Learn Your Bass Fretboard Notes (the EASY way)

[@MMBassGirl]

I’ve been playing for 8 months and for 4 of those months I’ve been apart of SBL academy and nonstop watching Scott’s videos…now in 1 week i have my first audition with a band that’s already got an album out !

[@IanMartinAllison]

Congrats!!

[@beemerr2016]

Nice! Good luck and congrats! I'm not there yet...trying to head that direction though.

[@klisher]

Good luck and skill with that audition. 👍👍

[@nasei364]

Congrats and good luck !!

[@dylangalindo3349]

youve got this man just be confidence and relax man, dont be tense

[@Review_Realmz]

The way I learned the fret board was by learning the 3,5,7 fret on each string. Worked like a dream. I also learned my octaves which made it easier as well

[@devinebass]

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@blousug]

What’s really helpful to remember is the bass operates in 4ths, so each note is a 4th interval away. For instance, starting on the A on the E string, next string 5th fret is a D, then a G and lastly a C on the fifth fret G string. Works like that everywhere on the fretboard!

[@devinebass]

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@michaelanderson4265]

Yes, circle of fourths..counterclockwise!

[@absoluteai41]

You just made me feel like the biggest idiot for not thinking about this earlier. I don't think I have a big enough way to thank you over text like this. It finally clicked in my head after months of struggle when I read this. Sincerely, thank you!

[@lockharthorsburgh8601]

Unless you're tuned to drop-D. :P Joking aside, good advice.

[@charliemoody7168]

SO GLAD to have the extra detail & elaboration for this: I’ve struggled to “learn the fretboard” for decades (which has made me a wizard rhythm player BTW), and had turned to songwriting out of despair, which drew me to the bass. Using the circle of fifths to anchor & structure the exploration is seriously the very best lesson ever. I just got my 1st bass six weeks ago, but I’ve been watching your vids for over a year (an excellent entry to ‘the world of bass’). I only just ran across a previous vid of yours about this exercise in the last ~10 days & I’ve been working it daily. This has led to me spending more time actually *exploring* than feeling frustrated or self-conscious about my ignorance (makes it oddly like a piano); I’m seeing progress & enjoying the effort. I started this comment during the vid, so I can’t say I’ve taken it all in yet, but I can say that I’ve already seen enough to kick this exercise into high gear for me - the initial recommendation was to learn the first 3 notes (C-Bb), but I’d already been trying to add Eb & slightly worried I was expecting too much; your Eb addition removes that doubt. On top of that, I was reminded of that octave-jump trick, which I never had a use for before now. So now I’m on fire: got to grab a bite, watch this whole thing, and grab my bass. Thanks a lot, Scott (and friend)!

[@RayyanKesnan]

I'm so picky about getting things right. The first thing I did on guitar was to learn all the notes on the fretboard. I can't stress enough how much that helped me. Everything else came incredibly quickly because of that.

[@barcelomrozovic1625]

Great fact about owning at least two guinea pigs in Switzerland. Those are very social animals and they need company. The rest of the video was also cool, cheers!

[@devinebass]

🧡🧡🧡

[@davidwinokur2131]

I did this on my 5 string over all 24 frets, but I would speak the note's name with every change. I think speaking the note's name is crucial.

[@devinebass]

Absolutely David!

[@HalfHeartedFanatic]

I watch this video thinking, I already know this. But your comment made me think, oh yeah, I can stand to do this on my 5-string bass.

[@AdrianSanabria]

The end-of-video couch time is the best idea ever - gets me watching until the last second of every video. Absolutely brilliant.

[@chrisbarnette7137]

Best channel on KZbin.... Back when I first started playing ... this is exactly what I did. I had a book that had the layout like this and I practiced for a month and got to where I could run the fret board.

[@SxSxG666]

I always look for all the different positions at the fret board to play my lines. It helps you to explore your instrument and memorize the notes if you already know other versions of the same line. After a while it becomes second nature to find the right frets without try and error. It's also a good starting point to train your ear once your fingers know the positions. You make a big leap in progress once you combine muscle memory with music theory. It’s a second way of thinking.

[@devinebass]

So valuable!

