Hello and welcome to the Bass Chords Collective!
Here you’re going to find a whole host of chords that you can play on the Bass. In fact we’ve got over 50 for you to get your teeth stuck into. We’ve used simple charts that are super clear and we’ve p laced just one per page. This is so you can clearly see them on a mobile device. This way you can keep a copy with you on your mobile or tablet and use it anywhere you wish to play For every chord we’ve also included the names of all of the notes on the charts ch arts so that not only will you know where to play but you’ll know what you’re playing too. too. Now some beginner Bass players might have visions of strumming away like a guitarist would when it comes to chords. And whilst this is still possible in some circumstances the main purpose of knowing your chords is so you can create interesting and innovative bass lines that fit within the harmony of the music your providing a bass line for. So as a very basic example: if your band, guitarist, rhythm section, backing track or whatever has a chord progression like G – G – D D – – Em Em – – C C you will be able to check out those 4 chord charts and see what notes are in each chord and where to find them on your fretboard. G=GBD D = D F# A Em = E G B C=CEG You’re then absolutely absolutely free to jam and improvise with the th e 3 notes from each chord until it’s time to progress and move to the next chord, then you have another set of notes to play with. Obviously that is a very basic description of what can be done with the chords in this eBook eBo ok and the playing of a Bass, but hopefully it’s enough to get you going. going. If you’re a more advanced player then you’ll know exactly what to do with this reference guide. guide.
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Index – Tap any chapter Chords A B C D E F G Unannounced Bonus 1 10 Killer Bass Riffs Every Player Should Know! Know! Unannounced Bonus 2 The Spider Exercise Exercise Unannounced Bonus 3 Section – – Fretboard, Fretboard, Keys and More More Theory Section
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
10 Killer Riffs Every Bass Player Should Know! Sweet Child O’ O’ Mine Mine – – Guns Guns n Roses
Californication – Californication – Red Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Seven Nation Army – Army – The The White Stripes
Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
Billie Jean – Jean – Michael Michael Jackson
Pretty Woman – Woman – Roy Roy Orbison
Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet
Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz
Money – Money – Pink Pink Floyd
The Spider Exercise This exercise is one of the absolute fundamental exercises exercises for bass guitarists that can be practiced by a complete beginner right through to a top professional player. It can be started as I’m about to explain and then enhanced for more advanced more advanced players or as your own technique develops. For any bass player the spider exercise will enable you to:
Gain control of your fretting hand
Increase dexterity and flexibility
Improve finger independence
Co-ordination between hands
Tone control and timing
Improve scalic passages Advance your overall playing speed
However before reading any further or attempting this exercise you absolutely must ensure that you perform this exercise slowly at first so that you execute it 100% correctly. You will see no benefits if you begin be gin too quickly and train your hands incorrectly. There is zero z ero room for error and no cutting corners. Many players initially think this exercise is too simple, they blast through it, buzz and rattle all over the place and then wonder why their technique, accuracy and speed hasn’t improved. improved. OK – OK – that’s enough preaching – – let’s get to it. it.
Step 1 Start this exercise somewhere around position 5 or above. You need to be able to easily span 4 frets with fingers 1, 2, 3 and 4 without having to over-stretch your fretting hand. Try placing all 4 of your fretting hand fingers on frest 5, 6, 7, 8 – 8 – if if thats too much of a stretch move higher up the neck and try frets 7, 8, 9, 10 for example. When you’re comfortable, move on. on.
Step 2 Being on your lowest pitch string – so if you’re playing a 4 string bass this will be your E string number 4.
Fret and play the note under finger 1 (your index). Ensure it is perfectly placed and doesn’t buzz or rattle. Produce the absolute best sound you can create. Next move to finger 2 (middle finger) and fret and play the note under finger 2. But as you do this this,, release *finger 1.
Continue to finger 3 (ring finger) and execute the note that this finger is holding and again release the pressure from finger 2. Finally fret fr et and play the note under finger 4 (your little finger) and release all pressure from finger 3. You should have played 4 notes next to each other across 4 frets but all on the same string. Each finger should have been placed close to each fret in order to create a good clean sound. Aim to produce the best tone you can make and ensure you pass smoothly from note to note, finger to finger – finger – this this is legato playing. Ensure every note is the same length. len gth. Think of each note being a 1 beat crotchet and you’re playing 4 beats to a bar, 4/4 time – time – 1 1 bar of 4 beats to each string. Consistency in your pulse is vital.
Step 3 Once you have reach finger 4 in your fretting hand release the pressure from this finger and move with your index to the next string (sring 3 - A). Repeat Step 2. Do this continuously across all strings until you get to string 1. To recap: if you started at fret 5, for example. You will have just played frets 5, 6, 7, 8 on each of the strings on your bass, ascending in pitch from string 4 to string 1, using fretting hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 4 in that order.
