord or the V chord. You might
not know what key its in, but youll hear the relationships among the chords.

After that, once you understand how to play on one common chord progression
well in this way, you will understand it in all of the other keys, too.

So, learning chords and progressions by their number names improves your ear
and reduces your workload of learning chord progressions. I promise it will
really simplify things and make you a better musician.

In Summary
 Now you should have a basic idea of how musicians number chords within keys
and why. In upcoming harmony lessons I'll gently ease you into learning and
memorizing the diatonic chords thoroughly. They're essential and not all that
difficult.

What are the I, IV, and V Chords?

The I, IV, and V chords are the three most used chords in each major key. Aloud
you would call them, The one, four, and five chords.

The I chord is built on the first note of the key. The IV chord is built on
the fourthnote of the key. And, the V chord is built on the fifth note of the key.

When we use simple triads (see chords) in a major key, all three of these chords
aremajor triads.

For example, the key of C major is spelled C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The first

note is C, the fourth note is F, and the fifth is G. The I, IV, and V chords in the
key of C are a C major triad, an F major triad, and a G major triad. Wed
simply say, The chords are C, F, and G.

You should notice the notes of each triad fit within the key. Remember, thats
whatdiatonic means within the key. C major is made up of the notes C, E, and
G. F major is F, A, and C. And, G major is G, B, and D. The key is what binds
the chords together into a small family.

I, IV, and V Everywhere You Look

As I said, these three chords get used more than any other chords in a key. In
music theory we call them the primary triads or primary chords. That should
give you any indication of their importance.

Hundreds of thousands of songs revolve around these 3 chords. Many

songs only use these chords. And, even more use the I, IV, and V plus one or
two other chords.

Songs have used the primary chords for centuries. It doesnt matter if its J.S.
Bach or The Ramones. Everyone uses the I, IV, and V chords. If you pay
attention to it, you'll recognize it and music will get a little easier to
comprehend.

The Same in Every Key

The I, IV, and V chords work the exact same way in every key. You can build the
three basic major triads of each major key on the first, fourth, and fifth notes
of the key.

For instance, in D Major (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#) the chords would be D, G, and A.
In Ab Major (Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, G) theyd be Ab, Db, and Eb.

The I, IV, and V are Unique

Every key has its own unique set of I, IV, and V chords. No two keys share the
same set. Because of this uniqueness when we hear these three chords used in
a piece of music, our ear gets a sense of the key of the music, or its tonality.
 Giving the listener a sense of tonality is important for creating effective music.
Well dive into this more advanced topic later. But, as a preview, I
think musics essential ingredient is to take the listener somewhere. To do
this we need to give the listener a sense of where home is. When using the I,
IV, and V chords together, your ear perceives I as home. Once home is
established we can then take the listener away fromhome and back to home.
Without a home, music will simply wander.

The I, IV, and V Chords on the Fretboard

The I, IV, and V chords appear all over the fretboard. The better you learn your
keys, chord patterns, and the notes of the fretboard, the more access youll
have to finding each keys I, IV, and V, and the more you'll be able to do with
them.

At first most people recognize the pattern of root notes for each chord from
the one octave major scale pattern. For example, in the key of C, the roots are
C, F, and G.

Then you could build a major triad on each of those roots.

As you advance you will start to see other ways of playing and locating the I, IV,
and V chords on the fretboard. You might see it moving to a lower IV chord root
and lower V chord root note. Then building a major triad off of each root.

Or, you might see it moving to a higher IV chord root and a lower V chord root.

There are numerous possibilities.

I, IV, and V Chords in Each Key

Here is a table of the I, IV, and V chords in all 15 major keys. Dont kill yourself
trying to memorize these all in one shot. With time and experience you will
eventually memorize these groups of chords. You're going to encounter them so
much that youll come to see and hear them as a small family.

Major Key I IV V

C C F G

G G C D

D D G A

A A D E

E E A B
 B B E F#

Cb Cb Fb Gb

F# F# B C#

Gb Gb Cb Db

C# C# F# G#

Db Db Gb Ab

Ab Ab Db Eb

Eb Eb Ab Bb

Bb Bb Eb F

F F Bb C

What is the Blues?

When people mention blues they may be referring to one of several things.
This can confuse musicians early on.