[@Familyguy91091]

I recently purchased a practice glove to use with my bass after seeing them for the first time on this channel. What a game changer. I can navigate the fretboard with much more ease than before and find I can play a bit more quickly without my hands sticking to the strings. Not to mention how well my fingers feel after a long practice session.

[@devinebass]

🤣🤣🤣

[@insederec]

Oh my god. I've been doing the accelerator course and after watching this I JUST REALIZED the circle of fourths is just BEADGC flats then BEADGC naturals. I can finally move past module 1!

[@lelandfuller888]

I am not or may never be a good bass player, I have only been playing with some of my friends in a garage once a week, I am 73 and have only been playing a string instrument for 2 years ( They told me they needed a Bass player). I am much better at repair and setup, even building guitars. but because I do practice with my friends I watch your videos to help me, Thank you for that.

[@devinebass]

That's awesome to hear dude! Thanks for supporting SBL!

[@verdamplangher]

Scott and Ian do always have the best approaches to the exercises. Tons of KZbin Videos do not deliver this kind of professionality ehich picks you up where it is needed and afterwards you know what it is about. And ,also very important-never had so much fin and entertainment beside the exersises as with these two guys. Absolut phenomenal- many tks SBL❤ Many greetings from Germany

[@B---tw3kh]

This reminds me of a great exercise I was once given. My teacher told me to play a scale and to go up that scale 2 octaves, before coming down. But the catch was what made it a good exercise. You had to go up one way and then down another. You couldn't use the same hand position unless it was impossible to avoid it. For example: if you went up on an E minor going 0 2 3 on the E and then 0 2 3 (A B C) on the A, you'd need to go down playing 8 7 5 (C B A) on the E string to get back down. Moving that around with multiple scales really forces you to learn where every note is and how to play scales all across the neck. And it gets even harder when you add in a 5 string to the mix to get even more note possibilities

[@devinebass]

Killer exercise for sure!

[@IanMartinAllison]

GET TO WORK ALLISON

[@detlefranderath5899]

Great exercises! This will be my new morning routine until I am realy sure to have carved this knowledge into my Brain FOR GOOD! Thanx Scott and Thanx to Ian!

[@devinebass]

Yes dude!

[@chrisggoodwin777]

I've been playing for over 20 years (almost 30, actually) and have not seen something like this. Learning the 5th and octave relationships was a big help for me early on for sure. I recently started playing 6 string, and this is going to help immensely nailing down the additional high C intervals. Cheers!

[@devinebass]

Yes Chris! Awesome.

[@sandropereira4947]

The best exercise to learn the fretboard and to practice the circle of 4th"s/5th's I've ever seen !!! Awesome!!!

[@devinebass]

Love that Sandro!

[@mamba1072]

yo man, thanks, i've been playing seriously for about a year and 4 months and the two things I've had most problems with are reading music and knowing the fretboard, but after this, I hope it'll only be one :D

[@devinebass]

Awesome dude!

[@6minus3minus2]

Love these exercises! I skip parts of the fretboard that aren't my comfort zone and it's been time for me to do this. It's also great to see pros mess up. Reminds me that I don't need to kick myself for making mistakes.

[@devinebass]

🔥🔥🔥

[@brightonmischief]

I always enjoyed your older videos Scott, but now Ian’s on board, you both have a terrific chemistry that lifts everything up.

[@devinebass]

🧡🧡🧡

[@tnvalleyyoga7122]

As a guitar player, I did this years ago and still do it today and every day. When I started playing bass about 3 mons ago I already knew the notes and with your post I feel I am moving rapidly. I did take a while to make a mental shift to remember the bottom string is not an E abd it is surprising that many players do not know the notes

[@devinebass]

Such a valuable skill to learn!

[@ChristineSabella]

the one note song is so beautiful

[@AsianMike420]

Well my weekend has been set for me, thanks guys! I was looking for something like this, just picked up the bass and you guys rock!

[@devinebass]

So awesome dude! Enjoy!

[@milothomas2134]

These lessons are so damn good! Please do more of you two going through the whole exercise so we can play along!

[@halloween5703]

Best fretboard training lesson i have seen

[@devinebass]

Awesome to hear you enjoyed it dude!

