FREE ELECTRONIC PDF VERSION 1.2 NOT FOR SALE

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1 P a g e 1

2 P a g e 2 MARTYN KRÜGEL S BASS MANUAL Book 1: Major Keys FREE ELECTRONIC PDF VERSION 1.2 NOT FOR SALE This is a COMPLIMENTARY Internet e-book First draft completed 2007 Revised and updated 2008 Version 1.2 updated for 2010 Copyright by Martyn Krügel 2007 onwards All Rights Reserved The moral right of the author has been asserted This PDF file was created as an additional educational aid for students of the bass guitar. The content, structure, format, analysis, design, artwork, photographs, methodology and model, remains the property of Martyn Krügel.

3 P a g e 3 FOREWORD My motive for compiling a series of this nature stems from my experience in that every aspiring musician that I ever came into contact with, who basically could not play their particular instrument, was as a direct result of not knowing the application of music theory on that instrument. A few of these aspiring musicians could produce a musical effect but only because they perchance, by hearing or copying, stumbled upon a valid concept or could play a couple of chords but their overall musical aptitude paled in comparison to those who had even just the least bit of knowledge of music theory. I m referring to my own personal experience here too and it was only once I was introduced to the most basic rudiments of music theory and the application thereof on my instrument that my musical journey truly began. What this series of books will communicate to the new aspiring bassist is just exactly how this theory is applied on the instrument so that he or she can then begin their study of the bass guitar in a correct manner. I intentionally wanted to present the theory very simply, that the information at hand, intimidates no one. An aspiring student who might have a certain aversion to an emphasis on music theory because it sounds too academic will have no problem in working through these books because the music theory is plainly presented with absolutely no frills attached. Another reason for presenting a series like this is that there are quite a number of method type books targeted at the beginner in the marketplace today. Some of these books attempt to teach the beginner licks or riffs or grooves to be played, but almost always fail in presenting the new bassist with a real workable knowledge of the instrument because the information is not presented in a proper musical context. Only once you know a little bit of music theory will you be able to decipher the exercises in such method books and unearth some value from it or be in a position to assess whether it contains any value at all. In addition, and only if you are serious about music, I would just like to point out that any book or program that claims to have some kind of quick fix or Ten Easy Steps to learn to play any instrument should be viewed with considerable suspicion. It is just a cold hard fact that it takes a long period of time and real effort and hours upon hours of practice for anyone to become skilled on any instrument. Ideally, the best advice for any aspiring musician would always be to find a good music mentor who can teach and show the student the application of music theory together with some first hand playing experience and a mentor who can delve a little deeper into the greater intricacies of musical articulation and expression and performance and who can also cultivate a greater philosophical understanding within the student of what constitutes a good musical effect. My suggestion to a new bass student would always be to seek out a good Jazz guitarist or a good Jazz bassist as a teacher, even if the student s interests are in other styles of music. The theory as it is presented in this Bass Manual Series deals more with the What to play than the How to play a task that can be best performed by a music teacher but if you the student can make a couple of astute observations with regards to the How to play aspect of playing by observing other already proficient bass players then this What to play Bass Manual will certainly stand you in good stead.

4 P a g e 4 Together with being introduced to the theory when I started out, there was another very important factor that helped me tremendously in learning how to play the bass guitar and especially coming to terms with the application of the theory on the instrument and that was being introduced to the concept of Improvisation in music. Improvisation allows you to apply the theory you learn almost instantaneously on your instrument in a practical and musical sense and it is also a very enjoyable and a highly regarded musical skill. The course of action that I therefore suggest you take in working through these books is to begin with learning and understanding the theory, for example learning a given major scale pattern to then memorize and learn it technically by playing it over and over and to then improvise around that scale pattern that you have just learned. I guess the first thing a new bassist who has grasped the above will do is to play a bit of walking bass around a scale in an improvisational manner by playing different notes in a random order all around that pattern. Improvisation in music is a vast topic and it will be well worth your while to investigate Improvisational Music or better yet, seek out a teacher that is well versed in the art of Improvisational Music. Yet, you can almost start improvising immediately because to put it very bluntly Improvisation means that you can basically play anything however it must be in a musical context in other words, applying the theory on your instrument and only then you can begin that never-ending search to better articulate and express musical ideas on your instrument. As your understanding and technique improve you will be able to play and express better musical ideas and improvise more melodically and musically as you progress, but again first you need to know the theory and that is why I present you with this Bass Manual Series. If you are an absolute beginner please take note that it will take you quite some time to work through this book and that is only because you are presented with so much information it is suppose to take you a long time so please be patient. Memorizing and applying all this information on your instrument in other words learning to physically play the scales and in the major keys takes a long time. Give yourself to begin with at least four months (a month per chapter) to cover the Introduction and the first three chapters. After that, you will have a better idea of how and at what speed to proceed. If you can commit yourself to learning and understanding and applying (playing) the information of the Introduction and the first three chapters you will lay a solid foundation on which you can then further build. The information that is presented here in this presentation needs to be applied on your instrument before it comes alive. Just looking at hundreds of diagrams of the bass fingerboard will accomplish very little and if you have a quick glance at the contents of this book you will see that all these diagrams makes the overall appearance rather bland. The diagrams merely illustrate what you need to do and where you need to play and it is the actual application of this information that needs to be applied on your instrument in other words You will have to play this information into existence on your bass guitar. In music it only feels if you truly understand something when you can play it on your instrument but you will have to practice quite a bit at first before you can play something and in the beginning practicing feels a bit awkward because everything is so new. But if you persevere and practice a lot, you will quickly grasp the application of the theory and begin to understand how by knowing the theory, just how this knowledge will assist you in playing and improvising and how it is that this is the proper way to learn an instrument. Well, I hope my Bass Manual Series will be of some benefit to you and good luck with your musical endeavors. Regards,

5 P a g e 5 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Objective The Major Scale Patterns Comments on Fingerings Comments on Technique Comments on Improvisation The First Lesson A Final Word Pg. 6 Chapter 1 THE KEY OF C MAJOR Pg. 19 Chapter 2 THE KEY OF G MAJOR Pg. 31 Chapter 3 THE KEY OF D MAJOR Pg. 40 Chapter 4 THE KEY OF A MAJOR Pg. 49 The Notes Chapter 5 THE KEY OF E MAJOR Pg. 58 The Bass Fingerboard Chapter 6 THE KEY OF B MAJOR Pg. 67 The Major Scale Patterns Chapter 7 THE KEY OF F# MAJOR Pg. 76 Intervals Chapter 8 THE KEY OF C# MAJOR Pg. 85 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) Chapter 9 THE KEY OF F MAJOR Pg. 94 Chapter 10 THE KEY OF Bb MAJOR Pg. 103 Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords Chapter 11 THE KEY OF Eb MAJOR Pg. 112 Chapter 12 THE KEY OF Ab MAJOR Pg. 121 Chapter 13 THE KEY OF Db MAJOR Pg. 130 Chapter 14 THE KEY OF Gb MAJOR Pg. 139 Chapter 15 THE KEY OF Cb MAJOR Pg. 148

6 P a g e 6 Objective INTRODUCTION The purpose of this Bass Manual Series is to present MUSIC THEORY as it is applied on the four string bass guitar in the simplest and most logical manner possible. This presentation uses an abundant array of visualizations of the bass fingerboard, as the means of conveying information to the beginner who has no musical vocabulary and thus finds it easier to be initially aided by these illustrations. This series was also particularly designed to give a really comprehensive overview of music theory in the hope that when the Whole is presented to the new student that the Part be easier grasped so, this series will serve as: A guide to the new aspiring bassist Introducing him and her to how music theory is applied on the bass guitar. An aid for the music teacher In that it illustrates the theory that will be taught. And As an additional reference-guide for the advanced bass student With hundreds of diagrams and photographs for reference purposes. Music is a complex art form and it will require all of your faculties (mental aural technique) to produce a musical effect. An all-important component of music is the theory thereof and it is by learning and knowing how this theory is applied on the instrument and then by practicing this theory over and over, that we can train and develop these faculties to produce a musical effect and this is then also why the study of music theory serves as our point of departure on this musical journey. In practice, let s say for example that you are now familiar with the key of C Major because you have diligently worked through the first chapter of this book and you are now able to identify the key of C Major on your instrument and you are now technically able to play within this key because you have practiced the various C major scale patterns persistently on your bass, it will henceforth be much easier to play any piece of music that is in the key of C Major or even improvise along with any tune in the key of C Major because you will be referring to and applying the information that you have already learned. The biggest obstacle that aspiring musicians encounter at this stage is probably just the inability to conceptualize how much practicing needs to be done because it is such an enormous amount of practicing that is required especially of the beginner so you the student, must persevere. Anyhow, now that you know that it will be required of you to practice a lot you can take some comfort in the fact that doing the theory is actually quite enjoyable as you will soon find out and once you ve grasped a couple of the theoretical concepts as it is presented here you will be well on your way to become a real musician and also the overall quality of your practice and the enjoyment of practicing will be greatly enhanced. And remember that even though this emphasis on music theory sounds a bit studious quite the opposite is true because the way to learn the theory is by practical application, in other words by playing it. When you see a major scale pattern you learn it by playing it. When you see an you learn it by playing it. When you see a chord you learn it by playing it. So, let s start. The Major Scale Patterns In this book 1 of the series, you will be shown how major keys are applied on the bass. Learning how the MAJOR KEYS are applied on your instrument is probably the single most important thing. Once you come to terms with the application of the MAJOR KEYS on your instrument you will quickly come to terms with a lot of musical concepts and also everything else in all the other books of this series. So your first goal should be to learn everything about the MAJOR KEYS and learn to play in all the MAJOR KEYS. Please invest a considerable amount of time in learning and understanding the MAJOR KEYS before you move on to the other books in this series. The chapters in this book correspond to all of the individual major keys that we find in music theory and every chapter will deal with a specific major key only. In order to learn a particular major key and how to play within that major key, you will need to learn that key s major scale because the major scale is the foundation of the major key. The application of any major scale on the bass fingerboard is in practice quite simple because all