When speaking of the blues, non-musicians are usually thinking of the musical
style of the blues. Musicians think of the blues not only as a musical style but
also as a musical influence and sound, and a song form. I'll explain the
differences:

The Blues as a Musical Style

The blues as a style, or genre, evolved beginning around the 1890s in the
Mississipi Delta area of the United States.

The blues can be, and is, played on any instrument or with any combination of
instruments. Typical blues bands consist of a singer, guitarist, bassist, pianist,
and drummer.

Another key feature of the blues style is the unique harmonies, rhythms, and
inflections it uses. The blues sound is hard to describe in words, but you know it
when you hear it.

The Blues as a Musical Influence and Sound

The blues style has had a far-reaching effect on music. Many of the
characteristic sounds found in the blues have popped up elsewhere. Some of
these blues qualities include particular slides, bends, and blue notes. They
are heard both in the singers voice and on the instruments playing the blues.
 Having the blues sound doesnt necessarily make something The Blues. For
example, a pop song could have blue notes while not being the blues. In this
case wed say something is bluesy rather than being the blues.

Another common misunderstanding is that the use of the blues scale makes
something the blues. Again, the blues scale has bluesy sounds, but is not
necessarily the blues style or doesn't make something a blues song. It's simply a
sound derived from the blues.

The Blues as a Musical Song Form

When musicians talk about the blues, many times they are talking about a
specific song form used in countless blues songs. If a musician says to you, "Let's
jam on the blues" they are talking about the blues song form.

A SONG FORM is a structure, or formula of sorts, for a composition. All art forms
have classic structures used as launching points for compositions. For example,
playwrights write 3-act plays, poets write sonnets, painters paint still lifes, and
dancers might dance a Cha-Cha. Music is no different and has many types of
structures, or song formsas we call them.

Part of your development as a musician is learning about and using song forms.
A lot of people might think, Use a formula?! How uncreative! You have to
realize a song form doesnt tell you what to play or write, it simply helps
you organize what you play or write.

I dont want to dive too deeply into the importance of structure in music in this
lesson, but its very important for creating pleasing music. A multitude of song
forms have evolved over hundreds of years and are used over and over for a
reason. And, theres nothing stopping you from deviating from or creating your
own structures. But, its highly likely that they wont amount to much if you
havent mastered and understood classic song structures used throughout music
history. There's a lot to be learned from musical forms.

Learning the Blues is Essential

I will get into more detail as to why later, but I would say the blues
form is the most essential song form to learn for any developing musician. You'll
be very wise to take my advice and get very comfortable with, if not master,
playing the blues.

Whats So Important About the Blues?

Whether you realize it or not, the blues is the foundation of nearly all the most
popular styles of music listened to today.

The blues isnt just about the blues. Jazz, rock, country, soul, R&B, funk, and
even ska all descended from, developed out of, and were influenced by the
blues. The blues has served as the backbone of all these styles and probably for
many styles yet to come.

That Inner Foundation

Its difficult to pinpoint, but somehow you can always hear something missing in
players who lack this basic blues foundation. I think a big problem for younger
 musicians is they impatiently skip past developing their basic blues skills.
Ironically, theyre not even thathard to develop.

Ill give you an analogy in the world of art. For some reason new artists are
avoiding learning the basic skill of drawing the human figure. (Some art
departments dont even offer the class anymore!) They want to paint abstract
paintings and think that skill is useless and a waste of time to study since it's
not exactly what they plan to paint. But, when someone has skipped over this
essential skill (and probably others), even in his or her abstract artwork you will
clearly see a lack of form, basic artistic sense, and skill. Something is missing
and the same sort of thing happens to musicians especially those without any
guidance. So, even if you don't plan on playing the blues outright, the skill is
still essential.

Hopefully you dont need any more convincing about how important it is to
learn the blues, but Im going to offer one more big reason:

The Blues as a Learning Tool

If youve read over the harmony lessons and learned about the I-IV-V chord
grouping, you should realize that these three chords are incredibly important in
virtually all music and show up somewhere in just about every song. Well, guess
what? The blues is based on those very same three chords the I, IV, and V
chords.

Thoroughly studying the blues means to thoroughly study the I, IV, and V chord
relationship. By practicing the blues you will practice the harmonic foundation
of millions of non-blues songs, too. Hopefully you can see the incredible value
in that!

Even More Reasons...

