![]() Good! But how are these chords constructed? Chord typeĪll of these chords are created using very simple formulas. We now know three different chord shapes and how to apply them. All you have to do is start the shape on the right note. You now know your F# diminished chord contains a F#, A and C!Īs soon as we notice that a chord is diminished, we know this diminished shape is going to work over that diminished chord! This means you can use this shape and play these notes separately to create a bass line over every diminished chord, and it will sound great. Go up three frets to the fifth fret of the E-string (A), then go back two frets and down one string to the third fret on your A string (C). So starting on the F# (second fret of your E-string): We’ll discuss the theory behind that later in this article when we get to chord formulas. That’s because the distance between the first two notes are the same in both shapes. ![]() Notice that the shape for a diminished chord in Figure 2 looks like the minor shape a lot. A diminished chord can be written down in a few ways as well: F#mib5, F#dim of even F#o. You can see one in the seventh bar (F#) of our sequence in Figure 1. There is one other basic chord type which you won’t encounter as regularly as these other chords, but is still important to know. Now you know the notes in you C major chord are C, E and G!Īs soon as we know that a chord is major, we know this major shape is going to work over that major chord! This means you can use this shape and play these notes separately to create a bass line over every major chord, and it will sound great. ![]() Go down one string and down one fret to get to the 2nd fret on your D string (E), then move up three frets and you get to the 5th fret on your D string (G). Starting on C (third fret of the A-string): If you look at Figure 2, you see the second shape is a major shape. This means that you can use a major shape on this chord. When there is no extra information written next to the chord-letter like “MI” with our previous chord, the chord is always a major chord. ![]() So how do I know if it’s major or minor? Good question! Going back to the chord sequence in Figure 1, we see that out next chord is a C chord. So if it’s a G minor chord, start the shape on a G, when it’s a D minor, start the shape on a D, etc. So the notes in your E-minor chord are: E, G and B!Īs soon as we know that a chord is minor, we know this minor shape is going to work over that minor chord! This means you can use this shape and play these notes separately to create a bass line over every minor chord, and it will sound great. You are now on your A-string’s, second fret which is a B-note. Play the root note (E) on your open E-string, go up three frets until you are on the third fret of your E-string which is a G, go back one fret and down one string. Going back one fret and down one string, you will find the third note that is in the chord. So, going up from your root note by three frets, you will find the second note in the minor chord. The red circles show you what the root note of every shape is. So what are the other notes in this E minor chord? Take a look at these shapes: Figure 2. Remember: When we combine at least three notes and play those notes at the same time, we have a chord. So what exactly does “minor” say? Good question! This tells us what the other notes are in the chord. As a bass player you would play this note 99 percent of the time on the first downbeat of the first measure. This note is called the root note of the chord and is the most important note in this chord. As you probably know or can guess, one of the notes in this chord is an E. Other ways of writing this include EMI, Emin, Em or E. The first chord of the sequence in Figure 1 has the name “Emi”. Let’s take a look at our chord sequence again. All of these chords can be explained using certain formulas. These are not combinations of random notes. When you play at least three notes at the same time, you get something called a chord. Our chord sequence But first: What are chords? To make this lesson more practical and applicable to your own bass playing, I created this short chord sequence on which we will apply these concepts. After completing this lesson you will have a basic understanding of how chords are constructed and you will able to find all the notes that are in a chord on the neck of your bass. Being successful in this endeavor requires us bass player to at least have a basic sense of how chords work. In practice this means, that a listener should get a general idea of what the chords are to a tune, by listening to the bass guitarist. One of our main tasks as bass players is to outline the harmony.
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