[@ignaciomeyerp]

Andrés Rotmistrovsky teaches the same in his courses! great! cheers!

[@Manwitch60]

New bass player here, your lessons help a lot!

[@guiguiyom8787]

Thanks soooo much. One of the most intersting technical videos i've seen lately :)

[@devinebass]

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@cityslickerbass]

Love you guys. So glad I invested in lifetime membership - I know I'm in safe hands! 💪

[@devinebass]

🧡🧡🧡

[@bramvanmelle5130]

Hilarious Ian and Scott! Couple of lessons then playing in band. I never knew what notes i was playing. Starting to learn them now, 30 years on...

[@dlannom04]

Heck yes! Still watching Star Wars! “I find your lack of faith disturbing!” Love this! I’ve been learning the fretboard this way since I first heard it from Scott a couple of years ago. Totally changed my playing! Thank you so much and thank you for the awesome videos😃

[@devinebass]

🧡🧡🧡

[@rayjohnson7522]

Nice video. I've been playing for over 40 years and this is very informative. I did the same up to the point you're almost at the octave then would have trouble with note memory. Will practice this right away. Thanks for sharing!!

[@devinebass]

Thanks for tuning in Ray! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@lockharthorsburgh8601]

Nice lesson. I think the thing that really made me think about octaves in bass lines was learning to play "The Immigrant Song" (let's focus on the verses and gloss over how long it took me to get close to JPJ's fast scale runs).

[@andrewpinner3181]

Thanks guys, the note jumping at speed is more challenging than one would envision. The bass grannies at end - rock !

[@devinebass]

🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@omagodosgraves]

Best video on KZbin

[@thomaswalker8790]

Great 👍👍 best possible practice routine for any bass player

[@edwinrivera5695]

Many thanks, guys! Very helpful 👌

[@brianstidd1164]

I used this guide to learn the notes of the fretboard. It definitely does work

[@devinebass]

Yes Brian!

[@Musouk66]

Thank you guys. Thanks for sharing ChatGPT also. I'm hooked. I can ask ChatGPT about this but why bother, you're here like saviours to bassists worldwide. You are so entertaining. It's a one stop shop. This is as lovely post. Thank you Scott. Thank you Ian. Thanks to entire SBL team. I know I am changing my tone on SBL. I used to be 10% tone on SBL, Now I'm about 85-90% tone. Well I do play a p-bass. Tone's the only thing I can change ;-)

[@SamSkarab121]

Hi, I run bass guitar for beginners on Facebook. You're toolkit for begginers is a big hit with our users.

[@simonbowkett124]

Love the slippers!

[@devinebass]

🤣🤣🤣

[@foxcheese8917]

thank youuuu

[@CirrusSR20Pilot]

Great video!! I laughed out loud at 11:30. I've been working on learning the fretboard using your exercises and this video really sums it up.

[@devinebass]

Love that dude! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@inspector-tech]

Thanks so freakin' much Scott. Finally feel like this stuff is finally seeping into my brain! 😁👍

[@devinebass]

👍👍👍

[@imranaliimranali7240]

Nice tutorial great idea

[@cuiff62]

Your exercice is pretty well thought, nice job.

[@beemerr2016]

Dooooooods! That was actually fun to listen to! Thanks gentlemen! Definitely going to do this when I get home.

[@devinebass]

Yes! Enjoy!

[@CherryHaze86]

You guis are great ... and you HAVE to make a compilaion of those outros

[@devinebass]

🤣🤣🤣 - Now there's an idea!

[@ebonyevans25]

So fun! Can't wait to try this!

[@devinebass]

🧡🧡🧡

[@ebonyevans25]

@@devinebass made it to Ab last night

[@jimmythejock4376]

Brilliant concept. Gonna get on this. Thank you guys 😊

[@devinebass]

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@alexluna6810]

Yoooooo one of the coolest videos,,, congrats guys!!!

[@marek_6096]

You are the best, thank you so much.

[@devinebass]

🙌🏻🧡🔥

[@s.menester2600]

Those fun facts are dope

[@devinebass]

🧡🧡🧡

[@antbass2334]

I think, playing two octave scale is more practical than that.Because of symmetry of the neck you are going to overlapping same note on different strings etc.This particular exercise is toward very beginners, which is cool, nothing wrong on it.

