16
ULTRABASS
BASS GUITAR PACK
The chromatic scale is an exception. As soon as you move to the next string, you have to shift the position by one fret. In addition,
on the D string there are not four but five notes, of which both of the last two are played with the little finger. To do this, at the end
of the scale you have to slide your little finger from the 9
th
fret (IX) to the 10
th
fret (X). If you start the scale on C, it will look like this:
E string:
1
st
finger (VIII) 2
nd
finger (IX) 3
rd
finger (X) 4
th
finger (XI)
A string:
1
st
finger (VII) 2
nd
finger (VIII) 3
rd
finger (IX) 4
th
finger (X)
D string:
1
st
finger (VI) 2
nd
finger (VII) 3
rd
finger (VIII) 4
th
finger (IX) 4
th
finger (X)
Hold your hand as straight as you can while you play and try to keep it relaxed and not let it become cramped.
Scale exercise 1:
Try playing each scale up and down at a speed you feel comfortable with (ideally with the aid of a metronome). If youre using a pick,
try to use the technique of alternate picking that we mentioned at the beginning, i.e. beginning with a downstroke on the first note and
then alternately playing the subsequent notes with upstrokes and downstrokes. Make absolutely sure that you constantly alternate
between upstrokes and downstrokes and that you maintain a constant tempo so that can achieve evenness in your playing. Try
playing the scales the other way, too, beginning with an upstroke. That way, you can train your right hand to be independent.
Scale exercise 2:
Shift the scales on the fingerboard so that you begin with different notes. That way, you will learn to play the scales confidently in
different positions. As soon as you change the position, and with it the keynote, you change key. For example, if you shift the C major
scale two frets upwards, the first note in the scale is at the 10
th
fret on the E string (D). The scale thus becomes the D major scale.
If you shift the A minor scale two frets down, for example, the first note will be at the 3
rd
fret on the E string (G) and the scale becomes
the G minor scale.
D major scale
G minor scale
Scale exercise 3:
The following illustration shows you the C major scale
again. This time, however, it is played over two octaves and has a range of
ten frets. This is intended to give you an idea of how the notes in a scale can ultimately be played over the entire fingerboard.
Scale exercise 4:
The following illustration shows you how the notes in the C major (or A minor) scale are spread over the entire fingerboard. At the
12
th
fret (XII) you come to the octave on each string and the fingerboard basically starts again from the beginning. Try to memorize
these progressions and to develop your own bass lines, melodies and riffs containing these notes. You should also try playing the
scale with different starting notes in different positions (e.g. in the 2
nd
position strating with G). That way, you get a lot of new scales
based on the C major scale.
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