The Bass Clef

Musical notes are written on five horizontal lines which we call the stave. Notes are written on the lines and in the spaces between the lines, and the higher the note on the stave, the higher the pitch is. However, we need something called a “clef” to tell us which particular notes the lines are [...]

October 28, 2011 at 4:05 pm | Bass Lessons, Music Theory | No comments

Bass Modes: Phrygian Dominant

What’s a Phrygian…and why is it so Dominant? Well, if you’re looking for a scale to spice up your playing, this one might just be for you. Move over Phrygian, make way for the more exotic Phrygian Dominant! The Phrygian Dominant Scale This scale is sometimes described as a “mode of the harmonic minor scale”…but [...]

August 23, 2011 at 11:00 pm | Bass Scales | No comments

Bass Modes: Phrygian

The Phrygian mode: a strange name, and possibly an even stranger sound! This one sounds kinda eastern/ancient Egyptian and is known as the “third mode of the major scale”. If you’ve read the last article in this series, you should be well aware of the dangers of thinking of modes as modes “…of the major [...]

August 16, 2011 at 11:00 pm | Bass Scales | No comments

Bass Modes: Mixolydian

The Mixolydian mode can be (and usually is) described as the “5th mode of the major scale”- which is basically saying that if you take a major scale and start on the 5th note, you’ll end up playing the Mixolydian mode. For example, here are the notes of the C major scale: C D E [...]

August 9, 2011 at 11:00 pm | Bass Scales | No comments

Bass Modes: Lydian

More modal scales for bass players! This time we’re looking at the Lydian mode- what is it, and how is it used? Well, to answer those questions, lets look back at the major scale. The basic major scale shape goes like this: G ——————- D ————-4-6-7- A —–4-(5)-7——- E -5-7————— See the note in brackets? [...]

August 2, 2011 at 11:00 pm | Bass Scales | No comments

Bass Modes: Dorian

So, last week we covered the Aeolian mode and I pointed out that MODES ARE NOT KEYS. So, if you understood those two posts (especially the second one!), you’re ready for the next mode: Dorian. What is the Dorian Mode? Pretty simple actually! The Dorian mode- just like the Aeolian mode- is a scale made [...]

July 26, 2011 at 11:00 pm | Bass Scales | No comments

Bass Modes: Aeolian

So, here we go again with the modes…remember: MODES ARE NOT KEYS. There is a huge difference between a mode and a key- they are two completely different “systems” in music. With that in mind, we’re going to start with the Aeolian mode on the bass. This mode has exactly the same notes as the [...]

July 20, 2011 at 7:00 pm | Bass Scales | No comments

Bass Scales: The Minor Pentatonic

So, the minor pentatonic scale- pretty much the same idea as the major pentatonic scale, in that we take the full scale (although this time it’s the natural minor scale, not the major scale), and we pick only 5 notes… You may have also guessed by now that the prefix “penta-” is related to the [...]

July 13, 2011 at 7:00 pm | Bass Scales | No comments

Bass Scales: The Major Pentatonic

So we’ve covered the major scale, but that scale contains a whole 7 notes…and half of them don’t even sound that great. Couldn’t we just cut out the “bad” or “boring” notes, and only use the “main” notes? Well, all of the notes in the scale have their uses…but we can still condense the major [...]

July 6, 2011 at 7:00 pm | Bass Scales | No comments

Bass Scales: The Melodic Minor

So we’ve covered the minor scale, and then I explained how it evolved to create the harmonic minor because it creates better sounding chords for some situations. Next, we’re looking at the third evolution, the “melodic minor”- how it came to be and what it’s for. The Melodic Minor Here’s a recap of the harmonic [...]

June 29, 2011 at 7:00 pm | Bass Scales | No comments

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