Andy Schneider - Bass Guitar Theory Nuts & Bolts - Music Theory Explained in Practical, Everyday Context For All Genres - Unlocked

BASS GUITAR
THEORY
NUTS & BOLTS
Music Theory Explained in Practical, Everyday Context for All Genres
Andy Schneider
Hear this book!

Download your free audio examples
of these exercises at:
seeingmusicbooks.com
SEEING MUSIC
METHOD BOOKS
© 2021 ANDY SCHNEIDER
WWW.SEEINGMUSICBOOKS.COM
CONTENTS
THEY HOLD EVERYTHING TOGETHER 7
FRETBOARD DIAGRAMS 9
HOW TO READ FRETBOARD DIAGRAMS 9
A NOTE ABOUT FRETBOARD DIAGRAMS 11
KNOW YOUR FRETBOARD (PART I) 13

THE FIRST 3 FRETS 13
MEMORIZING THESE EASILY 14
KNOW YOUR FRETBOARD (PART II) 15

THE 5TH FRET 15
WHY BASSISTS MUST KNOW CHORDS 19

NOT JUST FOR GUITAR PLAYERS 19
HOW TO PRACTICE CHORDS ON BASS 19
LINKING SCALES, TRIADS AND CHORDS 21

IT ALL STARTS WITH A SCALE 21
HOW MAJOR SCALES ARE BUILT 22
MAJOR TRIADS 24
MAJOR CHORDS 24
G MAJOR SCALE, TRIAD AND CHORD 25
MINOR SCALES, TRIADS AND CHORDS 29

MINOR WORKS LIKE MAJOR 29
HOW MINOR SCALES ARE BUILT 29
THE A MINOR SCALE 30
ANOTHER A MINOR UP THE NECK 31
MINOR TRIADS 31
E MINOR SCALE AND TRIAD 32
INTERVALS 35
INTERVALS OF THE MAJOR SCALE 35
INTERVALS OF THE MINOR SCALE 36
INTERVALS OF TRIADS 38
INTERVAL ADDITION 38
VISUALIZING ACROSS THE FRETBOARD 40
EVEN MORE SCALES AND CHORDS 41

PUTTING SCALES TO WORK 41
SEEING THE WHOLE FRETBOARD 45

USE A ZONE APPROACH 45
EVERYTHING REPEATS AT FRET 12 46
HOW MAJOR AND MINOR ARE RELATED 49

MAJOR AND MINOR TRIADS 49
RELATIVE MINOR 50
7TH CHORDS 53
EXTENDING TRIADS FOR FLAVOR 53
MAJOR 7TH CHORDS AND TRIADS 53
DOMINANT 7TH CHORDS 55
MINOR 7TH CHORDS 56
DIMINISHED 7TH CHORDS 57
TRANSPOSING CHORD PROGRESSIONS 59
HOW TO TRANSPOSE TO NEW KEYS 59
9TH CHORDS 65
KEEP IT GOING! 65
MAJOR 9THS 66
MINOR 9THS 67
DOMINANT 9THS 68
CHORD PROGRESSIONS 71
12 NOTES, MILLIONS OF COMBINATIONS 71
THE KEY IS THE KEY 71
TERMINOLOGY OF CHORD NOTATION 72
COMMON PROGRESSIONS 72
BASIC IMPROVISING 77
IMPROVISING IS MAKING MELODIES 77
SOLOING OVER ONE CHORD 77
SOLOING OVER CHORD CHANGES 79
CHOOSING A SCALE 80
12 BAR BLUES 82
MODERN CHORDS: THE RULE BREAKERS 87

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO MUSICIAN HAS
GONE BEFORE 87
MODERN AMBIGUITY 87
SUSPENDED CHORDS 89
CREATING YOUR OWN MUSIC 91
USE COMMON ROOT MOVEMENT 91
USE SECONDARY DOMINANTS 92
MODAL THEORY 95
WHAT ARE MODES? 95
HOW ARE MODES USED? 97
PLAYING WITH OTHER MUSICIANS 101

FIT THE PIECES LIKE PUZZLE 101
ARRANGEMENT 101
WORKING WITH A DRUMMER 103
THE WISDOM OF SIMPLICITY 103
YOU PUT IT ALL TOGETHER 105

TRIAD AND SCALE REFERENCE 107
SEEING MUSIC
METHOD BOOKS
BASS GUITAR
THEORY
NUTS & BOLTS
THEY HOLD EVERYTHING TOGETHER
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

All too often, bassists are taught to play something without being
taught why they’re playing it. The process of “just put your fingers here,
here and here” doesn’t teach the fundamentals that build music. That’s
unfortunate because it’s a learning dead-end. It often takes awhile
before those guitarists try to create something new, only to find they’ve
been left without the tools to make their own music.
Music is a like any language. To speak it so others understand and enjoy what you’re
saying, you need to know how the language is constructed. Just as you do with your
native language, you want to be able to take any concept and re-work it to be your own.
Making music is a bit like storytelling.
It all begins with theory knowledge, but just the word ‘theory’ seems too fancy. And
studies of music theory can get pretty deep into the weeds, too far away from everyday
music creation for most folks.
Look at it this way: if music was a ship or a building, it would be the theory that holds it all
together. So, replace ‘theory’ with ‘nuts and bolts’ and you’ll begin to see what this book
is about.
So, this book won’t get fancy. Yes, there is lots of esoteric and exotic theory knowledge
that gets used in rather esoteric and exotic music. And that music is great and well worth
learning, but this book will keep the discussion to the practical, everyday stuff working
musicians use regularly.
In my years teaching guitar and bass and talking with

other professional string players, I’ve noticed that we
all have developed an ability to “see” the music we
play on the fretboard of the instrument. We see the
music we play as a simple relationship of shapes and
relative positions. Look at these two shapes:
Just as you recognize the shapes above, stringed instrumentalists see music on the
fretboard of their instrument. This is an inherently special gift we who play stringed
instruments have been given. No other kind of instrument makes it so easy for the
musician to have a visual roadmap of the music, making things like improvisation or
transposing a song to another key so easy. Our fingers follow these maps to get to the
music. This book will show you how to see music as simple shapes and use these shapes
to more quickly and proficiently play and create music.
We’ll be covering how music is constructed and ‘looks’ on the neck of the bass. While we
won’t get too far into any particular musical style or specific techniques, the information
here is common to all Western music: Rock, Folk, Country, Pop, Classical, Jazz. While
the first steps of bass playing are the same for everyone, the next few steps of learning
chords can be taught many different ways. I’m going to walk you through what I believe
is the fastest and most powerful way. Learning bass theory with a visual method makes it
so much easier and minimizes memorization. You will develop life-long skills that you will
use every day you pick up a bass guitar.
Turn the page, you’re about to “see” music!
-Andy Schneider
FRETBOARD DIAGRAMS
HOW TO READ FRETBOARD DIAGRAMS

You’re ready to start learning some notes. The diagrams in this book are kind of like
pictures of what you’ll see when you look at your bass.
Strings
Note E A D G
String # 4 3 2 1
Starting
Fret
Number
Frets
FIG.1 - FRET NOTATION FIG.2 - FRETBOARD
Hold your bass upright in front of you and look at fretboard. The strings run up and
down, the frets run horizontally. That is the view used in fretboard diagrams.
0
Let’s try playing our first note. As indicated in
Figure 3, play open E, the 4th string. An open
circle indicates an open string, one that is played
without fretting with the left hand.
With your picking hand, feel free to use a pick,

thumb or fingers. For now, do whatever is
comfortable.
FIG.3 - OPEN 4TH STRING

Fretboard Diagrams 9
0 Did that go well? Try another, this time open A, the 3rd
string.
FIG.4 - OPEN 3RD STRING
Figure 5 tells you to play the note found at the black dot on the 3rd string at the 3rd fret.
It’s the 3rd fret because it’s three frets higher up the neck than the “0” in the upper left
corner of the diagram. The zero indicates that the diagram begins at the nut or “zeroth”
fret.
The “2” next to the black dot indicates you’ll use your second finger of your fretting hand
as in Figure 6.
FIG.5 - FRET NOTATION FIG.6 - LEFT-HAND FINGERING
On these diagrams, a filled in circle indicates that you’ll put your finger at that fret.
Actually, you’ll put your finger just behind the fret, not right on top of the fret. The fret,
not your finger, is what stops the vibration of the string and changes its length.
Keeping your finger pressed with medium pressure, just behind the fret will produce the
clearest and best sound.
10 Bass Guitar Theory Nuts and Bolts: A SEEING MUSIC METHOD BOOK
Don’t confuse a fretboard diagram with a
musical staff. Music staves indicate pitch and
rhythm. Fretboard diagrams like Figure 5 are like 4
a roadmap, showing you where to place your
fingers.
4
FIG.7 - MUSICAL STAFF
A NOTE ABOUT FRETBOARD DIAGRAMS

Most other books place the dot in-between the fret lines. While they’re trying to be
helpful, this just confuses the learning process. When you see a dot in this book, you’ll
know that it is showing you the note to be played and that you’ll place your finger just
behind that fret to hear it.
SOUNDCHECK
Fretboard diagrams indicate where to find a note and what finger to use to
play it.
The number in the upper left corner of a fretboard diagram indicates on which
fret the diagram begins.
Fretboard diagrams should not be confused with musical staves.
Fretboard Diagrams 11
It’s like
having a
guitar teacher
right there in
your room!
Hear this book!

KNOW YOUR FRETBOARD (PART I)
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

One of the most important steps to playing bass is learning the names
of the notes on the fretboard. If you know every note, everything else
will be much easier to learn and play. And while the fretboard seems
like a huge mess to be memorized, there are some super-easy shortcuts
that will make learning much more fun.
THE FIRST 3 FRETS

Let’s consider just the natural notes, those without sharps or flats. Start by playing all of
the notes here, one at a time, starting at the bottom.
Begin with the open 4th string, noted in the upper left
0 E A D G corner of the diagram. Say the note’s name, E, as you
1 play the note.
F
2 2 2
B E A Next, put your 1st finger at 1st fret of that string, F, and
3 3 3 say its name. Then use your 3rd finger to play the 3rd
G C F
fret, again saying its name, G.
Next, move to the open A string. Keep going, playing B

and C, then move on to the 2nd string. Keep ascending
that way, moving up the fretboard and across the strings
FIG.8 - FIRST 3 FRET
NOTE NAMES
until you get all the way to the high A in the lower right
of the figure.
The pitch you hear should get progressively higher with each note.
Note: These notes don’t always have to be played with the fingering given here. This is
just a good way to begin playing through all the notes.
Know Your Fretboard - Part One 13

MEMORIZING THESE EASILY
Memorizing things can be frustrating. Here’s an easy
way to remember the locations of the notes in Figure 9. Similar Fingerings
There really are only three fingerings to remember here.

