Music Theory for Beginner Bass Players: Learning The Notes
Musicians have mixed feelings about music theory, but despite the fact that it may be confusing there is still a desire to grasp understanding of it. Why? Because deep down most know that there is value in learning it, and it all starts with one simple concept: notes.
What are notes? How many are there? How do I learn the notes on the bass guitar fretboard? Get the answers to all these questions and more.
Let’s get into it.
What is a Note?
Simply put, a note is a pitch with a given name. Similar to the letters of the English alphabet, notes are the building blocks of music theory, serving as the basic foundation for constructing musical ideas.
The musical alphabet is:
A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.
When these notes are played in alphabetical order, they will ascend in pitch (and descend in pitch when played in reverse order). When the note G is reached at the end, we repeat back to A.
Each note can be natural (unaltered), sharp (#), or flat (b), resulting in 12 pitches total. When a note is sharp, it is raised in pitch by a half step. Similarly, when a note is flat it is lowered in pitch by one half step (more on half steps below).
*Note: You may be thinking “If there are seven notes and each note can be natural, sharp or flat, wouldn’t that mean there are 21 pitches total?” It may seem confusing, but keep reading below about the fretboard and enharmonics.
The Fretboard
Shown above is a chart of bass guitar notes up to the twelfth fret. Some items to note:
- Each row is a different string, and each column is a different fret. In the above photo, there are four strings and twelve frets shown.
- Plucking a string without fretting with the left hand is called an open string. In standard tuning, the notes of each open string are (from high to low in pitch, corresponding with the image above):
- G
- D
- A
- E
- All white rectangles contain natural notes and all black rectangles contain sharps and flats. This is of course for learning purposes only, but try to think of each string as its own sequence of piano keys. Notice a black note lies between each white note except B & C and E & F.
- You may be wondering why some notes have two names – for example, why is G# also an Ab? This concept is known as enharmonics: a pitch with two names. When playing the fourth fret on the E string, the same pitch will ring out – however, depending on the key of the song it could be notated as G# or Ab. Since some notes share the same pitch, this explains why there are only 12 pitches.
Intervals
An interval is the distance between two notes. We’ll cover this more in depth in another post (Interval Basics), but I’ll go ahead and introduce the two smallest intervals: the half step and whole step.
A half step, also known as a minor second, is equal to one fret (moving left and right) on the fretboard. They are the smallest interval in Western music and are also known as semitones.
Look at the top row (the G string): the notes B & C, frets four and five, are a half step apart. Same with C & C# (frets five and six), and so on.
A whole step, also known as a major second, is equal to two frets (moving left and right) on the fretboard (aka two semitones).
Look at the top row again: from B to C# (fret four to fret six) is a whole step. Same with D to E (fret seven to fret nine), etc.
How to Learn the Notes on the Bass Guitar Fretboard
One of the biggest challenges for beginner bassists is actually learning and memorizing the notes on the fretboard. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
Learn your major scales.
The major scale is a great place to start. The image below represents the finger positions and shape of a major scale, and the numbers indicate the order in which the notes should be played.
Bonus tip: If you memorize this shape, you can play any major scale just about anywhere on the fretboard! Just remember you’ll always start on the root note, which identifies the name of the major scale (e.g., a D major scale in the image).
Additionally, understanding the intervalic relationship of each note as it relates to the root note will be extremely beneficial in your quest to memorizing the fretboard. For example, in the image below you’ll notice that there are two 1’s. The higher note on the seventh fret is an octave up from the root note on the fifth fret. Simply put, an octave is the same note but higher. This works all across the fretboard! To find a note’s higher octave, go to the right two frets and up two strings.
Use your fretboard’s inlays.
Your inlays are your friend! These are the white dots (or sometimes white or black blocks) found on your fretboard. These markings serve as a visual aid. You can use the inlays to establish reference points and identify fretboard patterns. For example:
- The twelfth fret – typically identified with two inlays – is an octave higher than the open string.
- The fifth fret is the same note as the next open string (e.g., the fifth fret of the E string is the note A, and A is the open string above the open E string).
Identify where each note is located across the fretboard.
You’re likely aware that there are some instances where a note can be played on multiple spots on the fretboard. For instance, the open D string can also be played at the fifth fret of the A string and the tenth fret of the E string. Locating these notes and their doppelgängers will help you master the fretboard!
Recap
- A note is a pitch with a given name. Each note of the musical alphabet can be altered with either a sharp (raised) or flat (lowered).
- Intervals are the distance between notes.
- Half Step (Minor Second) = One Fret (one semitone)
- Whole Step (Major Second) = Two Frets (two semitones/half steps)
- Learning your major scales, using your fretboard’s inlays, and identifying a given note in different locations will help you learn the notes on your bass guitar.
Once you have a solid grasp on the concept of notes, it’s time to tackle intervals. I covered this briefly, but this blog post goes more in depth with intervals and their significance. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!
