Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Scales
- Thread starter Kipp Harrington
- Start date
Yeah I had a feeling that would confuse you. I’m not going to go there yet. Focus on the 4 notes.
Play the notes from Cmaj7 I gave you. try to find them everywhere from frets 1-12.
To make it more fun, go to the website I gave you and select C maj7 so it plays in the background for you.
Yeah dont worry about all that yet. Just stay focused on chord tones. They are taking you in the direction of learning scales. It all works together. Better to keep it simple to start.
C is the first note in a C scale and the first note of a C chord. The second note in the C scale is D. The third note in the C scale is E and also the third note in a major C chord. The fourth note is F. The fifth note in the C scale is G and also the fifth of a major C chord and so on.
So, you have some head knowledge just haven't applied it to your bass fretboard.
Are the chord tones only the fretted notes in a chord? For example, in a Cmaj chord, there are 6 notes (C, E, C, and open G and E). Only the C, E and C (on the B string) are fretted. So are the chord tones for Cmaj C, E, and C again?
Yet, you play guitar? How do you get around on that guitar? Do you know, understand the chords you are playing on the guitar?
For the most part, yes. But I couldn’t tell you (off the cuff) what notes made up an A minor chord but I know how to play one.
And that's where the work begins...
You may not know the notes if asked but, do you know you are making an A minor chord when you make it? Or if I said to play a C chord then an F chord then a G chord. Would you know what to do?
Or if I said to play a C chord then an F chord then a G chord. Would you know what to do?
Notes are notes regardless if they are fretted or not.
I think the confusion is you are thinking of a guitar chord and strumming it.
What I am talking about is playing those notes that make up the chord, one at a time on your bass.
So no, there are not 6 notes in the Cmaj chord. There are 3 - C, E, G. Just because you play G more times does not change that it is still a G.
The tricky part of this is understanding what a chord is. C maj is basically the root note (C), the major third note E and the 5th G. Yes, you can consider the higher C the octave and call it the 8th or octave. That’s totally fine.
So this is why when you play bass a lot you hear terms like “I just played root 5 the whole time because I didn’t know that tune”. Why is this? Well a power chord is just a root and the 5th note above it. In the case of C it is a C and a G. Play a C power chord on your guitar. You may add a C above it, but its still 2 notes. So a major or minor chord is just a power chord with a 3rd added in.
So when you play a Cmaj you are playing the root and 5 ( C and G) plus the 3rd - E.
Why am I calling these notes 3 and 5? Well if you start at C and count on your fingers while saying C,D,E, F, G it will all make sense.
I just typed too much and it may be a little confusing. If it is, just do the last thing I said. Count on your fingers while saying C, D, E, F, G.
After that does it make more sense why I call the G the 5th of C?