E A D G
Notice that two strings share similar fingerings.
0
First, notice how the 3rd and 2nd strings — A and D — 1
use the same pattern: open string, 2nd fret and 3rd fret. 2 2 2
Second, notice how the 4th string uses a slightly 3 3 3

different pattern of open string, 1st fret and 3rd fret?
The 1st string, G, is easy to remember because there’s

only one fretted note to remember, 2nd fret.
FIG.9 - FIRST 3 FRET FINGERINGS
SEEING MUSIC
Do you see how the notes of the A and D strings can be played
with similar fingerings?
Do you see how the fingering of the E string is almost, but not
exactly the same as the 2nd and 3rd strings?
ASSIGNMENT
Today’s Assignment
Play all the natural notes from the exercise above in ascending order, saying
the note names as you go.
Once you get those memorized, challenge yourself by playing them in

descending order.
KNOW YOUR FRETBOARD (PART II)
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

You’ve already learned the names of the natural notes up to the 3rd
fret. Let’s take a look at a very special fret, the 5th fret.
THE 5TH FRET

Remember the first three natural notes on the 4th
string? They are E, F and G. Want to guess what the
next one is?
It’s A and it’s found at the 5th fret.
FIG.10 - 4TH STRING 5TH FRET A

0
What’s the name of your 3rd string? It’s A as

well, right? Well, these are the same note,
played two different ways.
Play both these notes to confirm they are the

same pitch.
FIG.11 - SAME NOTE ON TWO STRINGS

Sometimes in bass playing, it’s really convenient to have a couple of options for a given
note. Many notes exist in several places around the neck.
Let’s look at some more you already know.
Know Your Fretboard - Part Two 15

0 Two of these open string equivalent notes are found in the
C Major scale. Start playing the C Major scale. The first note
is C. The second note is D. Stop! You’re playing the note D
E A on the 3rd string at the 5th fret.
C F
D G C
FIG.12 - C MAJOR SCALE
What’s the name of the 2nd string? It’s D! Confirm

they’re the same note by playing both the 3rd-string, 0
5th-fret D and the open 2nd-string D.
Pretty neat, right? Figure 13 shows these open string

equivalent notes.
FIG.13 - OPEN STRING

EQUIVALENTS
Keep going, you know more than that! Again, let’s
start playing the C Major scale. C, D, E, F, G..Stop.
You should be on the 2nd string at the 5th fret.
You’ve probably already guessed: this G is the
FIG.14 - OPEN STRING same as the open 1st-string G.
EQUIVALENTS
Here is a diagram of the equivalent pitches of the open 0

strings.
The fact that there are equivalent notes at the 5th fret
is possible because the strings of the bass are tuned
the same interval apart. They are all tuned a Perfect
4th apart.
FIG.15 - OPEN STRING EQUIVALENTS

SOUNDCHECK
The natural notes of the first three frets can easily be remembered by grouping
the 2nd and 3rd strings which share similar fingerings (see chapter “Know Your
Fretboard [Part I]”).
Many notes on the bass can be found in several places on the fretboard.
The open strings have equivalents at the 5th fret of the lower adjacent string.
The strings of the bass guitar are tuned the same interval apart.
ASSIGNMENT
0 E A D G
Review the notes through the 5th fret, F
starting with the open 4th string, E.
B E A
Work your way up the natural notes to
the 5th fret, saying the names as you go. G C F
Take note of the open string equivalents.
B
A D G C
FIG.16 - NATURAL NOTES

OF THE FIRST FIVE FRETS
Know Your Fretboard - Part Two 17

SEEING MUSIC
METHOD BOOKS
WHY BASSISTS MUST KNOW CHORDS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Of course, bass players rarely play chords. But, all music is built from
chords and great bass players know how to use all the tones from the
song’s chords to craft better bass lines.
NOT JUST FOR GUITAR PLAYERS

Great bass parts aren’t created randomly.
The best bass players fully understand the nuances of chord construction. There are
many types of chords, each based on a given scale. While guitar players learn each chord
to play those several notes simultaneously, bass players should learn each chord to play
those notes individually.
Blues and old Rock and Roll songs often had walking bass parts: the bass player rarely
stayed on just one note. The notes of the bass line came from the notes of the song’s
chords or maybe even the scale upon which those chords were derived.
Classic Rock and Heavy Metal often had really creative bass parts as well that functioned
as much to root the song and to provide interesting bits that fit in-between the other
instruments and vocalist.
And of course, Jazz bassists keep busy playing intricate one-note lines that fully identify
the chords of the song.
Even if walking bass parts aren’t your style, it’s worth really understanding chords and
the theory of their construction.
HOW TO PRACTICE CHORDS ON BASS

Any time you encounter a chord, think about playing the individual notes of that chord
one-at-a-time. In the following chapters, you’ll become aquainted with many new flavors
of chords. Take time to understand each of them and be able to play all the notes in them.
Why Bassists Must Know Chords 19

LINKING SCALES, TRIADS AND CHORDS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Know the simple but powerful relationship between scales, triads and
chords. Learn to play Major scales.
IT ALL STARTS WITH A SCALE

Scales are awesome because ALL music comes from them! First, all melodies come from
scales. But perhaps even more important: scales, triads and chords are all related. Scales
produce triads, triads produce chords.
Scales Triads Chords

FIG.17 - SCALES PRODUCE TRIADS, TRIADS PRODUCE CHORDS
The C Major Scale

Take a look at the C Major scale. The notes of the C Major scale in order are C, D, E, F, G,
A, B and C.
CDEFGABC FIG.18 - C MAJOR SCALE NOTE NAMES
All the notes here are separated by a whole-step, except those indicated by the “ ”
^
symbol. Those are separated by a half-step. On any string, two notes that are one fret
apart are separated by a half-step. Two half-steps equals one whole step, which would be
two frets distance.
Again, most notes here are one whole-step apart, with the exception being those
separated by a half-step.
Linking Scales, Triads and Chords 21
PLAY A C MAJOR SCALE
In Figure 19, start on the 3rd string, 3rd fret and place your 2nd finger there. It’s
indicated by the dot with the “X” through it. This is the root, C.
Play the C, then keeping your 2nd finger there, add your 4th finger at the 5th fret
on the same string. Play this note, D.
Now, you can release these notes. On the 2nd string at the 2nd fret, place your
first finger. Play this E.
Next play F, then G, then on to the 1st string, similarly. At the end, you’ll reach
the high C.
The finger you should use for each fret is indicated in Figure 19.
0 0
1 1
E A
2 2
C F
3
B
4 4 4
D G C
FIG.19 - C MAJOR SCALE WITH FINGERINGS FIG.20 - C MAJOR SCALE WITH

NOTE NAMES
HOW MAJOR SCALES ARE BUILT

A major scale is a particular series of whole- and half-steps.
A half-step is the distance between two notes that are one fret apart. A whole-step is
equal to two half-steps.
In all major scales, the half-steps are between the 3rd and 4th notes (or degrees) and the
7th and root degrees. All the other notes are a whole step apart, or the equivalent of two
frets in distance from each other.
In the C Major scale, the half-steps are between E and F and between B and C. Take note
of them in Figure 18.
MEMORY SUPERPOWER
To easily remember the fingering of the
0
C Major scale, use this tip:
On the 3rd string, you use fingers 2 and 4. 1 1

Next, on the 2nd string, you use fingers 1, 2 2
2 and 4 and on the 1st string, you use 1, 3
and 4. 3
When you say it to yourself a few times, it 4 4 4

even starts to sound kind of musical. Say,
“2 4, 1 2 4, 1 3 4.” FIG.21 - C MAJOR SCALE
Remember how some notes can be found in several places on the bass? Here’s another
example.
C Major Up the Neck

Have a look at Figure 22, then Figure 23. They are two different ways to play a C Major
scale.
1 1
0 7 E A
2 2
C F
1 1 3
E A B
2 2 4 4 4
C F D G C
3
B
4 4 4
D G C
FIG.22 - C MAJOR SCALE STARTING FIG.23 - C MAJOR SCALE STARTING

ON 3RD STRING ON 4TH STRING
They look a lot alike, don’t they? You can play a C Major scale using the same fingering
pattern “24, 124, 134” just by starting in a different place.
PLAY C MAJOR MIDNECK

In Figure 22, you’ll start by playing C on the 4th string at the 8th fret with your
2nd finger.
The first note of the scale is one fret above the first fret of the diagram, which
has a “7” located next to it. This “7” indicates that the diagram starts at the 7th
fret. So, the first note is at the 8th fret.
Play the scale in Figure 23, just as you did in Figure 22. Now play the scale from
Figure 22. They sound alike, don’t they?
SEEING MUSIC
If you spotted the similarity of the shapes of Figures 22 and 23,
then you are already beginning to “see” music on the bass!
MAJOR TRIADS
A triad is a collection of three notes of a scale. Triads are worth studying because they
are the building blocks of chords. Scales produce triads, triads produce chords. Have a
look.
Each note of a scale, can be given a number name, or degree. Using C Major as an
example: C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C have scale degrees 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 1, again. While
the last note, C, is the 8th note, it’s still called the 1st degree, because although it’s one
octave higher, its still the same note name, as the 1st degree, or root of the scale.
A triad contains the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of the

0
scale. So a C Major triad is spelled C, E, G.
PLAY A TRIAD E
C, E and G are the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of C

the C Major scale. One at a time, play these
three notes: C, then E, then G in Figure 24.
G
It has a familiar sound, doesn’t it?
FIG.24 - C MAJOR SCALE STARTING ON 5TH
STRING
MAJOR CHORDS
Chords are built from triads. Take the notes from a triad—played together, they make
a chord. Optionally, rearrange them or combine them with the same notes in another
octave and you’ll have another way to play the chord.
To play a C Major chord, you’ll need to find a way to
hear all three notes of the C Major triad at the same 0
time.
You’ll remember from Figure 14 that the G of the triad in E

Figure 25, found at the 5th fret of the 2nd string, is the C
same note as the open 1st string.
Moving the G to the open 1st string places one note on

G
each of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings.
Now granted, bass players don’t generally play chords. FIG.25 - MOVING ONE NOTE TO CREATE
But, this is the process guitarists use to arrange the A CHORD
notes of a triad into a playable form.

Making a Chord From
C E G C E a Triad
0 You probably won’t spend much time playing
1
chords in your bass playing adventures, but it
2 is helpful to know how guitarists create chords.
3 While a three note chord such as Figure 25 is a
perfectly fine C Major, there are many other ways
to play a C Major chord.
Here’s a guitar chord in Figure 26 that uses five

strings. Since there are five strings, but only three
notes in a triad, a couple of the notes are doubled.
FIG.26 - GUITAR CHORD - C MAJOR CHORD
STARTING ON 5TH STRING
Notice how this chord has two C’s and 2 E’s.
Un-filled dots are open strings.
G MAJOR SCALE, TRIAD AND CHORD

Here’s the G Major scale. Notice how the half-steps are again in-between the 3rd and 4th,
and 7th and 8th notes. The # symbol indicates the note is “F sharp”, one half-step higher
than F.
#
GABCDEF G FIG.27 - G MAJOR SCALE NOTE NAMES
And here is how to find the G Major scale on the fretboard. It should look familiar. Notice
how it’s the same shape as the C Major scale.
Play the G Major scale in Figure 28.
0 0
1 1
B E
2 2
G C
3
F#
4 4 4
A D G
FIG.28 - G MAJOR SCALE FIG.29 - G MAJOR SCALE

WITH FINGERING WITH NOTE NAMES
BUILD A G MAJOR TRIAD
Here’s the triad, containing the 1st, 3rd and 0

5th degrees of the scale.
Notice again in Figure 31 how the D-note B

can be rearranged to the open D-string. By G
moving the D from the 3rd string to the 2nd,
each note can be heard simultaneously.
D
FIG.30 - G MAJOR TRIAD

0
Again, you probably won’t be playing many
chords, but it is interesting to know how
B
guitarists create their chords.
G
FIG.31 - MOVING ONE NOTE TO CREATE

A CHORD
Building a G Major Chord
G B D G B G
Again just for awareness of your band members’ roles, 0
here is the fingering for a basic G Major chord on the
guitar. Notice how several of the notes are doubled. In 1
fact, the G note is actually tripled!
2 4
Even if you won’t be playing notes simultaneously, you’ll
want to understand chords thoroughly. While bass
players don’t often play more than one note at a time,
great bass lines are built from the notes of the chords.
Many bass lines outline these same chord tones, they
just play them one-at-a-time instead of all at the same FIG.32 - G MAJOR CHORD
time. WITH FINGERINGS
Visualizing Chords
When learning chords, pay special attention to the root note. Always visualize the chord
as it’s built on the root. In the chord above, G is the root of G Major.
SEEING MUSIC
Did you notice how the G Major scale uses the same shape as the
C Major scale you learned earlier?
The G Major scale uses the same shape as C Major, but starts on a
different note, G. The scale is changed to G Major.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Major scales are made of whole and half-steps.
Major triads contain the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of the major scale.
Major chords are made from their corresponding chord’s major triad.
Pay special attention to the root and visualize the chord as built on the
root.

