36 Part I: The World According to Bass

Playing open-string scales

Playing open-string scales involves a slightly different pattern from all the
other scales. Open-string scales are played without pressing down on a fret for
some of the notes. In two keys, E and A, the open string itself is the root. See
Figure 2-13 for some sample grids.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 1

2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

Figure 2-13: 2 2 2 2

Grids
4 4 4 4
showing
open-string
scales. E Major A Major E Minor A Minor
(open) (open) (open) (open)

Finding the notes on the neck

Any of your patterns (except for the open E and A scales described in the
preceding section) will work in all keys, so only one question remains: How
do you find a certain key when someone asks you, for example, to play in C?
Because your patterns can be transposed to any key, all you have to do is
nail the root (in this case, C) with the proper finger of the left hand (usually
the middle finger for the major patterns, and the index finger for the minor
patterns), and youre in position.

The sides, and sometimes the top, of your basss neck are marked by dots. These
dots are your landmarks for determining where a note is located. The notes are
organized in a sequence of half steps, which are the smallest step in music (at
least in music of the Western Hemisphere). Each half step is one fret. The order of
notes in half steps is: C, C# or D%, D, D# or E%, E, F, F# or G%, G, G# or A%, A, A# or B%, B,
and C. Notice that some of the notes have two names. For example, C# and D% are
the same note. (Its a half step above C or a half step below D.)