When you decide to take up the bass, there's lots of information on the internet that will help you. But often the terms used may be confusing. So this thread may be of use to help you understand some of the basics.
Let's start by looking at a bass player:
She's happy because she has already learned all this stuff. So let's get started making you happy too.
The first thing to note is that what seems to be up is actually down. Looking at the picture, when you move your left hand upwards the notes go down. Bass players refer to it as going "down' the neck even though you are going up.
The second thing to know is illustrated here:
The string that is located closest to the floor is the high string. The one highest up is the low string. The one closest to the floor is the first string, the topmost is the forth. Unless you have a five or six string bass. We'll get back to that later.
If you are playing a note on the first string and you want to play down to the fifth of the scale, you move you finger up one string, which takes you down a fourth, the resulting note being the fifth. Or if your hand is lower (see first illustration - i.e. higher), to go down to the fifth on the same string you would move your hand up (down the scale) five frets which will give you the same note as staying on the same fret and moving up one string which takes you down to the fifth because the strings are tuned in fourths.
Some find this a bit confusing, so it may be easier to ignore what is physically up and down, and just think of frets and strings by number. The only thing you must keep in mind is that the lower string is the first string. That won't necessarily give you the right note though since a six string's first string is usually a fourth higher than a four or five string. But we'll forget about the six string for now.
So the first fret is the highest one on the fingerboard, referring to the first illustration. It produces the second to lowest note available on that string, even though it is the first fret. The lowest note is when the string is not fretted at all - it is said to be open, which is the same as you would find on a bass with a zero fret, which is actually more nutty than fretty. As you go down (illus. #1) or up in pitch, the frets are numbered sequentially. So if I told you to play the note at the third fret of the second string you should be able to work that out OK. In conventional tuning that note is an F. If that were the root note of the piece you are playing, you would be in the key of F. If you moved up one fret (down towards the floor, illus. #1) you would be in Fsharp or Gflat, since it is the sharp of the fret above it (below it in pitch) or the flat of the next one up (or down in pitch). But the note at the third fret of the second string is the root note of F only since there is no key signature for Esharp and the only other thing it could be is Fsharp flat which makes no sense at all.
The octave of any open string will be found at the twelfth fret, unless you have a zero fret, when it might seem that it's at the thirteenth fret. But you must not think that way. If you have a bass with a zero fret you must count your frets starting at zero not one. And don't get confused by singing a scale (do re me fa so la ti do) since there are only seven steps, but there are twelve frets in the octave. The term "octave" of course comes from the number eight, even though there are seven steps between the notes - we still need to be at the twelfth fret. And it is noteworthy that the twelfth fret is at the mid point between the nut and the bridge saddle for that string, unless you have a zero fret in which case it is the mid point between the zero fret and the saddle. Now some basses have 24 frets, but that doesn't mean that the 24th fret is at the saddle even though the 12th is half way there. Instead it's 3/4 of the way there.
A typical bass pattern is to play the root note of the chord followed by its fifth. If you are going up in pitch to the fifth, the easiest way is to go to the next lowest string number (i.e. from 4th to 3rd string) and up 2 frets (down towards the floor if looking at illustration #1). That is because the bass is conventionally tuned in fourths and crossing to the next string will bring you to the fourth and so you need to add one tone to that (two frets). One tone is two semi-tones and each fret is one semi-tone. You just have to remember that there are two odd ones in any major key with respect to the distance between two notes of the scale. So in the Key of C major, the distance from the notes E and F (third and fourth defree) is not a tone but a semi-tone as is the distance from the leading note (the seventh degree of the scale found on the 11th fret of the same string) and the octave (seven steps or 12 frets up/down).
This will get you started. It all seems a bit daunting at first but if you persevere you will find your way around.
The fourth degree of the major scale is found a
Let's start by looking at a bass player:
She's happy because she has already learned all this stuff. So let's get started making you happy too.
The first thing to note is that what seems to be up is actually down. Looking at the picture, when you move your left hand upwards the notes go down. Bass players refer to it as going "down' the neck even though you are going up.
The second thing to know is illustrated here:
The string that is located closest to the floor is the high string. The one highest up is the low string. The one closest to the floor is the first string, the topmost is the forth. Unless you have a five or six string bass. We'll get back to that later.
If you are playing a note on the first string and you want to play down to the fifth of the scale, you move you finger up one string, which takes you down a fourth, the resulting note being the fifth. Or if your hand is lower (see first illustration - i.e. higher), to go down to the fifth on the same string you would move your hand up (down the scale) five frets which will give you the same note as staying on the same fret and moving up one string which takes you down to the fifth because the strings are tuned in fourths.
Some find this a bit confusing, so it may be easier to ignore what is physically up and down, and just think of frets and strings by number. The only thing you must keep in mind is that the lower string is the first string. That won't necessarily give you the right note though since a six string's first string is usually a fourth higher than a four or five string. But we'll forget about the six string for now.
So the first fret is the highest one on the fingerboard, referring to the first illustration. It produces the second to lowest note available on that string, even though it is the first fret. The lowest note is when the string is not fretted at all - it is said to be open, which is the same as you would find on a bass with a zero fret, which is actually more nutty than fretty. As you go down (illus. #1) or up in pitch, the frets are numbered sequentially. So if I told you to play the note at the third fret of the second string you should be able to work that out OK. In conventional tuning that note is an F. If that were the root note of the piece you are playing, you would be in the key of F. If you moved up one fret (down towards the floor, illus. #1) you would be in Fsharp or Gflat, since it is the sharp of the fret above it (below it in pitch) or the flat of the next one up (or down in pitch). But the note at the third fret of the second string is the root note of F only since there is no key signature for Esharp and the only other thing it could be is Fsharp flat which makes no sense at all.
The octave of any open string will be found at the twelfth fret, unless you have a zero fret, when it might seem that it's at the thirteenth fret. But you must not think that way. If you have a bass with a zero fret you must count your frets starting at zero not one. And don't get confused by singing a scale (do re me fa so la ti do) since there are only seven steps, but there are twelve frets in the octave. The term "octave" of course comes from the number eight, even though there are seven steps between the notes - we still need to be at the twelfth fret. And it is noteworthy that the twelfth fret is at the mid point between the nut and the bridge saddle for that string, unless you have a zero fret in which case it is the mid point between the zero fret and the saddle. Now some basses have 24 frets, but that doesn't mean that the 24th fret is at the saddle even though the 12th is half way there. Instead it's 3/4 of the way there.
A typical bass pattern is to play the root note of the chord followed by its fifth. If you are going up in pitch to the fifth, the easiest way is to go to the next lowest string number (i.e. from 4th to 3rd string) and up 2 frets (down towards the floor if looking at illustration #1). That is because the bass is conventionally tuned in fourths and crossing to the next string will bring you to the fourth and so you need to add one tone to that (two frets). One tone is two semi-tones and each fret is one semi-tone. You just have to remember that there are two odd ones in any major key with respect to the distance between two notes of the scale. So in the Key of C major, the distance from the notes E and F (third and fourth defree) is not a tone but a semi-tone as is the distance from the leading note (the seventh degree of the scale found on the 11th fret of the same string) and the octave (seven steps or 12 frets up/down).
This will get you started. It all seems a bit daunting at first but if you persevere you will find your way around.
The fourth degree of the major scale is found a
this needs to be stickied when finished.
