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Ben Wright plays bass for the New York City rock band Wu Li, and has toured and recorded with Jupiter One.

Expanding your mind with Arpeggios
By Ben Wright
Posted: May 17, 2007
Skill level: Novice / intermediate

Arpeggio: a chord played one note at a time.

Ok. So in our previous lessons we’ve accomplished a few things. By relating familiar pentatonic shapes, we’ve demystified the labyrinthine expanse of your fret board, as well as built some creative, melodic bass lines. As a bassist, playing the root is important. Appropriately defining the sound of a chord, however, requires a deeper understanding of its structure.  

Let’s begin by organizing notes into groups called keys. Think of a key as a family of notes. The key of C major, for example, is the family that includes the notes C-D-E-F-G-A-B.  Notice that the key of C major contains no sharps and no flats. Notice also that these notes, when played in order, form the C major scale. (see FIG. 1)

FIG. 1  C major scale.

Seeing this scale all over the neck is important. Check out a few different ways to connect the notes of the C major scale across the entire fret board. (see FIG. 2-4) Notice, in FIG. 4, how using open strings facilitates the transition from one position to the next.

FIG. 2  C major scale, 8th fret.

FIG. 3  C major scale, 15th fret.

FIG. 4  C major scale, low E to C, 17th fret.

Let’s further organize the notes in the C family into triads. A triad is a chord containing three notes. For our purposes, we’ll consider the Root, 3rd, and 5th in relation to the C major scale.

C          D           E          F          G          A          B          C
Root     2            3          4           5          6           7          Root

The notes C-E-G spell a C major chord. Why is it major? Consider the distance between the notes. The root (C) and the 3rd (E) are two whole steps apart. The 3rd (E) and the 5th (G) are one-and-a-half steps apart. This is the structure of a major triad. Play a one-octave C major triad on your bass. (see FIG. 5)

FIG. 5  C maj triad.

Now let’s build another triad, also within the C family of notes, but this time beginning with the second note in the scale, D. If we consider D to be the root, then F is the 3rd, and A is the fifth.   

C          D           E          F           G          A          B          C
Root     2            3          4            5          6           7          Root

The notes D-F-A spell a D minor chord. Why minor, you ask? Consider the distance between the notes. The root (D) and the 3rd (F) are one-and-a-half steps apart, as opposed to two whole steps in the major triad. The 3rd (F) and the 5th (A) are two whole steps apart, as opposed to one-and-a-half steps in the major triad. This is the structure of a minor triad. Play a one-octave D minor triad on your bass. (see FIG. 6)

FIG. 6  D min triad.

Try to build arpeggios beginning with each note in the C major scale. Carefully consider the distance between the roots, thirds and fifths to determine whether the triad is major, or minor. Check your work against these arpeggios.
(see FIG. 7-10)

FIG. 7  E min triad.

FIG. 8  F maj triad.

FIG. 9  G maj triad.

FIG. 10  A min triad.

Hopefully you noticed that the arpeggio beginning with the note B was slightly different than the rest. Let's consider this together. The three notes are B-D-F. The root (B) and the 3rd (D) are one-and-a-half steps apart. So far, looks like a minor triad, no? The 3rd (D) and the 5th (F) are also one-and-a-half-steps apart. This relationship creates a flatted 5th as well as a flatted 3rd, resulting in a diminished triad. (see FIG. 11)

FIG. 11 B dim triad.

Understanding the structure of these triads is helpful, but please remember that the goal is to familiarize yourself with the sound that these structures create. In the following examples I’ve expanded each triad to cover a broad portion of the neck. Pay close attention to the fingering of each. Play through them until you are moving with fluidity across the neck. Each arpeggio should present a very clear major, minor, or diminished sound. Let your ears get used to these sounds. Have fun! 

FIG. 12  C maj.

FIG. 13  D min.

FIG. 14  E min.

FIG. 15  F maj.

FIG. 16  G maj.

FIG. 17  A min.

FIG. 18  B dim.

Next time.... What does it all mean? Building bass lines using chord tones. 

Copyright © 2007 Ben Wright