Bass Guitar Theory

By Brian Cee Williams, eHow Contributor

I want to do this! What's This?

A bassist's job is never done. Bass players have to consciously think about notes (the melody) and keeping in sync with the drummer's actions (the rhythm) to keep the music moving. If you're a rookie picking up the instrument for the first time or already know how to bang out a few songs but would like to know more about the mechanics of making music on the bass guitar, then the bass-ics is where to begin.

Strings n' Things

1. Assuming you already have a four-string bass (more about five-stringers in a moment) that's tuned to standard and you know your alphabet, you're halfway there. The four strings on a bass are tuned E, A, D and G (that's going from the thick top string down to the thinnest). If you have a fiver, the top string will be a B; if you have a six-string bass, you're faced with a heavy B and ultra thin C. When you pluck the strings with your right hand (opposite for lefties), each string will vibrate at the aforementioned pitches. Not fretting a note, or rather not using your other hand to press down on the strings, leaves the note "open."

Alphabetically Speaking

2. The musical alphabet is much shorter than one you learned about in grade school, as it runs only from A to G before repeating itself ad nauseam. It reads: A BC D EF G A. These notes are called "naturals." You'll notice some letters have spaces between, and some don't. The spaces are called "accidentals," also called sharps and flats. Any letter (note) that doesn't have a space between it doesn't have sharps or flats. A natural note is immediately followed by its sharp, which is also going to the next natural's flat. For example, A is followed by A sharp/B flat, then B, then C, C sharp/D flat, E, F, F sharp/G flat, G, G sharp/A flat, and A. Going through this once constitutes one octave.
   
   Literally speaking, frets are the metal slats on the bass's fingerboard. Musically speaking, frets are the spaces between the slat, and pressing down on the space between the slats produces a note. One fret space is referred to as a "half-step," thus two frets equal one whole step. Most basses have fret markers, dots or squares that are placed on the fifth, seventh, ninth and 12th frets, creating one entire octave. The remaining frets are the same notes, only in a higher octave. Most basses have 20 to 22 frets, but some have 24, making two complete octaves. Playing on one string, one fret at a time, is the "chromatic" scale.

Understanding Scales

3. The two most important scales to know in music, thus in bass playing, are the major and minor scales. You may have heard the familiar "do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do," the vocalization of the major scale. To play the A major, play the following in succession: E string/fifth fret (A), E string/seventh fret (B), A string/fourth fret (C sharp), A string/fifth fret (D), A string/seventh fret (E), D string/fourth fret (F sharp), D string/sixth fret (G sharp), and D string/seventh fret (A octave). The more proficient you get at playing this scale, the more music you'll understand.
   
   An A minor scale is more ominous sounding and is a favorite of metal and hard rock bands: E string/fifth fret (A), E string/seventh fret (B), E string/eighth fret (C), A string/fifth fret (D), A string/seventh fret (E), A string/eighth fret (F), D string/fifth fret (G), and finally the A octave on the D string/seventh fret.

A Numbers Game

4. Each of the scales are composed of eight notes. If you throw in the "missing" notes you skipped over when playing them, you would end up with a total of 12 notes, or (you guessed it) one octave. These notes, missing ones and all, have assigned Roman numerals. The first one you play, the "root," is I. Chromatically, the next note is II, then III and IV on the eighth fret and so on. When bass players speak of constructing basslines, sometimes they'll say a I-IV-V, a common chord progression in rock and pop. All basslines are written according to these rules. After you learn about what key a song is in, with a little study, you'll know which notes can fill in those spaces and begin playing along or writing your own lines.

Read more: Best Way - Bass Guitar Theory | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/way_5142905_bass-guitar-theory.html#ixzz0yrFn80Qv