7 P a g e 7 you need to do is to basically memorize the following set patterns as illustrated in the diagrams below. The first three patterns start with the root note on the top string and cover the fingerboard to the left, in the center and to the right. Then we have three almost identical patterns but with the root note or starting point on the second string and then finally and a very important pattern, is the single string pattern that can and must be played on all four strings. When you play each one of these patterns you will hear that familiar Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do sound, which is the sound of a major scale and you will also observe how extensively these patterns cover the fingerboard and also how when we combine these patterns just how the major key is formed over the fingerboard. These major scale patterns must be memorized and you must learn to play them all over the bass. The major scale patterns are: [The numerical value indicates the sequential order of the pattern and also represents the numerical value of the major scale. The diagrams here and throughout the series illustrate your viewpoint when you re holding the bass]. The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Now, when we take these major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP across the entire surface of the fingerboard in which you can then play and improvise once learned. So basically you will be learning and memorizing or programming yourself with an inbuilt fingerboard navigation system. It is important that you know your instrument well and learn to play all over the fingerboard in a particular key. Movement across the fingerboard of your instrument (especially in a linear way) is absolutely essential and should be a natural part of your playing ability and the single string pattern will assist you in doing this and in playing these patterns in a linked manner. What is interesting is that the above major scale patterns remain exactly the same in form (the PATTERN that you visualize and memorize) when applied to any other major key. To play in any other major key will only depend on the starting note or the first note of the pattern also called the root note. For example: Starting on the C note and imitating the above major scale patterns would produce the C MAJOR SCALE that then again produces the KEY OF C MAJOR when all the patterns starting on the note C are linked. Starting on the E note and imitating the above patterns would produce the E MAJOR SCALE that then again produces the KEY OF E MAJOR when all the patterns starting on the note E are linked and so forth.

8 P a g e 8 This means that when you ve memorized these few set major scale patterns mentally and technically (acquiring through regular practice the physical ability to play these patterns) you ll be well on your way to be able to play in any major key ALL over the bass fingerboard. By memorizing is not only meant the mental aspect of learning the pattern, but also the ability to play these patterns fluently on the bass technically in an ascending and descending manner or any other possible variation whatsoever. In other words, these patterns that serve as a ROADMAP must be played like its second nature. Using a metronome while practicing these patterns will be time well spent and for ear training you can sing or hum the Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do sounds together with the patterns you practice. Just make sure you sing in tune with the notes you re playing. This ability to sing or hum the note that you play is good training and you should develop this skill. Each and every ROADMAP OF THE MAJOR SCALE OR KEY produced by linking the major scale patterns, remains the same in visual form to any other individual major key a kind of mirror effect that takes place. This incident occurs on instruments like the guitar and bass purely by their design, where the picture or pattern of one major key looks exactly the same (visually) as the picture or pattern of any other major key. This repetition-effect makes it just a little easier to learn the instrument. The subsequent notes calculated in a major scale sequence from any given starting point will bring about that starting point s major key. The starting point for example in the key of A MAJOR will be the root note or key note A and this starting point is also called the KEY TONALITY. It is the position of the notes and their note names and their respective sounds that differentiate one key from the other. And concerning this topic, just bear in mind that the ability to play a pattern up and down fluently is not the music just yet (but it will be the first objective in terms of technique and in learning your instrument). When we think of music and the function of these patterns, it is best explained when we observe the improvisational musician like a Jazz bassist who would create melodies, riffs, licks and musical themes spontaneously within these patterns by playing an assortment of different note selections and rhythmic variations within these patterns that has already been committed to memory. In other words, first memorize these patterns physically (technique) and then improvise around it. These patterns should be memorized visually in form, also numerically and it is also important that the note names of each particular major scale are memorized as well. When you do all this practicing you will automatically train your ear and begin to develop your aural sense and also the ability to hear the relationship between sounds for example hearing the difference between a tone and a semitone being played. Before we continue I would just like to take a moment and point out and make a distinction between three concepts that you have just been introduced too. The first concept is that of the Major Scale, the second concept is that of the Major Key and the third concept is that of the Patterns. I think it is best if I give you a table containing a few notes just to make clear this differentiation: The Major Scale The major scale is a scale consisting of seven notes and a scale in music (and to define it very simply) is basically just an arrangement of notes in a particular order. There are many other scales in music with their own names and every other scale will have its notes arranged in a different sequence producing a different sounding scale and effect but let us for now just focus on the major scale. In the above picture we get a perfect depiction of how a major scale will appear over a single string and we can also observe the arrangement of the seven notes of the major scale very clearly in this depiction. When we talk about the arrangement of the notes of a scale we are referring to the distances between the notes of the scale in the sequential order of that scale.

9 P a g e 9 The Major Key The Major Scale Patterns With the seven notes of the major scale you can do quite a bit. You can build s on every degree of the major scale using all the other notes within the scale. You can also build chords on every degree of the major scale using the same principal so I basically look at the major key as the sum result of what you could possibly do with the seven notes of the major scale. In terms of my instrument when I look at my fingerboard and when I apply the seven notes of the major scale over the entire playing surface, I view that whole picture that is formed as the major key even though I m only playing the seven basic notes of the major scale. Our objective is to learn how to play in a major key but when we apply and combine the major scale over the entire surface of the fingerboard we will see that this complete picture that is then formed will be quite difficult to memorize and learn. So what we do is we divide that complete picture into smaller parts or segments to create smaller blueprints that we can then visually memorize and learn (individually to start with) and once we have learned these smaller patterns we can then combine them to form the bigger and complete picture of the major key over the entire playing surface of our instruments. And then these smaller sections in terms of a major key become the major scale patterns that you will be presented with in this book. This way of thinking can be easily adapted to the five string bass all you need to do is to add a fifth string on every diagram in these books to complete the picture. Because the guitar is so similar to the bass guitar all a guitarist needs to do is to add two strings onto every diagram in this book. When you apply the major scales on other instruments like a piano for instance other types of visualizations will occur. The purpose of the patterns is just a visual reference guide of where to play and a starting point in learning your instrument. The above description is very basic and it is just something that you should be vaguely aware of for now for the purpose of working through this book. If you would like to know more about exactly how it is that the major scale and keys came into existence in modern music I suggest that you research the topic further your local library will be a good place to start where you will find books by the academia and by much more knowledgeable authors than the humble writer here. This is a practical book that contains all of the major keys that we find in music theory so what I do in every chapter is to present you with a particular major scale that you then learn then I give you the major scale patterns of how that major scale can be played on your fingerboard and then you practice those patterns over and over until your fingers bleed and a little more. And once you know the position of the patterns on your fingerboard and can play the patterns fluently you must then link the patterns to form the complete picture of the major key over the entire surface of the fingerboard. Then you proceed and do a couple more chapters and learn to play in a couple more major keys before the complete realization of what it is to play in a major key will manifest itself and only once this realization occurs will you say to yourself Oh, now I know what this guy is trying to say. In other words, to fully comprehend the theory requires the practical application of the theory on your instrument, first. Even after you have read this introductory chapter everything will still seem a bit vague and this is only because you haven t actually started to apply the information as it is given in chapters 1 to 15 on your instrument yet. So, to begin with, all that is required of you is a bit of blind faith so that you can just tackle the first three chapters of this book and get it over and done with but do this slowly and do this with intent. Once you have completed this then recap the Introduction and the first three chapters again and only then things will begin to make sense. For now, don t think too much about all the things that you don t understand just do the stuff as it is presented in this book so that you can start to make music and practice a lot and don t post comments on the Internet saying that you don t know what s happening if the only thing you did was to have a quick glance at this Introduction and only looked at all the diagrams. I ve said it before and I ll say it again just looking at all these diagrams will accomplish absolutely nothing the sole purpose of these diagrams is to convey information that you must apply on your instrument by playing and practicing that information and only then you begin to learn what it is you apply on your instrument. You will have to play these patterns up and down (to begin with) for hours upon hours and once you can play these patterns up and down fluently you can then begin to link the patterns and begin to improvise and play around these patterns. There are no shortcuts. If you want to be a real musician it will require a tremendous effort on your part together with being well acquainted with the information that is presented here in this book. A huge percentage of the music that you are listening to right now occurs within these major keys. If you have been struggling to play along with the music that you listen to it is only because you haven t yet acquainted yourself properly with the information that is presented here in this book.