Yet another reason to learn the blues is because just about everyone else learns
the blues on their respective instruments. One day you may meet up with a
guitarist or a saxophone player to play, but you don't know any of the same
songs. Chances are he or she knows the blues. Knowing the blues will give you
something in common to play. You certainly wouldn't want to admit you don't
know how to play one of music's most common musical structures.

Still another reason is that many, many songs are just variations of the blues.
Once you learn the blues you'll have a head start on learning numerous other
songs.

In Summary
I cant stress enough how essential learning the blues is to your musical
development. Ive never heard anyone regret learning it. I suggest you give it a
lot of time and attention. It will really anchor and guide your playing and
creating of music for your entire lifetime just like it did for many musicians
before you.

As youll see in forthcoming blues bass lessons, the basics of the blues are not
that difficult to learn. And, one can really explore a lot of bass playing and
music with the blues as a vehicle.
What is the Blues Form?
As I mentioned in about the blues, a song form is a structure, or a kind of
formula, for a piece of music. The blues form is a specific song structure used
in the blues as well as other styles inspired by the blues like rock, jazz, R&B,
etc.

Applying the I, IV, and V Chords

The blues uses the I, IV, and V chords throughout the song form. If youre
unfamiliar with the concept of the I, IV, and V chords, make sure you go
through that lesson before continuing.

There are many variations of the blues. First Im going to teach you the most
common form that confuses students the least. Later in the lessons well look
at the many other variations.

The 12-Bar Blues Form

The most common form of the blues is a 12-bar pattern of chord changes. That
is, a repeated twelve-bar chord progression. This is called 12-Bar Blues.

You should remember a bar is the same as a measure. Most often in blues you
will count 4 beats to each bar 4/4 time.

In a blues song this 12-bar cycle gets repeated over and over through the course
of the tune. A blues song might play through it 20 times. It will depend on the
specific song.

The blues can be played in any key. In whatever key you are in, 12-bar blues
uses the same basic sequence of I, IV, and V chords. It is most easily thought of
as three 4-bar sections the first 4, the middle 4, and the last 4 bars.

The first 4 bars just use the I chord - I, I, I, I.

The middle 4 bars go IV, IV, I, I.

And the last 4 bars go V, IV, I, V. Then you repeat the whole thing again.

So, the basic 12-bar sequence looks like this:

Plugging In the Chords from a Key
To get the blues chord progression for the blues in A, we take the I, IV, and V
chords from the key of A. That means A is I, D is IV, and E is V. Then, we plug
those three chords into the corresponding places in the blues form. We end up
with this set of chord changes:

For the blues in any other key, wed do the exact same thing. Blues in C would
plug in the chords C, F, and G into the 12-bar blues structure. Blues in E would
use E, A, and B. And, so on. There are 12 major keys; you can play the blues in
any one of them.

Playing the Blues Form

The first step in learning to play the blues is getting comfortable with where
the chords change. You need to memorize and completely internalize this
sequence of chords. You cant ever get lost wondering to yourself, What chord
is next? With enough time and practice, you'll just hear and feel what the next
chord change is. In the beginning you may have to really concentrate on the
changes.

Applying Bass Patterns to the Blues Form

This is where things start to sound right and like youre actually playing the
blues!

In the next few lessons in this blues bass lesson category I will show you how
common patterns and actual basslines are created and applied to the skeleton
of the 12-bar blues form. There are countless possibilities using varied rhythms
and note patterns. You are only limited by your technique and imagination.

Ideally you should be able to apply these patterns in any of the 12

keys anywhere on the fretboard.

Playing Roots on the Blues

You should get comfortable playing roots with various rhythms on the blues. No
matter what rhythm you play quarter notes, 8th notes, or combinations
you cant lose your place in the blues form. You always have to know what the
current chord is and what the next one is.

Rhythms on the Blues

 Blues is most commonly played with an 8th-note shuffle feel. Playing a straight
8th-note feel is also very common. Make sure you look through the rhythm
lessons if you're unsure of the difference between straight 8ths and shuffle 8ths.
Playing them either way shouldnt trip you up.

Applying Roots And 5ths To The Blues

After root notes to each chord, the strongest, most supportive note you can
play is the 5th of the chord. (See the root and fifth bass lesson.)

You'll remember you can play and find fifths both above and below any root
note or octave of a root note. Your friends, roots and fifths...

