Octave shapes

The strings of a bass are tuned in a regular pattern, so the same note always sits in the same position relative to itself. A few hand shapes let you jump from any note to its octave without thinking about names at all.

Four octave shapes

These octave shapes work for every note, on every pair of strings, in standard tuning:

• two strings up, two frets up = one octave higher. G at fret 3 on the E string → G at fret 5 on the D string.
• two strings down, two frets down = one octave lower. The same shape, in reverse.
• three strings up, three frets down = one octave higher. G at fret 3 on the E string → the open G string. On a 4-string this only works from the E string to the G string; on a 5-string it also works from B to D.
• same string, 12 frets up = one octave higher.

Three of those Gs are one octave above the G on the E string. They are not three different notes: they are the same pitch in different places.

Unison

Lesson 1.5 showed the shape for the same pitch on the next string: next string up, 5 frets down. Two places that give the same pitch are a unison.

Why the shapes matter

Octave shapes are the fastest way to learn the notes on the D and G strings. Learn the E and A strings first, then find each note’s octave two strings up.

They also matter in the music itself. In bass lines, a root and its octave are one of the most common pairs of notes. You will use them again when you start building lines in Module 9.