10 P a g e 10 Comments on Fingerings To immediately grasp the correct fingerings of the major scale patterns or any pattern for that matter, it is best understood when we subdivide these patterns into the following three sub-patterns [The major scale patterns are basically just a composition of these three sub-patterns ] Then we forget about this notion of correct fingerings and substitute it with the idea of Finger Articulation. This is the ability to play any pattern with all of the four fingers or a combination of the fingers that presses against the fingerboard. This is how you commence practicing it: 1. Start by playing the above sub-patterns with only one finger, but all four fingers individually: Index Middle Ring Pinkie 2. Then play the above sub-patterns with combinations of two fingers: Index Middle Index Ring Index Pinkie Middle Ring Middle Pinkie Ring Pinkie 3. Then play combinations of three fingers: Index Middle Ring Index Middle Pinkie [Observe how sub-pattern 1 and 2 naturally falls into this combination] Index Ring Pinkie [Observe how sub-pattern 3 naturally falls into this combination] Middle Ring Pinkie 4. And then finally play the combination of all four fingers and then apply this method of finger articulation when you learn to play the major scale patterns. When you now observe the major scale patterns you ll see that the ideal finger to start with when playing the pattern that covers the fingerboard to the left will be with the pinkie on the root note with the hand then almost perfectly in position to cover that part of the fingerboard that comes into play. The ideal finger to start with when playing the pattern that covers the center of the fingerboard will be with the middle finger on the root note with the hand then perfectly in position to cover this part of the fingerboard that comes into play. The ideal finger to start with when playing the pattern that covers the fingerboard to the right will be with the index finger on the root note with the hand then perfectly in position to cover that part of the fingerboard that comes into play. The single string pattern is probably the most important pattern and should be played fluently on all four strings with all possible finger combinations of one finger, two fingers, three fingers and four fingers. [The crux of the above method that I call finger articulation was introduced to me through an exceptional book called Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick published by Hal Leonard. This book is about learning and exploring single string playing on the guitar with the intent to view the guitar more in a linear way an approach even more applicable and suitable to the bass guitar. It will certainly be worth your while to have a look at this book in fact, this book is so important that it is not really negotiable you will just have to buy a copy.]

11 P a g e 11 Comments on Technique With regards to the hand that presses against the fingerboard you may take note of the following. Make sure that it is your thumb and only your thumb that is pressed against the back of the fingerboard and that it is situated close to the middle of the back of the neck of the bass. Don t rely on pressing your palm against the back of the neck to accommodate for strength because your hand will just choke the neck of your bass and this will seriously hinder your movement. In the beginning this might feel just a bit uncomfortable and this is perfect because the strength in your hand and fingers and thumb that presses against the back of the fingerboard still needs to be developed. The way to develop the proper strength in your hand and fingers would be to from the outset position your hand correctly when you play and to do technical exercises of the major scale patterns all over the bass for example. Strength and coordination will develop over time but it is important to start technically correct and to then attain the strength necessary to play through regular practice and by practicing the major scale patterns over and over and over. Here are a few photographs just to give you a general idea and to set you on the right track with regards to the positioning of the hand from the back: The notes that you play on the fingerboard with the four fingers that are in contact with the strings should be played with the tips of your fingers and your fingertips should always be in close contact with the strings almost always ready in position so never lift your fingers far from the strings you should also be striving for an economy of movement. These fingers should appear spread equally over the fingerboard. Ensure for the most part that the four fingers on the fingerboard covers four frets do not let two fingers dwell over one fret for example. The following photographs will illustrate the general correct positioning of the hand and fingers from the front just to give you an idea:

12 P a g e 12 Once you have familiarized yourself with the first major scale pattern that starts on the top string and covers the fingerboard to the left and have determined the correct fingerings according to the section that deals with Finger Articulation and start practicing this pattern, your fingers should more or less already be in position with the notes that come into play. Observe the following sequence of photographs where I play that first major scale pattern while striving for that economy of movement. [One photo for every degree of the pattern ascending and descending]: 1 st Degree 2 nd Degree 3 rd Degree 4 th Degree 5 th Degree 6 th Degree 7 th Degree 8 th Degree 9 th Degree 8 th Degree 7 th Degree 6 th Degree 5 th Degree 4 th Degree 3 rd Degree 2 nd Degree 1 st Degree The overall objective is to try and make it look like you re playing the patterns effortlessly or seamlessly in a relaxed manner. Once you achieve this just play all the major scale patterns over and over as technical exercises to develop your strength and coordination and stay relaxed. To begin with I suggest that you start with the three sub-patterns as discussed in the previous section with the correct fingerings and play these three sub-patterns as technical exercises all over the bass before you start with the major scale patterns. Over time your strength and the intensity (volume) with which you play the notes will increase. The hand that plucks the strings to me is more of an individual matter of choice in that I have opted for an almost classical guitar style approach in playing the strings on my bass. I therefore use my thumb, index, middle and ring finger quite comfortably when I play but predominantly I use my index, middle and ring finger in the traditional sense of playing the bass guitar. I personally do not rest any part of my hand or fingers on any part of the body of the bass as I have developed sufficient strength in my fingers and wrist to play any note at

13 P a g e 13 any intensity and thus the movement of this hand also remains unrestricted and I can move and attack the strings over a wide area with ease. You should however play the strings with the tips of your fingers (the fleshy part) and always ensure that your hand and fingers are in close contact with the strings almost always ready in position and again try to play economically and stay relaxed. Here are a few photographs of my right hand that plays the strings from various angles to give you some tips:

14 P a g e 14 When you do the technical exercise of playing the three sub-patterns you will notice that it is quite easy to see the correlation between the fingerings of the hand that presses against the fingerboard and the fingers whether index, middle or ring you should pluck the string with. Apply this when you start to practice the major scale patterns. You may also as a technical exercise play the four strings with your right hand only and play various rhythms on the open strings to develop strength and coordination. The thing about technique is that it really takes a long time to develop but if you follow the basic policy of staying relaxed economy of movement hands always close to the strings and more than just regular practice technique shouldn t be a problem. You can also do a lot of technical exercises while sitting and watching television like playing notes chromatically all over the fingerboard with all four fingers. The trick is to start slowly and to practice with intent. Here is a sequence of photographs illustrating the chromatic exercise that you must do all over the bass up and down and on a single string:

15 P a g e 15 Comments on Improvisation IMPORTANT NOTICE: The new aspiring musician should just take a moment and think about and conceptualize the notion of IMPROVISATION in the context of music with the goal of applying it when learning, practicing and playing. A few things to think about and apply when incorporating improvisation when playing or practicing something like the major scale patterns and open to your own interpretation and further investigation Accents Phrasing Arpeggios Relaxation Note Repetition Tempo Speed Note Selection Taking Risks Volume Beat Melody Trills Listening Finger Articulation Coordination Legato Intervals Timing Single String Amplitude Pizzicato Modes Syncopation Chords Rhythms Articulation Question & Answer Emotion Blues Tremolo Phantom Notes Concentration Jazz Silence Dynamics Triplets Open Strings Length of Note Space Ornaments Harmonics Bebop Triads Discipline Scatting Tapping Visualizations Sliding Music The First Lesson The first lesson for the beginner will be to learn the notes on the bass fingerboard. This is very, very important. Start by learning all the natural notes first A B C D E F G, that s the musical alphabet basically. The remaining notes on the fingerboard will be the sharpened or flattened variations of these seven notes. You ve most probably already heard musicians talk of tones and semitones. On the bass and similarly the guitar fingerboard a semitone is the distance of one fret and a tone is the distance of two frets. A sharpened note is indicated by the symbol {#} and is a semitone (one fret) higher than the natural note. A flattened note is indicated by the symbol {b} and is a semitone (one fret) lower than the natural note. A sharpened note like the note F# is pronounced F sharp and a flattened note like Ab for example is pronounced A flat. You will also observe that the notes Ab and G# to use one example are basically the same note with the same pitch and when this occurs these notes are called enharmonic notes. However, when you learn the notes of the major scales and their respective key signatures you will become familiar with what note names to use whether flat or sharp and you will be able to distinguish between the keys with sharp key signatures and the keys with flat key signatures. An additional tip that you can observe in memorizing the note names of the major scales is that the major scale always adhere to an alphabetical sequence with the variations indicated by the sharpened or flattened note (or notes). This sharpened or flattened note (or notes) is called the key signature of that particular key. For example: The key signature of G Major is the note F# and the key signature of Bb Major is Bb and Eb. Now, the easiest way to learn all the notes on the fingerboard is to learn the notes string for string. Start with the top string (E) and learn all the natural notes first. Then the second string (A) and learn all the natural notes first. Then the third string (D) and learn all the natural notes. And then the bottom string (G) and learn all the natural notes first. Take your time. Take four weeks, a string a week. Incorporate some of that finger