[@laithhart4013]

i think they both may have their values… as someone who has mainly played two octave scales i am going to spend time with this

[@davidncw4613]

super solid and you make it sound good. 2x2 to the octave, oop! der it is!!

[@devinebass]

So much fun!

[@yoshit2001]

This was very helpful 👍🏻

[@charleshill9649]

Learn the notes at the dots, your brain will quickly fill in the missing pieces. IE- 5th fret E string has a dot, it's an A. Fret down is Ab/G#, fret up is A#/Bb, no sweat

[@mophish]

Informative and entertaining. I love this page.😂

[@devinebass]

Thanks for checking out the video! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@anthonycyrilmusic]

Great one. Thanks!

[@devinebass]

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@sammack6312]

Thank you for the lessons

[@devinebass]

Thanks for tuning in Sam!

[@brianwilliams1588]

I'm raising my hand, I only know "The Box".... I've been playing since 1998. Working on changing that with your help!

[@E-MTBs]

This is great! Why didn't I think of this, lol.

[@pareidolion]

Great vid, one of my most useful yet! Also love the couch potato factoid outro. Let's be honest, most of us spend more time one the couch with the bass on our lap rather than actually playing or practicing!

[@devinebass]

🤣🤣🤣 guilty!

[@bernardrolle6709]

scott what bass is that. i love it

[@michaeledmondsonrock]

Love the vibes guys. That Sadowsky is awesome!

[@devinebass]

💯💯💯

[@williamcampbell7387]

I like trying to slide into the target from a specified number of frets below or above.

[@GregorBien]

THX!

[@devinebass]

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@nathycabrera9871]

HEY ! from argentina, i was looking at your slap lessons (they are great by the way, thank you) , im practicing, but i have a problem, i feel that the strings keep sounding all the time, i mean, the strings that shouldn t sound, how can i mute that a little more? Besos!

[@warburgaby]

Great lesson 😅😍😍

[@devinebass]

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@TuGinecologo]

I remember that I usted to think about the mathematical relation between notes, where are some básica notes, then calculating the position in different strings and octaves. I was a enginnering student 🤓 at that time.

[@iguanamane7090]

I really like the video. Thanks! One question, why not go clockwise on the circle of 5ths?

[@devinebass]

Hey dude! It's to mimic how a lot of popular chord progressions move (in fourths) for example a II-V-I. It helps to practice this way as it translates better to playing songs in the real world! Hope that helps 😀

[@tomlupton3975]

Scott, I love that henley! Where'd ya get that?

[@BR4D_A]

When will Scott fix is Fender Custom Shop and Moollon basses!??!!! It stresses me out that they are separated.

[@alwilson7437]

When I started playing bass, I had a 4,5 and 6 string basses. Two were Ibanez and one Yamaha. About a few years of playing those basses I bought a Sterling 4 and 5 music man bass. Wow, right off the bat. I got rid of all the other basses, those basses are the ones. What do you think about music man basses?

[@thierry18]

If you love them, why does it matter what someone else thinks? 😊 If you're asking about the difference between music man and sterling basses though, I would say that there is definitely a quality gap. A sterling may be all you need for gigs and recording. Upgrading to a music man will just be for the name/background and a slight upgrade in playability and features.

[@alwilson7437]

@@thierry18 Dud, I just ask what you think, you play more brands of basses, I play one. Thanks.

[@devinebass]

We love Music Man basses here at SBL! 🔥🔥🔥

[@ShaneHoffa]

Awesome content! What type of glove do you use? Got a link?

[@devinebass]

Scott just looks for Musician Gloves on Amazon 👍 and chooses the ones he likes!

[@aarondavis4341]

Those octaves make this so much easier..then you can get your brain familiar with the relative position of each note on the neck making it so you really don't even think about it

[@devinebass]

💯💯💯 such a valuable lesson!

[@ceelothatmane9421]

When you said “why I’ve ordered them in that way” and did the circle I immediately knew it was the circle of fourths

[@18JR78]

I would do this years ago but because of my ocd trying to find the same note all around the board.

