Guitar Tricks Online Guitar Lessons

Ending On A Bass Note

 
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First let me show you a cool concept that has to do with bass notes.

Remember how we found the root notes of the open chords, when we were working on the root/chord strumming? For example our A minor chord has the root bass note on the open A string. Now the concept is to play your open position scale pattern and end on this note.

You could use a smaller part of it, but for simplicity's sake, let's use the whole pattern. Then once we get to the open A string, we hit that and follow it with the full chord.

Let's try another one. How about the D minor chord that of course has the root bass note on the open D string.

Instructor Anders Mouridsen
Tutorial:
Scales And Chords
Styles:
Any Style
Difficulty:
print notation download lesson open guitar tuner
Ending On A Bass Note song notation

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Questions & Answers

6 months ago
Is a root note and bass note the same thing?
Mike Olekshy 6 months ago

Hey there - thanks so much for your question! No, they are not necessarily the same. The root note is what the chord (or scale) is named after, while the bass note is the lowest sounding note at that moment. Sometimes, the bass note can be different than the root of the chord. For example, a C/G chord is a C chord with a G note as the bass note. The root of a C chord is always C, but in this case, the lowest note of the chord voicing is not the root, but a G note. In the case of a C chord with the lowest note being C, then in that case, the bass note IS the root note. Hope this helps!!

6 months ago
I'm lost! I have no clue as to why this is the Am and Dm scale! In addition, I wouldn't even know if it was the A major scale.
Mike Olekshy 6 months ago

Hey there - thanks so much for your question! I'm sorry this is confusing! Anders is referring to the "open position scale" you learned in the previous lessons of Fundamentals (which just happens to be a C major scale), not an A minor or D minor scale. First he plays down the scale to arrive at the bass note of the chord he wants to play (A minor). Next, he plays down the scale to arrive at the bass note of the next chord he wants to play (D minor). He is using the same "open position scale" each time. The whole point of this tutorial is to get you comfortable playing both single note melodies and chords together. Stick with it - you'll get it!! Hope this helps!

1 year ago
Are you playing the same scale for Am and Dm? I mean, you are playing the same notes only changing up which base note you end on, it seems.
Mike Olekshy 1 year ago

Hello - thanks so much for the question! Yes, Anders is playing the A minor scale with both the Am and Dm chords.

2 years ago
Why ending on a minor chord and not the major?
Mike Olekshy 2 years ago

Hello, and thanks for your question! The chords in this lesson are A minor and D minor. We are also using their respective scale notes from the A minor and D minor scales. This is a musical choice. Of course, we could have chosen A major, and descended down the A major scale and finished with the root note (A) and strummed the A major chord. But in this lesson, Anders has chosen to use Minor Chords.