16 P a g e 16 articulation exercises while you learn, like playing with a single finger and sliding from one natural note to the other. Develop a warm-up exercise for learning the notes on a single string utilizing all four fingers. Remember the note value of the open strings and learn the notes right up to the end of the fingerboard beyond the twelfth fret an octave higher. Remember, in order to play music, you ll first have to study the particular instrument that you ll be playing and learning the position of the notes on the bass fingerboard will be the bassist s first step just like the guitarist will have to learn the position of the notes on the guitar fingerboard first. In the appendix of this series the notes of a 24 fretted bass fingerboard is illustrated covering the whole neck of the bass in the following four diagrams: Diagram 1 All the natural notes Diagram 2 All the natural notes and the sharpened notes Diagram 3 All the natural notes and the flattened notes Diagram 4 All the notes A Final Word In working through this book, what you as the student need to do is to apply the things that are shown to you. For example: When you see a section dealing with s and in that section it is stated that the notes C and F together produces a perfect fourth, you must then take your bass and apply this and play these two notes and listen and observe and say to yourself, okay, so this is a perfect fourth and approach all the other topics in the same fashion. Forgive me for stating the obvious but keep in mind that one of your objectives is to become technically adept at producing the things that you learn on your instrument and in order to do that, you will have to commit yourself to the physical practicing of the instrument. You will also observe when working through this book how each chapter is almost a carbon copy of the next chapter except for the note names and their respective sounds and the different positions on the fingerboard that changes with every other major key. The student is advised to compare the chapters with one another to see and find the characteristics of the major keys. For example: If you look at the seven scale tone chords of any major key as triads you will see that the type of chord (whether major or minor) always adhere to the same arrangement: In a major key we will find that the first chord is always a major, the second chord is always a minor the third chord is always a minor, the fourth chord is always a major, the fifth chord is always a major, the sixth chord is always a minor and the chord is always a diminished and this applies to all the major keys. When you work slowly through the chapters in this book you will begin to conceptualize the application of theory on your bass and with a little persistence and before you know it you ll have an extensive music vocabulary or a sort of information database that you can draw on when you play. Do not be put of by the jargon or terminology used in the theory because as you gradually work through every chapter you will come to terms with the important things. Once you have grasped and worked through the first chapter of this book, every subsequent chapter will also be easier because you will basically be doing the same stuff. Your ability to hear things in a musical context will also develop and your ear will automatically catch-up with the things you are doing and this facility to hear things will begin to subconsciously dictate what you want or need to do. Observe this phenomenon when it occurs and cultivate it further. When you work diligently through this book there will come a stage at some point when you ll sit and practice and all of a sudden you ll pick up a familiar tune and you ll be able to play it or a close variation thereof. And then on another day you might be listening to one of your favorite tunes that s maybe in the keys of D Major and A Major and as a result of your ability to now play in those two keys, you ll be able to jam along with the music and improvise in these keys together with the tune or you will just create your own tunes and play your own music. Give it a couple of months and be patient. The first couple of months are difficult but only because everything is so new but once you have familiarized yourself with a couple of concepts things will quickly start to make sense. And to end this introductory chapter I would like to briefly elaborate on a few concepts just to expand your awareness a little bit with regards to the application of the theory on your instrument. But remember and like I said before, it is a requirement to work through this book and apply the information on your instrument before the theory is properly understood. The more you work through this book and apply the theory on your instrument, the more things will make sense so the following definitions are very basic and it is just to clarify things a bit better. I think it is best if I give you a table again containing a few notes:

17 P a g e Degrees in the When you look at your instrument and you look at the distance between one starting point to the octave of that starting point you ll find that there is a division of 12 degrees or semitones or notes within that distance and this distance is called an octave. Looking at the picture below of the major scale pattern over a single string we can see this division of the 12 semitones or frets before we get to the octave of the root note again. So basically in music we have a total of 12 notes and it is these 12 notes that gets repeated in a higher and lower range all over your and other instruments. This will also make clear how the major scale with its 7 notes is a particular arrangement of notes within the 12 degrees. If you add or subtract a note or sharpen or flatten any one of the 7 notes of the major scale the arrangement will be changed and another type of scale will then be formed. In the other books of this series you will be presented with some of these other scales. I like to look at the arrangement of the 7 note major scale pattern within the 12 notes of the octave as: TONE TONE SEMITONE TONE TONE SEMITONE (space of a) TONE 15 Major Keys Musical Alphabet Starting with C Major Now the reason why there is a set number of major keys is because in every new key we will be shifting to a new starting point within this range of 12 notes that will produce a new major key. However, if you look at the contents of this book you will see that there are 15 major keys. The reason for this is and you ll remember that a little earlier I mentioned that the notes Ab and G# are notes with the same pitch and that such notes are called enharmonic notes. This phenomenon also occurs in a couple of the major keys and I guess you could call these enharmonic keys. So the key of Ab Major and the key of G# Major to use the above example will occur at the exact same place on your fingerboard. A lot of musicians talk about the 12 major keys and if you look at it in a practical sense and at the 12 notes within the octave on your fingerboard then that is correct but it is better to know and learn the theoretically correct 15 keys as it is presented in this book. For some or other reason musicians are always looking for shortcuts and it is these shortcuts that confuses everyone because everyone has their own shortcuts. I don t like shortcuts and I would like for you to learn and apply all the keys as it is presented in this book starting with the key of C Major with all its natural notes followed by all the keys with sharp keysignatures followed by all the keys with flat key-signatures. Learning it this way and learning it all makes it easier to understand the theory in its entirety. A little earlier I also mentioned that the musical alphabet consists of 7 notes A B C D E F G but like I ve just explained in music we have a total of 12 notes within the octave but by now you are aware that the remaining notes within the 12 notes of the octave will be named after the sharpened or flattened variations of these 7 notes and that a couple of these notes are called enharmonic notes because they have the same pitch and appear at the same place on your fingerboard. When you look at the musical alphabet you might think that our point of departure in terms of learning the major keys will be the note A because A is the alphabetical starting point in the alphabet but in music it is just a little bit different. In music our point of departure when we begin to learn the major keys will be C. The key of C Major with its C Major Scale is the only key where all the notes are natural in other words the C Major Scale has no sharpened or flattened notes and this is probably then the reason why the new musician is always at the outset presented with this particular major scale. The familiar phrase or terminology Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do that we have all heard before is in fact just the Italian vocal syllables denoted to the C Major Scale and means exactly C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. The first chapter in this book starts then also with the key of C Major with all its natural notes. This is then followed with all the keys with sharp key-signatures and this is then followed by all the keys with flat key-signatures. You will also notice that the chapters follow a kind of chronological order in terms of the number of notes that is sharpened or flattened in the key-signature. In other words following the first chapter of C Major will be the second chapter of G Major with 1 sharpened note in its key-signature followed by the third chapter of D Major with 2 sharpened notes in its key-signature followed by the fourth chapter of A Major with 3 sharpened notes in its key-signature and this continues until we get to the 8 th chapter of C# Major with 7 sharpened notes in its key-signature. In Chapter 9 we begin with the keys with flat key-signatures and the key of F Major with 1 flattened note in its key-signature followed by the tenth chapter of Bb Major with its key-

18 P a g e 18 signature of 2 flattened notes until we get to Chapter 15 of Cb Major with 7 flattened notes in its key-signature. Another possible way to work through this book would be to start with Chapter 1 (not-negotiable) and to then start with the two keys that has 1 note in its keysignature i.e. G Major and F Major and basically follow the order as outlined below taking into account how many notes a particular key-signature contains. So after you have done Chapter 1 you can then do Chapter 2 and then do Chapter 9 and then do Chapter 3 and then do Chapter 10 and to carry on until you have done all the 15 keys. Chapter 1 C Major All natural notes (Start with this key) Keys with # key-signatures Keys with b key-signatures Number of notes in the key-signature Chapter 2 G Major Chapter 9 F Major 1 Chapter 3 D Major Chapter 10 Bb Major 2 Chapter 4 A Major Chapter 11 Eb Major 3 Chapter 5 E Major Chapter 12 Ab Major 4 Chapter 6 B Major Chapter 13 Db Major 5 Chapter 7 F# Major Chapter 14 Gb Major 6 Chapter 8 C# Major Chapter 15 Cb Major 7 Anyhow, you will still have work through all the keys so whatever suits you will be fine.

19 P a g e 19 Chapter 1 THE KEY OF C MAJOR The Notes The key of C MAJOR is derived from the C MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the C MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII C D E F G A B 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the C MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: Treble Clef Bass Clef [NOTE: The focus here is not on reading music. The discipline of reading music will however be much easier to grasp once the basics of this book is understood and any aspiring musician should always be urged to learn how to read music.] The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the C MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows and yes, this is also all the natural notes on the fingerboard: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of C MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note C and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of C MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard.

