How to play an a minor scale on bass guitar howcast. Learn how to play an a minor scale on the bass guitar from musician john sutton in this online guitar lesson from howcast. Harmonic minor scale on bass fingeringsfor bass guitar. If youre in the early phases of learning the bass guitar these are the 5 scales i suggest you learn first. We have an official major and minor scales tab made by ug professional guitarists. Minor pentatonic scale and blues scale on the bass. The natural minor scale can be found by playing the major scale starting from the. You will want to use one finger per fret to cover the fourfret range. Jul 03, 2019 the bass scales chart below shows three common bass scales pentatonic minor, blues and major as patterns on a fretboard. May 14, 2018 every minor scale has a relative major scale, with the same notes but a different starting place.
Minor scale on bass gives us a sad character and we can combine it very well with the minor pentatonic scale. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz online jazz handbook. Oneoctave natural minor scale bass scales studybass. The numbers correspond to the fingers of the left hand, therefore, we have 3 ways of making the scale with fingers 1, 2 and 4. Jan 06, 2017 in this lesson we look at the minor pentatonic scale. Lesson 1 in the next 4 video lessons we will be looking at and discussing some simple concepts for creating grooves and groove solos. However, there are in fact 3 minor scales which you will come across and can use. How to play bass guitar 5 beginner books to learn bass. Oneoctave minor pentatonic scale exercises bass scales. We can think about c minor as c major with a lowered third note, a lowered sixth note and a lowered seventh note.
But, a lot of this can be confusing when we are trying to play music. Transcript we can think about a minor as lowering the 3rd, lowering the 6th note of the scale and lowering the 7th note of the scale. Nov 07, 2018 learn how to play an a minor scale on the bass guitar from musician john sutton in this online guitar lesson from howcast. Apr 28, 2016 a medium scale bass will use a 32inch scale length, and instruments with a 30inch scale length are considered short scale. All scales are presented as easytoread guitar fretboard diagrams with tab. Bass scales chart a free printable bass guitar scales. For when you have to learn to play the bass right now. Bass scales chart a free printable bass guitar scales reference. This lesson allows your students to explore their musical creativity through improvisation by developing ideas for melodic lines using the aeolian mode. Bass lessons minor scale lesson bass tab while there is only one major scale, there are 3 kinds of minor scales. You must learn other scales besides this one, lest ye be labeled a wanker. The natural minor scale is our basic foundation when it comes to the minor key.
If youre in the early phases of learning the bass guitar these are the 5 scales i. In this video we look at the modes of the harmonic minor scale. The structure of the minor pentatonic scale is very similar to the blues scale. Learn the five easiest bass scales as a platform for your bass playing. The minor pentatonic scale for bass is easy, useful, but dangerous. In this video bass lesson were going to take a look at some blues ideas using the dorian mode and minor pentatonic scale. Submitted by tonysterlingjazz on february 14, 2016. A shorter scale length generally makes an instrument physically easier to play, which may aid beginners, though this could be a dangerous crutch. This is a simple bass lesson on the natural minor scale for beginners. So go and grab that tutorial in the music theory archives. The 2 must know scales for playing over everything. Scales major and minor scales bass ultimate guitar archive. The minor pentatonic scale misses out the 2nd and the 6th and sounds much more bluesy or jazzy.
Learning how to play the minor pentatonic scale on bass guitar will add a lot of flavor to your playing because its one the most versatile scales. In a previous lesson, i introduced the major pentatonic scale and gave an example of its use in creating walking bass lines over a blues chord progression. These free online bass lessons from mark j smith are released weekly so subscribe for. All of the other parts of the bass are mounted on these three sections. Below youll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as minor scale. The minor pentatonic scale is just a minor aeolian scale minus the 2nd and 6th scale degrees. The solution below shows the g minor scale notes, intervals and scale degrees on the piano, treble clef and bass clef the lesson steps then explain how to identify the g minor scale note interval positions, choose the note names, and scale degree names. This lesson teaches an easy way to learn and visualise bass guitar scales.
Use my search bar to find exactly what youre looking for. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz. This is how to play the c minor scale on a bass guitar. Jan 19, 2020 click here to get the free the 5 easy scales for beginner bass guitar players pdf in this bass lesson im going to show you the 5 easy scales for beginner bass guitar players. My practical music theory book should explain enough that you will understand this lesson. For a quick summary of this topic, have a look at natural minor scale.
