Notes On The 5-String Bass Fretboard
Many bass players that move from four to five strings, become frustrated with a new B string. After developing skills on four strings, and knowing all the notes, a new string can throw you off. Some bass players end up anchoring their thumb on the B string and use it as a thumb rest.
The best way to learn the notes on any string of the bass is by learning to read music first.
When you learn to read, you develop an almost instinctive knowledge of the fretboard after hours and hours of translating the music on the page to the fretboard.
This continual testing as each note moves by is also the basis for the exercises presented here but without the prerequisite of sufficient reading skills.
Here are some exercises to help you learn the natural notes on the B string. Each exercise presents one note per bar of 4/4. You simply play the note and count along.
Do this away from metronomes or practice tracks, to avoid any form of pressure testing. We’re learning the notes from scratch so you’re going to need to allow for mistakes and the slow locating each note in turn.
Exercise #1: Notes B C D and E
Exercise #2: Notes F G A
Exercise #3: Combined Notes
Cycle Of Fourths Exercise
Learning The Cycle
For these exercises we’re going to work through the cycle of fourths: C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb B E A D G
To learn the cycle, split it into three parts:
C F
Bb Eb Ab Db Gb
B E A D G
To memorise this, think of C F as a perfect fourth on C or just think of the words Cycle of Fourths
Then for the next two sections, think of the word ‘bead’ and add a G to the end: BeadG. First time round we have flats and then repeat as naturals:
Bb Eb Ab Db Gb
B E A D G
When you’ve got these notes memorized, you’re ready to move onto the 4th string notes.
Exercise #1: Basic Cycle Exercise
Here are the notes on the 4th string, starting on D and working up to the D on the 12th-fret, for you to play and say out loud in order to memorize their positions on the fretboard.
Play the notes of the Cycle Of Fourths on the B string.
Exercise #2: Major Scale Through The Cycle
Here is a simple two octave E Major Scale fingering starting at the 5th fret of the B String:
Repeat this major scale pattern through the cycle of fourths: C Major, F Major, Bb Major etc.
Repeat this major scale pattern through the cycle of fourths: C Major, F Major, Bb Major etc.
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