# Reading the diagrams

*Module 0 · Lesson 3: Getting started · BazzLow*

> Read the site's fretboard diagrams, chord boxes, finger numbers and colors.

Before this lesson: [0.2 Your bass: strings and tuning](https://bazzlow.com/en/getting-started/strings-and-tuning/)

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.

> **Diagram:** An empty neck, frets 0–12, 4 strings. (1) String names: G D A E from top to bottom. (2) The nut: the thick line on the left. (3) Fret numbers under the board. (4) Position markers at frets 3, 5, 7, 9 and a double marker at 12.

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.

> **Diagram:** A chord box for C. (1) The window starts at fret 2. (2) The root, C, on the A string at fret 3. The other notes are E and G.

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.

## Try it

Find the position markers on your own bass and say which fret each one is on. Then play every note shown in the C chord box above, from the lowest string to the highest.

## New terms

- nut
- fret
- position marker
- chord box
- finger numbers
- root
- degree

Page: https://bazzlow.com/en/getting-started/reading-the-diagrams/