MINOR SCALES, TRIADS AND CHORDS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Know how to play minor scales and build minor triads and chords.
Understand the relationship between minor scales, triads and chords.
MINOR WORKS LIKE MAJOR

You just saw the relationship between major scales, triads and chords. The relationship is
simple: scales produce triads, triads produce chords. It works the same for minor scales.
They produce minor triads, those produce minor chords.
Note: There are several varieties of minor scales. For now, you’ll be learning the Natural
Minor scale as it is the most commonly used in Western music.
HOW MINOR SCALES ARE BUILT

All minor scales are a series of whole and half-steps.
In Natural Minor scales, the half-steps are between the 2nd and 3rd degrees and the 5th
and 6th degrees. All the other notes are a whole step apart.
So, in the A Minor scale, the half-steps are between B and C and between E and F. Take
note of them in Figure 33.
ABCDEFGA FIG.33 - A MINOR SCALE NOTE NAMES
Minor Scales, Triads and Chords 29

THE A MINOR SCALE
In Figure 34, start on the 3rd string, and play it open, no fretting needed. It’s indicated by
the open circle with the “X” through it. This is the root, A.
Play the B, then keeping your 2nd finger there, add your 3rd finger at the 4th fret on the
same string. Play this note, C.
Now, you can release these notes. Play the 2nd string open. This is D.
Next play E, then F, then on to the 3rd string, similarly. At the end, you’ll reach the high A.
The finger you should use for each fret is indicated in Figure 34.
0 0 A D G
2 2 2
B E A
3 3
C F
FIG.34 - A MINOR SCALE FIG.35 - A MINOR SCALE

WITH FINGERINGS WITH NOTE NAMES
MEMORY SUPERPOWER
To easily remember the fingering of the A Minor scale, use this tip:
On the 3rd string, you use fingers 2 and 3. Next, on the 2nd string, you also use
fingers 2 and 3 and on the 3rd string, you use just finger 2. Easy!
Say it to yourself a few times, until it’s unforgettable. Say, “Open 2 3, Open 2 3,
Open 2”
ANOTHER A MINOR UP THE NECK
Remember how some notes and scales can be found in several places on the guitar
neck? Here’s another example. Take a look at Figure 36, then Figure 37. They are two
different ways to play an A Minor scale.
They look a lot alike, don’t they? You can play an A Minor scale using the same visual
scale shape as a guide. While the fingering patterns change, what is important is how
they look alike. Take note of the similar geometric shapes.
To play the scale in Figure 37, you’ll start by playing A on the 4th string at the 5th fret
with your 1st finger.
The first note of the scale is at the 5th fret as indicated in the diagram, which has a “5”
located in the upper left corner.
Play the scale in Figure 37, just as you did in Figure 35. Now play the scale from
Figure 36. They sound alike, don’t they?
1 1 1
0 A D G 5 A D G
3 3 3
B E A B E A
4 4
C F C F
FIG.36 - A MINOR SCALE STARTING FIG.37 - A MINOR SCALE STARTING

ON 3RD STRING ON 4TH STRING
MINOR TRIADS
Just as with major triads, minor triads are a collection of three notes of their scale: the
1st, 3rd and 5th degrees.
Using A Minor as an example: A, B, C, D, E, F, G and A have scale degrees 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

6, 7 and 1, again. Since triads contains the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of their scale, an
A Minor triad is spelled A, C and E.

PLAY AN A MINOR TRIAD
A, C and E are the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of 0 A

the A Minor scale. One at a time, play these three
notes: A, then C, then E in Figure 38.
E
FIG.38 - AN A MINOR TRIAD
E MINOR SCALE AND TRIAD
#
EF GABCDE FIG.39 - E MINOR SCALE NOTE NAMES
Here’s an E Minor scale. It should look familiar. It’s the same shape as the A Minor scale,
just moved over one string.
Because the scale starts with E, it’s an E Minor scale.
0 0 E A D
2 2 2
F# B E
3 3
G C
FIG.40 - E MINOR SCALE FIG.41 - E MINOR SCALE

WITH FINGERING WITH NOTE NAMES
PLAY AN E MINOR TRIAD
The 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of any scale 0 E

spell its triad and in E Minor those degrees are
E, G and B.
B
FIG.42 - E MINOR TRIAD
SEEING MUSIC
Did you notice how the E Minor scale uses the same shape as the
A Minor scale?
The E Minor scale uses the same shape as A Minor but starts on a
different note, E. The scale is changed to E Minor.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Minor scales are made of whole and half-steps.
Minor triads contain the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of the minor scale.
Minor chords are made from minor triads.

INTERVALS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Learn the major, minor and perfect
intervals. Know what intervals are found in 0
both major and minor scales.
INTERVALS OF THE C
MAJOR SCALE
The pitch distance between two notes is called their interval.
The interval is often given a name based on the scale type D
in which it is found. Using C as an example, here are the FIG.43 - MAJOR 2ND
intervals you’ll find in a major scale.
0 0 0
C C F C
FIG.44 - MAJOR 3RD FIG.45 - PERFECT 4TH FIG.46 - PERFECT 5TH
0 0 0
C C C
C
FIG.47 - MAJOR 6TH FIG.48 - MAJOR 7TH FIG.49 - PERFECT OCTAVE
Intervals 35
Notice that the intervals are named “Major” with the exception of the 4th, 5th and Octave
which are named “Perfect”. This is because they are common to both major and minor
scales. Hence, they’re known as the Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th and Perfect Octave.
INTERVALS OF THE MINOR SCALE

For comparision, examine the C Minor scale. Compare it to 0
the C Major scale, which has no sharps nor flats.
C F B
CDE FGA B C FIG.50 - C MINOR SCALE NOTE NAMES

D G C
E A
And here are the intervals found in the minor scale.
FIG.51 - NATURAL MINOR SCALE
0 0 0
C C C F
FIG.52 - MAJOR 2ND FIG.53 - MINOR 3RD FIG.54 - PERFECT 4TH
0 0 0
C C C B
FIG.55 - PERFECT 5TH FIG.56 - MINOR 6TH FIG.57 - MINOR 7TH

It’s worth noting that intervals are not exclusive to any scale. As examples: a Major 3rd
is always a Major 3rd, regardless of the chord, key or scale. If the interval equals 4 half-
steps, it’s a Major 3rd.
Here are two pairs of notes, C and E, used in the C Major scale, and A flat and C, used in
the C Minor scale. Both pairs are separated by the interval of a Major 3rd.
0 0
FIG.58 - MAJOR 3RD FIG.59 - MAJOR 3RD
Similarly, a Minor 3rd is always a Minor 3rd.
Here are two pairs of notes, C and E flat, used in the C Minor scale, and E and G, used in
the C Major scale. Both pairs are separated by the interval of a Minor 3rd.
0 0
FIG.60 - MINOR 3RD FIG.61 - MINOR 3RD
SEEING MUSIC
Intervals can be seen and heard! Notice how the Major 3rds in
Figures 58 and 59 have a similar appearance, as do the Minor 3rds
in Figures 60 and 61.
Intervals 37
INTERVALS OF TRIADS
0
A great way to think of a major triad is a Major 3rd with a
Minor 3rd stacked on top of it.
E
0
FIG.62 - MAJOR TRIAD AND ITS
COMPONENTS
A minor triad would then be a Minor 3rd with a Major 3rd

C stacked on top of it.
FIG.63 - MINOR TRIAD AND ITS

COMPONENTS
INTERVAL ADDITION
And now a little musical math: Major 3rd + Minor 3rd = Perfect 5th
0 0
E
C
C
G
G
E
FIG.64 - MAJOR 3RD + MINOR 3RD = FIG.65 - MINOR 3RD + MAJOR 3RD =
PERFECT 5TH PERFECT 5TH
This kind of musical math can be worked out for every interval:
0
Major 2nd + Major 2nd = Major 3rd
E
0
FIG.66 - MAJOR 2ND + MAJOR 2ND =
MAJOR 3RD
E A
C Major 3rd + Perfect 4th = Major 6th
FIG.67 - MAJOR 3RD + PERFECT 4TH =

MAJOR 6TH
SEEING MUSIC
As you begin to see these additive relationships, the fretboard will
open up to your creations.
Are you beginning to see relationships between notes, or similarities

in intervals?
Intervals 39
VISUALIZING ACROSS THE FRETBOARD
Intervals can be moved around the fretboard with great results! Play these Major 3rd
intervals and notice how they have a similar sound. They don’t have to allude to any
particular chord, but they are all Major 3rds.
6 G# 13 G#
E E
0 A 7 A
F F
FIG.68 - MAJOR 3RDS

ASSIGNMENT
TODAY’S ASSIGNMENT
You’ve become familiar with both major and minor intervals and seen them
in the context of the C Major and C Minor scales.
Now, play all the scales you know, both major and minor and look for the
intervals between the root and the scale tone.
Look for the intervals between all the notes of those scales. For example,
between the 2nd and 3rd, or 3rd and 6th.
EVEN MORE SCALES AND CHORDS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

All chords come from scales. Being knowledgable of scales makes it
easy to be knowledgable of chords. You’ve already seen C and G Major.
Here are a few more major scales and chords.
PUTTING SCALES TO WORK

BUILD TRIADS FROM SCALES
First play each scale, then the chord that is derived from it. For each scale, make
note of the triad, the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees. See how they are all present in
the chords?
0 E A 0 E
D#
F# B E B
G# C# G#
FIG.69 - E MAJOR SCALE FIG.70 - E MAJOR TRIAD
0 A D 0 A
G#
B E A E
C# F# C# These E and A scales look

pretty similar, don’t they?
FIG.71 - A MAJOR SCALE FIG.72 - A MAJOR TRIAD
Even More Scales and Chords 41
4 F# B 4 F#
D G D
C#
E A D A
FIG.73 - D MAJOR SCALE FIG.74 - D MAJOR TRIAD
Of course E, A and D Major chords are all derived from the triads in their key. When a
song calls for an E, A or D Major chord, you’ll know that notes from the respective triad
will sound just fine.
SEEING MUSIC
Did you notice the similarity in shapes
between the E and A scales?
The scales in Figures 69 and 71 aren’t the only ways to play the E and A scales.
You can use the pattern you already learned for C, G and D.
You can use a familiar scale pattern and simply move it up or down the neck
to produce a new scale. The scale will retain the flavor (major or minor) of the
original, but now have a new root. The scale is said to have been transposed.
PLAY MANY SCALES
Play each of these scales which use the same fingering pattern, just starting on
different notes.
0 4 F# B 6 G# C#
D G E A
E A C# D#
C F E A D F# B E
D G C
FIG.75 - C MAJOR SCALE FIG.76 - D MAJOR SCALE FIG.77 - E MAJOR SCALE
0 4 C# F#
A D
B E G#
G C B E A
F#
A D G
FIG.78 - G MAJOR SCALE FIG.79 - A MAJOR SCALE
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
There are different ways to play the same scale. You saw two different
ways to play the E and A Major scales.
You’ve just learned C, G, E, A and D Major scales and triads.
The corresponding chords, C, G, E, A and D Major, are very common in

all kinds of music. You’ll soon see how they can be modified slightly to
arrive at all kinds of new chords.
Even More Scales and Chords 43