20 P a g e 20 The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Notes on practicing the major scale patterns: In the Introduction you were advised to learn the position of the note names on your fingerboard first and foremost. As a result of this you should now be able to pinpoint the various positions of the C note (the starting point and root note in this first chapter) all over your fingerboard so that you can apply the above major scale patterns over your fingerboard and identify just exactly where the patterns will fit over your fingerboard in the Key of C Major. I can still remember the days when I started learning and practicing the major scale patterns in the Key of C Major and we all begin by learning and playing these patterns up and down for hours upon hours. One of the things that struck me as an interesting development at that time was just how much more time I spent practicing all of a sudden. This is another benefit of doing the theory in this instance, learning to play the C Major Scale all over the fingerboard. In the above diagrams there are seven major scale patterns and if you are a new student it is easy to anticipate now, how you can spend almost seven hours (allocating an hour to

21 P a g e 21 a pattern) practicing in a single day and then doing this for a couple of days. Having said that, it is best to develop your own system to learn and memorize (the position and shapes of the patterns the note names and the numerical value of the scale) and to practice these patterns until you can play them very fluently. Keep your focus on playing the patterns technically correct and start slowly. The technical aspect of learning and playing the pattern may be just a bit tedious but once you have the pattern memorized remember that you can then start improvising around that pattern and that basically means making your own music by creating little melodies or riffs within that pattern so you will be doing what you intended at the outset to do and that is to play something on your instrument and by improvising you will already achieve this. Remember that the seven major scale patterns serve as a starting point to learn the major key. Once you can play all seven patterns fluently you must then link the patterns to form the bigger picture of the major key. You can start by playing one pattern down and then move towards the next pattern to get into position to play that pattern up and so forth. Once you can link all the patterns with one another you will have a visual reference guide to the whole major key all over the fingerboard and that is your objective. I m sure that a little light will go of in your head the day you can identify the complete picture of the major key over the fingerboard in which you can then play and improvise. Remember that even though the individual patterns has a tendency to give you a vertical and segmented view of the fingerboard, the best way to view the fingerboard is in a horizontal or linear way. That is why the single string pattern is so very important. The single string pattern really opens up the fingerboard and must be learned on all four strings individually to start with. Once you can play and identify the single string pattern on a single string, play the single string patterns in combinations of two strings and then three strings and then all four strings. Following is a brief summary of how you can proceed practicing the seven major scale patterns Use this in conjunction with your own ideas and try to develop your own system. 1. Learn the individual major scale patterns technically and visually memorize the patterns. Review the section in the Introduction that deals with Finger Articulation and Comments on Technique. Play the patterns up and down until you can play the patterns fluently. Play the patterns with one finger and then two fingers and then three fingers and then all four fingers and find and develop your own technical exercises to learn and play the patterns. 2. Memorize the note names of the major scale and the numerical value of the major scale. 3. Give special attention and observe the starting point or root note of the major scale patterns. 4. Learning these patterns at first will take some time but as you proceed things will become easier because the shape of the patterns remain the same in every other major key it is just the starting point that shifts to a new position. 5. Link the patterns. Remember that the individual patterns serve as a starting point only so we don t want to view the fingerboard in segments. Our objective is to see the full picture of the major key over the full length of the fingerboard. Remember to learn and apply the patterns an octave above (beyond the twelfth fret). 6. You can get really creative when learning and practicing the single string patterns. Again, have a look at the section on Finger Articulation play with one finger only then two then three and then four. Play on the two top strings only then the middle two strings only and then the bottom two strings only and after that play on three strings only using the single string pattern as your reference all the time in the particular major key. Remember to play the single string pattern up and down (horizontally) across the fingerboard. Slide from one note to the next. Do some hammer-ons and pull-offs. Find your own little musical ideas and expressions. And then finally remember that the modus operandi is to learn the theory and then apply it by practicing and developing your technique and only then, to start playing and improvising and making up your own melodies and riffs and finding ways to express musical ideas. In the Foreword I suggested that you (if you are an absolute beginner) spend approximately a month on a chapter to begin with. Because there is so much to do, maybe you will still not be too comfortable with the first chapter of the Key of C Major after only a month but don t worry. After that month, go on to chapter two and do the Key of G Major. After another month, go on and do chapter three and the Key of D Major. After that, take some time to review everything you have done up until then and I m confident that at that time (and it happens all of a sudden) you will grasp the concept of playing in a major key. When this conceptualization occurs you will have a lot more confidence proceeding and remember to learn and play in all the major keys as it is given in the chapters of this book. After another couple of months when you have worked through most of the keys you will be able to do a bit of jamming along with the music that you listen to and be able to identify when you play together with the tunes what key the tunes are in that you listen too.

22 P a g e 22 Intervals I C C C C C C C C D E F G A B C Major second Major third Major sixth Major II D D D D D D D D E F G A B C D Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III E E E E E E E E F G A B C D E Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

23 P a g e 23 IV F F F F F F F F G A B C D E F Major second V G Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major G G G G G G G A B C D E F G Major second VI A Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) A A A A A A A B C D E F G A Major second Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

24 P a g e 24 VII B B B B B B B B C D E F G A B Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) Notes on practicing s: Once you can play all the major scale patterns and identify the patterns on the fingerboard you can then move on to learn the s, as given in the above diagrams. When you practice and play the major scale patterns in a major key the emphasis is on playing singular notes. When you begin learning and practicing and playing the s the emphasis will be on playing two notes. You can either play the s in unison or you can break the up and play the two notes separately but still only play the two notes making up the. Start by learning the names as it is given in this section and indentify and practice the s on your instrument and study all the s calculated from every degree of the major scale. After that, learn and practice all the Second Intervals (only) in the key and observe and differentiate between Minor and Major Second Intervals. Then do the same and practice and differentiate all the Third Intervals then all the Fourth Intervals then all the Fifth Intervals then all the Sixth Intervals then all the Seventh Intervals and the s. The easiest way to learn and practice the s would be to utilize the single string pattern. When you apply the single string pattern over two strings (for the two notes of the ) on the bass guitar you will find the following combinations of two strings: Two adjacent strings [two top strings two middle strings two bottom strings] Top string and the third string Top string and the bottom string The second string and the bottom string Using the single string major scale pattern as indicated above, practice and play all the s. Again start with playing (and in groups of) all the Seconds Thirds Fourths Fifths Sixths Sevenths s up and down the two single strings with the root note of the on the upper string and remember to differentiate between the s for example a Minor or Major Third Interval when you practice a group of s. The s beyond the octave are called Compound Intervals and you must practice and play these too. Beyond the of the octave (8) the numeric value of the major scale continues ( ) and it is this numeric value that is used to name these Compound Intervals. In practice and for example, it has become common to refer to the ninth degree that is flattened (the octave of the minor second ) to refer to that as a (b9 or a flattened ninth ) or in the case of a raised eleventh (the octave of an augmented fourth ) to refer to that as a (#11 or a sharp eleventh ) or in the case of a flattened thirteenth (the octave of a minor sixth ) to refer to that as a (b13 or a flattened thirteenth ). In practice I refer to the tenth still as either a major or minor third and the same with the twelfth referring to it as either a perfect or flattened (diminished) fifth. The construction and naming of chords as dealt with in Book 5 will shed more light on this because it explains how s are used to build and name chords.

25 P a g e 25 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st C D E F G A B 3 rd E F G A B C D 5 th G A B C D E F Notes on practicing the scale tone chords: Observe how we go about studying the major key. First we start by learning the major scale patterns with the emphasis on playing singular notes within the key (in practice you can look at this as the melodic aspect of playing) then we learn the s with the emphasis on two notes and now we will learn to play the scale tone chords with the emphasis now on three notes (the most basic chord) and this three note chord can also be called a triad. The three notes of the chord can either be played in unison or you can play these notes separately in music we refer to this as playing the chord Arpeggiated, when we play the individual notes of the chord separately and in succession. A chord can be built upon every degree of the seven degrees of the major scale (that will fit into and is particular to the specific major key) and these seven chords are called the Scale Tone Chords of the Key. The individual notes of the major scale will be the root note of these seven chords and to build the most basic chord (the triad) we must add the third and the fifth s (that we learned in the previous section) on the degrees (notes) of the major scale. Note that it is the third and fifth of every degree of the major scale. The type of third and the type of fifth that will be added on every degree of the major scale will be made clear in the following diagram and I will use the key of C Major as an example: First we take the individual notes of the major scale and these notes will become the root notes of the seven scale tone chords that we build and for now we are only building triads: C D E F G A B Then we add the respective third s within the original major scale: E F G A B C D This is a MAJOR 3 rd This is a MINOR 3 rd This is a MINOR 3 rd This is a MAJOR 3 rd This is a MAJOR 3 rd This is a MINOR 3 rd This is a MINOR 3 rd And then to complete the chord we add the respective fifth s that we find in terms of the original major scale: G A B C D E F This is a PERFECT 5 th This is a PERFECT 5 th This is a PERFECT 5 th This is a PERFECT 5 th This is a PERFECT 5 th This is a PERFECT 5 th This is a DIMINISHED 5 th If you look at the seven scale tone chords of any major key as triads you will see that the type of chord (whether a major or minor) will always follow the same arrangement: In a major key you will find that the first chord is always a Major, the second chord is always a Minor the third chord is always a Minor, the fourth chord is always a Major, the fifth chord is always a Major, the sixth chord is always a Minor and the chord is always a Diminished type chord and this arrangement applies to all the major keys so you should memorize this arrangement as soon as possible. It is also common practice to use roman numerals to identify the scale tone cords of a key. I II III IV V VI VII C Major D Minor E Minor F Major G Major A Minor B Diminished Book 5 of this series deals with chords in great detail and I suggest that you now first read the Introduction of book 5 to get some insight on how chords are constructed together with some additional tips on practicing chords that you can then also apply to learn and play the scale tone chords.

