These five bass guitar scales for beginners will help you navigate the fretboard and understand the compositional structure of bass riffs and licks.
You’ll get to look at the one active shape and full fretboard diagram for each scale, which will give you a better understanding of how it moves across the neck.
Major scales are depicted with the root note C, and the minor scales are depicted using the root note A, because A minor is the relative minor of C major.
The scale degree tables, however, are all depicted using the root note C to help you understand the interval structure of each scale as it relates to a root note.
If you don’t understand what any of this means so far, then just dive in and play the shapes!
Have fun with it, because that’s what playing bass guitar and music as a whole is all about!
Table of Contents
Major scale
You’re going to start off by looking at the major scale. The major scale is one of the most popular bass guitar scales for beginners due to its straightforward interval structure and importance in western music.
The major scale is essentially the foundation for all other scales in Western music and harmony.
Knowing how to play the major scale is necessary for understanding major keys, diatonic harmony, and how modes work.
And seeing that the major scale is so common and fundamental, understanding it will help you to communicate with other bassists and musicians.
Major scale one octave shape
C major scale bass positions
Major scale degrees using C
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
Natural Minor scale
The natural minor scale is cool because if you already know your major scale then you technically know your minor scale.
This is due to the fact that the natural minor scale is built from the 6th degree of the major scale.
You can also construct your natural minor scale by taking any major scale you know and flattening the 2nd, 6th, and 7th intervals of that major scale. This gives you the parallel minor for that major scale.
Knowing how to play the minor scale will help you understand minor keys, which tend to have a “sad” sound, as opposed to Major Keys which have a “happy” sound.
Natural minor scale one octave shape
A natural minor scale bass positions
Minor scale degrees using C
| 1 | 2 | b3 | 4 | 5 | b6 | b7 |
| C | D | Eb | F | G | Ab | Bb |
Minor pentatonic scale
The minor pentatonic scale is definitely one of the easiest bass guitar scales. It’s a simple five-note scale and has no strong, tension-building intervals.
This comes from its lack of half-step intervals, which are generally used to build tension in harmony.
You can construct the scale by removing the 2 and b6 intervals from the natural minor scale.
Learning the minor pentatonic scale is one of the best first steps for getting started with improvisation for bass guitar, as all five minor pentatonic shapes are really easy to learn and apply.
Due to its minor tonality, the minor pentatonic scale is played over minor chords with the same root note. This is important to understand if you want to distinguish your minor pentatonic scale from the major pentatonic scale, which we’ll discuss in a minute.
Minor pentatonic scale one octave shape
A minor pentatonic scale bass positions
Minor pentatonic scale degrees using C
| 1 | b3 | 4 | 5 | b7 |
| C | Eb | F | G | Bb |
Major pentatonic scale
The major pentatonic scale is another easy, 5-note bass scale for beginners, and is used for writing major riffs and soloing over major chords.
The major pentatonic scale is built by removing the 4th and 7th intervals from the major scale, which gives it its simple and pleasant sound.
Also, if you already know your five minor pentatonic scale shapes, then you already know the five major pentatonic scale shapes.
This works because the major pentatonic scale can be built from the second degree of the minor pentatonic scale. You can also think of the minor pentatonic scale as being built from the fifth degree of the major pentatonic scale.
Major pentatonic scale one octave shape
C major pentatonic scale bass positions
Major pentatonic scale degrees using C
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| C | D | E | G | A |
Minor blues scale
The minor blues scale is just like the minor pentatonic scale, but it has a chromatic passing tone between the fourth and 5th degrees of the scale. You can call this interval a flattened 5th (b5), or a diminished 5th.
The b5 is a simple chromatic passing tone and is a great way to add tension and versatility to your bass guitar phrases, licks, and riffs.
This makes it one of the most unique bass guitar scales for beginners, while still remaining fairly simple to understand and play.
You can practice major and minor blues scales by playing pentatonic bass lines that you are already familiar with, and incorporating the blues note when you feel it is necessary.
Minor blues scale one octave shape
Minor blues scale bass positions
Minor blues scale degrees using C
| 1 | b3 | 4 | b5 | 5 | b7 |
| c | Eb | F | F#/Gb | G | Bb |
Essential bass scales one octave shapes PDF
Download or print these one octave bass guitar scales for beginners.
Bass guitar scales for beginners conclusion
There you have it, 5 bass guitar scales for beginners.
Learning these scales will be a great first step in understanding improvisation and composition, plus the shape are a blast to practice.
What’s next?
Looking to level up your bass playing? Make sure to check out my list of bass method books for beginners. A lot of them cover scales, and show you how to use them!
If you’re ready to learn some more scales, you can check out my lessons on modes.
The Mixolydian scale is a dominant mode that sounds great for blues and rock bass.
Learning to play the Lydian mode is similar to learning the major scale, but has an exotic sound caused by the #4 interval.
Dorian is a funky bass scale and is a minor mode. It’s a great way to spice up your grooves.
Lastly, Phrygian is a dark scale, and is incredible for atmospheric music and other dramatic genres.
Good luck on your bass guitar journey!
