Inztro

The first thing you should do is learn the names of the notes on the 4th and 3rd strings. The notes on these string be will be your anchor in learning to play the bass. That is not to say that the 1st and 2nd string are not important.

The first step is to memorize the following words of wisdom.

All natural notes (A B C D E F G) are a whole step (2 frets) apart, except between E-F and B-C which are a half step (1 fret) apart.

Now lets pick up our bass guitar and get started. The lowest, thickest string is the E string. When you play it without any fingers down, you are playing an E. When you play it with your finger down on the first fret, you are playing an F. Next is an F♯. Each consecutive fret raises the pitch by one note.

The simplest way to learn note names is to continue playing the note on each fret and naming it aloud as you go up. Notice that when you reach the fret marked with a double dot (12th fret), you've come back around to E again. Try this on all the strings. The next string is the A string, followed by the D string and the G string.

           

You may have noticed that certain frets are marked with single dots. These are good reference points to memorize first. For example, if you are going to play a song in the key of C, it will be useful to immediately know that the first dotted (3rd) fret on the A string is a C. Work out what notes the dots are on each string. The dots up past the double dot are the same notes as the ones below, only an octave higher.

octaves:The vast range of musical pitches is split up into units called octaves. An octave is the distance between two notes that have the same pitch (such as A and the next A). For example, play an open string on your bass, and then play the note you get from putting a finger down on the 12th fret (marked with a double dot). That note is one octave higher.

Each octave is divided into twelve notes. Seven of these notes, called the "natural" notes, are named with the letters of the alphabet, A through G. These correspond to the white keys on a piano. The other five notes, the black keys, are named using a letter and a sharp or flat sign. A sharp sign, #, indicates a natural tone is been raised by a half step (1 fret), while a flat sign, b, indicates one note lower. For example, between each set of notes ( except between E-F and B-C ) there will be a sharp/flat note. (e.g. the note between C and D is C# or Db, they are the exact same note just with a different names and it is called either C# (pronounced C-sharp) or Db (D-flat).

Note the twelve notes in an octave are:

A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A...