Bass Guitar Neck Notes

If you have recently picked up a bass, you may find yourself interested in bass guitar neck notes. After all, the neck of the guitar is probably what most players would consider the most important part of the bass. The neck is where different notes are produced. You need not be a newbie to be interested in learning neck notes; you may even be an intermediate player just looking to learn more about the notes you can play on a bass.

Much like learning the notes of a regular guitar, the bass guitar is simple once you get the hang of it.

There are four strings on the average bass guitar:

G_____________________
D_____________________
A_____________________
E_____________________

It is important to learn the names of each string before anything else. Why? Learning the open notes of each string not only makes learning the notes on each fret easier, it also makes it easier to figure out a note if you forget it.

In music, there are seven notes signified by the letters A through G. Each note can be raised (called a sharp) or lowered (called a flat). Along with this, there are three important musical elements to learn:

1. For two of the notes (C and F), lowering the notes turns them into another note. As a result, many people simplify this to say that C and F cannot be flattened.
2. There is also no step (flats or sharp) between E and F or between B and C. The reason for this is that the space between two adjacent frets is called a half step. The distance between B and C is also a half step. As a result, there is no sharp or flat between these notes.
3. Chromatically (including all flats and sharps), the musical scale is A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G and G#.

Taking these three elements into mind, it can be relatively simple to learn the notes on the neck of the bass guitar. While each string starts with a note (G, D, A and E), the musical scale continues from there. For example, the notes on the guitar's G string would read as follows: G when played open, G# on the first fret, A on the second fret, A# on the third fret, B on the fourth fret, etc. Learning this is the first and most productive step in learning bass guitar neck notes.

Looking for a simple reference chart for the notes on the neck of your four-string bass? Here is a handy reference guide for all your learning needs:

G:-----G#---A---A#---B---C---C#---D---D#---E---F---F#
D:-----D#---E---F---F#---G---G#---A---A#---B---C---C#
A:-----A#---B---C---C#---D---D#---E---F---F#---G---G#
E:-----F---F#---G---G#---A---A#---B---C---C#---D---D#

While learning the bass guitar's notes can be helpful for making you a stronger player, it can also help in more immediate ways. Here are a few of the most important:

• Although playing chords on the bass is fairly rare, learning notes can help you learn chords. Once you find chords easy to play, playing bass guitar tabs is a breeze.
• One of the biggest benefits of learning the notes on the neck is that not only can you play scales, you can play scales without looking at a chart. Once you know the neck, you can fool around to create the best sounding scale.
• Do you want to write your own songs or just improvise? When you know the notes on the neck of your bass, you can manipulate them in any way that you choose.

Learning the musical skills behind your instrument is always a good move. It is often said that once you know and have mastered the rules, you can then break them. Indeed, learning the basics of your bass before moving forward can help you break the rules in all the right ways.

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