How to read the notes on the Bass fretboard!

Ok, ok, this is a simple blog post, but I feel it needs to be in there!

I can’t emphasize how important it is that you learn these notes, and where they are off by heart! It’s one of the fundamental and first things you should learn as a bass player.  Don’t feel like this task is too daunting.  It’s more simple than it looks.  There are only twelve notes to remember on each individual string, and our language is made up of a LOT more letters than that…

Firstly, know this:

When i’m teaching my students how to remember notes, I teach them the “Big Bass, Little Bass” theory that I invented. That being that the first twelve frets on your bass (The Big Bass) repeat themselves in EXACTLY the same way, once you hit the twelfth fret, and onwards (little bass).

So…an open E is the same note as the twelfth fret on the E string. The first fret on the E string is the same note as the thirteenth note on the E string. The second fret on the E string is the same note as the fourteenth fret on the E string. The third fret is the same note as the fifteenth note on the E string, and so on and so on. This applies to ALL strings.

Now, start with the E string. Remember that the first dot is “G’ (for some reason not shown in the picture above, but you should have on on your bass!) The second dot is “A”. The third is “B” and so on and so on. Once you have learnt what notes the dots are on the E string, all you have to do is then learn the notes in-between the dots! And of course, once is gets to the twelve fret, everything just repeats itself again.

Learn that, and then go onto the A string, then D, and lastly, G.

Now, as I mentioned in the “what is an octave?” lesson, which is right here, two strings down and two frets up of the root note you hit, is exactly the same note, just played at a higher octave. So, say you hit the A on the E string (fifth fret) go two strings down from that fret, and then two frets up, so you are hitting the seventh fret on the D string. That is the octave of that note. So once you know how to get an octave of a note, it will make this task a lot easier, trust me…

Ok, enough talking, start memorizing!


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