Becoming familiar with the fretboard

[IdealWay]

What are some good books, websites, videos, or exercises that help with knowing where notes are on the fretboard. I'm learning to read and want to know instinctively where to put my finger when I see a note. I know it'll take lots of practice, but where should I begin? Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Jake of Bass]

There's heaps of resources around these days. A good start would be to try www.studybass.com

A lot of it is learning the notes, reading the notes, playing the notes and lots and lots and lots of PRACTICE! You'll just have to be patient but over time the rewards are well worth the effort. Start off with the natural notes up to the 5th fret (natural notes are the ones without sharps or flats). Once you've got that down you can start adding a few of your sharpened/flattened notes here and there. Then move onto key signatures and the major scale.

It's all interconnected but taking the thorough approach gives a solid foundation to build upon.

[mrspiffy]

Jake is right on. I've been looking at that website. Ed Friedland's book (Complete Bass Guitar Method book) is pretty good. I've used that and it's made a huge difference in my knowledge of the fret board.

[IdealWay]

Originally Posted by mrspiffy

Jake is right on. I've been looking at that website. Ed Friedland's book (Complete Bass Guitar Method book) is pretty good. I've used that and it's made a huge difference in my knowledge of the fret board.

Friedland's stuff is great. I've been working through "Building Walking Bass Lines" which has immensely expanded my understanding of the role of bass in jazz. I'm definitely progressing, but still shaky when it comes to accidentals, especially on different rhythms, and reading notes in the higher register. I'll definitely look into some more of Ed's books though. Thanks spiffy!

[dontcallmeQRACK]

Hey, I'm copying and pasting a post that I posted a week or two ago, so some of the stuff in here may not make sense (just a few not funny puns, all the information is clearly understandable).

Since everyone else is arguing over an EXISTANT E# I figured Id get you going.

Now remember that there is a sharp between every note when going higher in range up the neck (towards the bridge), every note except B (to c) and E (to f), this doesn't mean a B# or an E# don't exist, they do, and you may see them while reading music (if you do).

Anyway, if you know your standard E A D G, a five string bass adds a low string making it B E A D G and a 6 string bass adds a high string making it B E A D G C, there are basses that have more strings such as 7+ but chances are you won't encounter them on the norm.

So now taking what I said earlier you just go up the neck adding a sharp or changing to the next note in terms of transitioning from B to C and E to F, so:

A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G# and repeat.

flats work a little differently, a flat "brings you back" so instead of climbing towards the bridge of the bass, you'll drop to the head of your bass (lemme guess, you play a headless? ) Anyway, what that means is a G# is the same note as an Ab (b is the sign for a flat and # is the sign for a sharp, sorry I don't know how much you know) a fancier term would be G# is the enharmonic equivalent to an Ab, and all that means is they are the same note so the sixth fret on your D string can be referred to as either a G# or an Ab, since the fifth fret is a G and the seventh is an A.

Here's a chart on the notes for a four string bass.

String fret note

E 1 F
2 F#
3 G
4 G#
5 A
6 A#
7 B
8 C
9 C#
10 D
11 D#
12 E

A 1 A#
2 B
3 C
4 C#
5 D
6 D#
7 E
8 F
9 F#
10 G
11 G#
12 A

D 1 D#
2 E
3 F
4 F#
5 G
6 G#
7 A
8 A#
9 B
10 C
11 C#
12 D

G 1 G#
2 A
3 A#
4 B
5 C
6 C#
7 D
8 D#
9 E
10 F
11 F#
12 G

You may have noticed that it stops at the twelfth fret, that is because at the 12th fret, it repeats, yes, they are the same notes, an octave higher, so playing 12th fret is equivalent to playing the string open, 13th is equivalent to fret 1, 14th is equivalent to fret 2 etc.

Another thing to take note of, the fifth fret on a string is the same note as the open name of the string below it (useful for tuning) so the fifth fret on the E string is an A.

And the seventh fret of a string is the same note as the open string above it, so the seventh fret on the A string is the same as an E above it.

Hope I helped, you can send me a private message for more information or questions.

-Mike

[Jake of Bass]

That's good but you're missing the absolutely crucial key signatures.

For example, if you're in the key of A, you wouldn't think of sharps going up and flats going down (not saying you do this, but you've missed this out and it is VERY important), you would think of the scale as being A B C# D E F# G#, regardless of whether you're ascending or descending through the scale.

As for the OP (who seems to understand already, but anyway), learning your natural notes to the 5th fret is a very good way of progressing to your accidentals. Sharps raise a semitone above the natural whilst flats lower a semitone below the natural note written, and natural signs cancel out accidentals, making the note natural. You can cover a great deal of written music this way, until you have to go higher than than the A on the 5th fret G string.

[funkybass]

For just learning what notes are where this is what I did.

1. Get a bass fretboard chart, take it everywhere with you, and study it when you have free time. I first learned all natural notes up to the 5th fret. When I knew them pretty well I added 6-12 frets natural notes.

2. Get some fretboard flashcards for bass and carry them everywhere. They are what helped me the most.

3. Pick a note and find all locations for it on the bass, for example all E's, B's, F#'s, etc.