26 P a g e 26 In the following diagrams of the seven scale tone chords I have given you ALL the triad chord voicings (various ways to play the same chord) on the fingerboard and my guide for finding all these voicings was my ability to view the instrument in a horizontal (linear) manner. When you learn and study the chords use your knowledge of single string playing together with your knowledge of how the s appear on a single string to build the chords in a key. I C Major 1 st C 3 rd E 5 th G II D Minor 1 st D 3 rd F (b3) 5 th A

27 P a g e 27 III E Minor 1 st E 3 rd G (b3) 5 th B

28 P a g e 28 IV F Major 1 st F 3 rd A 5 th C V G Major 1 st G 3 rd B 5 th D

29 P a g e 29 VI A Minor 1 st A 3 rd C (b3) 5 th E

30 P a g e 30 VII B Diminished 1 st B 3 rd D (b3) 5 th F (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in C Major I II III IV V VI VII C Major Seventh D Minor Seventh E Minor Seventh F Major Seventh G7 (Seventh) A Minor Seventh B Minor Seven flat Five 1 st C D E F G A B 3 rd E F G A B C D 5 th G A B C D E F 7 th B C D E F G A

31 P a g e 31 Chapter 2 THE KEY OF G MAJOR The Notes The key of G MAJOR is derived from the G MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the G MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII G A B C D E F# 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the G MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is F# Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the G MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of G MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note G and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of G MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

32 P a g e 32 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I G G G G G G G G A B C D E F# G Major second Major third Major sixth Major

33 P a g e 33 II A A A A A A A A B C D E F# G A Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III B B B B B B B B C D E F# G A B Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV C C C C C C C C D E F# G A B C Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

34 P a g e 34 V D D D D D D D D E F# G A B C D Major second VI E Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) E E E E E E E F# G A B C D E Major second VII F# Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) F# F# F# F# F# F# F# G A B C D E F# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

35 P a g e 35 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st G A B C D E F# 3 rd B C D E F# G A 5 th D E F# G A B C I G Major 1 st G 3 rd B 5 th D II A Minor 1 st A 3 rd C (b3) 5 th E

36 P a g e 36 III B Minor 1 st B 3 rd D (b3) 5 th F#

37 P a g e 37 IV C Major 1 st C 3 rd E 5 th G V D Major 1 st D 3 rd F# 5 th A

38 P a g e 38 VI E Minor 1 st E 3 rd G (b3) 5 th B

39 P a g e 39 VII F# Diminished 1 st F# 3 rd A (b3) 5 th C (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in G Major I II III IV V VI VII G Major Seventh A Minor Seventh B Minor Seventh C Major Seventh D7 (Seventh) E Minor Seventh F# Minor Seven flat Five 1 st G A B C D E F# 3 rd B C D E F# G A 5 th D E F# G A B C 7 th F# G A B C D E

40 P a g e 40 Chapter 3 THE KEY OF D MAJOR The Notes The key of D MAJOR is derived from the D MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the D MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII D E F# G A B C# 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the D MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is F# C# Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the D MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of D MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note D and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of D MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

41 P a g e 41 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I D D D D D D D D E F# G A B C# D Major second Major third Major sixth Major

42 P a g e 42 II E E E E E E E E F# G A B C# D E Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III F# F# F# F# F# F# F# F# G A B C# D E F# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV G G G G G G G G A B C# D E F# G Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

43 P a g e 43 V A A A A A A A A B C# D E F# G A Major second VI B Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) B B B B B B B C# D E F# G A B Major second VII C# Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) C# C# C# C# C# C# C# D E F# G A B C# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

44 P a g e 44 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st D E F# G A B C# 3 rd F# G A B C# D E 5 th A B C# D E F# G I D Major 1 st D 3 rd F# 5 th A II E Minor 1 st E 3 rd G (b3) 5 th B

45 P a g e 45 III F# Minor 1 st F# 3 rd A (b3) 5 th C#

46 P a g e 46 IV G Major 1 st G 3 rd B 5 th D V A Major 1 st A 3 rd C# 5 th E

47 P a g e 47 VI B Minor 1 st B 3 rd D (b3) 5 th F#

48 P a g e 48 VII C# Diminished 1 st C# 3 rd E (b3) 5 th G (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in D Major I II III IV V VI VII D Major Seventh E Minor Seventh F# Minor Seventh G Major Seventh A7 (Seventh) B Minor Seventh C# Minor Seven flat Five 1 st D E F# G A B C# 3 rd F# G A B C# D E 5 th A B C# D E F# G 7 th C# D E F# G A B

49 P a g e 49 Chapter 4 THE KEY OF A MAJOR The Notes The key of A MAJOR is derived from the A MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the A MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII A B C# D E F# G# 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the A MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is C# F# G# Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the A MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of A MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note A and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of A MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

50 P a g e 50 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I A A A A A A A A B C# D E F# G# A Major second Major third Major sixth Major

51 P a g e 51 II B B B B B B B B C# D E F# G# A B Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III C# C# C# C# C# C# C# C# D E F# G# A B C# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV D D D D D D D D E F# G# A B C# D Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

52 P a g e 52 V E E E E E E E E F# G# A B C# D E Major second VI F# Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) F# F# F# F# F# F# F# G# A B C# D E F# Major second VII G# Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) G# G# G# G# G# G# G# A B C# D E F# G# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

53 P a g e 53 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st A B C# D E F# G# 3 rd C# D E F# G# A B 5 th E F# G# A B C# D I A Major 1 st A 3 rd C# 5 th E II B Minor 1 st B 3 rd D (b3) 5 th F#

54 P a g e 54 III C# Minor 1 st C# 3 rd E (b3) 5 th G#

55 P a g e 55 IV D Major 1 st D 3 rd F# 5 th A V E Major 1 st E 3 rd G# 5 th B

56 P a g e 56 VI F# Minor 1 st F# 3 rd A (b3) 5 th C#

57 P a g e 57 VII G# Diminished 1 st G# 3 rd B (b3) 5 th D (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in A Major I II III IV V VI VII A Major Seventh B Minor Seventh C# Minor Seventh D Major Seventh E7 (Seventh) F# Minor Seventh G# Minor Seven flat Five 1 st A B C# D E F# G# 3 rd C# D E F# G# A B 5 th E F# G# A B C# D 7 th G# A B C# D E F#

58 P a g e 58 Chapter 5 THE KEY OF E MAJOR The Notes The key of E MAJOR is derived from the E MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the E MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII E F# G# A B C# D# 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the E MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is F# G# C# D# Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the E MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of E MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note E and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of E MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

59 P a g e 59 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I E E E E E E E E F# G# A B C# D# E Major second Major third Major sixth Major

60 P a g e 60 II F# F# F# F# F# F# F# F# G# A B C# D# E F# Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III G# G# G# G# G# G# G# G# A B C# D# E F# G# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV A A A A A A A A B C# D# E F# G# A Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

61 P a g e 61 V B B B B B B B B C# D# E F# G# A B Major second VI C# Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) C# C# C# C# C# C# C# D# E F# G# A B C# Major second VII D# Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) D# D# D# D# D# D# D# E F# G# A B C# D# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

62 P a g e 62 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st E F# G# A B C# D# 3 rd G# A B C# D# E F# 5 th B C# D# E F# G# A I E Major 1 st E 3 rd G# 5 th B II F# Minor 1 st F# 3 rd A (b3) 5 th C#

63 P a g e 63 III G# Minor 1 st G# 3 rd B (b3) 5 th D#

64 P a g e 64 IV A Major 1 st A 3 rd C# 5 th E V B Major 1 st B 3 rd D# 5 th F#

65 P a g e 65 VI C# Minor 1 st C# 3 rd E (b3) 5 th G#

66 P a g e 66 VII D# Diminished 1 st D# 3 rd F# (b3) 5 th A (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in E Major I II III IV V VI VII E Major Seventh F# Minor Seventh G# Minor Seventh A Major Seventh B7 (Seventh) C# Minor Seventh D# Minor Seven flat Five 1 st E F# G# A B C# D# 3 rd G# A B C# D# E F# 5 th B C# D# E F# G# A 7 th D# E F# G# A B C#

67 P a g e 67 Chapter 6 THE KEY OF B MAJOR The Notes The key of B MAJOR is derived from the B MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the B MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII B C# D# E F# G# A# 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the B MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is C# D# F# G# A# Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the B MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of B MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note B and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of B MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

