Learn how to play the E major scale on bass guitar with our comprehensive guide. With these E major scale bass positions you’ll improve your bass playing skills and expand your fretboard knowledge.
This is an E Major Scale Bass Lesson.
In this lesson you’ll learn:
- How to play the scale
- The notes in the scale
- Multiple ways to visualize the E Major scale on the fretboard
The E major scale is one of the most commonly used scales on bass guitar due to the instrument’s open low E string and the popularity of its sound in rock music.
Let’s look at the scale.
Table of Contents
E major scale bass fretboard diagram (showing intervals)
These are the intervals for the E major bass scale. Understanding the intervals of the major scale will help you memorize the E major scale and all other major scales on the bass guitar.
Also, take note of the fact that the E major scale has the same notes as the C# minor scale. This is because the C# minor scale is the relative minor of E major.
Both of these scales are important to know.
E Major Scale One Octave Bass Fingering
Notes in the E major scale
E-F#-G#-A-B-C#-Eb are the notes in the E major scale, for bass guitar and any other instrument.
Chords in the E major scale
Understanding the chords in the E major scale is vital for composition, accompaniment, and improvisation.
| I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | vii° |
| E Major | F# Minor | G# Minor | A Major | B Major | C# Minor | Eb Dim. |
| E Maj.7 | F# Min.7 | G# Min.7 | A Maj.7 | B7 | C# Min. 7 | Eb Min.7b5 |
Chords in the E Major scale, organized diatonically
E major scale bass: All positions
Now that you’ve learned how the E major scale is constructed, and looked at a fretboard diagram showing the intervals across the bass neck, it’s time to learn all 7 e major scale shapes individually.
All of these positions are played as 3 notes-per-string shapes (NPS). There are other ways to memorize the E major scale across the fretboard, but this is the easiest way in my experience.
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Position 4
Position 5
Position 6
Position 7
E Major scale bass all positions audio
E major scale bass tab PDF
What’s Next?
Now that you’ve learned the e major bass scale, you can move onto applying the scale. I suggest doing this by learning songs in the key of E major, as well as improvising or composing with the scale.
Here’s a great E major backing track for jamming.
From here you can learn other important bass scale shapes and theory, such as these G major bass shapes and these bass guitar techniques.
Lastly, check out these must-have bass guitar accessories. After all, the right bass guitar accessories can improve your playing and bass tone, which will make your E major scale sound better and more precise.
Rock on!
