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Applying the formulas to the neck

By this point you should already know some basic major and minor arpeggios. Remember that an arpeggio is just the notes of a chord played individually. As a bass player you will play chords in arpeggio form most of the time. So now that you understand the basics of how they are built and what their chord formulas are, it is time to roll up your sleeves and start applying this theory to the neck of the bass. Take some different major and minor arpeggio forms that you already know and figure out what the notes are, and what the function of each note is within the chord/arpeggio. The function is the formula number. A D major chord is D(1), F(3), and A(5). So the function of the A note in the D major chord is 5. Another way to think about the function is the role that a note plays within the chord. Every note in a chord has a certain sound and role in the overall chord sound.

You are also going to need to know the names of the notes on the neck of the bass, or at least be able to figure out what they are. It is going to be slow going if you don't have a good grasp on the names of the notes on the neck. That is going to be key to being able to apply music theory to the bass.

Counting on your fingers

So step one is to figure out what the names of the notes in the chord/arpeggio are. But what if there is a sharp or flat, how will you know what to call the note?

For example the note on the 4th string, 2nd fret, and the note on the 2nd string, 4th fret in a D major arpeggio could be an F, or a G.....or can it?

So here is a basic D major arpeggio.

From what you have learn about chord theory so far, you know that a major chord has a 1, 3 and 5. Now if you count on your fingers starting with D as 1, E as 2, F as 3, G as 4, and A as 5.

Note - I find it easier to count starting from my 4th finger, you can start from your thumb if you want......it doesn't matter.

So we can see that the D is obviously the 1 of the chord, the A is the 5, but the 3 has to be some sort of F note. So therefore the F is the correct way to name the note. Calling it a G would make that note some sort of 4. So in this case it does make a difference what you call the note.

When you are using your fingers like this, you are just using natural notes. This is not meant to figure out exactly what note is in a chord, only how the notes function within the chord. And if there is more than one name for a note like F and G, then it will help you decide between the 2.

For the fingerings and functions for the basic major and minor arpeggios, check out these lessons.

Major Arpeggios - Learn all of the basic in position major arpeggio forms on the neck of the bass.

Page 3, Major and minor chord formula

Page 5, Chord formulas for augmented, diminished, sus2, and sus4 chords

Lesson Jump Zone

Intro to 3 note chords Comparing major and minor chords Major and minor chord formula Applying the formula to the neck Chord formulas for augmented, diminished, sus2, and sus4 chords