SEEING THE WHOLE FRETBOARD
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

While you’ve learned the notes up to the fifth fret, you may be wondering about
all those notes at the higher frets. At first, the idea of learning every note on
the neck seems vast. But, when broken into smaller areas, it becomes much
easier.
USE A ZONE APPROACH

Here are some easy ways to break the fingerboard up into regions that are easy to
remember.
1 1
7 E A
You’ve already seen the C Major scale that begins on the 2 2
4th string, 8th fret. Here it is again in Figure 80. C F
3
B
4 4 4
D G C
0 FIG.80 - C MAJOR SCALE
The same scale is seen in Figure 81 and is played on

1 1 strings 1 through 3.
E A
2 2
C F
3
B
4 4 4
D G C
FIG.81 - C MAJOR SCALE
Seeing the Whole Fretboard 45

USE THE MIDDLE ZONE
Play both of these C Major scales, saying the note name as you play each note.
Practicing the C Major scales will help you learn the note names up to the
10th fret.
EVERYTHING REPEATS AT FRET 12

You already know the names of the notes at the 12th fret. Each note at the 12th fret has
the same name as it’s open-string. They are the same notes, one octave up.
PLAY THE 12TH FRET

Play the notes at the 12th fret of each string, followed by the open-string. They
sound one octave apart.
0 E A D G 12 E A D G
FIG.82 - OPEN-STRING NOTES FIG.83 - 12TH FRET NOTES

Just as the notes at the 12th fret are the same as the open-strings, the notes
above the 12th fret repeat in order from those you learned lower on the neck.
0 E A D G 12 E A D G
F F
B E A B E A
G C F G C F
FIG.84 - OPEN-STRING NOTES FIG.85 - 12TH FRET NOTES
Notice how the notes in Figure 85 are in the same order as in Figure 84?
USE THE 12TH FRET ZONE

Play the notes beginning at the 12th fret in ascending order, beginning with the
12th fret E in the upper-left corner of Figure 85.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
The note names from the 5th to 10th frets are easily learned through
two C Major scales.
The 12th fret notes are the same as the open strings. The note names
repeat after the 12th fret.
ASSIGNMENT
TODAY’S ASSIGNMENT
Review the notes through the 5th fret, starting with the open 4th
string, E. Work your way up the natural notes to the 5th fret, saying
the names as you go. Take note of the open string equivalents.
The natural notes in the mid-region of the fretboard — from the

5th to 10th frets — are easily learned through just one C Major
scales.
Ready to get more from

your fretboard?
Loads of great exercises to put your
memory to work.
Seeing the Whole Fretboard 47

BONUS ASSIGNMENT
Reinforce your memory by writing your own fretboard diagrams below.
Write one diagram for every C Major scale you’ve learned, in each zone.
HOW MAJOR AND MINOR ARE RELATED
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Spoiler alert: There is an unbelievably cool relationship between major
and minor that may blow your mind! It’s coming at the end of this
chapter. Better sit down for this chapter!
MAJOR AND MINOR TRIADS

Major triads are built from the root, the major 3rd and perfect 5th degrees of the major
scale. Minor triads contain the root, minor 3rd, and perfect 5th of the minor scale.
Did you notice that both major and minor contain the root and perfect 5th degrees?
So, the difference? It’s all in the 3rd. Major chords contain the major 3rd. Minor chords
contain the minor 3rd.
A minor 3rd interval is one half-step below a Major 3rd. So, to turn a major triad into
minor, simply lower the major 3rd one half-step!
0 G 0 G
E
Lowering
E the 3rd
C a half-step C
FIG.86 - MAJOR TRIAD BECOMING A MINOR TRIAD

The C Major triad uses C, E and G. C Minor uses C, E flat and G.
How Major and Minor Are Related 49

RELATIVE MINOR
Here are the A Minor and C Major scales.
Notice how there are no sharps or flats in the A minor scale? C Major has no sharps or
flats, either. These two scales have a special relationship. A minor is called the relative
minor of C Major. They share all the same notes.
ABCDEFGA FIG.87 - A MINOR SCALE
CDEFGABC FIG.88 - C MAJOR SCALE
PLAY THE RELATIVE MINOR

Play an A minor triad, followed by a C Major triad. Notice how they sound
somewhat similar? Even though one is major and the other minor, they sound like
they go together.
0 A 0
E E
C C
FIG.89 - A MINOR TRIAD FIG.90 - C MAJOR TRIAD

A Minor and C Major share two notes in common. The A minor triad is spelled A, C, E and
the C Major triad is spelled C, E, G. They have C and E in common.
Now have a look at the C Major and C Minor triads. Notice how they have two notes in
common.
0 0
E
C C
G G
FIG.91 - C MAJOR TRIAD FIG.92 - C MINOR TRIAD
Both triads share the root C and the 5th degree of the C Major scale, G. Only the third
degree of the major scale, E has been lowered to E flat in the minor chord.
This is how any major triad is changed to a minor triad. Simply lower the third one half-
step.
Now let’s try this theory in reverse. Let’s start with the minor triad and change it to the
major triad.
0 A 0 A
E E
C#
FIG.93 - C MAJOR TRIAD FIG.94 - C MINOR TRIAD
See how similar these two triads appear? On the left, the A Minor triad is changed to an
A Major triad on the right by raising it’s 3rd.
Pretty easy, right?
How Major and Minor Are Related 51

SEEING MUSIC
Major and minor triads look almost identical!
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
All triads are spelled with the root, 3rd and 5th of their scale.
In a major triad, the 3rd is a major 3rd above the root.
In a minor triad, the 3rd is a minor 3rd above the root.
You can turn a major triad or chord into a minor triad or chord by simply
lowering the major 3rd one half-step.
7TH CHORDS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

So far, you’ve seen how to produce major and minor chords from their
triads and scales. Sometimes, it’s nice to add a little more flavor to a
chord. That’s where 7th chords come in. Here, you’ll see how to build
two types of 7th chords.
EXTENDING TRIADS FOR FLAVOR

Music is a lot like cooking. It’s about finding combinations of elements that are pleasing.
Sometimes basic flavors are enough. Pasta is generally a basic flavor, as is bread or
simple meat dishes. Other times, more spice is required to make things interesting. Long
ago, musicians found that applying the concept of triads beyond the basic root, 3rd and
5th combination provided more flavor. Have a look at what they found.
The concept of triads is one of taking a root note, adding the scale tone two notes above
and adding another note again, two notes higher. Scale tones: 1, 3 and 5. It’s like counting
by odd numbers, skipping the even numbers. Well, once upon a time, some very creative
musician asked, “What if I kept going? What if the scale tones I used were 1, 3, 5 and 7?”
This creative spark was on par with the invention of the light bulb, because it changed
how music would be created forever.
0
MAJOR 7TH CHORDS
AND TRIADS E
C
Going back to your old friend C Major, its extended
triad and 7th chord would be spelled C, E, G and B. B
Take a minute to play it now.
G
FIG.95 - C MAJ7 EXTENDED TRIAD
7th Chords 53
Maj7
C
It’s a pretty sound, right? This chord is written like
this:
Then, that very creative and inventive musician from FIG.96 - C MAJ7 SYMBOL
Days of Olde had another bright idea! What if this
process were repeated starting with other notes of the
scale? Musicians might build more varieties of these
colorful chords. What might they sound like?
The process this genius musician invented is passed down and repeated through the
ages: start on some note, skip a scale tone and adding the next one. Repeat, again
skipping then adding every other note as before.
BUILD A NEW 7TH CHORD

Repeat this age-old invention now:
Spell the C Major scale, but this time start on a different degree. For this
example, start on the 5th degree, G.
GABCDEFG FIG.97 - C MAJOR SCALE NOTES

STARTING ON G
Of this new sequence, select the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th degrees. They are: G, B, D
and F.
GABCDEFG FIG.98 - C MAJOR SCALE NOTES

STARTING ON G
Now arrange these notes to form a chord.
0
See how every note of the extended triad in
Figure 99 is found in Figure 98? B
G F
FIG.99 - G7 EXTENDED TRIAD
7
This chord is written:
G
FIG.100 - G7 SYMBOL
DOMINANT 7TH CHORDS

The chord you just created differs from a Major 7th chord because it uses a different
interval from the root to the 7th. In the case of C Maj7, C to B is a Major 7th. In the case
of G7, G to F is a minor 7th.
0 0
C G F
FIG.101 - MAJOR 7TH ABOVE C FIG.102 - MINOR 7TH ABOVE G
7th Chords 55
Wait a minute! G, B and D form a major chord, but then the 7th is minor? Yes. This type
of chord is called a dominant chord and all dominant chords are built of a major triad with
the addition of a minor 7th.
MINOR 7TH CHORDS

min7
Wow! And this new flavor of chord was just waiting to
be discovered there inside the C Major scale. There’s
one more flavor of 7th chord waiting inside a major key
and it is the Minor 7th, written:
A FIG.103 - A MIN7 SYMBOL
Minor 7th chords are built from a minor triad with the addition of a minor 7th. Notice how
all the notes of the A min7 chord are found in the C Major scale.
0 A G
ABCDEFGA FIG.104 - C MAJOR SCALE NOTES

C
E
STARTING ON A
FIG.105 - A MIN7 EXTENDED TRIAD
REVIEW OF 7TH CHORD TYPES
Major 7 Dominant 7 Minor 7
7th Major Minor Minor
Triad Major Major Minor
FIG.106 - COMPONENTS OF 7TH CHORD

TYPES
DIMINISHED 7TH CHORDS
Theres one more type of 7th chord and it’s really
dim7
B
flavorful! You’ll remember that both major and minor
triads contain a perfect 5th. There’s a type of chord that
doesn’t use a perfect 5th but rather a tritone or flatted
5th. It’s called a diminished chord and it’s written:
FIG.107 - B DIM7 SYMBOL
A diminished triad is built from two minor 3rds. Examine the case of B Diminished.
FIG.108 - B DIM7 TRIAD COMPONENTS
It’s pretty rare to see a diminished chord that doesn’t include the 7th. That’s why this type
of chord is included in this chapter.
And to be really correct about it’s full name, this is more formally known as a half-
diminished chord. Yes, there is a full-diminished chord which varies slightly. It is rarely
seen in modern music, but more commonly seen
in Jazz or very old Pop standards. For now, just
concern yourself with this half-diminished chord. 0
B A
When a 7th is added to a diminished chord, it is
always a minor 7th. The B dim7 extended triad is F
this:
FIG.109 - B DIM7 EXTENDED TRIAD
7th Chords 57
7th B C D E F G A
5th G A B C D E F
3rd E F G A B C D
Root C D E F G A B
CMaj7 D-7 E-7 FMaj7 G7 A-7 Bdim7
FIG.110 - SPELLING 7TH CHORDS RELATED
TO C MAJOR
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
You’ve just seen how to build 7th chords by extending the triad. You’ve
also seen how these 4 flavors of 7th chord are all related and come from
the Major scale.
Diminished triads are built from two minor 3rds.
TRANSPOSING CHORD PROGRESSIONS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Transposing chord progressions to new keys will seem easy, now that
you know how to analyze a key and find the flavors of chords inside.
HOW TO TRANSPOSE TO NEW KEYS

