Bass Scales..

[Marubeng]

For new or self taught bassists who wants to learn the scales of bass.. i have found this website which i think is really good..
Bass Guitar Scale Page
check it out..

Peace and Rock On \m/

 

[shinobi]

wah a page of scales specifically for bass. up to u

 

[KeDraiv]

interesting, i was planning to use this to aid in my scale theory( grade 5 piano theory doesn't seem to help in bass scales, lol) : Mattias IA Eklundh's Freak Guitar - the official homepage , HAHA

 

[Hickey_]

hey, but do you have scales that is written in tab forms? cause i cant read those... thingy. ):

 

[kdash]

hey, but do you have scales that is written in tab forms? cause i cant read those... thingy. ):

hmm i've browsed the pages suggested above, they do have the pictorial guitar string and finger dots provided with every scale, so Hickey i think you can follow that one. once you get it you can even try to convert it into tab notation by yourself

 

[benjso28]

Knowing scales is important but I met people who know how to run the scales, but do not know how to apply in the music they play in.

Among so many scales in the world, pentatonics are commonly use (Blues scales too). Modes derive from the Major scale are also useful.

Good thing abt bass and guitar is you can shift the position to get another key but just study the pattern.
i.e if you start the C major scale on the 3rd fret of A string, by shifting to 5th fret of A string and playing the same major scale pattern, you get the D major scale.

Try to recognise and speak out the notes that you press.
By practicing that, soon you will know the notes on the fretboard and not rely solely on tabs.

Cheers

 

[kdash]

Knowing scales is important but I met people who know how to run the scales, but do not know how to apply in the music they play in.

Among so many scales in the world, pentatonics are commonly use (Blues scales too). Modes derive from the Major scale are also useful.

Good thing abt bass and guitar is you can shift the position to get another key but just study the pattern.
i.e if you start the C major scale on the 3rd fret of A string, by shifting to 5th fret of A string and playing the same major scale pattern, you get the D major scale.

Try to recognise and speak out the notes that you press.
By practicing that, soon you will know the notes on the fretboard and not rely solely on tabs.

Cheers

nice 1 there bro! just to add on, i think it is important to try to understand the harmony and what you are playing, rather than rote learning which gives rise to the problem of application.

once the scales make sense to your ears, you can then proceed to make sense of it in your brain haha. hope i'm making sense here!

 

[emptyspaces]

totally agree with kdash.
cause there are many bassist who just memorize all these scales and they don't really know how it works hence unable to put them into their playing.

 

[Hickey_]

Okay, i still cant read those thingys. Someone help. >_>

 

[fiqthefallen]

here's my 2 cents...

focus on the minor pentatonic (mode 1).

base strings are lined up as EADG from bottom to top

the dots you see are something like this in a different representation:
G|--1--|-----|--3--|-----| -1st string
D|--1--|-----|-(3)-|-----|
A|--1--|-----|--3--|-----|
E|-(1)-|-----|-----|--4--| -4th string
(number denotes finger number to press, 1 being your index, the rest you shld know)

The bracket represents the base note for each scale, so when you begin the scale on the 5th fret of the E string (A), you're playing an A minor pentatonic....

hope it helps

 

[Hickey_]

What? So I just strum all 4 strings like a guitar? -.-

 

[fiqthefallen]

haha... no la... they're called scales for a reason. just play them one note at a time.

here's more help in video:
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/5325_bass-scale-pentatonic-guitar.htm

yes, you can play chords (like a guitar) on a bass, but if you use it wrongly, it'll sounds like crap...

 

[Hickey_]

thanks.
But how do i know what order to play on the scales. ? Like which note 1st which note follows.

 

[fiqthefallen]

my prev post was just to help interpret the scale. for starters, start with:
1) major scale
2) minor scales
3) minor/major pentatonic
4) blues scale
5) the list goes on.....
this link (http://www.cyberfretbass.com/scales/index.php) is more in depth about scales. hope they can help you understand more.

to familiarise yourself with the scale, practise the notes first, build finger memory by knowing where to put your fingers on the scale. expose yourself to music with intricate basslines so you'll get the hinge of how the bass is played.

as for arrangement of notes, it depends on the song. if your song is in the key of A, your note starts with an A, then from the scale, play as you wish. it doesnt have to be in that particular order in the video (prev post), just go with the flow.

 

[lerkylicious]

thanks alot man. i still need to work alot on scaling.

 

[Hickey_]

Thanks dude, you've been a great help. But don't worry. It won't be soon before long i start to ask noobish questions again. ><

 

[Marubeng]

glad to be of some teeny weeny help.. but.. yea.. i kinda started here.. soo hope i will be of help to all bassists out there.. anyway to answer some questions.. the scales shown are based on the pic, bottom to bottom (EADG) and pluck note by note starting from the E string from the left most note..

 

[maikalikong]

Bass scales

Hi all,

As a bassist myself, I believe that scales that are one of the most important things that a bassist should know and understand how and when to use them. To me it's just about knowing whether it's a major, minor or blues scale, but knowing how scales are formed.

There are many types of scales, but to know when to use them requires one to know about the key structures. For example we take C key. There are 7 notes in a C major scale namely; C, D, E, F, G, A, B. Out of these 7 notes makes the chords in the key of C; CM7, Dm7, Em7, FM7, G7, Am7, Bm7b5
Notice that the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th chords are all minor 7 and the 1st and 4th chords are major 7. Only the 5th is a dominant 7 7 the the 7th has a flat5 in it. Every single chords has it's own scale namely; Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian, each having their own pattern. That's how I look at it..

Hope it doesn't sound too complicated here. There's more to write but I don't really know how to describe it in words so I leave you guys here to ponder over it for a while.

Cheers,
Bird

 

[mockingbird]

I've got a bass, and i'm picking it up, slowly, surely and steadily.

 

[benjso28]

In the key of C; Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7, Bm7(b5) = Diatonic chords (form within C major scale) i.e Cmaj7 = 1 3 5 7 = C E G B (the notes are still within C major scale)

Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian = modes
C Ionian (major scale), D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian (natural minor scale), B Locrian

C Ionian = C Major Scale = C D E F G A B C
D Dorian = D E F G A B C
E Phrygian = E F G A B C D E
(just start with the note and end with it, the notes are in C major scale but starting note different)

In key of C, you can apply C Ionian scale over C maj7 chord, D Dorian over Dm7, E Phrygian over Em7 and so on.. But i feel dun have to be restricted to that. Can look into relative scale. Cmaj7 chord but can play A Aeolian scale and etc

G mixolydian not only can play over G7 chord.. G9, G13 also can since the notes still fall within the G mixolydian scale.

Bm7(b5) = half diminish chord - can use B Locrian scale

Blues scale = Minor Pentatonic with a b5. e.g. C blues scale = C Eb F Gb G Bb
Although its called blues scale but pple use this scale in funk and other genre as well.

More chim jazz will go into altered chords and extension and might apply altered scale and "super" scale, ie. super mixolydian, super locrian and etc.

But I find it difficult to process too much info so usually I will think in arpeggio (or chord tone)

Sorry if my explanation not clear.. ang mo not good..

Cheers