68 P a g e 68 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I B B B B B B B B C# D# E F# G# A# B Major second Major third Major sixth Major

69 P a g e 69 II C# C# C# C# C# C# C# C# D# E F# G# A# B C# Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III D# D# D# D# D# D# D# D# E F# G# A# B C# D# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV E E E E E E E E F# G# A# B C# D# E Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

70 P a g e 70 V F# F# F# F# F# F# F# F# G# A# B C# D# E F# Major second VI G# Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) G# G# G# G# G# G# G# A# B C# D# E F# G# Major second VII A# Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) A# A# A# A# A# A# A# B C# D# E F# G# A# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

71 P a g e 71 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st B C# D# E F# G# A# 3 rd D# E F# G# A# B C# 5 th F# G# A# B C# D# E I B Major 1 st B 3 rd D# 5 th F# II C# Minor 1 st C# 3 rd E (b3) 5 th G#

72 P a g e 72 III D# Minor 1 st D# 3 rd F# (b3) 5 th A#

73 P a g e 73 IV E Major 1 st E 3 rd G# 5 th B V F# Major 1 st F# 3 rd A# 5 th C#

74 P a g e 74 VI G# Minor 1 st G# 3 rd B (b3) 5 th D#

75 P a g e 75 VII A# Diminished 1 st A# 3 rd C# (b3) 5 th E (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in B Major I II III IV V VI VII B Major Seventh C# Minor Seventh D# Minor Seventh E Major Seventh F#7 (Seventh) G# Minor Seventh A# Minor Seven flat Five 1 st B C# D# E F# G# A# 3 rd D# E F# G# A# B C# 5 th F# G# A# B C# D# E 7 th A# B C# D# E F# G#

76 P a g e 76 Chapter 7 THE KEY OF F# MAJOR The Notes The key of F# MAJOR is derived from the F# MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the F# MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII F# G# A# B C# D# E# 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the F# MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is F# G# A# C# D# E# Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the F# MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of F# MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note F# and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of F# MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

77 P a g e 77 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I F# F# F# F# F# F# F# F# G# A# B C# D# E# F# Major second Major third Major sixth Major

78 P a g e 78 II G# G# G# G# G# G# G# G# A# B C# D# E# F# G# Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III A# A# A# A# A# A# A# A# B C# D# E# F# G# A# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV B B B B B B B B C# D# E# F# G# A# B Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

79 P a g e 79 V C# C# C# C# C# C# C# C# D# E# F# G# A# B C# Major second VI D# Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) D# D# D# D# D# D# D# E# F# G# A# B C# D# Major second VII E# Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) E# E# E# E# E# E# E# F# G# A# B C# D# E# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

80 P a g e 80 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st F# G# A# B C# D# E# 3 rd A# B C# D# E# F# G# 5 th C# D# E# F# G# A# B I F# Major 1 st F# 3 rd A# 5 th C# II G# Minor 1 st G# 3 rd B (b3) 5 th D#

81 P a g e 81 III A# Minor 1 st A# 3 rd C# (b3) 5 th E#

82 P a g e 82 IV B Major 1 st B 3 rd D# 5 th F# V C# Major 1 st C# 3 rd E# 5 th G#

83 P a g e 83 VI D# Minor 1 st D# 3 rd F# (b3) 5 th A#

84 P a g e 84 VII E# Diminished 1 st E# 3 rd G# (b3) 5 th B (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in F# Major I II III IV V VI VII F# Major Seventh G# Minor Seventh A# Minor Seventh B Major Seventh C#7 (Seventh) D# Minor Seventh E# Minor Seven flat Five 1 st F# G# A# B C# D# E# 3 rd A# B C# D# E# F# G# 5 th C# D# E# F# G# A# B 7 th E# F# G# A# B C# D#

85 P a g e 85 Chapter 8 THE KEY OF C# MAJOR The Notes The key of C# MAJOR is derived from the C# MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the C# MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII C# D# E# F# G# A# B# 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the C# MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is C# D# E# F# G# A# B# Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the C# MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of C# MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note C# and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of C# MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

86 P a g e 86 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I C# C# C# C# C# C# C# C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C# Major second Major third Major sixth Major

87 P a g e 87 II D# D# D# D# D# D# D# D# E# F# G# A# B# C# D# Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III E# E# E# E# E# E# E# E# F# G# A# B# C# D# E# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV F# F# F# F# F# F# F# F# G# A# B# C# D# E# F# Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

88 P a g e 88 V G# G# G# G# G# G# G# G# A# B# C# D# E# F# G# Major second VI A# Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) A# A# A# A# A# A# A# B# C# D# E# F# G# A# Major second VII B# Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) B# B# B# B# B# B# B# C# D# E# F# G# A# B# Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

89 P a g e 89 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st C# D# E# F# G# A# B# 3 rd E# F# G# A# B# C# D# 5 th G# A# B# C# D# E# F# I C# Major 1 st C# 3 rd E# 5 th G# II D# Minor 1 st D# 3 rd F# (b3) 5 th A#

90 P a g e 90 III E# Minor 1 st E# 3 rd G# (b3) 5 th B#

91 P a g e 91 IV F# Major 1 st F# 3 rd A# 5 th C# V G# Major 1 st G# 3 rd B# 5 th D#

92 P a g e 92 VI A# Minor 1 st A# 3 rd C# (b3) 5 th E#

93 P a g e 93 VII B# Diminished 1 st B# 3 rd D# (b3) 5 th F# (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in C# Major I II III IV V VI VII C# Major Seventh D# Minor Seventh E# Minor Seventh F# Major Seventh G#7 (Seventh) A# Minor Seventh B# Minor Seven flat Five 1 st C# D# E# F# G# A# B# 3 rd E# F# G# A# B# C# D# 5 th G# A# B# C# D# E# F# 7 th B# C# D# E# F# G# A#

94 P a g e 94 Chapter 9 THE KEY OF F MAJOR The Notes The key of F MAJOR is derived from the F MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the F MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII F G A Bb C D E 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the F MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is Bb Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the F MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of F MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note F and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of F MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

95 P a g e 95 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I F F F F F F F F G A Bb C D E F Major second Major third Major sixth Major

96 P a g e 96 II G G G G G G G G A Bb C D E F G Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III A A A A A A A A Bb C D E F G A Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb C D E F G A Bb Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

97 P a g e 97 V C C C C C C C C D E F G A Bb C Major second VI D Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) D D D D D D D E F G A Bb C D Major second VII E Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) E E E E E E E F G A Bb C D E Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

98 P a g e 98 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st F G A Bb C D E 3 rd A Bb C D E F G 5 th C D E F G A Bb I F Major 1 st F 3 rd A 5 th C II G Minor 1 st G 3 rd Bb (b3) 5 th D

99 P a g e 99 III A Minor 1 st A 3 rd C (b3) 5 th E

100 P a g e 100 IV Bb Major 1 st Bb 3 rd D 5 th F V C Major 1 st C 3 rd E 5 th G

101 P a g e 101 VI D Minor 1 st D 3 rd F (b3) 5 th A

102 P a g e 102 VII E Diminished 1 st E 3 rd G (b3) 5 th Bb (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in F Major I II III IV V VI VII F Major Seventh G Minor Seventh A Minor Seventh Bb Major Seventh C7 (Seventh) D Minor Seventh E Minor Seven flat Five 1 st F G A Bb C D E 3 rd A Bb C D E F G 5 th C D E F G A Bb 7 th E F G A Bb C D

103 P a g e 103 Chapter 10 THE KEY OF Bb MAJOR The Notes The key of Bb MAJOR is derived from the Bb MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the Bb MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII Bb C D Eb F G A 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the Bb MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is Bb Eb Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the Bb MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of Bb MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note Bb and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of Bb MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

104 P a g e 104 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb C D Eb F G A Bb Major second Major third Major sixth Major

105 P a g e 105 II C C C C C C C C D Eb F G A Bb C Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III D D D D D D D D Eb F G A Bb C D Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb F G A Bb C D Eb Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

106 P a g e 106 V F F F F F F F F G A Bb C D Eb F Major second VI G Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) G G G G G G G A Bb C D Eb F G Major second VII A Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) A A A A A A A Bb C D Eb F G A Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

107 P a g e 107 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st Bb C D Eb F G A 3 rd D Eb F G A Bb C 5 th F G A Bb C D Eb I Bb Major 1 st Bb 3 rd D 5 th F II C Minor 1 st C 3 rd Eb (b3) 5 th G

108 P a g e 108 III D Minor 1 st D 3 rd F (b3) 5 th A

109 P a g e 109 IV Eb Major 1 st Eb 3 rd G 5 th Bb V F Major 1 st F 3 rd A 5 th C

110 P a g e 110 VI G Minor 1 st G 3 rd Bb (b3) 5 th D

111 P a g e 111 VII A Diminished 1 st A 3 rd C (b3) 5 th Eb (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in Bb Major I II III IV V VI VII Bb Major Seventh C Minor Seventh D Minor Seventh Eb Major Seventh F7 (Seventh) G Minor Seventh A Minor Seven flat Five 1 st Bb C D Eb F G A 3 rd D Eb F G A Bb C 5 th F G A Bb C D Eb 7 th A Bb C D Eb F G

