Bass Guitar Cheat Sheet

Nashville Number System

I - ii - iii - IV - V - vi - viio - VIII

w w h w w w h
G - Am - Bm - C - D - Em - F#o - G
C - Dm - Em - F - G - Am - Bo - C
E - F#m - Gm - G# - B - C#m - D#o - E
D - Em - F#m - G - A - Bm - C#o - D
= key

= octave

= pentatonic scale (these will almost always sound good when played in a song in the appropriate key)

Example: We’re going to play a song in the key of G. This means that the chords that will be used are
G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, and F#o. As a bassist, you can almost always play the notes G, A, C, D, and E over any
part of the song and it will sound at least OK and maybe completely amazing.

Arpeggios

Definition: Arpeggios are the three notes that make up a chord. These notes are the root note, the third, and the fifth. For instance,
the arpeggio for a G Major chord would be made up of the notes G, B, and D. For bass, any of these notes should sound good when
played over the G Major chord in a song.

Major Arpeggio Minor Arpeggio

G G

D 8 D 8

A 3 5 A 5

E 1 E 1 3

{
Major Scale Minor Scale

G G

D 6 7 8 D 7 8
The Scales
A 3 4 5 A 4 5 6

E 1 2 E 1 2 3