Music theory for the electric bass

Who it is for

Modules

1. 0
   Getting started

   Before any theory: what this course is, how your bass is laid out and tuned, and how to read the diagrams used on every page.

   3 lessons · Beginner
2. 1
   Notes and the fretboard

   Every bass line ever written uses only twelve notes. This module names them, shows how they are spaced, and maps them onto your fretboard.

   7 lessons · Beginner
3. 2
   Rhythm I: pulse and note values

   The bass holds two jobs at once, harmony and rhythm. This module covers the rhythmic side: the beat, how long notes last, and how music is grouped into bars.

   6 lessons · Beginner
4. 3
   Reading music for bass

   Two ways to write bass parts: tablature shows where to put your fingers, standard notation shows pitch and rhythm exactly. This module teaches both.

   5 lessons · Beginner
5. 4
   Intervals

   An interval is the distance between two notes. Scales, chords and bass lines are all built from intervals, and on the bass every interval is a fixed shape you can move anywhere.

   7 lessons · Beginner
6. 5
   The major scale and keys

   The major scale is the reference for almost all theory that follows: intervals, chords, keys and modes are all described by comparing them with it.

   7 lessons · Beginner
7. 6
   Minor scales

   Minor scales give music its darker colours. There is one basic minor scale and two common variants. Each one is easiest to understand by comparing it with the major scale.

   5 lessons · Beginner
8. 7
   Triads and arpeggios

   Chords are where the bass meets the harmony. Bassists rarely strum chords; they play the chord's notes one at a time. To do that well, you need to know exactly which notes each chord contains.

   7 lessons · Intermediate
9. 8
   Harmony in a key

   A key is more than a scale: it is a family of chords. This module builds that family, names its members by number, and shows how they pull on each other. That pull is what makes chord progressions move.

   6 lessons · Intermediate
10. 9
    Building bass lines

    This is where theory turns into bass playing. Starting from the root and adding one idea at a time, you build lines that follow the chords and connect them.

    6 lessons · Intermediate
11. 10
    Seventh chords

    Add one more third on top of a triad and you get a seventh chord. Seventh chords are the everyday harmony of jazz, soul, funk and much pop, and the 7th is a note bassists use constantly.

    6 lessons · Intermediate
12. 11
    Rhythm II

    Groove lives in the small divisions of the beat. This module covers sixteenths, syncopation, triplets, compound meters and swing: the rhythmic tools behind funk, blues, rock and jazz bass parts.

    5 lessons · Intermediate
13. 12
    Pentatonic and blues

    Five-note scales are the most practical tools a bassist has: they avoid the notes most likely to clash, and they are the sound of blues, rock, soul and funk. This module ends with the 12-bar blues.

    5 lessons · Intermediate
14. 13
    Modes

    Modes sound mysterious but rest on one simple idea: the same seven notes, with a different note as home. This module explains what that means, describes each mode, and shows when a bassist uses them.

    5 lessons · Advanced
15. 14
    Beyond the key

    Real songs often borrow notes and chords from outside their key, add colour notes on top of chords, or change key altogether. This module explains where those "outside" chords come from and how the bass handles them.

    5 lessons · Advanced
16. 15
    Songs and charts

    The last module puts the course to work on real music: how songs are built, how bassists read the charts they are given, and how to analyse a song before playing it.

    4 lessons · Advanced

Tools