[@halloween5703]

What a brilliant video so simple it's amazing! where do i send ur coffee money

[@devinebass]

🤣🤣🤣

[@jarekify]

Scott with Sadowsky. :-) Never seen before.

[@devinebass]

🔥🔥🔥

[@_bassmentdweller]

Just FYI. If you really care about your music, the Fretboard Accelerator will change your life. No kidding. As far as I’m concerned, it is THE SBL masterpiece. Not a walk in the park. It is Dense, but worth the money and the work. I will always be thankful for it. ❤

[@devinebass]

Amazing to hear dude!

[@scottthefunk]

great

[@michaelanthony9068]

Weird that Jazz and blues originated in southern USA but these super suave Brit’s are sorting it out for us !!! Wait, isn’t Ian Allison an American… ? Ok, who cares ? Let’s groove ! MantisKungFu here.

[@devinebass]

🕺🕺🕺

[@halloween5703]

does it make any difference where each note is played on the fret or is there a reason to copy how it's played in the vid

[@devinebass]

Hey dude! Best to copy the way Scott & Ian approach it to gain a good understanding of where all the notes are across the neck. Enjoy!

[@SisterAbdullahX]

Could I have both of those basses, please!?

[@devinebass]

🤣🤣🤣 Make sure to keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram, we have a giveaway coming up soon!

[@Billtuba]

Love it

[@devinebass]

🧡🧡🧡

[@fnargler]

Something I'm curious about is why you use "flat" notation like "G flat" instead of sharp notation like "f sharp" I've always heard the frets broken down as A-G with a sharps of each tone aside from B and E. Is there any particular reason for this?

[@peterkossits4794]

Because they were working "backwards" through the cycle of fifths and went into the "flat region" of keys first. if you go the other direction.....C, G, D, A, E, B.....then you would usually say F# and C# before sliding into Ab.,,and continuing to Eb, Bb, F, C Technically, there's no difference you can say F# and C# or Gb and Db and they're the same thing. You should recognize both ways of saying both of those keys. One is going to have a crapload of flats in the signature, the other is going to have a crapload of sharps in the signature. They're both super annoying to read, but they're not harder to play than any other key.

[@freestyletow1]

omg tanx tanx taaannxxx

[@devinebass]

Thank YOU!

[@michaelanthony9068]

Jim Moore yo !!!

[@devinebass]

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@osobucodonosor1991]

The Andy Rot method

[@dw7704]

Yeah, saw that opening joke coming

[@dw7704]

And kind of saw the scammer response to that coming Hopefully it disappears And KZbin cleans it up

[@danielirvine7468]

Have been playing over 30 years and don’t know much past the 5th fret I really want to nuckle down and do this Can an old dog really learn new tricks?????

[@devinebass]

Yes dude! Good luck!

[@AdrianSanabria]

What's a good tool for practicing along to a simple drum track? Something more interesting than just a metronome or a click?

[@akosiangelo2340]

8:00

[@aarondavis4341]

Scott you never got his a cream soda bro..

[@devinebass]

🤣🤣🤣

[@keithdevine8281]

I,m struggling with the left hand ,it,s out of sinc with my brain.

[@mrprofessionalbassowner2258]

So Mr Scott why is this easy when starting from the E string but ridiculously hard when starting from the G string. I feel like I'm constantly looking for the octave relationship rather than instinctively knowing the note placement. 😬

[@kevgamble]

The best way to learn the fretboard is to read written music. It works faster and better than anything else, it develops an incredibly useful skill along the way, and it has the added benefit of using the notes in a musical way as you are learning them. Any other method is a workaround for not reading music. I tried everything before starting to read music, and it is both faster and better than anything else. It may not seem special, but the simple challenge of having to find where the next note is, repeatedly, builds this muscle like nothing else, and reading in different keys builds an instinctive feel for knowing those notes as a unit. For a non-reading bassist, hands down the best material to start reading with is Jeff Berlin's reading lesson packages. They are the new standard for bass reading. By all means, try this as well, but you're short-changing yourself if you don't also develop reading.

[@devinebass]

That's great insight Kevin, developing those reading chops is undoubtedly a surefire way to gain a great understanding of the instrument!