How To Play Bass Scales Under Chords

You can be one of two kinds of bassists. One kind has learned to play a few chords and the root notes but has not gotten beyond that. The second type learns how to properly use bass guitar scales under chords and has an endless variety of new things to play. Which type are you?

If you play bass you’re familiar with playing the root note of whatever chord the guitar player is playing. You also may have learned how to play the triads; or the three notes that make up the chord the guitar player is playing. Nothing wrong with learning and playing those but they just scratch the surface of what truly good bass players do which is to play bass guitar scales under chords.

When you play triads you’re really playing notes from either a major or a minor scale. These two scales are a good place to start. Bear in mind that even though a song may be in the key of G, when the players shift to the C chord you should be playing a C scale, either major or minor, not still playing a G scale. While almost all the notes match, the secret to this is to at least start thinking in scales per chord.

It might be simpler to think only about five note scales at first. These are called pentatonic scales. There’s a pentatonic major and a pentatonic minor scale. The pentatonic scales are the three notes that make up the chord plus two others. If the middle note in the chord is a major note you would be playing the major pentatonic scale, if the middle note is a minor note you would be playing the minor pentatonic scale. You can also use the minor pentatonic scale under seventh chords, but we’ll get into that in another article.

Let me give you an example. The guitar player is playing a C major chord. Those notes are C, E, and G. The correct pentatonic scale to play under this chord is the major which is C, D, E, G. A. Just five notes. If the guitar player is playing a C minor chord which is C, E flat, and G; you would play the minor pentatonic scale which is C, E flat, F, G, and B flat.

Once you mastered the two basic pentatonic scales, the next step in your playing is to learn both the complete major scale and the complete minor scale. Each if these scales will always sound right under certain chords. Also remember that when you use pentatonic scales, it does not matter what key the song is in, only what chord is being played at the time, which determines what scale you should be using.

Try using these simple scales under chords the next time you play and you will begin to see endless new possibilities for your bass playing.

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