Here you can get this PDF diagram of the bass notes, it also includes a diagram of how the bass notes are written on the staff, in the bass clef.
Which will be very useful for the study of the notes.
All this in high quality PDF. Take advantage of this offer!
✅ Download it now! 👇🏻
Welcome ! to this beginner bass lesson.
The most important thing you should know to play the bass is where are notes on the bass neck.
That’s why here you’re gonna find the bass neck with notes ! but….what is the neck of bass ?
Generally made of wood or any other alternative material, the neck can be screwed to the body (bolt-on models) or form a single piece with it (neck-through body models).
Its main function is to transmit the vibration of the strings to the body.
Where are the bass guitar notes on the neck ?
The answer is in the bass fretboard
Knowing the notes on the bass is essential to be able to play the Bass Scales
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Bass Fretboard
First of all, you may be interested to know where the natural musical notes are located on the electric bass. These are C D E F G A B :
The bass fretboard is a piece that it´s generally on the neck. The most common woods in its construction are Rosewood, Ebony, Wenge and Maple and that’s where we’re gonna find the notes on electric bass.
The order of the bass fretboard notes is the same as on any instrument, i.e. the form is by semitones.
You can see the fretboard bass notes in these pictures and you can compare with or without sharp/flat notes.
Now, Check the bass fretboard diagram,
You can get this diagram of the bass notes and also how they are written in the stave.
Easy, isn’t it?
Have you already compared the bass notes on the fretboard ? ok !
We’ve already done the hard part and we’ve realized that notes on a bass guitar neck is similar to the bass notes on fretboard.
As we started with the hardest thing now we get the easiest thing that is learn the notes for bass guitar strings ,this is, the name of the bass open strings or open bass notes.
4 Strings Bass Guitar Notes
The electric bass notes are distributed in intervals of perfect fourth, this means that from note to note there are 4 music notes.
If my first note is “E” the next one will be “A” and the next one ?
As you know we have electric basses of 4 strings, 5 strings and even 6 strings. Check out this 4 strings bas guitar notes chart:
Now Look al bass open strings
💥First String – G
👉🏻listen to G note👇🏻
The sharpest and finest, in it we find the highest note of our strings in the air.
With the highest string of your electric bass you can find the most melodic part of it.
It is ideal for bass solos as it allows us to leave the low register of the instrument.
Also, it is a string which is ideal to make slap, since normally in the technique of the slap, the bass is distributed in the upper strings and the lower string or more acute is destined to the own slap. That is to say, it is the string which clicks, of which you pull it to hit against the fingerboard, and which produces the sound so characteristic of the slap.
Normally the thickness of a first string of a four-string bass is: 0.40, 0.45 or 0.50.
💥Second String -D
👉🏻Listen to D note👇🏻
The second string of the 4-string bass is the D note and it will give us a very rich tone in medium and medium-high frequencies, it is also ideal for the slap technique since the two highest strings are usually used to pull them.
If you want to do a bass solo and stand out in frequencies above instruments like the guitar, you should use the register provided by the two highest strings of your bass.
💥Third open string – A
👉🏻Listen to A note👇🏻
The third string is crucial on a bass guitar, it has a lot of importance because of the low register it encompasses. Most of your bass lines will be distributed on your two lower strings, so the third string and a 4 string bass is ideal for creating bass riffs or bass grooves.
If you play slap, it is common to use the thumb or thumb technique with this string combining the pop with the two higher strings explained above.
💥Fourth String – E
👉🏻Listen to E bass note👇🏻
Finally, the most powerful string that a 4-string bass guitar has, the lowest string and also the thickest string.
With this string you will start playing your first lines as a bass player, because it has the lowest frequencies that your musical instrument can get.
With it, you can accompany the whole band and it matches perfectly with the bass drum.
You know that most of the time your role as a bass player will be to make rhythms in unison with the bass drum, which is also the lowest element of the drums.
The lowest string of a four-string is ideal for playing basses with the thumb of the slap technique.
When we can really feel the power of our instrument is when we are playing its lowest note in the air, in this case E.
Now we will explain this in detail, all the notes of the bass…or rather the notes of the electric bass in all the basses !… what a mess !
Well, let’s make a classification of the basses in relation to the strings they have and their notes on the bass neck.
These are the open notes of the bass, this means that we find them when we play the string in a natural way without using the hand that plays the bass fingerboard.
To find out where the notes are on the bass neck above there is a very clear diagram of the bass fretboard with notes where each natural note and each altered note is.
5 Strings Bass Guitar Notes
Bass Fretboard Trainer
Tips for learning the bass notes and bass fretboard memorization:
- When you go to study, always have at hand a bass fretboard chart and a 4 string bass notes chart ✅
- Learn notes on the bass guitar neck but string by string ✅
- Try to close your eyes and image a bass guitar fretboard diagram in your mind ✅
- You must memorice and then you will visualice the bass guitar fretboard ✅
- Try to learn each note separately on the bass, e.g. play all F pitch notes starting from the E string ✅
Do you have doubts ?
leave us a comment and we will answer you !! Good luck !!
Tuning an Electric Bass
With all these indications of bass notes, now it’s time to do the perfect electric bass tuning.
⬇️ Tuning Electric bass ⬇️
4-String Electric Bass Tuning
- 1st string: Pitch Note G – In the tuner you will find a “G” is the thinnest and the higher string.
- 2nd string: Pitch Note D – In the bass tuner you will find it for a “D”.
- 3rd string: Pitch Note A – In the tuner you will find it for an “A”.
- 4th string: Pitch Note E – In the tuner you will find the “E” is the thickest and most lower string.
5-String Electric Bass Tuning
The tuning is the same as the four-string bass but has an even lower string added:
- 1st string: Pitch Note G
- 2nd string: Pitch Note D
- 3rd string: Pitch Note A
- 4th string: Pitch Note E
- 5th string: Pitch Note B – In the tuner you will find the “B” is the thickest and most lower string
Bass Tuner Online
Take a look at this online bass tuner is a good exercise to go catching ear.
Try tuning your bass with the sounds of this youtube bass tuner !