Staying Out of the Way

Root and fifth basslines dont jump out at you often. But, a lot of times as a
bassist youneed to keep a low profile maybe even most of the time. Adding
fifths almost always fits in a bassline while fulfilling your job of supporting the
harmony.

Roots and Fifths as an Anchor

As youll see and hear in coming lessons, the root and fifth act as a strong
anchor to almost all other common types of basslines. Get comfortable with
them because youll never escape them.

Be Creative!
See if you can change the rhythms and/or order of notes to create your own
root and fifth basslines on the blues. You are practicing these ideas in all the
other keys, arent you?

Blues and the Dominant 7th Chord

Traditionally, the dominant 7th chord is applied to each of the three chords (I,
IV, and V) used in the blues.

The flatted 7th note of the dominant 7th chord is a key component of the blues
sound. And, subsequently, the flat 7th is a big component in rock, jazz, funk,
and many other styles.

Emphasizing the sound of the flat 7 in a blues bassline is very common.

The Blues and the R-5-b7-Octave Pattern

The R-5-b7-8 pattern is just a subset of notes found in the dominant 7th chord
pattern. All you are leaving out is the 3rd of the dominant 7th chord.

That is why the R-5-b7-8 pattern works perfectly over each chord in the blues
it outlines the strong chord tones of each chord. Remember, outlining the notes
of chords is your big responsibility as far as what notes to play when creating
basslines. Scale notes and other notes revolve around and serve to enhance
those supportive chord tones.

Mix It Up
Something important for you to do is create your own basslines applying these
patterns Im showing you.
 The nice thing about the R-5-b7-8 pattern is you cant play a bad note. As long
as you emphasize the root (or any octave of the root) on beat 1 of each bar and
play with steady rhythm, youll have a pretty solid bassline.

The more often you make up basslines, the larger your own catalog of ideas will
grow. Plus, you will start to hear these ideas in your mind and your fingers will
get comfortable executing them.

Practice! And, practice your creativity!

The Major Triad

If you haven't learned the basic major triad pattern yet, go do that first!

The major triad is the simplest and most common chord in music. You should
remember it consists of three notes a root, third and fifth.

In this short lesson you're going to only use the notes of the major triad.

Applying the Major Triad to the Blues Progression

The simplest, most supportive basslines always outline the notes of each chord
of a songs chord progression.

In the basic blues progression (the blues form) we use three chords called the I,
IV, and V chords. In this simple lesson all you will do is outline the notes of each
major triad.

Practice in All Keys

You want to be able to play this blues bassline and variations of it in any key
and anywhere on the fretboard.

Could you play this line in the key of G? Or, the key of Bb? Find the I, IV, and V
chord in whatever key youre practicing, turn on your metronome and play!

Dominant 7ths On The Blues

As I mentioned in the Blues lesson applying the Root-5th-Flat 7th-Octave

pattern, the dominant 7th chord is a key component to the blues and the
overall blues sound.

You should recognize that youre only adding one note to the major triad the
flat 7th.

A lot of blues basslines will emphasize and revolve around the chord tones for
each dominant 7th chord. Even if other non-chord tones are involved,
the chord tones are the backbone of the bassline.

The Exercises
In the exercises there are two basslines that strictly stick to chord tones. As a
result, you can really hear the chords in the bassline alone. If you played the
basslines without accompaniment there would still be no doubt as to what the
current chord is and that you were playing the blues progression. Your job as a
 supportive bass player is to lay down the time (rhythm) and lay down the
harmony.

Just as with the other blues basslines so far, you should practice them on your
own at various tempos and in other keys.

Be Creative!
I can never emphasize practicing your creativity enough. See what you can
come up with on your own applying these same ideas. Experiment with
different rhythms, repeated notes, changing the order of the notes, etc. Do it
even if you think it stinks!

Dominant 7ths On The Blues Exercises

Bass Exercise #1: Dominant 7ths on a G Blues

This is a good example of how you might apply the notes of the dominant 7th
chord to each chord in the blues. Don't forget these are shuffle 8th notes.
Notice the staccato dots on beats 1, 2, and 3. Play them short to get a similar
feel.

Bass Exercise #2: Dominant 7ths on an F Blues

This bassline uses the same dominant 7th chord pattern as the one in G, but
now you have to see the pattern on the fretboard with open strings. Make sure
you adjust your fingering. Only use your first finger on the first fret!

