The fretboard thing

[PrinceJ]

I am not sure what its called (forgot) but the scale thing that shows A A# etc...

(looking at A string)
I was wondering A and Ab are played on the same fret, when the scale says A and A# does that mean your playing open a or Ab?

Is the open A only at the beginning and after that the other a's are Ab

this is the fret im looking at
http://learnbass.net/2008/11/how-to-...ass-fretboard/

[Deathblade Eric]

Originally Posted by PrinceJ

(looking at A string)
I was wondering A and Ab are played on the same fret, when the scale says A and A# does that mean your playing open a or Ab?

They're not on the same fret, they can't be (unless you indulge in some mega-bends).
Open A = A
A string 1st fret = A# (more usually called Bb)
Ab = G# = E string 4th fret.

Originally Posted by PrinceJ

Is the open A only at the beginning and after that the other a's are Ab

I can only guess that you're referring to the Key Signature at the very start of a piece of sheet music. In this case the line of the stave with either a sharp or flat on it indicates that all notes on that line are to be played as per the key signature, unless otherwise stated. It's a sort of shorthand & will drive you nuts to begin with.

[PrinceJ]

Oh i understand, My bad what my head was thinking was for the E string you can see the A is on the fifth fret would that be Ab, or open A

[Deathblade Eric]

Originally Posted by PrinceJ

Oh i understand, My bad what my head was thinking was for the E string you can see the A is on the fifth fret would that be Ab, or open A

Open A.

It goes:

E: Open = E; 1 = F; 2 = F#; 3 = G; 4 = G#; 5 = A
A: Open = A; 1 = Bb; 2 = B; 3 = C; 4 = C#; 5 = D
D: Open = D; 1 = Eb; 2 = E; 3= F; 4= F#; 5 = G
G: Open = G; 1 = G#; 2 = A; 3 = Bb; 4 = B; 5 = C

Pete.

[PrinceJ]

Wheres the sharps at, this just got redonkulous

[Deathblade Eric]

Originally Posted by PrinceJ

Wheres the sharps at, this just got redonkulous

I shall attempt to unredonkolise the situational scenario (without a safety net, & with no visible means of support)...

A# = Bb
C# = Db
D# = Eb
F# = Gb
G# = Ab

In theory they're all interchangable, but if you tell a Jazz player that the tune's in A#, they will laugh very lots. I don't quite see that it makes a difference (until you get really advanced), but there's just a convention that some are called sharp & some are called flats.

Pete.

[PrinceJ]

Ahh, thanks got it. I was thinking A = Ab C=Cb etc.

[Deathblade Eric]

Originally Posted by PrinceJ

Ahh, thanks got it. I was thinking A = Ab C=Cb etc.

It can (well, at first glance it will). But only when/if you get into sheet music & proper notation etc. Best to leave all that confuscabulationism well alone for the moment though until you've got your head properly around the bit you're at now.

Oh, FWIW... Cb = B

Chromatic Scale (one note per fret): C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, Bb, B, C

Pete.

[hrodbert696]

Simple and basic;

A "flat" is one half-step below the note.
A "sharp" is one half-step above the note.

Each fret is a half-step.

So a note-flat is the same as the next lower note-sharp.

There are two exceptions; If you look at a piano keyboard, black keys are the sharps and flats for piano. You'll notice there are no black keys between B and C or between E and F. That means that, on the very rare occasions when you'll see "B#," it means C (and vice versa, Cb is B), and "E#" is F while "Fb" is E.

[MalcolmAmos]

If anyone is still conboobulated go look at a piano keyboard. The black notes are the sharp/flat notes, one note, one sound with two names. That in itself is confusing, how can one sound have two names?

C-(C#/Db)-D-(D#/Eb)-E-F etc.

(C#/Db) is a black key - one sound - two names. There are all kinds of "rules" about it being a sharp or a flat, not going there - what makes since to me - it's called a C# if you are going up scale and Db if you are coming back down scale. Up a fret will be a sharp. Down a fret will be a flat. Whoa down a fret from F is E....... up a fret from E is F.......

........ I know, I know -- I said what makes since to me - it's all those other "King's X" rules that make it conboobulated. Go look at a piano keyboard - the big picture is easier to see on the keyboard. Figure it out looking at the keyboard.

[PJSShearer]

Unless you are in Germany where B flat is "B" and B Natural is "H" !!.

[PJSShearer]

Originally Posted by Deathblade Eric

In theory they're all interchangable, but if you tell a Jazz player that the tune's in A#, they will laugh very lots. I don't quite see that it makes a difference (until you get really advanced), but there's just a convention that some are called sharp & some are called flats.

Pete.

The B flat major scale uses the notes:

Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A & Bb. Nice and simple - 2 flats.

Then the A major scale is:

A, B ,C#, D, E, F#, G#, A. Nice and simple - 3 sharps.

The A# major scale (sonically the same as the Bb scale) would be the A major scale with every note sharpened:

A# , B#, C##, D#, E#, F##, G##, A#.

Not so simple - 4 sharps and 3 double sharps (yes they do exist - as do double flats!!).

[Deathblade Eric]

Originally Posted by PJSShearer

The A# major scale (sonically the same as the Bb scale) would be the A major scale with every note sharpened:

A# , B#, C##, D#, E#, F##, G##, A#.

Not so simple - 4 sharps and 3 double sharps (yes they do exist - as do double flats!!).

That gets my nomination for the Department of Redundancy Department Prize Award Chalice Cup. Are there any reasonably well-known tunes notated in A#maj? I was aware of the existence of doubles, but had nooo idea that their application was as completely hatstand as that. (Mind you... it's worth remembering just to irritate guitarists who balk at the idea of Bb )

BTW... In another thread, the OP let slip that they're awaiting delivery of their very first bass... so simplicity is probably the order of the day even if it stretches accuracy somewhat, otherwise it could all go terribly wrong.

P.

[PJSShearer]

Until you mentioned it, I'd never hear of the key of A#. !!

A double sharp is used when you need to sharpen a note that's already sharp (and a double flat is the opposite) - you see it very occasionally in orchestral music as an accidental.

BTW Before anyone else mentions it, I am aware that the correct "sign" is not ##.

[mambo4]

Originally Posted by MalcolmAmos

it's called a C# if you are going up scale and Db if you are coming back down scale. Up a fret will be a sharp. Down a fret will be a flat.

I think the wording is misleading here. "going up scale" and "coming back down scale"implies (to me) that an ascending melody will be all sharps and a descending melody will be all flats
-which is of course nonsense.

So when is it C# and when is it Db?

The short but uninformative answer is : it depends on the key.

Keeping the sharps and flats orderly will help communicate with other musicians. Don't be random about it.
some rules of thumb, within a single piece of music:

1.) Usually, each letter name is consistently Sharp, Flat, or Natural. It never shows up with different accidental.
Don't call one note C and then later another C#
...Call it C and Db

2.) Usually, Sharps and Flats aren't mixed in the same tune.
...instead of G# - Db -Eb
we'd write G# - C# -D# OR Ab-Db -Eb

"usually" above means in the context of diatonic music.
There are always exceptions, especially with chromatics, alterations and modulations in jazz and blues type stuff, but there is a deliberate reason in such cases.
Done correctly the accidentals carry a lot of implied information about the music and what can be done with it.

[Mr wiggl3s]

www.studybass.com brother