Reading the diagrams

Almost every page of this course has diagrams of the bass neck. They all follow the same rules, so once you can read one, you can read them all.

The neck, as in tablature

The diagrams show the neck the way tablature does:

• the highest string (G) is at the top, and the lowest (E, or B on a 5-string) is at the bottom;
• the nut is on the left and the body of the bass is to the right;
• the string names are written to the left of the nut, and the fret numbers below the board.

The grey dots on the board are the position markers you find on most basses: single dots at frets 3, 5, 7 and 9, and a double marker at 12. After fret 12 they repeat: 15, 17, 19, 21, and a double marker at 24. Look at your own bass and you will see the same pattern.

Dots are notes to play

A colored circle on a string means “play this note”. The number under it tells you the fret. Fret 0 means the open string: a circle to the left of the nut is played without pressing anything.

Chord boxes

A full neck is too long when you only need a few notes, so chords are shown in a chord box: a window of 5 frets.

• The number under the first column is the fret where the window starts.
• A thick line on the left means the window starts at the nut.

Play the notes in a box from the lowest string to the highest, one at a time. That is how bassists usually play a chord, as you will see in Module 7.

Finger numbers

When a diagram gives a fingering, your fretting-hand fingers have numbers:

• 1 = index;
• 2 = middle;
• 3 = ring;
• 4 = little finger (pinky).

Colors show the role of a note

The color of a circle does not tell you the note’s name. It tells you the note’s role:

• green: the root, or tonic (1);
• orange: the third;
• blue-violet: the fifth;
• magenta: the seventh;
• grey: the 2nd, 4th and 6th.

A diagram that uses these colors always shows this legend above it. What a degree is, and what “third” or “fifth” means, comes in later lessons. For now, just notice that the colors repeat in patterns.

Notes or degrees

At the top of diagram pages there is a Notes / Degrees switch. It changes the labels inside the circles from note names (C E G) to degree numbers (R, 3, 5). Try it on the chord box above. Your choice is remembered on every page of the site.