The Sound of the Sixth

In most basslines the sixth has a melodic sound rather than a supportive sound.
For example, you wouldn't want to emphasize the sixth on the first beat of a
chord in your bassline. That would confuse the sound of the harmony. Instead,
you'd want to use it as an auxiliary note to "melodicize" your chord tones.
("Melodicize" is my own made-up word. Use at your own risk!) Use your ear,
listen, and judge what sounds right to you when creating your own basslines.

Major Sixth Chords

I haven't explained sixth chords yet, but you will run into them. So, here's a
quick explanation:

A MAJOR 6TH CHORD consists of a root, 3rd, 5th, and 6th. You can just think its a
major triad with an added 6th. You will always find the 6th of a major 6th
chord a whole-step (2 notes) above the 5th.

A major sixth chord is notated with the number 6 after the root note. For
example, C6 or Eb6.

Using the Sixth

The sixth can be often be used even if the chord symbol doesnt indicate a 6th.
You can almost always apply sixths on major triads. And, you can use it on
dominant 7th chords often without trouble. Remember, you always have to
listen to what you're playing and judge for yourself. You can't just apply
 something because you read it somewhere. There are many exceptions which
take years of experience to understand.

12-Bar Blues Form Variation 1

The first variation of the 12-bar blues form uses a simpler set of chord changes
than the variation with which we started. This is probably the earliest set of
changes to the blues. While the changes are simpler, beginners often get lost in
it and thats why I didnt start you there.

In variation 1 the first two 4-bar sections are the same as we learned before. In
the last 4 measures the first two bars (bars 9 & 10) stay on the V chord while
the last two bars (bars 11 & 12) stay on the I chord. The form then looks like
this:

Keep Your Place!

Where beginners often get lost is on the repeat of this variation. Since there
are two bars of the I chord at the end and then 4 bars of the I chord back at the
beginning, theres a high chance you can miscount and skip a bar. Dont!
Remember, defining the harmony is part of your bass playing obligations. That
means you must develop the utmost confidence in knowing where the
harmonies change (the song form). This just takes a lot of practice and requires
a bit of focus. Eventually itll just sound and feel right and you won't even think
about it.

Feeling the Top of the Form

The way you shouldnt try to keep your place is by counting six bars of the I
chord when you repeat. Instead, you need to feel (mark it mentally) where the
blues form starts over. The beginning of a song form is called the TOP OF THE
FORM. The reason we started with the other 12-bar blues form variation was
because the last bar is marked by the V chord to help you feel the end of the
form. Now you dont have that convenience and you have to learn to keep your
place all on your own.

How to Practice the Blues Form Variations

You need to get comfortable with each blues form variation. A good idea would
be to take any of the blues basslines from previous lessons and apply them to
each new blues form you learn.
 For example, for this variation you need to change the way you play the last
four bars. Stay on the V chord in bar 10 instead of going to IV. Stay on the I
chord in bar 12 instead of playing the V chord.

Most importantly:
Don't get lost.
Don't forget to practice these forms in all keys.
Don't forget to practice them in different areas of the fretboard.

What is the Boogie-Woogie?

The BOOGIE-WOOGIE is a piano blues style from the early 20th century. The
boogie-woogie style has a very strong bass pattern associated with it. Originally,
piano players accompanied themselves by playing this bassline with their left
hand. When a bass player was added, the bassist would duplicate the piano
players bassline. As this style evolved more, the bassist would often play the
boogie-woogie bassline by himself or herself while the pianist played entirely
different piano parts.

The Boogie-Woogie Bassline

Although there are many variations, the basic boogie-woogie bass pattern is a
two-bar pattern using quarter notes. The bassline ascends and then descends
strongly outlining the notes of each dominant 7th chord in the blues progression.

The basic two-bar pattern goes: | Root-3-5-6 | b7-6-5-3 |

Emphasize Those Chord Tones

If youve spent any time reading my lessons youll know I always try to make
you pay attention to chord tones. This 100-year-old bassline is still around
today because it outlines chord tones perfectly. The only note not found in the
chord (which contains a root, 3rd, 5th, and flat 7) is the 6th. The sixth, coming
from the mixolydian scale, is really there for melodic decoration. It melodically
connects the 5th to the flat 7th.

