C major scale on bass, in one position
The C major scale under one hand position from the 2nd fret, an octave up and back. The major scale is what most bass lines and walking lines are built from, and playing it without moving the hand builds the one-finger-per-fret habit. It helps you find the notes of a line without searching the neck.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with the metronome on, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 120 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 120 bpm
- Starts at
- 72 bpm
- Length
- 2 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
How to play it
One finger per fret from the 2nd: the 1st finger takes fret 2, the 4th fret 5, and the hand doesn't move.
Start on the C at the 3rd fret of the A string with the 2nd finger, with the 1st finger over the 2nd fret. The scale goes up the A, D and G strings to the C an octave up, at the 5th fret of the G string, and back down.
The hand doesn't move: each finger covers one fret from the 2nd to the 5th. Pluck with alternating fingers throughout.
Mistakes to watch for
- Shifting the hand for the notes on the 2nd and 5th frets instead of reaching with the 1st and 4th fingers.
- Notes ringing over each other on string changes.
- Plucking the same finger twice when the line changes direction at the top.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 72
- 78
- 84
- 90
- 96
- 102
- 108
- 114
- 120
That's 16 loops and about a minute before you're playing at 120 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play C major, one position?
The goal is 120 bpm in eighth notes, which is 4 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 72 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
What notes are in C major on bass?
C, D, E, F, G, A and B. In this position they're the 3rd and 5th frets of the A string, the 2nd, 3rd and 5th of the D string and the 2nd, 4th and 5th of the G string.
Why learn scales on bass?
Bass lines move between chord tones and the notes of the key. Knowing the scale under the hand makes it easier to find the passing notes that join one chord's root to the next.