# Your bass: strings and tuning

*Module 0 · Lesson 2: Getting started · BazzLow*

> Name the open strings, number them, and understand standard tuning in fourths.

Before this lesson: [0.1 How this course works](https://bazzlow.com/en/getting-started/how-this-course-works/)

Before any theory, you need to know your instrument’s layout: which notes the strings are tuned to, how they are numbered, and why the tuning works the way it does.

## The open strings

A string played without pressing any fret is an **open string**. In **standard tuning**, the four strings of a bass give these notes, from the lowest (the thickest) to the highest:

> **E A D G**

Basses with more strings extend this tuning:

- a 5-string bass adds a low B below the E: **B E A D G**;
- a 6-string bass adds a high C as well: **B E A D G C**.

The four open strings of a bass are the same notes as the four lowest strings of a guitar, one octave lower.

## String numbers

Strings are numbered from the highest. On a 4-string bass, G is string 1, D is string 2, A is string 3 and E is string 4. On a 5-string, the low B is string 5.

The numbering starts from the top string, not the bottom one. It is the opposite of the order in which you just learned the names, so it is worth a second look.

## Tuned in fourths

Each string is tuned a **perfect fourth** above the one below it. On the neck, a perfect fourth is five frets, or 5 semitones. That is why the 5th fret of each string gives the same note as the next higher open string:

- 5th fret on E = A;
- 5th fret on A = D;
- 5th fret on D = G;
- on a 5-string, the 5th fret on B = E.

> **Diagram:** Frets 0–5 on a 4-string bass. Open strings G D A E; at fret 5: E string → A, A string → D, D string → G, G string → C. Each arrow goes from a fret-5 note to the open string with the same name.

## The exact pitches

Each open string has an exact pitch. The table writes it in scientific pitch notation: the number after the note name is the octave. This system takes A4 = 440 Hz as its reference, and middle C is C4. Lesson 1.1 explains it in full.

*Open strings of the 4- and 5-string bass in standard tuning, lowest first, with string number, scientific pitch and frequency (A4 = 440 Hz).*

| String | Number | Scientific pitch | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| B (5-string) | 5 | B0 | ≈30.87 Hz |
| E | 4 | E1 | ≈41.20 Hz |
| A | 3 | A1 | 55.00 Hz |
| D | 2 | D2 | ≈73.42 Hz |
| G | 1 | G2 | ≈98.00 Hz |

## Three ways to tune

1. **An electronic tuner or a tuner app.** It is the most accurate way, and the one to use.
2. **The 5th-fret method.** Tune the E string to a reference. Then play the 5th fret of the E string and tune the open A string to match it. Do the same from A to D, and from D to G.
3. **Harmonics.** The harmonic at fret 5 of one string matches the harmonic at fret 7 of the next higher string. This gets close but is not exact: it leaves the higher string about 2 cents flat, because the harmonic at fret 7 is a pure fifth, slightly wider than the fifth your frets give. Harmonics are explained in lesson 1.7.

The second and third methods are useful checks by ear. When accuracy matters, finish with a tuner.

## Try it

Tune your bass with a tuner. Then check it by ear with the 5th-fret method: play the 5th fret of the E string and the open A string, then A at fret 5 with the open D, then D at fret 5 with the open G. Each pair should sound identical.

## New terms

- open string
- standard tuning
- perfect fourth
- scientific pitch notation
- tuner

Page: https://bazzlow.com/en/getting-started/strings-and-tuning/