You might also notice that strong chord tones fall on beat one of each bar the
root and the flat 7th. When you listen to music your ear considers notes falling
on beat 1 as very important. Youll rarely find a non-chord tone on beat one of
a well-crafted bassline.

Next, youll notice that the all-important 5th falls on beat 3 of both bars. Beat
3 is a strong place for landing chord tones, too.

The Importance of Learning the Boogie-Woogie

I know most of you dont plan to play this line in your band, but its essential to
learn. For one, youd be pretty embarrassed if someone wanted you to play this
classic line and you didnt know it. Every bassist knows this line.

More importantly, this bassline contains all of the qualities of a perfect bassline.
Its memorable, melodic, and catchy. It sets the pulse. And, it successfully
supports the sound of each chord in the tune.

You can learn a lot about bass playing from this simple little pattern.
 Blues Form Variation 2
This is one of the most common blues form variations and will probably sound
the most familiar to you. It only differs from the first blues form variation by a
single chord in bar 10.

This is an important variation to master and memorize. You should never get
lost in it.

12-Bar Blues Form Variation 2

Applying the I, IV, and V chord numbers to this blues form looks like this:

The first four bars are all the I chord.

The next four bars are two bars of the IV chord followed by two bars of the I
chord.

The final four bars go V, IV, I, and I.

Dont Lose Your Place in the Form

Again, any time a piece of music ends on the same chord as it begins, students
have a tendency to lose their place. Usually what happens is they will skip a bar
or two. If you hear yourself getting to the IV chord early, you probably skipped
the I chord somewhere on the repeat. Really try to hear and feel the top of
the form.

Boogie Woogie On Variation 2

You will most often hear the boogie-woogie bassline applied to variation 2 of
the blues. While it does get used in most other blues forms and even in songs
that arent the blues this is the version you want to really have down in the
early stages of your bass playing.

Cutting the Two-Bar Pattern Short

The important difference in this version of the boogie-woogie pattern is in bars
9 and 10. In bars 9 and 10 we only have one bar of each chord. Since the full
boogie-woogie bassline is a two-bar pattern, it won't fit in its complete form.
As a result, on the V chord in bar 9 you only play the first half of the pattern
and on the IV chord in bar 10 you only play the first half of the pattern. It
 shouldnt take too much adjusting and it should sound pretty natural to you if
you've heard this bassline before.

What is the Diminished Triad?

The diminished triad is one of the four basic triads commonly used in music. It
is the third most common triad youll encounter after the major triad and minor
triad.

In music we use the term DIMINISH to mean make smalleror lower. The
diminished triad has a diminished 5th meaning it has a flatted, or lowered,
5th (in comparison to the typical perfect 5th found in most chords like the
major and minor triads). The flat fifth is what gives the diminished triad its
name and plays an essential part in its sound.

The easiest way to think of a diminished triad is to think of it as a minor triad

with a flatted fifth.

The diminished triad is a very tense and unstable sounding chord. As a result, it
doesnt get used anywhere near as much as the major and minor triads or the
major, minor and dominant 7th chords.

You will most encounter this triad in gospel, jazz, blues, some rock tunes, and
Classical music. You will hear it on songs with more complex chord progressions
or prettier chord progressions. Using this chord is mysterious to a lot of people
and unfortunately its use gets over-looked in a lot of modern-day chord
progressions.

Though its less common, the diminished triad is still essential to learn and
understand. Don't ignore it.

Thirds Construction of the Diminished Triad

In terms of thirds construction, the diminished triad is built entirely of minor
thirds:

Root to 3rd = m3
3rd to 5th = m3

Intervallic Construction of the Diminished Triad

The intervals for the diminished triad are: Root, m3, and D5.

Diminished Triad Fingering

A simple fingering for the diminished triad starts on your first finger. Play:

Root 1st finger

Flat 3rd 4th finger
Flat 5th 2nd finger
Octave 3rd finger

Diminished Triad Notation

 The diminished triad has two common ways of being notated. The best and
most readable one is the suffix dim. A diminished triad with a C root note
would be notated Cdim.

Another common way is with a degree symbol (o). A diminished triad with a C
root note could also be notated Co. This can be harder to read on charts and
you should avoid writing it this way if you can. But, you should recognize it if
someone else writes it that way.

Applying the Diminished Triad

Because of its unstable sound, the diminished triad is rarely played for a long
stretch of time. Instead, it is used more often as a transition chord leading to
some other chord.

