Bass guitar major scale patterns 3 shapes learn the whole neck. The isbn of the full jazzhacker scales and modes for 4string bass ebook is. Mar 18, 2018 twelve years ago, when i was a student at music school, i was really struggling to memorise all the bass guitar major scale patterns on the neck of my bass. This scale is magical because it has many options, we will be able to play it on any blues chord. It is going to be the scale that we can use in any song to improvise on the chords of this one and also to make melodies if we dedicate ourselves to the composition. Major scales and arpeggios scarsdale public schools. How to use this scale is essential for the bass player. I named it the beast because it takes a while to get through the exercise, and you can practice in every key, with every 7note scale you know. Daily routine and scales for euphonium bass clef, level 1. For when you have to learn to play the bass right now. Twelve years ago, when i was a student at music school, i was really struggling to learn the neck of my bass. M m m m m m o m chord quality 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 chord degree m major chord m minor chord o deminished. To derive the minor pentatonic scale from the natural minor scale, use the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th notes of the minor scale.
Youll find the scales with sharps in their key signatures first and scales with flats in their key signatures second. We have an official major and minor scales tab made by ug professional guitarists. C major 1 41 1 o 3 1 1 0 1 2 4 2 2 1 two octave scales 3 o 2 o 1 2 4 1 1 3 2 2 o 1 2 o 1 4 1 1 3 4 2 1 d major 4 1 4 1 2 1 1 bass 4 0. The seven main modes scales for the bass guitar dummies. Many scales you will learn are based around this scale.
Work through every scale and notice how the only thing that changes is the starting note. We are going to take as tonic the 4th string in the fifth fret, in the pitch note a the numbers are the fingers of the left hand, so, we have to master 3 ways to start the scale, with fingers 1, 3 and 4. Eb bb,eb,ab bb, eb, ab, db bb,eb,ab,db,gb bb,eb,ab,db,gbcb bb,eb,ab,db,gb,cb,fb f bb b ab db gb cb g c f bb eb ab db a d g c f bb eb bb eb. When you reach the octave of c, start descending the third scale shape by using the 1st finger to lead the position shift between the a and g on the d string. It is actually a major arpeggio with the 2nd and 6th added. Wiajor scales and arpeggios key c arpeggio no sharps, no fiats 1d 3 e f 6 g a b 8 c ft b g b w g b b d gf ft gf of sr 8. Bass guitar major scale patterns 3 shapes to learn the. This is a very common form of communication within bands. Please visit for auxiliary study material, pdf ebooks, and info. Scales and arpeggios by jp dias gustavo lopez segura. Pdf bass scales complete fretboard diagram daniel oscar. The symbol of the bass clef is derived from the old german way of writing f. Bass guitar technique 5 comments in this weeks lesson ive got a kickass major scale exercise for you that will help to develop both your technique and your muscle memory when playing sequential scalar lines. The basic pentatonic pattern can be moved up and down the bass neck in order to play the pentatonic scale with any tonic note.
Since bass is a harmony instrument, the better you know these essential chords, the better you will play bass. Here is the same exercise again but starting on the a string every time. The two dots on the right of the bass clef symbol surround the line on which f pitch is written. For example, you could position the pattern at the 3rd fret for a g pentatonic minor scale. This fingering uses onefingerperfret and begins with your 2nd finger on the root note of the scale. The double 1 4 2 4 pattern is used by the ab, b, gb, db, and eb scales. While looking for additional insights on musical modes for bass, once again, no treble turned up with a piece of gold courtesy of damian erskine. There are different kinds of scales major, minor, etc. In every major key there are 7 basic chords around which most songs revolve. Twelve years ago, when i was a student at music school, i was really struggling to memorise all the bass guitar major scale patterns on the neck of my bass. It is a smaller scale but is valid for larger chords if we want to generate blues sound. In this bass pdf we present the 3 ways that exist to touch the major scale.
Your understanding of harmony theory will always be linked to these 7 basic chords. Perhaps the most common fingering is that of finger 2, which is the easiest to perform because it is on the vertical axis of finger 1, but we should not underestimate the other two fingerings because we. This routine should be preceded by breathing and mouthpiece buzzing exercises. Simply follow the chart which represents your bass guitar. You can obviously start at any point in that sequence. Major and minor bass guitar scales bass books and music. The suggested fingering for the scale is to the left of the diagram. Compare its sound to that of the minor pentatonic scale. So the order of these patterns would be a4, a2, a1, e4, e2, e1, d1 round and round. Major scales and chord patterns studybass fundamentals. The notes above are all natural however any of this notes can be raised or lowered a half. Once you have done this a few times you will see that the scale covers more of the. Our site is a resource for learning scales on bass guitar. They show the scales as played on a 4 string bass with standard tuning.
