Bass Guitar Scales Set the Tone

Bass guitar scales determine which chords are used when playing a song and in what order they are played. Whether you read music or play by ear, an understanding of the fundamentals of chords and scales will enable you to play intelligently. This means having the ability to transpose keys, or modulate, within a piece of music, for instance.

A knowledgeable player is a flexible member of a band because that player can readily accommodate modulation by immediately changing musical gears, so to speak. New chord groupings are no problem. Knowing the relationship between a different scale and its chords contributes to an increased capability for creative playing. Since the bass line helps to hold the band together, the interrelationships among bass guitar scales, tonality, and chord progressions are essential musical information.

Start with the Basics

With the knowledge that notes are designated by the first seven letters of the alphabet--A, B, C, D, E, F, G--musical education begins. There are 12 different notes, if you add sharps and flats, but they are seldom used in one song. Once you know the key the song is written in, you will then know the scale, bass guitar chords, and the bass line.

The particular notes that are played in a particular key are called a scale, and this information tells the bass player which notes and chords are likely to be used in the composition. Tonality is crucial to the coherence of a musical piece; it refers to changing keys smoothly within a song. A bass guitar player must be able to "go with the flow" of changing from one key to another and then back again to the original key.