Understanding chords is a critical part of mastering the notes side of bass playing (as opposed to the rhythm side).

If you find yourself frustrated not knowing what notes to play in an original bassline, its probably because you dont know and understand chords. Chords are essential. I urge you to be very thorough in reading this and other lessons I add in this category. What is a Chord? A CHORD is a group of notes played together at the same time. Bassists dont play chords as often as guitarists or pianists do. This is because playing several lowpitched notes at the same time can sound muddy. Playing chords on bass can sometimes fill up too much sonic space competing with the rest of the band. It can be done, but must be done with care. Instead of playing chords directly, bassists outline the notes of chords. Bassists emphasize the individual notes that make up chords. By outlining the notes of chords a bassist implies the sound of a particular chord. I always explain to students its like guitarists say a whole word (e.g. dog), while bassists spell it out (e.g. D O G). We get the same point across, but in a different way. To give you an example, a C major chord is created by playing a combination of the notes C, E, and G at the same time. As a bass player I can create the impression of a C major chord in the bassline by outlining the notes C, E, and G individually. I could play them in order, repeat notes, change the order, etc. If I played C-C-E-E-G-G-E-E, I would be implying the sound of a C major chord. If you studied some of the common bass pattern lessons, youve already learned some important notes that outline chords. The root, fifth, and seventh are all notes from common chords. Defining Chords, Arpeggios, and Chord Patterns Since well be discussing chords and the notes within them a lot, we need to make some clear definitions and distinctions between chords, arpeggios, and chord patterns: A CHORD is three or more different notes played at the same time. An ARPEGGIO (pronounced ar-pay-zhee-oh) is the individual notes of a chord played one after another. For example, a C major arpeggio is played C, E, G, and C an octave higher. An arpeggio typically implies that the notes are played in order from lowest to highest and often back down. You will play and practice arpeggios up and down a lot. A healthier perspective on thinking about chords and arpeggios is thinking about the notes as a specific set of notes. I will usually refer to this set of notes as chord tones. CHORD TONES are the individual notes that make up a particular chord. C, E, and G are the chord tones for a C major chord. No order of notes from low to high is implied when I say chord tones.

A CHORD PATTERN is a pattern of chord tones on the bass fretboard. I will start you off with easy chord patterns and eventually teach them to you all over the fretboard.

Whats the Difference Between a Scale and a Chord Pattern? I get asked this question a lot. Scales and chords are both specific groups of notes, but there are a couple of important differences. The main difference is the notes of a chord are played all at the same time. The notes of a scale are not. It is possible (and common) to derive chords from the notes of scales. Chords usually have fewer notes than scales. Most chords contain 3 or 4 different notes. Most scales contain 7 notes. Why Learn Chord Patterns? As a bass player your role is to support the sound of each chord. If you dont know chord patterns, you cant fulfill your obligations. The better you know your chord tones, the better youll be able to define the sound of each chord. And, youll be able to do it more interestingly and creatively. Dont Bassists Play Things Other Than the Notes of Chords? Yes, they absolutely do. The key thing to understand is that chord tones are the heart of a bassline. Other notes derived from scales, or chromatic notes, serve to complement and embellish the chord tones. Without properly emphasizing chord tones, you will end up with a weak bassline. In Summary If you havent guessed by now, studying chord tones is going to be a major part of your studies as a bass player. The better you learn about chord tones, the stronger your basslines will be. The stronger your basslines are, the more people will want your bass playing services.

Many books and teachers have students focus on scales before teaching you much about chords. In my opinion (and I'm not alone), this is a very backwards approach to teaching and learning bass. I feel it's one of the biggest mistakes in instructional material for bass. Practicing scales and modes with no understanding of chord tones will lead you to many dead ends in understanding music, the bass, and how to create your own basslines. As a bassist, you need to give a lot of attention to studying chord tones. What Are Chord Tones? In case you're unfamiliar or unclear with the term, CHORD TONES are the individual notes that, when played simultaneously, create a chord. Bass players don't usually play several notes at the same time, but basslines are intimately connected to the chord tones as I'll explain below. If this all sounds new to you, you probably want to read or review thebass basics section of this site first. My Main Point In this article I really want to drive home one point: Dont get too caught up in learning scales and modes before learning about chord tones. Dont misunderstand me. Scales are important, too. Theyre very important. You need to learn about both to be an effective bassist and musician. You need to learn how scales and chords interact and relate. Just remember that chord tones are primary. Songs revolve around chords and chord progressions. Even melodies, despite having scalar qualities, have a strong connection to chord tones. The better grasp you have of chord tones, the better you will understand all other note patterns. I wish this wasn't such an oversight in instructional material, but it is. I'd say this issue is one of my prime reasons for creating this website. An Example of the Importance of Chord Tones Ill give you an example of how I think many books and teachers misguide students by only talking of the scales used in basslines rather than the chord tones used in basslines. One of the first basslines many books and teachers teach is the classic boogie-woogie bassline. (We will fully learn this bassline when we discuss blues bass.) The basic pattern sounds like this: The boogie-woogie bassline uses a two-bar pattern:

Often this bassline is explained as coming from the C mixolydian scale/mode containing the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and Bb.