Recall that in any major key, the chords built on individual chord tones will be major,
minor or diminished. You saw 7th chords spelled from their C Major scale roots in the
previous chapter, Figure 110.
It’s conventional in chord notation to either state the name of the chord (CMaj7) or use
Roman numerals to represent the chords of a key. For example, in the key of C, the chord
C Major would be represented by an upper-case Roman numeral “I”.
Lower-case Roman numerals indicate minor chords. Again in the key of C Major, the
chord D Minor would be represented by “ii” because D is the second degree of C Major.
Root C D E F G A B
Degree I ii iii IV V vi vii
Flavor Major Minor Minor Major Major Minor Dim
FIG.111 - C MAJOR SCALE DEGREES
AND DIATONIC CHORDS
Transposing Chord Progressions 59

This numeric method of chord notation is really handy, because it makes transposing the
whole progression easier.
Step 1
To transpose any progression, first identify the scale tones each chord is built on. Next,
identify each chords flavor. Write these down using Roman numerals.
Original Chord min

Key Name C D G
Numeric
C Major Name I ii V
Destination Numeric
Key Name ? ? ?
Chord
G Major Name ? ? ?
FIG.112 - CHORD PROGRESSION
TO BE TRANSPOSED
Step 2
Next, think of the destination key. In this example, it will be G Major. Examine the G Major
scale tones and corresponding diatonic chords below.
Root G A B C D E F#
FIG.113 - G MAJOR SCALE DEGREES
AND DIATONIC CHORDS
Step 3
Now, you can begin transposing this progression to your new key. Using the scale
degrees (Roman numerals) of the progression, find the corresponding scale degrees’
names in the destination key. These are the chord roots.
With the roots of each chord known, you can also fill in the chords flavors — major or
minor — as they were in the original sequence.
Original Chord min

Key Name C D G
Numeric
C Major Name I ii V
Destination Numeric
Key Name I ii V
Chord min
G Major Name G A D
FIG.114 - TRANSPOSED CHORD PROGRESSION
Play the original sequence, C Major, D Minor and G Major followed by the new transposed
version, G Major, A Minor and D Major.
Original
min
C Major
Key
C D G
Destination
min
G Major
Key
G A D
FIG.115 - ORIGINAL AND TRANSPOSED PROGRESSIONS

TRANSPOSE A PROGRESSION
Try another example, moving C Major-E Minor-F Major from the key of C Major to
the key of D Major.
Step 1 - Identify the Chord Roots and Flavors
Original Chord min

Key Name C E F
Numeric
C Major Name I iii IV
Destination Numeric
Key Name ? ? ?
Chord
D Major Name ? ? ?
FIG.116 - CHORD PROGRESSION
TO BE TRANSPOSED
Step 2 - Consider the Destination Key
Root D E F# G A B C #
FIG.117 - D MAJOR SCALE DEGREES
AND DIATONIC CHORDS
Step 3 - Transpose Chord Numerals to New Key
Original Chord min

Key Name C E F
Numeric
C Major Name I iii IV
Destination Numeric
Key Name I iii IV
Chord #min
D Major Name D F G
FIG.118 - TRANSPOSED CHORD PROGRESSION
Play the Original and Transposed Progressions
Original
min
Key
C Major C E F
Destination
#min
Key
D Major DF G
FIG.119 - ORIGINAL AND TRANSPOSED
PROGRESSIONS

PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Chord progressions are easily seen as individual chords that relate to
the key of the song. They can be represented numerically.
Numeric progressions can easily be transposed to a new key. In the

destination key, find the chords that numerically correspond to the
originals.
Music is a system of chords, built on roots and given a particular

flavor. The flavors, as you have seen, aren’t randomly assigned. They
precipitate out of the key of the song, through the scale of that key.
9TH CHORDS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

You will be able to construct different varieties of 9th chords and
identify the different varieties.
KEEP IT GOING!
Remember how you learned to extend a triad beyond the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees to
include the 7th? It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the next extension of chords
is the 9th chord and it includes the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th scale degrees.
But wait a minute! There are only 7 notes in a scale, with the root being repeated an
octave above as the 8th note. Then how can there be a note called the 9th?
Great point! In a set of 7 notes, how can there be a 9th note? Have a look.
Gently combining scales and math, one more than eight is nine, right? So if scales repeat
themselves at the 8th note (the octave of the root), the note after the 8th note of a
scale would be the 9th note. Since the scale’s 8th note is the octave of the root—or 1st
degree—the next degree could be called either the 9th or the 2nd degree.
Repeating
Scale C D E FG A B C E FG . . .
Degree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 3 4 5...
Degree
Alternate
Name
1234567 8 ...
FIG.120 - SCALE DEGREE NUMBERING CONVENTION
9th Chords 65
When spelling chords, the 2nd degree is called the 9th because chords work well when
built by stacking 3rds, or rather extending triads. From the basic triad (1, 3 and 5), the 7th
is added to make a 7th chord, just like counting by odd numbers. Continuing to count by
odd numbers then, the 9th is added to make a 9th chord.
MAJOR 9THS
Just as with 7th chords, there are different flavors of 9th chords. Have a look at C Major
9. It is a major 7th chord with the addition of the major 9th degree.
Degree
1234567 89...
Scale
Notes C D E FG A B C D E FG. . .
FIG.121 - SELECTING NOTES OF C MAJOR 9
0 0
E E
C C
B B
G D G
FIG.122 - C MAJOR9 EXTENDED TRIAD FIG.123 - C MAJOR9 EXTENDED TRIAD

REARRANGED
Maj9
C FIG.124 - C MAJOR9 SYMBOL
MINOR 9THS
And here is A min9. It is a minor 7th chord with the addition of the major 9th degree.
Degree
1234567 89...
Scale
Notes ABCDE F G A B C D E . . .
FIG.125 - SELECTING NOTES OF A MINOR 9
0 A G 0 A G
E B E
C C
FIG.126 - A MIN9 EXTENDED TRIAD FIG.127 - A MIN9 EXTENDED TRIAD

REARRANGED
min9
A FIG.128 - A MIN9 SYMBOL
9th Chords 67
DOMINANT 9THS
There is another flavor that is seen frequently in popular music, that of the dominant 9th.
Remember dominant 7ths? Dominant 9ths are dominant 7 chords with the addition of a
Major 9th.
Degree
1234567 89...
Scale
Notes GABCDE F G AB. . .
FIG.129 - SELECTING NOTES OF G DOMINANT 9
0 0
B B
G F G F
D A D
FIG.130 - G9 EXTENDED TRIAD FIG.131 - G9 EXTENDED TRIAD

REARRANGED
9
G
FIG.132 - G DOMINANT 9 SYMBOL
There are some more exotic 9th chords that add a flat 9 or sharp 9 (a half-step less than
a major 9th or a half-step larger than a major 9th), but for now, just consider the diatonic
dominant 9th.
Now you’ve seen how to build any triad, basic chord and even add 7th or 9th extensions.
In the real world of playing music on the bass, you won’t necessarily need to play every
note of the chord. Depending on the style of music, bass players may only play one or
two notes of these chords in every measure. In other styles, it’s more common to play
many of the notes and fully identify the chord. It’s the style and the song that determine
your part.
However, you’ll always want to be aware of the chords and their full definition so that you
are choosing correct notes. Even if your part calls for just a couple of chord notes, you’ll
want them to be the right ones.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Extending chords triadically results in 7th and 9th chords.
The three varieties of 9th chords seen in this chapter are based on
7th chords with the addition of the major 9th degree.
Not every note of the chord needs to be played in every situation. With
extended chords, this is often true. Sometimes a note, or two, can be
omitted and still retain the color and intention of the chord. (See the
next chapter for details.)
9th Chords 69
CHORD PROGRESSIONS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Gain understanding of chord progressions by analyzing the root
movement and chord flavor.
12 NOTES, MILLIONS OF COMBINATIONS

Counting all the natural notes, A through G, and all of the sharp or flat notes in-between,
there are only 12 notes. With these, millions of chords and progressions are possible. So,
when considering a new song, how can a person begin to organize this array of options
and possibilities? To make sense and order to what may seem like a bunch of unrelated
notes and chords. Knowing how to examine chord progressions gives you the power to
learn them faster, re-purpose them when needed and even create your own music.
With each song, musicians perform a simple analysis of chords and their movements,
starting with the root of each chord.
When facing a new chord, first notice it’s root. Next observe the color or flavor, major or
minor. Third, if one exists, notice any extensions like a 7th or 9th.
THE KEY IS THE KEY

The key of a song is an aptly named term. Some examples of key names are C Major or
B Minor. The key establishes the governing scale for the song. Most of the melody and
most of the notes of each chord used will be found in the scale of the song’s key. “Most”
is a necessary qualifier here.
In simple forms of music, like children’s songs, all of the notes will be in the song’s key.
Think of a song like “Three Blind Mice”. All of the notes of the melody and all the notes of
each chord are found in the song’s key.
In more advanced and sophisticated music, accidental notes are used. These are notes
that aren’t found in the scale of the key. They’re used for a kind of musical spice, a variety
that provides interest to your ears. An example would be an E flat Major chord in the
middle of a song in the key of C Major. Of course, there is no E flat in the key of C, so
Chord Progressions 71
E flat would be considered an accidental. For now, consider just the notes in the key: the
diatonic notes, not the accidentals.
To determine the key of a song, you usually can look to the first or last chord. Often,
they’re the same chord. Whatever chord you find there is usually also the song’s
key. These first and last chords either announce the given key or provide a satisfying
resolution for the ears.
It’s important to acknowledge the key of the song, because after the composer writes the
root movement of the chords, the color and extensions are usually determined solely by
the key. Remember from the chapters examining 7th and 9th chords, the particular flavor
of the triad, 7th and 9th are all normally determined based upon the root of that chord
and its scale degree in the key of the song.
TERMINOLOGY OF CHORD NOTATION

Chords are often called by the scale degree of their root note. As you saw when
transposing chord progressions, thinking of chords as they relate to the song key makes
transposition easy.
You may have heard a bandleader call for a “I-IV-V” tune. This means the chords of the
song will have roots of the 1st, 4th and 5th degrees of the song’s key. In C Major, the
chords would be C Major, F Major and G Major. In the key of G Major, they would be
G Major, C Major and D Major.
The next time you learn a song, look for these chords. Many popular Blues, Rock and
Country songs employ them.
COMMON PROGRESSIONS
You already know that the combination of chords, with their various roots and flavors can
take on a nearly infinite number of combinations. Yet, there are many combinations that
are seen frequently. These common sets of chords sound great together and provide a
kind of sonic vocabulary that our ears find familiar and comforting.
Since they appear together often, it’s worth getting familiar with them.
I-IV-V
Perhaps the most common
Play along using
grouping in Western music. Here the triad for each
are some examples. chord (ex. C, F and
G Major triads)
C F G C
FIG.133 - I-IV-V PROGRESSION IN

C MAJOR
G C D G
FIG.134 - I-IV-V PROGRESSION IN

G MAJOR
I-vi
The sixth chord of a major key is a minor chord. As it shares two notes in
common with the root chord, it is known as the relative minor.
A F#min A F#min
FIG.135 - I-VI PROGRESSION IN A MAJOR
G Emin G Emin
FIG.136 - I-VI PROGRESSION IN G MAJOR
I-vi-IV-V
If you combine these first two examples, you get I-vi-IV-V. This progression was
used frequently in 1950’s Rock ‘n’ Roll and 1960’s Country music.
C Amin F G
FIG.137 - I-VI- IV-V PROGRESSION

