Bass Grimiore Cheat Sheet

[mambo4]

These are all the scales in the Bass Grimiore table of contents, Plus the 7 diatonic modes.
I have criticized the Grimiore as an uninformative list of fingering charts,
And claimed that most of it can be fit on a single page (here it is.)

I will say that, the above criticism aside, the early chapters of the Bass Grimiore
on the interval construction of the major scale ( and its modes )
are certainly some use able, foundational theory.

Every scale below is presented as a variation of the major scale
( which is how I memorize scales most efficiently. )

If converting intervals into fingerings is a challenge, you can:
1.) Get some graph paper and work out your own charts. (How I did it at first)
2.) practice the major scale, in all keys, all over the neck
so it becomes a reliable reference point. (how I do it now)

--

BASS GRIMIORE CHEAT SHEET

DIATONIC MODES
IONIAN (I) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
DORIAN (ii) 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
PHRYGIAN (iii) 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
LYDIAN (IV) 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7
MIXOLYDIAN (V) 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7
AEOLIAN (vi) 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
LOCRIAN (vii) 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7

7 TONE SCALES
MAJOR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
MINOR 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
MELODIC MINOR 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7 (ascending)
HARMONIC MINOR 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
HARMONIC MAJOR 1 2 3 4 5 b6 7
HUNGARIAN MINOR 1 2 b3 #4 5 b6 b7
HUNGARIAN MAJOR 1 #2 3 #4 5 6 b7
NEAPOLITAN MINOR 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 7
NEAPOLITAN MAJOR 1 b2 b3 4 5 6 7
ENIGMATIC MINOR 1 b2 b3 #4 5 #6 7
ENIGMATIC 1 b2 3 #4 #5 #6 7
COMPOSITE II 1 b2 3 4# 5 b6 7
IONIAN Flat 5 1 2 3 4 b5 6 7
LOCRIAN Double Flat 7 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 bb7
PERSIAN 1 b2 3 4 b5 b6 7

5 TONE SCALES
MINOR PENTATONIC (BLUES SCALE) 1 b3 4 (b5) 5 b7
KUMOI 1 b2 4 5 b6
HIROJOSHI 1 2 b3 5 b6

6 TONE SCALES
WHOLE TONE 1 2 3 #4 #5 b7
AUGMENTED 1 #2 3 5 b6 7
PELOG 1 b2 3 #4 5 b6
DOMINANT SUS 1 2 4 5 6 b7

8 TONE SCALES
DIMINISHED WH 1 2 b3 4 b5 b6 6 7
DIMINISHED HW 1 b2 b3 3 #4 5 6 b7
8 TONE SPANISH 1 b2 #2 3 4 b5 b6 b7
BEBOP LOCRIAN (Natural 2) 1 2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 7
BEBOP DOMINANT 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 7
BEBOP DORIAN 1 2 b3 3 4 5 6 b7
BEBOP MAJOR 1 2 3 4 5 b6 6 7

--

How do you use them?
Well, that won't fit on one page...

 

[Malcolm35]

Well worth saving in your reference binder.

 

[JW56789]

I don't, aside from using them as brain- and hand-stretchers for practice. Otherwise I'd rather play music. For the life of me, I don't EVER remember thinking to myself in the middle of a tune, 'gee, I could play Phrygian scale back down to 1 to get me out of the bridge and back to the verse' . . . . maybe it's just me.

 

[David McIntire]

I don't, aside from using them as brain- and hand-stretchers for practice. Otherwise I'd rather play music. For the life of me, I don't EVER remember thinking to myself in the middle of a tune, 'gee, I could play Phrygian scale back down to 1 to get me out of the bridge and back to the verse' . . . . maybe it's just me.

It is not just you...

Relating all scales or modes back to the Major is exactly like referring all words and slang back to the Alphabet. I experience music as a language, not as an equation, so I like that. I practice that.

But like Mr Wilson said above... I'm hired to play songs, not scales. I learn songs, not scales. Hindsight is 20/20. If in the performance of a song, I do something great, or terrible, I tend to remember that. And reference it back to the Alphabet. So I can repeat that "phrase", in future conversation. Or not. Ha! If, in learning a song, I hear an interval that is out of the ordinary of what I'd expect? I refer back to the Alphabet.

Once I learned English? I didn't rehearse new conversations. Plan words to say. I just improv conversations. I add words to my vocabulary, sure. But not before I hear em and need to know what they mean. I don't study the Dictionary. I read books. Ya know?

 

[David McIntire]

I still dig the reference, tho. Thank you.

 

[mambo4]

For me the general principal is "if it has a name, you should learn it". These patterns have proven useful enough over the ages that musicians chose to name them for easier learning and discussion.

Ultimately we must keep in mind that these names do not describe fingerings, or sets of intervals: they describe sounds. Memorizing the sound, having a clear internal mental recall in our mind's ear, takes time and effort.

 

[SteveCS]

These are all the scales in the Bass Grimiore table of contents, Plus the 7 diatonic modes.
...

7 TONE SCALES
MAJOR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
MINOR 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
MELODIC MINOR 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7 (ascending)
...

5 TONE SCALES
MINOR PENTATONIC (BLUES SCALE) 1 b3 4 (b5) 5 b7
KUMOI 1 b2 4 5 b6
HIROJOSHI 1 2 b3 5 b6

...

No Melodic Minor Descending?
No Major Pentatonic?

 

[mambo4]

No Melodic Minor Descending?
No Major Pentatonic?

Hey man, I just googled the table of contents.
Some of these may be described under other headings.
I won't vouch for the relative usefulness of scales included over those left out.

If yall want a deep dive into using common and uncommon scales I'd suggest Rick Beato's you tube channel.

 

[SteveCS]

Hey man, I just googled the table of contents.
Some of these may be described under other headings.
I won't vouch for the relative usefulness of scales included over those left out.

If yall want a deep dive into using common and uncommon scales I'd suggest Rick Beato's you tube channel.

No criticism intended, just a casual observation. You are probably right that they are under some or other sub-heading. Just seems odd that the modes of the major scale each get their own heading, along with some selected modes of the various minor scales, but the major pentatonic, which is arguably important in it's own right and not just as a mode of the minor pentatonic, doesn't.

 

[IamGroot]

If you learn the scales/modes, that's great. But unless you learn to hear them and know how to apply them to your music, you are missing out on most of the potential value.

PS, Minor and major pentatonic, plus the 7 diatonic major modes plus dim and Aug will cover 99% of the cover band material in rock and blues. Know those cold.

Edit. If you think you understand all 7 major modes, learn to play each mode as triads in thirds and 4 note with 7ths.

 

[Montana Matt]

I like the concise approach you're going for here. I got my copy of the Grimoire out the other week to spend some time with it and it does seem more bulky than it needs to be. I'd double check your cheat sheet though as Harmonic Minor doesn't have a flatted 7.

 

[mambo4]

I'd double check your cheat sheet though as Harmonic Minor doesn't have a flatted 7.

You are correct, good catch. I'll see if I can update the post.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I like the concise approach you're going for here. I got my copy of the Grimoire out the other week to spend some time with it and it does seem more bulky than it needs to be. I'd double check your cheat sheet though as Harmonic Minor doesn't have a flatted 7.

I've found that a lot of scale related books are much larger than they need to be for my use. That's probably because the bass is strung symmetrically, so you don't have to change the fingerings for every key. The challenge is playing the scales/exercises from different fingers and translating that info to the other keys.

I was looking through a book on diminished scales and figured that out of the 80 pages in the book, I only needed 5.