This explanation is not wrong; its just a bit incomplete. Sure enough, all the notes of the bassline are contained within the scale. But, the explanation misses the critical point of how the notes of the chord are the heart of the bassline. This bassline would be played on a C7 chord. The notes of a C7 chord are C, E, G, and Bb. I've highlighted the chord tones in blue. The only note of the boogie-woogie bassline pattern not in the C7 chord is A. The note A can be explained as coming from the mixolydian scale. The rest of the line, however, purely emphasizes chord tones. Since the bassists role is partly to outline chords, I think this is a large piece of the puzzle to skip especially right at the beginning when you're trying to learn what's important to study. Students excitedly think, "Hey, I need to learn scales to make basslines!" Learning scales won't hurt you, but you need to learn the chord tones first and then how the scales apply to them. The reason the boogie-woogie bassline has been repeatedly used over the past one hundred years or so and is still being used today is because it successfully outlines thechord tones. That's what makes it a strong, supportive bassline. You will notice the basslines and patterns that get used over and over always have this trait in common. Don't just believe me. You should study, analyze, and discover this in your favorite basslines. A Common Bass Teaching Approach As a learning bassist you will encounter a lot of instructional material telling you: "Apply scale X when you see chord Y." What you'll discover when you try it in a bassline is it'll often sound weak and wrong to your ears. The reason why is because some of those scale notes like the 2nd, 4th and 6th aren't supportive of the chord. If your original bassline sounds weak you are probably underemphasizing the chord tones and overemphasizing scale tones. (Or else your rhythm is off. That's a whole different problem.) This approach is giving you the right notes, but it's also giving you some notes that require special handling. That's not the way I teach and I hope you work through my lessons and prove it to yourself. So Why Is It Taught That Way?! There are a couple of reasons why the scale teaching approach is often used. Firstly, as I pointed out there is enough right about it that people eventually work it out and never think to look at it differently. People then continue to teach it to others the way they learned it. Next, this approach of teaching scales works fine for most other instruments like guitar and piano. As a result, it trickles down to bass teaching. But, bass is a unique instrument playing a very critical role of supporting the chords. Other instruments won't sound as weak if they don't support the chords as well. In Summary Both chords and scales are essential to learn to become an effective bass player and musician. Effective bass players outline chords well. No matter what path you take, your ear will eventually lead you to defining the chords in your basslines anyway. Its what sounds right. I feel its important that you not be misguided in your learning efforts. There's no reason to delay your progress and point you in the wrong direction at the start. Focus on chord tones. Youll have an easier time making sense of music and the bass if you do.

What is a Triad? A triad is a chord that contains 3 different notes. There are several types of triads. Triads are the most basic chords and are very common in every style of music. What is a Major Triad? The major triad is the most common triad. Its sound is often described as simple, bright, and happy. The MAJOR TRIAD is comprised of a root, major 3rd, and perfect 5th. (See intervals.) We would refer to these notes simply as the root, third, and fifth of the chord. Another way of thinking about chord construction is to see them as different combinations of major and minor 3rd intervals stacked on top of one another. In this way a major triad is comprised of a major 3rd interval (root to the 3rd) with a minor 3rd interval on top (3rd to the 5th). The major triad is the only chord built from this unique combination of intervals. Major Triad Pattern Fingering There are, as with everything on the bass, numerous ways to play major triad patterns on the fretboard. I will start you out with one simple, versatile fingering. Later well come back and more thoroughly explore other fingering possibilities. This fingering (see the major triad diagram) begins with your 2nd finger on the low root note. Play the third of the chord with your 1st finger, the fifth of the chord with your 4th finger, and the high root note with your 4th finger. 12 Major Triads The major triad pattern can be started on any of music's 12 notes. For a D major triad, youd start the root note on D. Its notes would be D, F#, and A. For a G major triad, youd make G the root note. Its notes would be G, B, and D. There are 12 major triads all sharing the same structure, but containing different notes. Major Triad Notation Chords have their own separate notation system called CHORD SYMBOLS. The chord symbol for the major triad consists of just the root note of the chord. For example, in written music a C major triad is notated C. An Eb major triad is notated Eb. Someone may tell you, The chords for the verse are F, C, Bb, C. This means the chords are an F major triad, C major triad, Bb major triad, and another C major triad. Chord symbols are written above the staff and notes of the written music. The chord is written above the beat where the chord change takes place. This is most often beat 1. But, chords can change anywhere within the measure.

Applying the Major Triad When you come across a major triad in a song, your role is to provide a foundation for its sound. You can do this by emphasizing the notes of the major triad pattern. Many basslines emphasize the notes of the major triad by simply going up and down the notes of the triad. When creating a bassline the notes of the triad do not need to be played in any particular order. And, you dont necessarily need to play all of the triads notes to imply its sound. For instance, you might only play the root and the third. Any of the notes of the triad can be repeated in your bassline, too. You might play a root, 3 fifths, and 1 third in your line. Even more is possible with where you place the notes rhythmically. Most often basslines emphasize the root of the chord on beat 1. Everything else is open territory. Even though the triad only contains 3 notes, it is ripe with possibilities. When you combine all of the possible ways of ordering and repeating the notes along with the rhythmic possibilities for placing the notes, you will realize the possibilities are infinite. Experiment and try to create your own basslines outlining the notes of any major triad or a series of them. Major Triad Exercises and Examples You want to be very familiar with this major triad chord pattern. Check out the major triad examples page for some exercises to practice and some example basslines applying the major triad.