Bass guitar is much simpler to learn than piano due to the proximity of its notes. Memorizing will come naturally if you find relationships or patterns that make sense to you.
A fretboard, commonly referred to as a fingerboard, is a flat surface made from wood such as rosewood or maple. Other varieties may include ebony, pao ferro or phenolic fretboards.
Open String Notes
As a bassist, it’s imperative that you understand where all of the notes on the fretboard lie. Knowing this will allow you to play chords and scales more effortlessly as well as harmonizing open strings with fretted notes more seamlessly.
As an example, when strumming together, the B and C strings harmonise to produce the signature sound of bass guitar. All bass players should learn this technique for optimal results.
Reacquiring all the notes on a bass guitar neck takes time, so it is wise to start by mastering its open string notes. This will provide a basis for further progress – open string notes refer to strings which you can play without placing your finger on any fret, such as E string.
There are two natural notes on the E string; E and C notes can be played using your second and fourth fingers at 2nd fret respectively.
These notes lie both above and below the open E string, making playing them with care essential to good intonation. When using this string as an open D string you should pay special attention that your fingers don’t stray too high onto the fretboard; otherwise you risk encountering problems with intonation.
The same rules apply when playing open string notes on other strings; for instance, A and D both feature an E note on their second fret and an F note on their third fret; therefore when playing these strings be mindful that they are one octave higher than E string and an octave lower than G string.
Once you understand the layout of open string notes, it’s time to move on to closed string notes. While this requires more practice and may take more time than initially anticipated, it remains an essential step in learning music. Furthermore, knowing intervals between notes is vital, so familiarizing yourself with musical alphabet and how each letter can be altered to produce sharp or flat sounds is necessary for this step.
Open String Octave Markers
Learning the fretboard can be challenging when connecting notes across strings. Octave shapes provide an effective solution, as they make connecting open string notes with those on other strings easier. Octave shapes are basically stretching exercises that involve reaching over two strings and up two frets to play an octave higher version of that note; you can finger these octave shapes with either your 1st or 3rd fingers depending on your comfort level.
Let’s first take a look at some examples of these octave patterns on the E and A strings, beginning with the second fret E string’s second octave pattern; this is similar to fret 5 but with one extra fret added above.
Another example of an octave pattern can be seen on the third fret of A string. It echoes its counterpart twelfth fret but has an extra three frets up. These patterns are easy to remember as they follow a musical alphabet pattern.
Assuming you know your way around an A string, the fifth fret can easily be identified by its natural octave marker on the sixth string (fret 2). An octave is double the frequency of its original note; thus if middle C from your sixth string was played one octave lower on your fifth string it will result in C3.
Similar octave patterns can also be seen at the second fret of the B string – this time four frets up from where it would normally be found on its respective string.
As you can see, these octave patterns are easy to memorise and will allow you to quickly link open string notes with those found elsewhere on the bass guitar strings. This enables faster chord progression and soloing sessions – ultimately leading to improved playing ability and sound more authentic!
Closed String Notes
Music theory may seem intimidating at first, but bassists generally understand its immense value. Understanding notes is where everything starts: A note is simply a named pitch with half steps added or subtracted for alteration – these steps are known as flat (b) or sharp (f). So for instance, B is one octave lower than C which in turn is one octave higher than D which creates intervals which help form patterns on your fretboard that you need to know of in order to progress your playing further.
Let’s now examine the first string, known as the open E string. There are two natural notes on it – F and G as indicated by this notation chart below; F would typically be played using your first finger while G can be played either using 2nd or 3rd fingers.
Fiffted notes on an open E string can change its timbre, making certain genres more suitable than others. Unfortunately, fretted notes can sometimes be more challenging for beginners playing bass guitar.
No matter whether you use open strings or fretted notes, it is crucial that you understand the intervals between them. Doing this will enable you to better navigate the fretboard as each interval corresponds with particular chords or arpeggios on it. In addition, learning intervals will give you a deeper knowledge of scales as well as help identify root notes of any chord you play on the fretboard. For more information on intervals and their application in bass playing check out my blog post on this subject!
Closed String Octave Markers
An octave is defined as 12 semitones or frets; when you move a note an octave higher in pitch it doubles, sounding similar to its original note; conversely when moved down half octaves it still sounds very much like its counterpart but with reduced frequency.
Understanding octave markers is an integral component of learning bass guitar. These small dots appear at certain positions on your fretboard to assist in learning where notes reside and connect notes across strings – something which will come in very handy as you start playing chords and solos.
The first octave marker can be found at the second fret of your D string, helping you remember that C is immediately above an open D string; one fret up from C, two frets up is D; then one fret above D is E; two frets above F are F; then finally one fret up from F is G and finally A at Fret 7.
Repeating this pattern on each closed string to create an octave scale can be tricky at first, but with practice you will become adept at understanding and memorizing this sequence of notes. Octave markers will make this easier!
As you progress through these octave shapes, it is important to remember that you can also bend your strings. This allows more control of the sound of your bass while giving it more expressive qualities. A good way to find notes to bend is by looking for a curved arrow; this indicates when to increase or decrease pitch by either half step or full step increments.
Learn the octave shape on the E string first as this will connect notes on your low E string with those playing an octave higher on your high E string. While this octave spans two strings and three frets, making this connection early is key for successful learning of music theory and guitar playing alike.