Here are some free pdfs used to supplement my free video lessons. Learn acoustic or electric with this beginner lesson for the minor scales. David mackenzie proceeds to an indepth discussion of the minor scales. Jun 02, 2009 play through the exercises to gain total dominance over the minor scale note patterns. In this lesson you will learn a common major triad pattern. This lesson will be dedicated to how to play well the minor scale for bass want more bass lessons for free. We will break it down into seperate positions in the next lesson. Check out my free video lessons on my free lessons page. In numbers relative to the basic major scale, the minor scale is. The natural minor scale for bass guitar talkingbass. A flat major and minor scale and arpeggio bass tabs. The minor pentatonic scale for bass guitar talkingbass. Minor scale archives bass guitar lessons online ebassguitar.
Scroll down to download a printable pdf version of the chart, with no login or signup required. With these pdf we will do exercises with the major pentatonic for the bass. Play through the exercises to gain total dominance over the minor scale note patterns. In these bass scales pdf we leave you the three most common fingering to play well this pentatonic minor scale. It is formed from the 6th degree of the major scale, so if you took the time to really learn the major scale across the fretboard, you are half way in knowing the minor scale already. How to play a c minor scale on bass guitar howcast. Click here to get the free the 5 easy scales for beginner bass guitar players pdf in this bass lesson im going to show you the 5 easy scales for beginner bass guitar players. The content we offer here costs us a lot to develop, so all we ask is that you share it on social networks or with fellow bassists, this will make us grow and also be doing bigger this method of electric bass. Theyll practice in order to get good enough to try and get a record deal. Scotts bass lessons is the leading online bass community, with a wealth of free online lessons for new and experienced bass players alike. How to play the minor pentatonic scale on bass guitar. Understanding minor scales in this brief tutorial we are going to try to demystify minor scales. When this bass line is used to go from an altered dominant chord to a minor 7th chord v to i the third will not be flat.
This is the full pentatonic minor scale in the key of e. Strings are vertical while imaginary frets are shown horizontally. G major e minor pentatonic scale guitar scales the pentatonic scale is a favorite of many guitarists and its easy to see why. The lesson steps then explain how to identify the a minor scale note interval positions, choose the note names, and scale degree names. Caged 3 notes per string 3nps 7 positionberklee system. Root b2 3 b5 root of next chord when you use this bass line to go from a minor 7b5 chord to a altered dominant chord ii to v, the 3rd will be flat.
The solution below shows the g minor scale notes, intervals and scale degrees on the piano, treble clef and bass clef the lesson steps then explain how to identify the g minor scale note interval positions, choose the note names, and scale degree names for a quick summary of this topic, have a look at natural minor scale. Welcome to this longawaited lesson in harmonic minor scale we are going to focus this lesson in a global way, that is to say, apart from studying the minor harmonic scale in the electric bass, any musician will be able to inform himself and apply all this knowledge in his instrument but lets go. If you missed part 1, major scales on bass guitar, check it out. Bass tablature for all 15 minor scales by bass lessons. We are going to take as tonic the 4th string in the fifth fret, in the pitch note a the numbers are the fingers of the left hand, so, we have to master 3 ways to start the scale, with fingers 1, 3 and 4. Practice the scale until you can play it continuously and fluently. Just like the major scale, the natural minor scale is one of the essential scales used on the guitar, and in time it will become an important part of your lead guitar arsenal. Pay attention, burn through this as fast as you can, and you.
From minor pentatonic scale to aeolian mode in our last lesson, we created a minor pentatonic tune through visualauditory associations. Bass scale length another use of the term scale when talking about bass guitars refers to the length of the instruments neck. Scroll down to download a printable pdf version of the chart, with no login or sign up required. 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. Pentatonic scales are simple 5 note scales so there are literally hundreds of possible variations. The harmonic minor scale is exactly the same as the natural minor scale except the 7th is raised to make it major instead of minor. Bassist quotes when you play less, its more excitingtheres more room for everything. The major pentatonic scale is great for playing in any major key, or over a major chord in a song. This article will help you learn the hand positions you use to play any minor scale. Scales and chords for the upright bass the following keys should be learned in the order presented. While this is a scale study and not necessarily a music theory lesson, there. Instead, id like to think about it as an e flat major skill starting on the sixth note c. This is under construction but will be done in the coming weeks the scales and arpeggios are split up into 3 main categories. Minor scales on bass guitar in 300 words lots of pics.
