About Bass Chord Patterns

Understanding chords is a critical role of mastering the notes side of bass playing (as opposed to the rhythm side). If you find yourself frustrated not knowing what notes to play in an original bassline, it's probably because you don't know and understand chords.

Chords are essential. I urge you to be very thorough in reading this and other lessons I add in this category.

What is a Chord?

A chord is a group of notes played together at the same time. Bassists don't play chords as oftentimes as guitarists or pianists do. This is because playing several low-pitched notes at the same fourth dimension can audio muddy. Playing chords on bass can sometimes fill up too much sonic space competing with the rest of the band. It tin be done, merely must exist done with care.

Instead of playing chords straight, bassists outline the notes of chords. Bassists emphasize the private notes that make upward chords. By outlining the notes of chords a bassist implies the sound of a particular chord.

I always explicate to students it'south like guitarists say a whole word (e.yard. "dog"), while bassists spell it out (east.one thousand. "D" "O" "G"). We get the same bespeak beyond, but in a unlike way.

To give you an example, a C major chord is created by playing a combination of the notes C, Eastward, and G at the same time. As a bass player I can create the impression of a C major chord in the bassline past outlining the notes C, E, and G individually. I could play them in guild, echo notes, change the guild, etc. If I played C-C-Eastward-E-G-Thousand-Eastward-E, I would be implying the audio of a C major chord.

If you studied some of the common bass design lessons, you've already learned some of import notes that outline chords. The root, fifth, and seventh are all notes from mutual chords.

Defining Chords, Arpeggios, and Chord Patterns

Since we'll be discussing chords and the notes within them a lot, we demand to brand some clear definitions and distinctions between chords, arpeggios, and chord patterns:

A chord is iii or more unlike notes played at the same time.

An arpeggio (pronounced ar-pay-zhee-oh) is the individual notes of a chord played one after another. For case, a C major arpeggio is played C, E, G, and C an octave higher. An arpeggio typically implies that the notes are played in order from everyman to highest and often back down.

You volition play and practice arpeggios up and down a lot. A healthier perspective on thinking about chords and arpeggios is thinking about the notes as a specific fix of notes. I will commonly refer to this fix of notes every bit chord tones. Chord tones are the individual notes that make upward a particular chord. C, E, and Yard are the chord tones for a C major chord. No social club of notes from depression to high is unsaid when I say "chord tones."

A chord design is a design of chord tones on the bass fretboard. I will start you off with easy chord patterns and eventually teach them to y'all all over the fretboard.The difference between chords, arpeggios, and patterns...

What's the Departure Betwixt a Calibration and a Chord Design?

I get asked this question a lot. Scales and chords are both specific groups of notes, but in that location are a couple of important differences. The chief divergence is the notes of a chord are played all at the same time. The notes of a calibration are not. It is possible (and mutual) to derive chords from the notes of scales.

Chords usually have fewer notes than scales. Most chords contain 3 or 4 dissimilar notes. About scales contain 7 notes.

Why Learn Chord Patterns?

As a bass player your function is to support the sound of each chord. If you don't know chord patterns, you tin can't fulfill your obligations. The better yous know your chord tones, the better you'll be able to define the audio of each chord. And, yous'll be able to exercise it more than interestingly and creatively.

Don't Bassists Play Things Other Than the Notes of Chords?

Yes, they absolutely do. The key thing to empathize is that chord tones are the heart of a bassline. Other notes derived from scales, or chromatic notes, serve to complement and embellish the chord tones. Without properly emphasizing chord tones, you volition end up with a weak bassline.

In Summary

If you haven't guessed by now, studying chord tones is going to be a major part of your studies as a bass role player. The better y'all acquire about chord tones, the stronger your basslines will be. The stronger your basslines are, the more than people will desire your bass playing services.