Bass scales chart a free printable bass guitar scales. Practice the scale until you can play it continuously and fluently. Ultimate shifting exercise 2 octave major scale bass guitar tips daric bennetts bass lessons duration. Bass scales are successions of notes with a relationship between them and it is necessary. It is one of the foundations of western music, and one of the most useful bass scales to know. The major pentatonic scale for bass or any other instrument is an important scale to know. Start paying attention to these numbers and get familiar with going from one number to another. The diatonic major scale for bass guitar is fundamental for the bass player because by mastering it we can begin to play simple lines and become familiar with the sound of tonality. It comprises 7 notes 8 including the octave, spaced. Free printable guitar scales and bass scales in easy to use pdf format. Strings are vertical while imaginary frets are shown horizontally. It is really important to practice every scale you learn in multiple positions and areas of the neck so you will be prepared to use them in any situation. It contains a huge range of movable scale, chord and arpeggio fingerboard diagrams.
Yes, you can in a garage band or to your favorite tunes on your ipod. The first major scale fingering you should learn covers a fourfret span. This page contains all the notes on a 5 string bass guitar fretboard as well as all the scales in tab form and charts. The pattern is very similar to the 2nd major scale form pattern. One octave major and minor scales clarinet bass clarinet boltz bands concert c major d major 7 concert a minor b minor concert f major g major 19 concert d minor e minor 25 concert bb major c major 31 concert g minor a minor 37 concert eb major f major 43 v. C bb concert bb clarinet 12 major scales f eb concert bb ab concert eb db concert ab gb concert db cbb concert gb e concert b a concert e d concert a g concert. Along with doing twooctave scales, this is the main exercise i recommend to my students for getting a thorough knowledge of the neck of the bass. Notes scales dont contain all twelve notes in our western music system besides the chromatic scale in a major scale, for example, only seven out of twelve notes are present, and in the context of a song it establishes which notes are pleasing to. Music theory for bass guitar the 3 essential arpeggio. Jul 03, 2019 the bass scales chart below shows three common bass scales pentatonic minor, blues and major as patterns on a fretboard. Or you can think of it as starting with the same basic cooking recipe but adding different flavors different sounds to change it slightly.
Sometimes the bass clef can be more difficult to remember than the treble clef. This exercise takes you through all seven modes of c major while staying in one position. Learn bass guitar scales and modes bass guitar scales represent structure and patterns in our music, and starting to learn those patterns makes it suddenly easier to recognize, understand and apply them. Major scales for bass pdf another one in my scale series my goal is to hit at least all the diatonic modes, today we focus on the most famousest of scales, the major scale. Scales play a major part in creating bass lines and improvising lead solos. Scales and chords for the upright bass the following keys should be learned in the order presented. So in a c major scale we have c as the root note and major as the scale type.
The scales include major, three types of minor, the major and minor pentatonic scales, and the blues scale. Diatonic chords of the major scale studybass fundamentals. Bass guitar scales chords and arpeggios is a printable pdf book for bass guitarists. The pattern is very similar to the 2nd major scale form pattern intervals scale pattern name. This pattern of the c major scale shows its specific pattern tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone. After the major scale ill show you common major type chord patterns and some. A major scale is constructed with the following pattern.
How to practice bass guitar scales to practice the bass scales we must first have a good left hand technique and use the fingers well, each in its corresponding fret, this we are going to point out very well in the free bass pdfs. Each scale page features information on the scale including the spelling, triads and seventh chords in the scale, neck diagrams of the scale, and. Aug 29, 20 in this tutorial you will learn how to play and construct the major scale on the bass guitar as well as its importance in music. Tuba mallet percussion click on an instrument name to go to that scale sheet. These patterns are all played in a single c major shape at the 8th fret of the e string. Perhaps the most basic, familiar sounding scale you can play is the major scale. The best way to practice bass c major scale position. Its just like a major scale, minus the 4th and 7th degrees, making it pentatonic five notes. Next, go up the c major scale using the second shape and start on the 8th fret of the e string. The minor arpeggio is just like the major arpeggio with a minor 3rd instead of a major 3rd.