The minor scale in its most basic form is called the classical minor, the natural minor, or the aeolian mode they are all the same. After playing the scale in each position, try shifting between positions as you play. The suggested fingering for the scale is to the left of the diagram. This lesson is great for improving speed, dexterity, and lead playing. Perfect for beginners and great to build on with our free lesson plans. C harmonic minor scale for example, if you wanted to play a b maj, min, ect.
The first fingering to learn for the one octave natural minor scale is fairly easy. In this lesson we will be looking at all 3 minor scale variations and examine the pattern for constructing each one. All scales and patterns can be played many different ways on the bass fretboard. After that we will move into phrasing and start to solo with it, or jam some great walking bass lines if you are a bass player.
These are not lessons, but supplements to my lessons. We have an official major and minor scales tab made by ug professional. Bass guitar scales, chords and arpeggios pdf ebook. The video below is just the performance of the entire blues bass line covered in this lesson. The bass scales chart below shows three common bass scales pentatonic minor, blues and major as patterns on a fretboard. Pdf bass scales complete fretboard diagram daniel oscar. The lesson could not be displayed because javascript is disabled. Then, well see how we can use both minor and major pentatonic scales over a simple chord sequence. The 4 lessons will focus on using major pentatonic scales using the minor pentatonic and the blues scale using approach notes and targeting chord tones in different ways.
In this lesson, we will use alternate picking to play two positions of the a minor scale. Like i did in my previous post about patterns in the major scale, this is a companion piece where ill break down minor scales, specifically natural minor scales what we think of when we hear minor scale and reveal the patterns in the same way. After the major and minor scales, we have charted the pentatonic scale and. In this lead guitar lesson, well be taking a first look at the natural minor scale. The minor scale is the scale which sounds negative it is used by composers to depict sad, melancholic or even angrydramatic moods. The solution below shows the a minor scale notes, intervals and scale degrees on the piano, treble clef and bass clef the lesson steps then explain how to identify the a minor scale note interval positions, choose the note names, and scale degree names for a quick summary of this topic, have a look at natural minor scale.
Bassist quotes a lot of guys wont practice for the joy of practicing. These are note sequence exercises so you get to know the patterns every which way. Here are two simple examples, the bass guitar pentatonic scale and the blues scale. In this tutorial we will combine the a minor scale in two different positions with the proper picking techniques learned in the previous tutorial. You can also use the circle of fifths to work out any major or minor scale by. When we are dealing strictly with major scales we really only have one scale to draw our notes and melodies from. In this lesson we look at the minor pentatonic scale. Richie blake explains and shows the importance of the pentatonic scale download support pdf for this lesson. How to play the minor pentatonic scale on bass guitar dummies. However, the minor pentatonic scale has five different notes. Jun 28, 2017 major and minor scales bass tab by lessons scales. We look at how to play a basic, common fingering of the scale, move it around to different areas on the neck and then learn a riff based on the scale. Bass guitar scales chords and arpeggios is a printable pdf book for bass guitarists. Also, we have another website to learn the recorder notes and songs.
The collection of material of this book is, in our opinion, the basics to playing bass guitar for some event. Here is an overview of all the charts and other resources that are available on this site to view and also to download. If i do play something busy, it stands out, instead of the bass being a constant onslaught of notes. It contains a huge range of movable scale, chord and arpeggio fingerboard diagrams allowing you to play in any key. In this bass lesson for beginners we are going to learn how to play the major scale on bass guitar these are the three ways you must know to play the diatonic major scale bass. We are going to take as tonic the 4th string in the. Every minor scale has a relative major scale, with the same notes but a different starting place. The major scale is very important because it is the basis of the tonal music we know, that is. If youve read the lesson on guitar scale modes, youll already know the shape and intervals of the minor scale.
After learning this scale, the minor pentatonic and major scales will be a breeze. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. This is one of the most common scales in all of rock and pop music. Major and minor bass guitar scales bass books and music.