The better you learn about chord tones, the stronger your basslines will be. If you haven’t guessed by now, studying chord tones is going to be a major part of your studies as a bass player. Without properly emphasizing chord tones, you will end up with a weak bassline. Other notes derived from scales, or chromatic notes, serve to complement and embellish the chord tones. The key thing to understand is that chord tones are the heart of a bassline. Don’t Bassists Play Things Other Than the Notes of Chords? And, you’ll be able to do it more interestingly and creatively. The better you know your chord tones, the better you’ll be able to define the sound of each chord. If you don’t know chord patterns, you can’t fulfill your obligations. Why Learn Chord Patterns?Īs a bass player your role is to support the sound of each chord. Most chords contain 3 or 4 different notes. It is possible (and common) to derive chords from the notes of scales.Ĭhords usually have fewer notes than scales. The main difference is the notes of a chord are played all at the same time. Scales and chords are both specific groups of notes, but there are a couple of important differences. What’s the Difference Between a Scale and a Chord Pattern? I will start you off with easy chord patterns and eventually teach them to you all over the fretboard. No order of notes from low to high is implied when I say “chord tones.”Ī chord pattern is a pattern of chord tones on the bass fretboard. C, E, and G are the chord tones for a C major chord. Chord tones are the individual notes that make up a particular chord. I will usually refer to this set of notes as chord tones. A healthier perspective on thinking about chords and arpeggios is thinking about the notes as a specific set of notes. You will play and practice arpeggios up and down a lot. An arpeggio typically implies that the notes are played in order from lowest to highest and often back down. For example, a C major arpeggio is played C, E, G, and C an octave higher. Since we’ll be discussing chords and the notes within them a lot, we need to make some clear definitions and distinctions between chords, arpeggios, and chord patterns:Ī chord is three or more different notes played at the same time.Īn arpeggio (pronounced ar-pay-zhee-oh) is the individual notes of a chord played one after another. Defining Chords, Arpeggios, and Chord Patterns The root, fifth, and seventh are all notes from common chords. If you studied some of the common bass pattern lessons, you’ve already learned some important notes that outline chords. If I played C-C-E-E-G-G-E-E, I would be implying the sound of a C major chord. I could play them in order, repeat notes, change the order, etc. As a bass player I can create the impression of a C major chord in the bassline by outlining the notes C, E, and G individually. To give you an example, a C major chord is created by playing a combination of the notes C, E, and G at the same time. We get the same point across, but in a different way. “dog”), while bassists spell it out (e.g. I always explain to students it’s like guitarists say a whole word (e.g. By outlining the notes of chords a bassist implies the sound of a particular chord. Bassists emphasize the individual notes that make up chords. Instead of playing chords directly, bassists outline the notes of chords. It can be done, but must be done with care. Playing chords on bass can sometimes fill up too much sonic space competing with the rest of the band. This is because playing several low-pitched notes at the same time can sound muddy. Bassists don’t play chords as often as guitarists or pianists do. What is a Chord?Ī chord is a group of notes played together at the same time. I urge you to be very thorough in reading this and other lessons I add in this category. 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.Ĭhords are essential. Understanding chords is a critical part of mastering the notes side of bass playing (as opposed to the rhythm side).
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