Within chord progressions this chord often creates chromatic connections

between a pair of chords. Many times an interesting chromatic root note line
results from these types of progressions. For example, the chord progression C
C#dim Dm would create a chromatic root movement of C to C# to D.

For bass players its particularly important to not play the wrong 5th on a
diminished triad. Since bassists are used to stressing the roots and fifths of
chords so much, its a common mistake to play a perfect fifth rather than a
diminished 5th. Hitting the wrong 5th on this chord will ruin the sound and
function of this chord most times.

Diminished Triad Details

Thirds construction: m3, m3

Intervallic construction: Root, m3, D5, (P8)
C diminished triad spelling: C, Eb, Gb

What is a Minor 7 Flat 5 Chord?

The MINOR 7 FLAT 5 CHORD is another fairly common 7th chord. This 7th chord is
basically an extension of thediminished triad. It is sometimes called a HALF-
DIMINISHED CHORD because of its similarity to a chord known as a fully diminished
7th, or just diminished 7th. (We'll examine that chord later. It's not important
at this point.)

You'll encounter the minor 7 flat 5 chord most often in jazz. It's a rare chord in
rock, blues, R&B, and many other popular styles, but it may come up and
knowing it is important.

Minor Seventh Flat 5 Chord Construction

The minor 7(b5) chord just adds a minor 7th interval, or flatted 7th, to the
diminished triad pattern of root, flat 3rd and flat 5th. (See intervals.) The
minor 7(b5) chord is built with a root, minor 3rd, diminished 5th and minor 7th.

Another way to think of its construction is it is simply a minor 7th chord with a
flatted fifth. (Hence the name!)
 If you examine the thirds construction of the minor 7(b5) chord, youll see it is
built from stacking a minor third (root to 3), minor third (3 to 5) and major
third (5 to 7) on top of any root note.

Minor 7(b5) Chord Pattern Fingering

To play one basic fingering for this chord pattern, all you need to do is add the
flat 7th to your diminished triad fingering.

Play:

Root (1st finger)

b3 (4th finger)
b5th (2nd finger)
b7th (1st finger)
Octave root (3rd finger)

Minor 7(b5) Chord Symbols

Like most chords, you will encounter several different chord symbols
representing the same type of chord. The minor 7th flat 5 chord is often
notated as m7(b5). It may also appear as mi7(b5) or -7(b5). Sometimes the
parentheses may be missing as in mi7b5. Yet another variation is m7-5 with the
dash indicating to lower the fifth.

Another harder to read symbol for this chord might be a degree symbol with a
slash through it: . This symbol is derived from the half-diminished name. A
diminished 7th is often notated with a circle, so marking a slash through it
makes it "half-diminished."

For example, the C minor 7 flat 5 chord could be notated any of these way:
Cm7(b5), Cmi7(b5), C-7(b5), or C.

Applying the Minor 7th Flat 5 Chord

Again, until you venture into jazz you won't see this chord too often. The main
thing to watch out for is to remember to play a flatted 5th rather than the
perfect fifth. The flatted 5th is a key element to the sound of this chord and
that note often plays an important role in the overall chord progression.

Minor 7 Flat 5 Details

Thirds construction: m3, m3, M3

Intervallic construction: Root, m3, D5, m7, (P8)
C minor 7 (b5) spelling: C, Eb, Gb, Bb

What is a Diminished 7th Chord?

So far we've covered two diminished-type chords: thediminished triad, and
the half-diminished seventh (minor 7th flat 5).
 The FULLY DIMINISHED 7TH chord, or just DIMINISHED 7TH, is another diminished
chord you may encounter. It is very common in jazz and Classical music; it is
less common in rock, blues, R&B, and other styles. It does occur enough that
you should know it, however.

The diminished 7th is a very dissonant chord. Dissonant chords are rarely played
for long stretches of time by themselves. Diminished 7th chords function most
as transitionary chords. The tense sound created by them have a tendency to
move the music forward by resolving to another chord.

Diminished Seventh Chord Construction

The construction of a diminished 7th chord is unusual. In terms of its thirds
construction, it is completely formed from minor thirds stacked on one
anotherroot to 3rd (minor third), 3rd to 5th (minor third) and 5th to 7th
(minor third). If you're interested to know, when a chord or scale has a
repeating pattern of identical intervals, it is called a symmetrical chord or
scale.