112 P a g e 112 Chapter 11 THE KEY OF Eb MAJOR The Notes The key of Eb MAJOR is derived from the Eb MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the Eb MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII Eb F G Ab Bb C D 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the Eb MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is Eb Ab Bb Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the Eb MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of Eb MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note Eb and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of Eb MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

113 P a g e 113 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb Major second Major third Major sixth Major

114 P a g e 114 II F F F F F F F F G Ab Bb C D Eb F Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III G G G G G G G G Ab Bb C D Eb F G Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Bb C D Eb F G Ab Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

115 P a g e 115 V Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb C D Eb F G Ab Bb Major second VI C Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) C C C C C C C D Eb F G Ab Bb C Major second VII D Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) D D D D D D D Eb F G Ab Bb C D Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

116 P a g e 116 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st Eb F G Ab Bb C D 3 rd G Ab Bb C D Eb F 5 th Bb C D Eb F G Ab I Eb Major 1 st Eb 3 rd G 5 th Bb II F Minor 1 st F 3 rd Ab (b3) 5 th C

117 P a g e 117 III G Minor 1 st G 3 rd Bb (b3) 5 th D

118 P a g e 118 IV Ab Major 1 st Ab 3 rd C 5 th Eb V Bb Major 1 st Bb 3 rd D 5 th F

119 P a g e 119 VI C Minor 1 st C 3 rd Eb (b3) 5 th G

120 P a g e 120 VII D Diminished 1 st D 3 rd F (b3) 5 th Ab (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in Eb Major I II III IV V VI VII Eb Major Seventh F Minor Seventh G Minor Seventh Ab Major Seventh Bb (Seventh) C Minor Seventh D Minor Seven flat Five 1 st Eb F G Ab Bb C D 3 rd G Ab Bb C D Eb F 5 th Bb C D Eb F G Ab 7 th D Eb F G Ab Bb C

121 P a g e 121 Chapter 12 THE KEY OF Ab MAJOR The Notes The key of Ab MAJOR is derived from the Ab MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the Ab MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII Ab Bb C Db Eb F G 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the Ab MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is Ab Bb Db Eb Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the Ab MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of Ab MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note Ab and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of Ab MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

122 P a g e 122 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab Major second Major third Major sixth Major

123 P a g e 123 II Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb C Db Eb F G Ab Bb Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III C C C C C C C C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV Db Db Db Db Db Db Db Db Eb F G Ab Bb C Db Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

124 P a g e 124 V Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb F G Ab Bb C Db Eb Major second VI F Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) F F F F F F F G Ab Bb C Db Eb F Major second VII G Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) G G G G G G G Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

125 P a g e 125 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st Ab Bb C Db Eb F G 3 rd C Db Eb F G Ab Bb 5 th Eb F G Ab Bb C Db I Ab Major 1 st Ab 3 rd C 5 th Eb II Bb Minor 1 st Bb 3 rd Db (b3) 5 th F

126 P a g e 126 III C Minor 1 st C 3 rd Eb (b3) 5 th G

127 P a g e 127 IV Db Major 1 st Db 3 rd F 5 th Ab V Eb Major 1 st Eb 3 rd G 5 th Bb

128 P a g e 128 VI F Minor 1 st F 3 rd Ab (b3) 5 th C

129 P a g e 129 VII G Diminished 1 st G 3 rd Bb (b3) 5 th Db (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in Ab Major I II III IV V VI VII Ab Major Seventh Bb Minor Seventh C Minor Seventh Db Major Seventh Eb7 (Seventh) F Minor Seventh G Minor Seven flat Five 1 st Ab Bb C Db Eb F G 3 rd C Db Eb F G Ab Bb 5 th Eb F G Ab Bb C Db 7 th G Ab Bb C Db Eb F

130 P a g e 130 Chapter 13 THE KEY OF Db MAJOR The Notes The key of Db MAJOR is derived from the Db MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the Db MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the Db MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is Db Eb Gb Ab Bb Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the Db MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of Db MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note Db and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of Db MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

131 P a g e 131 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I Db Db Db Db Db Db Db Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db Major second Major third Major sixth Major

132 P a g e 132 II Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III F F F F F F F F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb F Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV Gb Gb Gb Gb Gb Gb Gb Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb F Gb Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

133 P a g e 133 V Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Bb C Db Eb F Gb Ab Major second VI Bb Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb Major second VII C Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) C C C C C C C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

134 P a g e 134 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C 3 rd F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb 5 th Ab Bb C Db Eb F Gb I Db Major 1 st Db 3 rd F 5 th Ab II Eb Minor 1 st Eb 3 rd Gb (b3) 5 th Bb

135 P a g e 135 III F Minor 1 st F 3 rd Ab (b3) 5 th C

136 P a g e 136 IV Gb Major 1 st Gb 3 rd Bb 5 th Db V Ab Major 1 st Ab 3 rd C 5 th Eb

137 P a g e 137 VI Bb Minor 1 st Bb 3 rd Db (b3) 5 th F

138 P a g e 138 VII C Diminished 1 st C 3 rd Eb (b3) 5 th Gb (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in Db Major I II III IV V VI VII Db Major Seventh Eb Minor Seventh F Minor Seventh Gb Major Seventh Ab7 (Seventh) Bb Minor Seventh C Minor Seven flat Five 1 st Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C 3 rd F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb 5 th Ab Bb C Db Eb F Gb 7 th C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb

139 P a g e 139 Chapter 14 THE KEY OF Gb MAJOR The Notes The key of Gb MAJOR is derived from the Gb MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the Gb MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the Gb MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the Gb MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of Gb MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note Gb and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of Gb MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

140 P a g e 140 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I Gb Gb Gb Gb Gb Gb Gb Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb Major second Major third Major sixth Major

141 P a g e 141 II Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb Ab Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV Cb Cb Cb Cb Cb Cb Cb Cb Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major

142 P a g e 142 V Db Db Db Db Db Db Db Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Major second VI Eb Major third Major sixth Minor (b7) Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb Major second VII F Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) F F F F F F F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Diminished fifth (b5) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7)

143 P a g e 143 Harmony: The Scale Tone Chords (triads) I II III IV V VI VII Major chord Minor chord Minor chord Major chord Major chord Minor chord Diminished chord 1 st Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F 3 rd Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb Ab 5 th Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb I Gb Major 1 st Gb 3 rd Bb 5 th Db II Ab Minor 1 st Ab 3 rd Cb (b3) 5 th Eb

144 P a g e 144 III Bb Minor 1 st Bb 3 rd Db (b3) 5 th F

145 P a g e 145 IV Cb Major 1 st Cb 3 rd Eb 5 th Gb V Db Major 1 st Db 3 rd F 5 th Ab

146 P a g e 146 VI Eb Minor 1 st Eb 3 rd Gb (b3) 5 th Bb

147 P a g e 147 VII F Diminished 1 st F 3 rd Ab (b3) 5 th Cb (b5) Further Harmonization of the Scale Tone Chords in Gb Major I II III IV V VI VII Gb Major Seventh Ab Minor Seventh Bb Minor Seventh Cb Major Seventh Db7(Seventh) Eb Minor Seventh F Minor Seven flat Five 1 st Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F 3 rd Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb Ab 5 th Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb 7 th F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb

148 P a g e 148 Chapter 15 THE KEY OF Cb MAJOR The Notes The key of Cb MAJOR is derived from the Cb MAJOR SCALE. The notes of the Cb MAJOR SCALE may be presented as follows with a numerical value attributed to each note: I II III IV V VI VII Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb 1/8 2/9 3/10 4/11 5/12 6/13 7 In written musical form the Cb MAJOR SCALE is presented in this manner: The key signature is Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Treble Clef Bass Clef The Bass Fingerboard On the bass fingerboard the notes of the Cb MAJOR SCALE shows up as follows: When we take the various major scale patterns and we LINK them over the fingerboard it will form a kind of MAJOR SCALE OR MAJOR KEY ROADMAP and the subsequent reproduction of the above picture. So in order to memorize the above sequence of notes we will start by learning the individual major scale patterns as indicated in the following section. In this chapter of Cb MAJOR the first note or root note of each pattern will be the note Cb and when we link these major scale patterns, we ll get the above picture of the key of Cb MAJOR that covers the whole extent of the fingerboard. The Major Scale Patterns The three major scale patterns with the root note on the TOP STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right

149 P a g e 149 The three major scale patterns with the root note on the SECOND STRING: Pattern to the Left Pattern in the Center Pattern to the Right The single string major scale pattern with the root note on ALL FOUR STRINGS: Single String Pattern Intervals I Cb Cb Cb Cb Cb Cb Cb Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb Major second Major third Major sixth Major

150 P a g e 150 II Db Db Db Db Db Db Db Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Major second Minor third (b3) Major sixth Minor (b7) III Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb Minor second (b2/b9) Minor third (b3) Minor sixth (b6/b13) Minor (b7) IV Fb Fb Fb Fb Fb Fb Fb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb Fb Major second Major third Augmented fourth (#4/#11) Major sixth Major