IN C MAJOR
G Emin C D
FIG.138 - I-VI- IV-V PROGRESSION

IN G MAJOR
I-vi-ii-V
Here’s a progression very similar to the last one: I-vi-ii-V. This is used a lot in
classic Jazz music and Show Tunes.
C Amin Dmin G
FIG.139 - I-VI-II-V PROGRESSION

IN C MAJOR
G Emin Amin D
FIG.140 - I-VI-II-V PROGRESSION

IN G MAJOR
i-VI-VII
This is a progression in a minor key. i-VI-VII. Examples are E Minor, C Major,
D Major or A Minor, F Major, G Major. Lots of Classic Rock tunes and Folk songs
use this progression.
Emin C D Emin
FIG.141 - I-VI-VII PROGRESSION

IN E MINOR
Amin F G Amin
FIG.142 - I-VI-VII PROGRESSION

IN A MINOR
ASSIGNMENT
Have a look at a song you already know. Write down the chords and circle
the chord that is the key. Now examine the chords for their relationship to
the key as you did earlier in this chapter. You’ll often be able to see that the
flavor of the chords is determined by the scale degree of their roots.
This doesn’t work 100% of the time as there are always special cases, so
don’t be discouraged if you find something puzzling. Even after decades
of experience, musicians keep being surprised by new chord choices and
movement. It’s what keeps music fresh and new. But, generally your chord
analysis will help you understand the structure of the song.
BASIC IMPROVISING
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Develop an understanding of how melodies are related to the key of the
song. Learn a few simple techniques for creating great solos, fast.
IMPROVISING IS MAKING MELODIES

Yes, bass players can improvise solos! And improvising is all about constructing melodies
on-the-spot. Now, that sounds nice and simple, doesn’t it? And who doesn’t like a good
melody? But how are good melodies made?
Good melodies come from scales! Aren’t you glad you read the earlier chapters about the
construction of scales? There are many types of scales that can be employed and various
strategies for applying them. Here’s an overview:
SOLOING OVER ONE CHORD
CREATE A SIMPLE MELODY

Start by working with a C Major scale. Play it up from the bottom, then return,
descending down the scale. This gets the key and flavor in your ears.
For this first exercise, pick out

any three of those notes. It’s Play
easiest to use 3 consecutive
notes, such as the 1st, 2nd and Along
3rd degrees.
Audio
Now make up a melody, just like
if you were singing it. Keep it Track
simple and use nice, long notes FIG.143 - AUDIO BACKING TRACK -
C MAJOR REPEATING
like a singer would.
Basic Improvising 77
Now play along
with the recorded 0 0
tracks that
accompany this
book and try E A E A
your hand at C F C F
improvising a
melody. Simple B B
results are OK. D G C D G C
You’ll get more
speedy and FIG.144 - SOLO NOTE SELECTION FIG.145 - SOLO NOTE SELECTION
sophisticated with
practice. Note: Play black dots. Gray dots are for reference.
CREATE ANOTHER MELODY
Think again about that C Major scale. The 0

rules of this exercise are: you can play any
note you want, as long as it is one of those 8
E A
notes.
C F
Here’s the fun bit, you don’t have to start
your melodies on the root. For now, start B
your lines on either the root, 3rd or 5th and D G C
connect them via the other scale notes,
stopping at the 3rd, 5th or root. Try each of FIG.146 - SOLO NOTE SELECTION
these note choices while playing along with
the recordings, then invent some new note
choices and create melodies with those.
0
E A
C F
D G C
FIG.147 - SOLO NOTE SELECTION
SOLOING OVER CHORD CHANGES
Chord progressions, or changes, require a little practice. When you’re quite comfortable
playing melodies over just one chord, you’ll be ready to advance to playing over chord
progressions.
As you become more experienced at soloing, you’ll want to make each solo special. A
special solo shouldn’t sound like the one just before. One way to do this is to apply a
strategy to your new melody. These strategies give shape to the solo and make it stand
out.
C F G C
FIG.148 - I-IV-V PROGRESSION IN C MAJOR
Soloing Strategies
Play
Many Chords,
One Scale Along
Other times, musicians may Audio
use a more ‘blanket’ approach.
They cover each chord with
Track
notes from only one scale. As an FIG.149 - AUDIO EXAMPLE - MANY
example, over C Major, F Major CHORDS, ONE SCALE
and G Major, a musician might FIG.150 - AUDIO EXAMPLE - MANY
choose notes only from the scale CHORDS, MANY SCALES
of C Major.
Play along with the repeating progression in Figure 148, only playing notes from
C Major. If you’re at a loss for note ideas, see Figures 144-147.
Many Chords, Many Scales

Some musicians follow this method: for each new chord in a progression, choose
notes from the corresponding scale. As an example, if a song is in C Major, as
the chords progress from C Major to F Major to A Minor, the soloist would shift
their note choices from the C Major scale to the F Major scale to the A Minor
scale.
Again, play along with the recording of Figure 148, changing the scale of your
note selection on each new chord.
CHOOSING A SCALE
There are lots of scales in the musical universe. Many have important relationships to the
major or minor scales you’ve already seen. Many are derived from these scales. Here are
a few scale choices that are good places to start improvising.
Basic Scalar
You just saw this approach in the example above. One scale was used in the
Many Chords, One Scale strategy and three different scales were used in the
Many Chords, Many Scales strategy.
Major Pentatonic Scale

0
The Major Pentatonic scale is a simplified
version of the major scale containing five
notes: the root, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th. E A
Try improvising a melody using the C Major C F

Pentatonic scale. Figure 152 is a I-IV-V in B
C Major. Play along with the recording that
accompanies this book, or record your own D G C
version using the chord progression here.
FIG.151 - C MAJOR
Keep your melodies simple at first. Start with PENTATONIC SCALE
just one note per measure, played on the first
count of each measure. Make each note last
all four counts.
C F
G7 C
FIG.152 - I-IV-V7 PROGRESSION
Minor Pentatonic Scale 0
The minor pentatonic scale is a simplified version

of the minor scale containing five notes: the root,
minor 3rd, 4th, 5th and minor 7th. C F B
Use the Many Chords, One Scale strategy,

playing the C Minor Pentatonic as a ‘blanket’ D G C
scale over the entire progression.
E A
FIG.153 - C MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE
Notice in the Figure 154 that no chord is indicated over the 2nd, 4th, 6th or 8th
measures. If no chord is indicated for a bar, it doesn’t mean there is no chord.
Whenever you see a measure without a chord, refer to the previous measure
and use the chord indicated. So, measure 2 will repeat the C minor chord in
measure 1, as will the F minor in measure 3 be repeated in measure 4, and so on.
Cmin Fmin
G7 Cmin
FIG.154 - I-IV-V7 PROGRESSION
Blues Scale 0
A modified version of the minor pentatonic is the blues
scale. The blues scale is a minor pentatonic with the
addition of the flat 5 degree. C F B
The flat 5, or “blue note”, is commonly used in Blues G
music. The flat 5 is one-half step below the 5th of the
scale. D G C
E A
Again try improvising over the C Minor progression in
Figure 154, using the C Blues scale in Figure 155.
FIG.155 - C BLUES SCALE
12 BAR BLUES
Have a look at the 12 bar blues in Figure 156. While there are many variations on the
blues form, this is the most common. This same progression can be found in Rock, Blues,
Country and Jazz and is great for creating music with other musicians.
Try improvising your first lines here using the C Blues scale in Figure 155.
F C
G7 F C
FIG.156 - 12 BAR BLUES IN C MAJOR
To play a I-IV-V in A Major, you’ll need to be handy with the A, D and E Major chords and
A, D and E scales. Here are the various scales you’ve used, transposed to the key of A
Major.
3 5 A D G 5 A D G
C# F# E
A D B E A B E A
G# C F C F
B E A
FIG.157 - A MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE FIG.158 - A MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE FIG.159 - A BLUES SCALE
3 5 D G C 5 D G C
F# B A
D G E A D E A D
C# F B F B
E A D
FIG.160 - D MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE FIG.161 - D MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE FIG.162 - D BLUES SCALE
5 7 E A D 7 E A D
G# C# B
E A F# B E F# B E
D# G C G C
F# B E
FIG.163 - E MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE FIG.164 - E MINOR PENTATONIC SCALE FIG.165 - E BLUES SCALE
Note: Play black dots. Gray dots are for reference.

IMPROVISE 12 BAR BLUES
There are lots of ways to improvise over a Blues form. That flexibility is part of
the reason Blues has lasted as a genre and inspired so many other genres.
First, try the 12 bar Blues using the A Blues scale over the form in Figure 166.
Now, try the same progression using A, D and E Major Pentatonic scales over
the A7, D7, E7 chords, Figures 157, 160 and 163.
Try it again, using A, D and E Minor Pentatonic scales over the A7, D7 and
E7 chords, Figures 158, 161 and 164.
Now, try using the A Blues scale, Figure 159, over the whole song except on
the E chord, or V chord. On the E chord, use the E Major Pentatonic scale,
Figure 163. This approach is common among Blues players.
D A
E7 D A
FIG.166 - 12 BAR BLUES IN A MAJOR
CREATE YOUR OWN BLUES
Here are the numeric values of the chords in a 12 bar Blues. In the key of your
choosing, record your own chord backing track. Set a metronome if it helps
you keep time. Use your new backing track and improvise some solos over
them.
IV I
V7 IV I
FIG.167 - 12 BAR BLUES
SEEING MUSIC
Crafting your own chords and music—that’s where the real power
of being able to “see” scales comes in. While it’s important to learn
the names of the notes in each pentatonic scale, it’s not necessary
to begin improvising. As a guitarist, you’ve been given a special gift
to be able to “see” the notes as they lie on the fretboard. This lays
out a road map to help you get to your musical destination.
In the result, your ears will guide you to the correct notes for a
situation, but you can start training your ears when they’re guided
by your visual ability.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
There are two basic strategies to approaching chord changes: Many
Chords, One Scale and Many Chords, Many Scales
Several scales can be applied using one of these strategies: full scales,
major pentatonic, minor pentatonic or the blues scale.
A major pentatonic is a simplified version of a major scale. It contains

the root, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th scale tones of the major scale.
A minor pentatonic is a simplified version of a minor scale. It contains

the root, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th scale tones of the minor scale.
A blues scale is a minor pentatonic with the flat 5 tone added. The flat 5
is one half-step below a perfect 5th.
There are many approaches to improvising over a Blues form. They

include using a single major or minor pentatonic or blues scale over
the entire progression, as well as using different pentatonics or blues
scales over each chord.
Hear this book!