Step 4 Once have reach string 1 G simply continue to walk your fingers back to string 2,3 and 4 – – BUT BUT without changing the order of fingers/frets. Continue to play frets 5, 6, 7, 8 with fingers 1, 2, 3, 4. Remain as accurate and as legato as you can. You should be playing slow enough that you do not miss a note or make an error – error – it’s here that you’re building good finger placement, muscle memory and coordination. Any error means that you’re programming programming your fingers incorrectly and literally training yourself to become a scrappy and un-accurate un -accurate player. Note: Your plucking hand should be using the standard alternating fingers technique– technique– index index and middle fingers plucking alternately. *Aim to keep fingers that are not currently placed in a fret as low as possible to the fretboard. This minimises finger movement, keeps your fret hand tidy and economical. Letting your finger fly around when they’re they’re not in us use e is a waste of of your time and energy. energy.
Let’s Advance….
As you get the hang of the above 4 steps, there are several things you can do to advance your technique by making the Spider Exercise more difficult. 1. Gradually and carefully increase the tempo at which you run the spider exercise. Just do this cautiously cauti ously so that you don’t play too quickly and begin to make errors. errors. 2. Change the order of your fretting hand fingers. So if you’re playing on frets 5, 6, 7, 8 – try playing the same frets but in a different order such as 5, 7, 6, 8 and use fingers 1, 3, 2, 4 respectively.
This seems like a very small change but this is where the beauty of the spider exercise comes in. By experimenting and mastering all the combinations of your fretting hand fingers you create many different co-ordination and timing challenges for both of your hands. You also force the fretting hand fingers to become completely independent and work to whatever pattern is required. Your facility and dexterity will sky rocket! 3. Try changing the rhythm to which you play the 4 notes on each st string. ring. Up until now we’ve talked about maintaining a steady beat/pulse and ensuring every note is the same length as
each other. Now try giving yourself a rhythm to the 4 notes on each string and repeat that rhythm on each string as you spider across. As an example: If you initially played the 4 notes to 4 crotchets (1 beat each, giving a feel of 4 beats to a bar or 4/4 time). Now try making the first note last for 2 beats then play the next 2 notes as quavers (half a beat each) then the final note as a crotchet. This will still give you 4 beats to a bar or 4/4 time but you’ll be holding the first note for longer and playing quicker on notes 2 and 3. 4. As you get used to holding and playing each finger of o f your fretting hand in 4 separate frets you may notice notice the fretting hand becoming looser and a little more stretched. It’s at this point that you should try moving back a position or 2 to where the frets are wider. Try starting the
exercise from fret 3 for example example – – so now you’d be playing on frets 3, 4, 5, and 6. Eventually you may be able to start at fret 1! 5. Again with each advancement of this exercise such as changing the order of your fretting fingers or playing a rhythm on each string you can increase the tempo at which you run the exercise.
This gives you an exercise that has a huge amount of combinations and possibilities. The sheer element of increasing your tempo means that this is an exercise e xercise that you can never fully master...you can always try and play quicker, qui cker, with another finger combination! The Spider Exercise will serve you well for the entirety of your bass playing career!
Theory Section – Fretboard, Keys and More (Continued on the next page)
Th The e Ci Circ rcle le O f Fif Fifth thss
Keys, Chords & Theory
Building a Major Scale: W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Order of Sharps: F# • C# • G# • D# • A# • E# • B# Order of Flats:
Building a minor Scale: Scale: W-H-W-W W-H-W-W-H-W-W -H-W-W
Bb • Eb • Ab • Db • Gb • Cb • Fb
The relative minor begins of the 6th note of a major scale
KEY BUILDER
Key of:
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
G#
D# A#
Ab
Eb
F
Bb
Major Triad
1-3-5
Minor Triad
1-b3-5
A
Diminished Triad
1-b3-b5
Augmente Augm ented d Triad
I
Tonic Tonic
Major
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
Ab
Eb
Bb
F
II
Super Tonic
Minor
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
Bb
F
C
G
III
Mediant
Minor E
B
F #
C#
G#
D#
A#
E#
C
G
D
IV
Subdominan t Major
F
C
G
D
A
V
Dominant
G
D
A
E
Major
VI Submediant Minor A VII Leading Tone Diminished B
E B F# C#
I
G
Tonic Tonic
Major
C
D
B F # C#
E
B
F#
Db
Ab
Eb
Bb
F# G#
C# D#
G# A#
Eb F
Bb C
F G
C D
G#
D#
A#
E#
B#
G
D
A
E
A
E
B
F#
C#
Ab
Eb
Bb
F
Common Chord Progressions: I-IV-V i-III-IV-VI I-V-VI-IV I-I-IV-VI IV-V-IV IV-V -IV VI-V-IV-V I-VI- IV-V ii-V-I VI-IV-I-V I-IV-I-V 12 Bar Blues: I-I-II-I-I-II IV-IV IV-IV-I-I -I-I V-IV V-IV-I-V -I-V KEY FINDING TIPS:
CHORD FORMULAS:
1-3-#5 1-3#5
Major 7
1-3-5-7
Minor 7
1-b3-5-b7
Dominant 7
1-3-5-b7
Half Diminished 7
1-b3-b5-b7
Diminished 7
1-b3-b5-bb7
Augmente Augm ented d7
1-3-#5-b 1-3#5-b7 7
Suspended 4 minor/Major 7
Sharp Keys: Take last Sharp and Raise 1/2 step, that’s the key. Flat Keys:
1-4-5-b7 1-b3-5-7
Take the 2nd to last flat, that’s the key.