Diminished 7th chords contain a new type of 7th we have yet to encounter. So
far we've discussed two types of 7ths: the plain old 7th (i.e., the major 7th
interval found in a major seventh chord), and we've discussed the flatted 7th
(the minor 7th interval found in dominant 7th chords and minor 7th chords).
The diminished 7th chord contains a third type of 7th called a double-flat 7th,
or diminished 7th interval.

To understand the double-flat 7th, consider the minor 7(b5) chord (also called
the. half-diminished chord). It contained a flatted 3rd, flatted 5th and flatted
7th. In order to get the 7th of the fully-diminished 7th chord, we must flat the
7th again. Therefore, the fully-diminished 7th chord contains a double-flatted
seventh. That doesn't mean the double-flat 7 must be spelled with two flats. It
only means it is two half-steps below a normal, major 7th. The correct interval
name for a double-flatted seventh is adiminished seventh interval. It looks and
sounds just like a major sixth interval, but to be theoretically correct, we must
call it a diminished 7th interval.

Double flats (and their counterparts, double sharps) can be confusing at first
and will seem illogical. If a major 7th is the note B, a minor 7th is called Bb
since it is one note lower. Lowering the 7th again would give us Bbb (B double-
flat). B double-flat is the very same note as A. So why not call it A? Well, you
can and you would get the same result sound-wise, but theoretically an A is a
6th. The seventh chord needs a 7thin this example, some sort of B. So, we
end up with a Bbb instead of A even though A is a simpler spelling. It's
important to understand because you may encounter it in written music. But,
using the simpler spelling probably won't lead to any fist fights on the
bandstand. Many times, in written music, the simpler spelling is used to make it
easier to read.

Only Three Diminished Chords

Another interesting thing about diminished 7th chords is there are only 3 of
them total. Most chords have 12one unique chord built on each of the 12
notes. If you examine the notes of any particular diminished 7th chord, you will
notice any note could be the root and you'd still get the same 4 notes.
 For example, Cdim7 (C, Eb, Gb, Bbb) is the same as an Ebdim7 (Eb, Gb, Bbb, C),
as well as Gbdim7 (Gb, Bbb, C, Eb) and Bbbdim7 (Bbb, C, Eb, Gb). Naturally you
have to adjust the spelling for the different chords. You would probably would
say Adim7, not Bbbdim7.

So, while you can name diminished 7th chords with any of the 12 notes, there
are only 3 four-note sets.

Diminished 7th Chord Pattern Fingering

You'll find diminished 7th chord patterns are fun to play because your hand
must spider across the fretboard. It's very easy to pick up the pattern because
every note is a minor 3rd apart.

Play:

Root (1st finger)

b3 (4th finger)
b5th (1st finger)
bb7th (4th finger)
Octave root (2nd, or 1st finger)

Another fingering/shape for the diminished 7th chord begins on your 3rd finger.
This fingering contains the exact same notes as the previous fingering. The
notes are located in different spots on the fretboard, however.

Play:

Root (3rd finger)

b3 (1st finger)
b5th (4th finger)
bb7th (1st finger)
Octave root (4th finger)

Diminished Seventh Chord Symbols

The chord symbols for a diminished 7th chord are pretty simple. The symbol for
a diminished triad was a degree symbol (o). For the diminished 7th, we simply
add a 7 to it: o7. Or, another common symbol is dim7. Dim7 is probably more
clear and easier to read.

A diminished 7th chord built on the root note C would be notated Co7, or Cdim7.
Built on an F# root, it would be F#o7, or F#dim7.

Applying the Diminished Seventh Chord

While this chord doesn't occur too often, if you don't know it, it is very easy to
ruin the sound of it and its effect in the music. It almost always functions as a
transition chord linking one chord to another. Often the notes of the diminished
7th chord connect chromatically to the notes of the next chord.
 Diminished 7th Chord Details

Thirds construction: m3, m3, m3

Intervallic construction: Root, m3, D5, D7, (P8)

C diminished 7th spelling: C, Eb, Gb, Bbb

There are two kinds of slide: "Legato" and "Shift"

A Shift slide is where you pick once, slide up or down and pick again when you reach your target note.

A Legato slide is where you pick, slide and then DON'T pick at your target note; most of what people
call 'slides' are the legato version.