MODERN CHORDS: THE RULE BREAKERS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Sure, you’re not a chordal instrument, but you make music in a world
full of them. Have a look at some of the modern chords that seem to
break the rules of triadic chord construction and also give moder music
its unique sound.
TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO
MUSICIAN HAS GONE BEFORE
Traditional music requires traditional chords. In a genre that’s well defined by a period
in time (such as Classic Country), it’s not well received to mix in modern, complex or
dissonant chords. But newer forms of music often employ their own chordal twists to
create new and exciting music. You’ve already seen the guidelines for creating familiar
and traditional chords based on triadic construction. But how does modern music forge
ahead to invent new chordal tapestries?
MODERN AMBIGUITY
Traditionally, harmony contained lots of flavors. 7th, 9th and even more exotic
embellishments were highly favored. Listen to Jazz in the Big Band era and you’ll hear
them. It’s what gave that music its sophisticated and patented sound. Today, it’s more
common to avoid such highly defined and colorful harmony, opting for simple backing
chords. Just as styles of painting or architecture change with the times, music and music
makers change, too.
Sometimes, modern chords used are so stripped of harmonic definition that they become
a little ambiguous. It’s neither good nor bad, musically. Music is only made of choices that
express feelings, ideas and personalities and the choices used in today’s music are used
to evoke these feelings in a new and modern way.
Modern Chords 87
Modern music often uses backing chords that don’t use the 3rd scale tone at all. While
the melody will use the 3rd, the backing chords won’t.
In fact, lots of Rock songs use the power chord, which is just the root and 5th degrees.
The chords below are guitar power chords. As you can see, the guitar player just uses
two notes in the low register of the guitar.
E B C G
0 0
FIG.168 - E5 GUITAR POWER CHORD FIG.169 - C5 GUITAR POWER CHORD
While a power chord chord doesn’t define the color of the chord on it’s own, they way
major or minor would, it sounds quite powerful. The indication of major or minor is
usually provided by the melody.
There are many ways to embellish a power chord which add flavor, but still don’t employ
the 3rd. You’ll remember that the 3rd defines whether a triad or chord is major or minor.
Very cleverly, modern music uses chordal harmony that avoids the 3rd, but adds perhaps
the 2nd or 6th, or both.
You’ll also remember the 2nd degree is sometimes referred to as the 9th (see chapter
9th Chords).
You may be thinking, “OK, but how does this impact the bass part?” The simplest answer
is that the choices you make when creating a bass line should follow the lead of the other
instruments. If they are avoiding playing the 3rd, you’ll probably want to avoid it as well.
If they are playing some modern chords that use other scale tones like the 2nd or 6th,
you’re probably safe to use those as well.
Another good approach is to determine if the chord of the song is of a minor or major
flavor. Selecting notes from the corresponding minor or major pentatonic scale will often
work here. Again, the correct answer is always situational and depends on the genre,
style and sometimes even, the artist.
SUSPENDED CHORDS
Suspended chords add the 4th degree to the original chord. Suspended chords can be
major, minor or dominant in color.
The term “suspended” comes from classical music. It means that the suspended note, the
4th, sounds like it’s not ‘at rest’. If that note is moved to it’s nearest neighbor, the 3rd, it
sounds much more restful.
The bass part almost never leans heavily on the 4th degree. Because the bass is the
lowest pitched instrument of the group, it strongly defines or implies the chord in use.
Placing the 4th at the bottom of the harmonic structure kind of “turns ears upside-down”.
It confuses the listener and makes it seem there is a different chord with a different root
being played. In short, only visit the 4th degree in passing while heading rather quickly to
another note.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Not all chords contain the 3rd. Power chords are just the root and
5th degrees.
A suspended chord adds the 4th scale tone to the chord. Suspended
chords can be major, minor or dominant in color.
Good bass parts generally don’t rest on the 4th degree of the scale.
SEEING MUSIC
METHOD BOOKS Modern Chords 89
CREATING YOUR OWN MUSIC
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

There’s nothing so rewarding as creating a piece of music that is truly
yours. While some people throw away all the “rules” of music, this
approach usually doesn’t go far. Audiences, even less experienced
listeners, appreciate familiar music construction techniques. It’s often
the blend of familiar and new that resonates with listeners.
As a bass player, you may want to compose or be part of your group’s

collective creation. Here, you will be able to apply the nuts and bolts
of music composition to create any chord progressions you like. You’ll
be able to follow conventional construction, or be much more daring:
combining chords in fresh or unusual ways.
USE COMMON ROOT MOVEMENT

It’s common in many types of music for chords to advance by perfect fourths. A common
progression is the I-vi-ii-V7. It’s often spoken as “1, 6, 2, 5.” Take a look at an example in
Figure 170.
The progression starts in C Major, then moves to it’s relative minor, A Minor. From
A Minor, the chord advances up a perfect fourth to D Minor. From D Minor, it advances
again up a perfect fourth to G7. That movement in perfect fourths is the key to this great
sound.
Remember that in the key of C Major, the A and D chords will be minor and the G chord
sounds great as a dominant chord.
C Amin Dmin G7
FIG.170 - ROOT MOVEMENT LARGELY IN FOURTHS

Creating Your Own Music 91
PLAY UNEXPECTED CHORDS
Here’s a progression that breaks from the common I-vi-ii-V7 progression. The
roots are still the same, but the minor chords are now major. Play the common
progression in Figure 171 and then play the modified version in Figure 172. If you
can, find a guitarist or keyboardist to help play these chords. Notice the large
difference in the sound.
C Amin Dmin G7
FIG.171 - COMMON I-VI-II-V7 PROGRESSION
C A D G
FIG.172 - UNEXPECTED CHORD FLAVORS
The progression in Figure 172 sounds familiar because the roots move in a familiar way,
as in Figure 171. However, unlike Figure 171, the chords are not all diatonically related to
the C Major scale, adding an unexpected feel.
This kind of substitution is great if you’re composing your own music. In general, these
types of substitutions are pretty risky if you’re playing an already existing song because
these new chord choices are non-diatonic and sonically adventurous. Chances are, if
someone presents you with a 1-6-2-5 song, they probably want to hear minor chords on
the 6 and 2 chords.
USE SECONDARY DOMINANTS

A dominant chord is very often found on the V chord of a progression. There are times
when the dominant chord sounds great substituted for a major chord.
When a dominant chord is used at any position other than the V chord, it is called a
secondary dominant.
Secondary dominants have a very ‘funky’ sound and are used often in funk, blues,
country, pop and jazz music.
PLAY SECONDARY DOMINANTS
Remember the I-IV-V progression? Here it is again with all dominant chords. Play
the I-IV-V with secondary dominants.
C7 F7 G7 C7
FIG.173 - FUNKY I7-IV7-V7 PROGRESSION
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Chord progressions often advance by perfect 4ths. An example is the
I-vi-ii-V7 progression.
When each chord of a progression uses chords found in the key of the
song, the song has a familiar feel.
Some songs use familiar chord movement, advancing by 4ths, but with
chords of unexpected color.
Secondary dominants are dominant chords found in positions other

than the V chord.
Creating Your Own Music 93

Blank Fretboard Diagrams
MODAL THEORY
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

The modes of a Major scale are directly related to that scale. You’ll learn
how to create all 7 modes and be able to apply them to melodies.
WHAT ARE MODES?

Modes are scales built from the notes of a major scale. They’re different versions which
all contain the same notes, starting on a different note.
Here are the 7 modes of C Major.
Locrian BCDEFGAB
Aeolian A B C D E F G A
Mixolydian G A B C D E F G
Lydian FGABCDEF
Phrygian E F G A B C D E
Dorian D E F G A B C D
Ionian CDEFGABC
FIG.174 - MODES OF C MAJOR
Modal Theory 95
Modes on the Fretboard
When played on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings, the modes look like this:
0 4 B 7 E A D
D G C F
E A B E
C F E A D G C
B F
D G C
FIG.175 - C IONIAN FIG.176 - D DORIAN FIG.177 - E PHRYGIAN
7 A D 9 B E 12 A D G
F G C F
B E B E A
G C F A D G C F
FIG.178 - F LYDIAN FIG.179 - G MIXOLYDIAN FIG.180 - A AEOLIAN
12 0
B E A B E A
C F C F
B B
D G D G
FIG.181 - B LOCRIAN
Notice how C Major itself, is considered a mode, Ionian. And remember A Natural Minor
from earlier? Here it is again, called A Aeolian.
Now take another look at the scales, noting the similarities between many of them.
Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian all contain their own root, major 3rd and perfect 5th. For
this reason, they all sound a bit similar, like the major scales from earlier. Give them a
play, and notice the sort of “family resemblence”.
Having a minor flavor, Lydian, Phyrgian and Aeolian have their own root, minor 3rd
and perfect 5th. Play these now and note their similarities.
Because of their similarities, sophisticated musicians will often substitute these modes for
the more traditional minor or major scales. They share enough with the more common
scales to be appropriate, yet ofter a little spice when variety is sought.
Of course, every major key has similar associated modes built upon the unique scale
tones of that original scale.
HOW ARE MODES USED?

One manner in which modes are used, such as in jazz, progressive or punk rock, jam or
psychedelic rock, is to use them as “blankets” to create colorful and unexpected melody
and harmony. Soloists will choose a particular mode for solos and create melodies from
it. Rarely changing the tonal center, these scales are thrown over a large chunk of the
progression like a blanket.
Another way modes are used is to build melodies or chords in ways that blend well with
the chord progression. Melodies built using a modal approach flow well from one chord
to another because the modes share so many notes. This is much like the Many Chords,
Many Scales strategy seen earlier, just using some different scales.
Modal Theory 97
USE BLANKET MODES
Try some modes as a blanket over these progressions. Instead of improvising
over the indicated E Minor, try swapping either E Phrygian or E Mixolydian over
this progression.
E#9 B7
FIG.182 - E #9 PROGRESSION
Root E G B D F
Degree R M3 P5 m7 9
5 5
E#9 Chord G# C#
The Sharp 9 chord E A D E A D
is full of exotic flavor
F
and a real favorite
among Blues and Jazz B E F# B E
players. It is built from
G C
a dominant 7th chord
with a sharp 9 added.
A sharp 9 is raised one FIG.183 - E PHRYGIAN FIG.184 - E MIXOLYDIAN
half-step from a major
9. Remember that the 5 5
major 9 is also the D G# D G#
major 2nd. One half-
B E A B E A
step above the major
2nd is the minor 3rd,
so the sharp 9 note
C# F# B C# F# B
could also be called
a minor 3rd. Paired
with the major 3rd
used in the dominant FIG.185 - B MIXOLYDIAN FIG.186 - B MAJOR PENTATONIC
7 chord, the sharp 9
chord contains both
the major and minor Note: Play black dots. Gray dots are for reference.
3rd tones. Talk about
flavor!
USE MANY MODES
Ready for a bigger challenge? Revisit the 12 bar Blues from earlier, Figure 156.
Try playing a C Mixolydian, F Mixolydian and G Mixolydian over the entire
progression, in place of similar pentatonics.
Examine the Mixolydian shape from Figures 179, 184 and 185. They are all the
same shape. Moving this shape to a new location and starting on a different
note produces a Mixolydian scale in a new key. The new scale has the key of your
starting note. While these Mixolydian scales have different roots, you can use the
same scale pattern (or shape) to create C, F or G Mixolydian. Just locate the root
C, F or G and apply the Mixolydian shape, starting at your given root.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
There are seven modes of the major scale.
Each mode is unique in its combination of degrees, making it well suited

in “blanket” applications.
Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian have major-sounding traits.
Dorian, Phrygian and Aeolian have minor-sounding traits.
Modes can be used to create melodies that flow well from chord to
chord in a progression.
Modal Theory 99
Get Free Lessons
Get Flash Sale Alerts
Get Learning
Sign-up for weekly email blasts:
/guitarsparks
PLAYING WITH OTHER MUSICIANS
THE NUTS AND BOLTS

Playing music with other musicians involves a bit of a mind trick, a shift
in perspective. When playing solo, the entire song construction is up
to you. With others, it’s about designing the sound of the group and
finding your role to play in that construction.
FIT THE PIECES LIKE PUZZLE

