Remarkable and easily playable, this classic gem utilizes the scale techniques learned in this book and is suitable for solo performance. Learning your triads on bass will help you move beyond the root. Twelve years ago, when i was a student at music school, i was really struggling to memorise all the bass guitar major scale patterns on the neck of my bass. The minor scale in its purity is called the natural minor scale, and it is the base for 2 more scales, the harmonic minor scale sharp 7th degree, and the melodic minor scale sharp 6th and 7th degrees. The first fingering to learn for the one octave natural minor scale is fairly easy. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. It was created that way in order to function with certain chord progressions. Each page includes a fingerboard diagram, and a bass riff is presented to exemplify the sound and structure of each scale and mode. We are going to take as tonic the 4th string in the fifth fret, in the pitch note a.
Artistworks online jazz bass school authors transcription. They show the scales as played on a 4 string bass with standard tuning. This is a free bass lesson on how to learn to play arpeggios on the bass guitar. Strings are vertical while imaginary frets are shown horizontally. Blues, minor pentatonic, major, major pentatonic in every key. The two dots on the right of the bass clef symbol surround the line on which f pitch is written. All scales and patterns can be played many different ways on the bass fretboard. Melodic minor bass guitar scales bass guitar scales. In this lesson you will learn a common major triad pattern. The bass scales chart below shows three common bass scales pentatonic minor, blues and major as patterns on a fretboard. Going up, the 3rd scale degree is flat, but the rest is like a major scale, and going down it is the same as a natural minor scale. The natural minor scale is made up of the root note, major 2nd, minor 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, minor 6th and minor 7th. C major and natural minor scales with open and closed position fingering from.
The late guitarist andres segovia put the practice of scales into perspective. Fingering to play the minor pentatonic scale on the electric bass. Although the study of scales is one important element of becoming a great bassist, mastering scales is the primary means to developing new and creative bass playing. Learn the note names all harmonic minor scales in table form, in all 12 circle of 5ths keys, including single and double accidental theoretical keys home mobile view scale. If you have the room, you can start on any fret and play that frets complete major or minor scale. The following 5 scales share the same scales shape t. When learning new scales i find its best to first play them in the key of, and up and down, the open strings. Nov 05, 20 the harmonic minor scale very much has its own place in music. You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. To describe this, here are the 3 minor scale variations in the key of a.
As its title implies, this comprehensive book presents major, minor, pentatonic and blues scales, in all keys, plus mixolydian, dorian, lydian, phrygian and locrian modes. Another important minor scale to discuss is the melodic minor scale. It is going to be the scale that we can use in any song to improvise on the chords of this one and also to make melodies if we dedicate ourselves to the composition. The student who wishes to acquire a firm technique should never neglect the patient study of scales. Even modes of the same key c major, d dorian, and a minor, for example can all be practiced, because by shifting your mental root note, it will change.
Mar 08, 2011 although the study of scales is one important element of becoming a great bassist, mastering scales is the primary means to developing new and creative bass playing. I cover two octave scales in major detail in my new ebook which is out now electric bass scales and arpeggios is over 160 pages, packed full of my best. Major and minor guitar scales and modes t his guitar scales fretboard chart generator will show you all the major and minor guitar scales and modes with tons of customizable tunings. This is a simple bass lesson on the major scale for beginners. I named it the beast because it takes a while to get through the exercise, and you can practice in every key, with every 7note scale you know. When we are dealing strictly with major scales we really only have one scale to draw our notes and melodies from. The blues scale is a popular variation of the minor pentatonic and contains just one extra note an augmented 4th also called a diminished 5th. The concept of relative major and minor keys is also discussed. The minor scales ascend in melodic minor, and then descend in natural minor. While there is only one major scale, there are 3 kinds of minor scales.
I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the scales in all keys. Free printable guitar scales and bass scales in easy to use pdf format. My advice is, until you have mastered the major and minor scales, stay away from them. C major 3 4 1 3 g minor 3 4 1 3 c minor 1 4 2 4 g major 1 4 2 4 c major 3 4 1 3 g minor 3 4 1 3 c minor a triad is the three notes that make a chord. Understanding minor scales in this brief tutorial we are going to try to demystify minor scales. In this lesson we look at the blues scale or minor blues scale. This will help you to pick the right scale for practicing along with any of our backing. Learn how to play the c harmonic minor scale on bass guitar with our free tab, sheet music, neck diagrams, and more. Bass exercises understanding musics main minor scale including fingering and examples. These are the three ways you must know to play the diatonic major scale bass. Turns out i actually wrote my song in ab major and the fm7 was just the aeolian modenatural minor.
