Tuning and 5ths

[Komakino]

I was reading in Bass Player an article called "interval insights: 5ths" all about 5ths (surprisingly) and it went on to say how the root and fifth are situated 1 - 4 on the fretboard, but on adjacent strings. Now I'm probably being thick or missing something remarkably obvious, but in a major scale aren't the root and fifth at 1 - 3 on adjacent strings?

I thought the major scale was:

------------------
------------4-6-7-
------4-5-7-------
--5-7-------------

using A major as an example?

Out of curiousity, why was this moved from DB to BG? It was in the DB section of bass player that I read this, though I guess it makes no difference to the answer.

[Phil Smith]

Originally posted by yottskry
I was reading in Bass Player an article called "interval insights: 5ths" all about 5ths (surprisingly) and it went on to say how the root and fifth are situated 1 - 4 on the fretboard, but on adjacent strings. Now I'm probably being thick or missing something remarkably obvious, but in a major scale aren't the root and fifth at 1 - 3 on adjacent strings?

I thought the major scale was:

------------------
------------4-6-7-
------4-5-7-------
--5-7-------------

using A major as an example?

Out of curiousity, why was this moved from DB to BG? It was in the DB section of bass player that I read this, though I guess it makes no difference to the answer.

I think they may have been referring to fingerings, i.e. 1st finger and 4th finger. Additionally the were probably referring to a 124 fingering method as opposed to the 1 finger per fret method.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally posted by Phil Smith


I think they may have been referring to fingerings, i.e. 1st finger and 4th finger. Additionally the were probably referring to a 124 fingering method as opposed to the 1 finger per fret method.

BINGO.

[Komakino]

Oh I see, so I'm not going mad then?! So the scale does go like I thought it did?

[Phil Smith]

Yes that's one fret board "shape" to play an A major scale. Here's four more:

--------------------
-0-2-4-6-7--------
-0-2-4-------------
--------------------

-1-2--------------
-0-2-4------------
-0-2-4------------
-------------------

-2-4-6-7-9-11-13-14-----
----------------------------
----------------------------
----------------------------

--------------------------
--------------------------
-0-2-4-5-7-9-11-12----
--------------------------

[Komakino]

Oh I was aware there are others, I was just using that one as an example. Thanks though!