With all you now know about chords, their relationship to the song’s key, their
construction, embellishment and function, you’ve got a lot of options underneath your
fingers. Why not use those options to create a great overall performance with your
fellow musicians? An intricate bit of art that displays good planning and execution? Your
audience will appreciate your craftsmanship.
Again, these are suggestions, not rules. Give them consideration and adopt them if they
work for you in a given situation.
ARRANGEMENT
Would you believe that 98% of the notes used in 98% of popular music fall within just
3 octaves? Sure, the piano has 8 octaves and we can hear pitches across that huge
range, but rarely do pianists use that full range. Similarly, across a group of musicians
most of the notes being played or sung are within a very tight region. When too many
musicians end up playing at the same time in the same octave, or register, the result is
musical mud. That’s not fun for anyone. So how can a bassist avoid a muddy musical
outcome?
Arrangement is the key and there are two ways to approach the subject. Either musicians
can agree to arrange their parts in different regions or octaves or, if playing in the same
register, they might arrange to play their parts at slightly different times. Either is a great
strategy for keeping the music clear and musically pleasing.
Playing with Other Musicians 101

Harmonic Arrangement
When playing with a keyboardist or guitarist, choose your notes so as to leave room for
the other musician.
In the case of working with a guitarist, remember that the lowest note on a 4-string bass
is just one octave below the guitarist’s lowest note. Yes, the bass guitar’s low E is just
one octave below the guitar’s low E.
0 0 E
FIG.187 - EQUIVALENT PITCHES ON THE BASS GUITAR (LEFT) AND GUITAR (RIGHT)
Think about that for a minute. That means that if you play any note above your 2nd
lowest E, you’re invading the guitar’s sonic space. That may muddy the arrangement.
Doesn’t seem fair, does it? Only one octave to yourself?
The trick is to be listening to the guitar. When they are playing low notes, you should
avoid playing high notes. When they move up their register, you’ll have a little more
freedom to explore higher notes, as well.
In the case of working with a keyboardist, be aware that they have a very wide range and
can easily play throughout your entire register. You will want to come to some sort of
understanding with the keyboardist so they don’t play in the same octave as you, at the
same time.
Time Arrangement
Most songs are in 4/4 time, meaning there are 4 beats per measure. In that small
space, it’s really easy to make things muddy when too many instruments play on top of
each other.
Use a little metric arrangement, placing your note choices so they work together,
not compete.
WORKING WITH A DRUMMER
In most Western musical forms, the rhythmic element of drumming is played by a drum
kit. The drummer uses the bass drum, or kick drum (the one on the floor) to keep time
on the 1st and 3rd beat of a measure. The snare drum plays on 2 and 4. This point isn’t
immediately seen by new musicians. The drummer’s job can seem very mysterious at
first. If you’re new to thinking about the drummer’s role, watch one play Rock, Country or
Pop and as they play, count along, “One, Two, Three, Four”. You’ll find that although they
may add some snazzy embellishments, beats one and three are supported by the kick
drum, two and four by the snare.
This really applies to more popular forms of music, not Jazz. The drummer’s role in Jazz is
extremely subtle, perhaps in reaction to the more staid support found in popular music.
As a rule, Jazz drummers traditionally keep time on the ride cymbal and use all the drums
for punctuation, not rhythmic anchoring to the count of the measure. It is a wonderful
and highly creative use of the drum kit as a supporting element.
THE WISDOM OF SIMPLICITY

Don’t be afraid to keep things simple! Avoid flashy rhythms, licks, hard-to-reach intervals
and aim for simple musical components. Some artists, even musical legends, make
careers out of this concept. Simple can be pleasing and rewarding. As a bonus, it leaves
space for the other elements of the music: melody, lyrics and many small embellishments.
Imagine a Christmas tree with so many ornaments, lights and doo-dads that you can’t
even see the pretty green tree underneath. It would look pretty silly, right? Never let your
music become that cluttered, poorly arranged tree.
Also remember, you’re the artist and what seems extremely simple to you will still be
greatly entertaining to your audience.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Arrangement with instruments in a similar range can be either by note
choice or rhythmically.
Before playing a chord, ask yourself if the entire chord is necessary. Is

someone else, maybe a bass player, already filling that sonic region?
Simple works! Sometimes a simple chord and rhythm are all that are
needed to let the song breathe and perhaps give the melodic element of
the song room to live.
Playing with Other Musicians 103

YOU PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
Time to congratulate yourself on all you’ve learned!
• How to read fretboard diagrams
• How to divide the fretboard into zones for memorization
• How to create major and minor scales, triads and chords
• How to identify any musical interval
• How to transpose a chord progression
• The relationship between major and minor
• How to spell various types of 7th and 9th chords
• How to begin improvising solos and develop soloing strategies
• All 7 modes of a major scale
• How to create your own chord progressions
• How to arrange your playing with other musicians

ASSIGNMENT
Keep learning! You’re well on your way to total bass guitar and
musical knowledge!
There are several books in the Seeing Music family you may find
interesting to develop your knowledge and skill. Seeing Music books
put you inside the mind of professional guitarists everywhere who
organize their vast knowledge by very simple visual means. Our books
give you the tools to continue teaching yourself, to be able to play
anything, anytime.
Keep on makin’ music, musician!

You Put It All Together 105
Blank Fretboard Diagrams
TRIAD AND SCALE REFERENCE
Fretboard Reference
0 E A D G 0
F
B E A
G C F
A D G
FIG.188 - NATURAL NOTES FIG.189 - OPEN-STRING EQUIVALENTS
Triad - Triads - Dominant 7th and 9th

Diminished
0 0 B
G F
B A B
F G F D
D D A
FIG.190 - B DIM7 FIG.191 - G7 FIG.192 - G9
Triad and Scale Reference 107

Triads - Major
0 0
E E
C C
G G
FIG.193 - C MAJOR FIG.194 - C MAJ7
0 0
E B
C G
G D
FIG.195 - C MAJ9 FIG.196 - G MAJOR
Triads - Minor
0 A 0 A G 0 A G
E E E
C C C
FIG.197 - A MINOR FIG.198 - A MINOR 7 FIG.199 - A MIN9
0 0 E
C G
FIG.200 - C MINOR FIG.201 - E MINOR

Scales - Major
0 A D 4 C# F#
G# A D
B E A G#
B E A
C# F#
FIG.202 - A MAJOR SCALE FIG.203 - A MAJOR SCALE
0 4 F# B
D G
E A C#
C F E A D
D G C
FIG.204 - C MAJOR SCALE FIG.205 - D MAJOR SCALE
6 G# C# 0
E A
D# B E
F# B E G C
F#
A D G
FIG.206 - E MAJOR SCALE FIG.207 - G MAJOR SCALE
Scales - Minor
0 A D G 5 A D G
B E A B E A
C F C F
FIG.208 - A MINOR SCALE FIG.209 - A MINOR SCALE
0 0 E A D
F# B E
C F B G C
D G C
E A
FIG.210 - C MINOR SCALE FIG.211 - E MINOR SCALE

Scales - Major Pentatonic
3 5
C# F# D G#
A D B E A
G#
B E A C# F# B
FIG.212 - A MAJOR PENTATONIC FIG.213 - B MAJOR PENTATONIC
E A
C F
D G C
FIG.214 - C MAJOR PENTATONIC
3 5
F# B G# C#
D G E A
C# D#
E A D F# B E
FIG.215 - D MAJOR PENTATONIC FIG.216 - E MAJOR PENTATONIC
Note: Play black dots. Gray dots are for reference.
Scales - Minor Pentatonic and Blues
5 A D G 5 A D G 0
E
B E A B E A
C F C F C F B
D G C
E A
FIG.217 - A MINOR PENTATONIC FIG.218 - A BLUES SCALE FIG.219 - C MINOR PENTATONIC
0 5 D G C 5 D G C
E A D E A D
C F B F B F B
D G C
E A
FIG.220 - C BLUES SCALE FIG.221 - D MINOR PENTATONIC FIG.222 - D BLUES SCALE
7 E A D 7 E A D
F# B E F# B E
G C G C
FIG.223 - E MINOR PENTATONIC FIG.224 - E BLUES SCALE

Scales - Modes
0 4 B 7 E A D
D G C F
E A B E
C F E A D G C
B F
D G C
FIG.225 - C IONIAN FIG.226 - D DORIAN FIG.227 - E PHYRGIAN
7 A D 9 B E 12 A D G
F G C F
B E B E A
G C F A D G C F
FIG.228 - F LYDIAN FIG.229 - G MIXOLYDIAN FIG.230 - A AEOLIAN
12 0
B E A B E A
C F C F
B B
D G D G
FIG.231 - B LOCRIAN

Andy Schneider - Bass Guitar Theory Nuts & Bolts - Music Theory Explained in Practical, Everyday Context For All Genres - Unlocked

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Andy Schneider - Bass Guitar Theory Nuts & Bolts - Music Theory Explained in Practical, Everyday Context For All Genres - Unlocked

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Andy Schneider - Bass Guitar Theory Nuts & Bolts - Music Theory Explained in Practical, Everyday Context For All Genres - Unlocked

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BASS GUITAR

Hear this book!

KNOW YOUR FRETBOARD (PART I) 13

KNOW YOUR FRETBOARD (PART II) 15

WHY BASSISTS MUST KNOW CHORDS 19

LINKING SCALES, TRIADS AND CHORDS 21

MINOR SCALES, TRIADS AND CHORDS 29

EVEN MORE SCALES AND CHORDS 41

SEEING THE WHOLE FRETBOARD 45

HOW MAJOR AND MINOR ARE RELATED 49

MODERN CHORDS: THE RULE BREAKERS 87

PLAYING WITH OTHER MUSICIANS 101

YOU PUT IT ALL TOGETHER 105

THE NUTS AND BOLTS

In my years teaching guitar and bass and talking with

Turn the page, you’re about to “see” music!

HOW TO READ FRETBOARD DIAGRAMS

FIG.1 - FRET NOTATION FIG.2 - FRETBOARD

With your picking hand, feel free to use a pick,

FIG.3 - OPEN 4TH STRING

FIG.4 - OPEN 3RD STRING

FIG.5 - FRET NOTATION FIG.6 - LEFT-HAND FINGERING

A NOTE ABOUT FRETBOARD DIAGRAMS

Fretboard diagrams should not be confused with musical staves.

Hear this book!

THE NUTS AND BOLTS

THE FIRST 3 FRETS

Next, move to the open A string. Keep going, playing B

Know Your Fretboard - Part One 13

There really are only three ﬁngerings to remember here.

Second, notice how the 4th string uses a slightly 3 3 3

The 1st string, G, is easy to remember because there’s

Once you get those memorized, challenge yourself by playing them in

THE NUTS AND BOLTS

THE 5TH FRET

It’s A and it’s found at the 5th fret.

FIG.10 - 4TH STRING 5TH FRET A

What’s the name of your 3rd string? It’s A as

Play both these notes to conﬁrm they are the

FIG.11 - SAME NOTE ON TWO STRINGS

Let’s look at some more you already know.

Know Your Fretboard - Part Two 15

FIG.12 - C MAJOR SCALE

What’s the name of the 2nd string? It’s D! Conﬁrm

Pretty neat, right? Figure 13 shows these open string

FIG.13 - OPEN STRING

Here is a diagram of the equivalent pitches of the open 0

FIG.15 - OPEN STRING EQUIVALENTS

FIG.16 - NATURAL NOTES

Know Your Fretboard - Part Two 17

THE NUTS AND BOLTS

NOT JUST FOR GUITAR PLAYERS

HOW TO PRACTICE CHORDS ON BASS

Why Bassists Must Know Chords 19

THE NUTS AND BOLTS

IT ALL STARTS WITH A SCALE

Scales Triads Chords

The C Major Scale