The student who wishes to acquire a firm technique. However, we have 3 different types of minor scales when working in minor keys. Major ionian mode, natural minor aeolian mode, dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian, locrian, harmonic minor, melodic jazz minor, lydian flatseven, wholetone, diminished wholehalf, major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, blues and blues with major 3rd. The 16 scales and modes decoded in this study guide are in order. In this bass lesson for beginners we are going to learn how to play the major scale on bass guitar. You will want to use one finger per fret to cover the fourfret range. Of course, there are countless variations of different scales and modes on bass guitar. Up until that 7th note, the listener would never know you were playing notes from the harmonic minor scale. Bass guitar scales pdf free download bass scales are successions of notes with a. This pdf contains the diagrams for all the major and minor pentatonic scales in all keys for guitar in standard tuning. In the diagram we start from the fifth fret in the 4th string, we are in a key so we are going to play a major pentatonic scale bass. Jun 06, 2012 pentatonics on electric bass ebookpdf version pentatonics on electric bass was written to provide a focused and musically satisfying approach for electric bassists to learn the major and minor pentatonic scales in all 12 keys.
The difference between major and minor chords and scales boils down to a difference of one essential note the third. Practice the scale until you can play it continuously and fluently. Or c major scale on the 6th note of the scale, which happens to be a. Granted, because harmonic minor scales do have such a distinct musical quality to them, finding chances and songs to use them in and have it work for you can be difficult. Melodic minor click for full page pdf harmonic minor click for full page pdf also see major modes and arpeggio inversions connect on youtube. Relative major and minor scales bass scales studybass. This raised 7th, just as in the harmonic minor scale, gives us a major triad or dominant 7th v chord in a minor key.
The suggested fingering for the scale is to the left of the diagram. For when you have to learn to play the bass right now. Relative scales are scales that share the same set of notes much like you have dna in common with your relatives. These are movable triad patterns and by just playing the same pattern at other frets. Diatonic major and minor scales by andres segovia after carefully analyzing the diatonic major and minor scales by andres segovia, i have discovered that there are only eight different movable shapes. Bass guitar major scale patterns 3 shapes to learn the. In these bass scales pdf we leave you the three most common fingering to play well this pentatonic minor scale. This is a simple variation on the minor pentatonic from the previous lesson and. Just as the major scale is used as our pallet of notes for playing within a major key, the minor scale is used as our pallet of notes for playing in a minor key. Oneoctave natural minor scale exercises bass scales. The difference between major and minor bass scales studybass. With the knowledge of both major and minor scales, you have taken your first baby steps in understanding music theory.
Scroll down to download a printable pdf version of the chart, with no login or signup required. A major and minor scales bass misc scales, version 1. Scales and chords for the upright bass the following keys should be learned in the order presented. In terms of this books approach i find it direct, to the point, and fascinating. Many hours of frequently futile exercises can be condensed into one hour of scales. These major and minor scales make frequent use of the shift finger for easy and rapid changes.
Although the study of scales is one important element of becoming a great bassist, mastering scales is the primary means to. The late guitarist adres segovia put the practice of scales into perspective. The melodic minor scale, like harmonic minor, also has a raised 7th compared to natural minor. Scales and arpeggios by jp dias gustavo lopez segura. The collection of material of this book is, in our opinion, the basics to playing bass guitar for some event. Dec 14, 20 this lesson covers the construction of the natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor scales and how they relate to minor keys. Major and minor bass guitar scales bass books and music. We have an official major and minor scales tab made by ug professional guitarists. Just select your string tuning standard tuning is default, click the link that says go then click a key link. In this case, the major and minor scale 7 tone scales for bass guitar. This bass scales chart gives you the basic shapes and box patterns to start with to begin playing and learning scales and their degrees. Ill be working through a basic fingering for a c major scale, then showing you how to move that shape around the neck.
How to play an a minor scale on bass guitar howcast. The rule in general music theory is that when you use mel minor, you always descend in natural minor. The main goal of this book is to introduce, reinforce, and provide musical applications of the major and minor. The numbers correspond to the fingers of the left hand, therefore, we have 3 ways of making. Solos or playing to a song you arent familiar with, assuming you know the songs key signature. E melodic minor a melodic minor d melodic minor g melodic minor. Misc scales a major and minor scales bass az chords. Fingering of the major pentatonic scale for electric bass.
The major scale is very important because it is the basis of the tonal music we know, that is, it is the mother scale of the major tonality. Play a major and minor scales bass using simple video lessons. The symbol of the bass clef is derived from the old german way of writing f. An easier way to think about it would be to start thinking about a c major scale on a. This is a chromatic note that leads into the 5th from the 4th and creates a nice bit of tension and release.
Is part of the bass scales to practice for the bass player. It is a very helpful booklet with all the diatonic major and minor scales. It is important to know how to play scales because a knowledge of scales helps your improvising skills i. In this lesson we will be looking at all 3 minor scale variations and examine the pattern for constructing each one.
To know how to play the major pentatonic we leave the three most common fingerings for this scale in the bass. Bass scales chart a free printable bass guitar scales. Oneoctave natural minor scale bass scales studybass. The diatonic major scale for bass guitar is fundamental for the bass player because by mastering it we can begin to play simple lines and become familiar with the sound of tonality. Learn how to play the c natural minor scale on bass guitar with our free tab, sheet music, neck diagrams, and more.