Bass guitar chords can give a song a unique sound, vibe, and mood. Knowing how to play chords on the bass is also very useful for improvisation and creating new music.
Chord charts are a graphic representation of which notes to play and how to fret them on the bass. Each chord has a specific interval shape and you can move that shape around on the fretboard.
Triads
Triads are a fundamental chord shape and an essential building block for bass guitar chord progressions. They are easy to play and sound great. They also provide a solid emotional base for your rhythmic and melodic playing. Knowing triads can help you create chart-topping music right away.
Triads consist of three or more notes stacked in thirds and are usually built on a root note (the first note of the scale). The top two or three notes of the triad will determine its quality. Major triads feature a major third interval above the root, which gives them a bright and consonant sound. Minor triads have a minor third interval above the root, which gives them an introspective and melancholic tone. Diminished triads have a flattened fifth, which gives them a more dissonant and unresolved sound.
Another important aspect of triads is that they can be stacked in a variety of ways, which alters the way they sound but doesn’t change their quality or harmonic function. The simplest form of a triad is called the root position, which looks like a snowman shape and each new note is stacked on top by thirds. Other forms of a triad are called first inversion and second inversion.
Understanding the intervals of a triad is crucial for creating varied and interesting chord sounds. By varying the intervals between a triad’s root, third, and fifth, you can get some really cool chord qualities. Hover your mouse over (tap on mobile) to reveal the answers.
Sevenths
Sevenths are the next most complex chord to learn after triads. These four-note chords contain a root, 3rd, 5th and, crucially, the seventh – a note that adds tension to the music by sounding dissonant with the bass. There are five different types of sevenths – maj7, min7, dom7, m7b5 and dim7 – each with their own unique quality and emotion.
Like triads, sevenths can be stacked into thirds. This gives you a lot of options when creating chords. The first step is to decide what combination of notes you want to stack to form the chord – for example, Cmaj7 = C E G B. Then, to create the actual chord shape you need to understand intervals. This means that if you have three consecutive notes they need to be an interval apart. The gap between the notes needs to be the same as the distance between the root and the seventh in the chord.
For example, the gap between the C in Cmaj7 and the F in D minor is the same as the distance between the root of the C and the seventh of the D. In this case, the gap is a half-step and so you need to lower the seventh by a semitone (Eb to B).
For this reason, a dim7 chord is often played with the root of the chord on the bottom string. This makes it easier for beginners to play. The D dim7 is a popular chord in blues, but you’ll also find it in other genres. For a good place to start, try the ‘Bouncie Boogie’ lesson in Skoove – this uses dominant seventh chords over a groovy bass line.
Major
Bass guitars are generally used to play single note lines, but in certain situations playing chords on a bass can be useful. Whether you want to fill out the low end of a song, create a cool intro or just make your band sound bigger using bass chords can be a great tool.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind when learning to play bass guitar chords. First, it’s important to know the root notes of each major scale. The root notes are the base notes that all chords, arpeggios and scales are named after. The easiest way to find the root of a chord is to look at a diagram and play the same note that the diagram says (for an A chord you would play an A).
Once you’ve mastered the root notes of each major scale it’s time to learn some pattern. The easiest patterns to start with are the single-octave patterns. These patterns are the simplest to play, they can be chained together and they allow you to play an entire octave without shifting positions on the fretboard.
These patterns are also great for finding chord tones. Adding chord tones to your scales will help you to play more interesting melodies. You can try this out by moving your finger up and down the string and alternating between different shapes. You’ll notice that the notes closest to the key that you’re in will be the most consonant and the ones on the opposite side of the circle will be less consonant.
Once you’ve learned a few simple patterns it’s time to move on to some more complicated ones. Remember to keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to experiment. The most important thing is that your fingers are moving on the fretboard and creating something musical.
Minor Scale
Bass players often use a single note to create a chord. For a beginner, this is the best option because it is easier to finger than multiple notes. However, when a bass player wants to add more complexity to a song, they will need to learn how to play chords. This is difficult, but it can be done. The first thing a bassist needs to do is identify the key of the song they are playing. From here, they can start to pick apart the chords and create a bassline that will compliment the other musicians in the band.
The next step is learning the minor scales. There are a few different types of minor scales, but they all share one thing in common: they have a pattern of intervals that is very similar to major scales. For example, if you start with G pure minor and play up the scale, the last note of that scale (the sixth) is Bb major. This means that if you know your relative major scales, you can easily work out which notes of the minor scale are sharp or flat.
There are two main types of minor scales that you will need to know: the natural and harmonic. These have a few slight differences from their major counterparts. Basically, the natural minor scale only has one sharp or flat, while the harmonic minor adds a half-step to the final note of the scale. This allows the descending (going down) scale to be more melodic than the ascending scale.
You will also need to know the in-between tones of the minor scale, which are called sharps (#) and flats (b). This is a little more complicated than just learning the major scales because there are more of them. But, once you get the hang of it, it will become easy.
Arpeggios
Arpeggios are a great tool for bass players. They allow you to fill in the gaps between strumming chords and playing scales. They also give you a deeper understanding of musical harmony – the ways that different notes interact with each other. This knowledge can help you write better bass lines and solos, too!
When learning arpeggios it’s important to focus on shapes that are easy to play and familiar to you. For example, the C shape arpeggio is a good place to start since it follows the basic three note chord pattern of C. Once you’ve mastered that shape try expanding it by adding the third tone on the fourth string and the fifth of the scale on the second string. This creates an A arpeggio and is a good way to get a feel for moving up and down the fretboard.
Another great way to practice arpeggios is by practicing them over simple beginner chords. This can be a great exercise for ear training as well. Start with the easiest chords like C and move on to more complex ones, such as D. Try to play these arpeggios slowly at first and gradually increase your speed over time.
Finally, by learning arpeggios you can also incorporate them into your bass improvisation. Many popular rock and pop songs use chord progressions that aren’t based in one key. For this reason, it’s a good idea to have at least a few arpeggio shapes for each major and minor scale.
For example, if a song uses a F major chord in the middle you may want to know how to play an A arpeggio, as this will help you sound more natural while soloing over that chord. This will show that you have a good understanding of the chords in the progression and aren’t just randomly improvising.