Description this is another popular version of the major scale for bass. Richie blake explains and shows the importance of the pentatonic scale download support pdf for this lesson. C major e2 position is a c major scale or key with a root note c on the e string starting on the 2nd finger. Jun 28, 2017 major and minor scales bass tab by lessons scales. Major scales and key signatures s o, now you can use the letters a through g to name notes on the treble and bass staff and accidentals to create major and minor seconds, aka, whole and half steps if you cant do this yet, stop here, go back to the previous chapters, and practice until you can. Once youve begun to get familiar with the note names, its time to start learning some bass scales. Scroll down to download a printable pdf version of the chart, with no login or signup required. Kickass major scale exercise for bass talkingbassmark 20190712t19.
Complete guide to playing pentatonic scales on bass guitar. We clearly and precisely show you every note in all 12 keys of the major and natural minor scales. Click on the title of any page to return to the cover. Wholehalf, major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, blues and blues with major 3rd. Pentatonic scales to derive the major pentatonic scale from the major scale, use the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes of the major scale. With all these scales at your fingertips, you get more choices in terms of flavor, or color, when playing your bass guitar. In this lesson block i first explain the major scale which is the mother of many other note patterns. In my opinion a combination of basic music theory and applying it to music is the best way to integrate an understanding of scales into your playing, and be able to. The major scale serves as a reference point for all other patterns. An augmented chord is similar to a major but with a sharpened 5th. Learning bass scales is a great way to get comfortable on your instrument, and to. Bass scales are successions of notes with a relationship between them and it is necessary, for any instrument, to know and master them. This will help you to pick the right scale for practicing along with any of our backing.
Here youll find the bass clef scales the major scales with their key signatures. All the above formulas are created using the major scale. By identifying if the chord is major, minor or a seventh chord, you can then build a bass line using notes from scales that are also major, minor or dominant 7th. Ionian pnngiaa une m c lvnian eoliatl locrian ionian. If someone says 145 in major, you know where to go. Daily routine and scales for euphonium bass clef, level 1 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4. Scale triad arpeggio em em em7 e phrygian em7 e phrygian 12th fret 12th fret 12th fret 7th fret 7th fret 7th fret this scale, triad and arpeggio could be played one 8va lower starting from e open string e phrygian scale fingering major modes 14 j. This is the start of an infinite amount of music making opportunities. There are many ways to play the major scale on the bass fingerboard. The major scale is the standard scale used in western music. Apr 22, 2019 james porter is a freelance writer specializing in bass guitar tutorials who is also the bassist for a band called locust street taxi in seattle, washington. View 5 string bass guitar scale information and notes.
The pentatonic major bass scale is a five note scale that produces a clear, open sound. One octave major and minor scales clarinet bass clarinet. Blues, minor pentatonic, major, major pentatonic in every key. Bass guitar scales made easy learn guitar for free.
In this tutorial you will learn how to play and construct the major scale on the bass guitar as well as its importance in music. The numbers in the scale chart are called scale degrees. Youll get all of the drones for all of the keys, plus the stepbystep pdf guide that will have you mastering the major scale in no time. In these bass scales pdf we leave you the three most common fingering to play well this pentatonic minor scale. The major pentatonic bass scale, as its name indicates, pentafive has 5 notes and is major.
The major scale is one of the first bass scales you should learn. If you want the bass scales chart pdf, suscribe to our free lessons. On the bass fretboard, adjacent frets are a semitone apart. Even though chord tones are a bassists biggest concern, the numbers used to identify chord tones relate to the numbers of the major scale. Lesson 11 learning to play the 12 major scales and developing yourself as a musician. Again, there are three main fingering patterns for these shapes, starting on the 1st, 2nd and 4th fingers. Bass guitar scales chords and arpeggios features a wide range of. Since the major scale has 7 notes, that is 7 different arpeggios you can get in the major scale.
Bass guitar major scale patterns 3 shapes learn the. Sep 01, 2014 major pentatonic scale for bass pdf the major pentatonic scale for bass or any other instrument is an important scale to know. It is suitable for use in major chord sequences and for improvising over major chords. The formula for creating major scales on bass youtube. Fingerings for each chord are shown in 3 variations, major, minor and 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 halfstep. The notes that make up different modes of scales are illustrated. Only the a and the ab scales have a 2 4 1 4 2 3 pattern. Diatonic chords of the major scale bass lesson block. Just as with any scale or chord pattern, you can play this pattern anywhere on the bass fretboard. Major chords a maj minor chords am minor seventh chords am7. Gf m ft at b of w m ef, af f bb b3 ab db ob cb 1b 2b 3b 4b 5b 6b 7b bb bb. Only the b and the bb scales have a 1 4 1 4 p 1 2 pattern. In ours concretely, they will allow us to create bass lines or to improvise in an efficient way.