How to Play Bass Guitar for Newbie Lesson 3 : Playing Scales

Practice Lessons

Before you move on to the next lesson, take some time to practice playing each of the notes on the fretboard.

Start by playing and identifying the notes on each individual string. Play each note in succession, moving up the neck until you've reached the body of the bass. Say each note aloud as you play it (# is called a sharp - so A# would be called A Sharp).

Next, try playing all of the ascending notes in order by moving up to the next string each time you reach the 5th fret.

Once you've completed each of these lessons, try doing them backwards in descending order.

Lesson 3: Playing Scales

Now that we have a clear understanding of where each of the notes on the fretboard is located, we can begin to put them together into patterns known as "Scales". A bass scale is similar to a guitar scale and is basically a specific group of musical notes that work together to produce a distinct sound or feeling. Scales are used to help organize musical ideas and to give musicians a framework for composition and improvisation. Besides helping to strengthen your fingers and improve your dexterity, learning scales can also help improve your understanding (and feeling) for the intervals between different notes and the relationships between them. In this lesson we will go over a few of the most basic scales for the bass guitar :

The Chromatic Scale

The chromatic scale is probably the most basic scale in Western music and includes all twelve of the musical notes. The chromatic scale moves up in half steps (much like the exercises in the previous lesson) from the designated root note to its corresponding note one octave higher. While you can use any note as the root note (i.e. A Chromatic, B Chromatic, C# Chromatic), we will use E in the following exercise.

1. Start by playing the 4th string "Open". This is an E and will be the root note for this scale.

2. Next, use your index finger to hold down the first fret on the 4th string and play the note. This is an F note.

3. Move up a half-step and play the F# note with your ring finger.

4. Move up another half-step and play the G note.

5. Move up another half-step and play the G# note.

6. Repeat and play the rest of the notes in the E Chromatic Scale. Take note of the fact that you are ending on the same note (E) that you started on, albeit one octave higher.

Alright, you've just played your first scale. Congratulations! And while this may not be the most musical sounding scale, it does form the basic from which many other scales are constructed. If you're feeling brave, go ahead and try to play this scale using different notes as your root.

The Major Scale

The Major Scale is one of the most important scales in music and should be instantly recognizable to anyone with even a passing familiarity with music (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do). The major scale has a bright, upbeat quality to it and helps form the basis of songs that are built around major chords. While the Chromatic Scale uses only half-steps in its construction, the Major Scale uses a combination of whole and half-steps. Note: A whole step equals two half-steps - or two frets.

Here is how to play the Major Scale using E as your root note :

1. Play the 4th string "Open"

2. Play the 4th string, 2nd fret

3. Play the 4th string, 4th fret

4. Play the 3rd string "Open"

5. Play the 3rd string, 2nd fret

6. Play the 3rd string, 4th fret

7. Play the 2nd string, 1st fret

8. Play the 2nd string, 2nd fret

Notice that the note that you finish up on is also an E, meaning that you have completed the E Major Scale. Again, if you're feeling bold, try using the formula above to figure out the major scale using different root notes. This may be difficult at first, but if you understand the pattern then it gets much easier.


The Minor Pentatonic Scale

The Minor Pentatonic Scale is one that is commonly used in Blues and Rock & Roll. Just as minor chords have a darker, sadder musical quality to them, the minor scale also gives off a moody, solemn vibe. As opposed to the Chromatic Scale (which has 12 notes) and the Major Scale (which has 7 notes) Here is how to construct the minor scale (again using E as the root note):

1. Play the 4th string "Open"
2. Play the 4th string, 3rd fret
3. Play the 3rd string "Open"
4. Play the 3rd string, 2nd fret
5. Play the 2nd string "Open"
6. Play the 2nd string, 2nd fret

You may begin to hear hints of a blues progression as you play this scale. This is because the minor pentatonic scale is the most commonly used scale in blues. Once again, if you're feeling adventurous, try playing the minor pentatonic scale using different root notes.