Bass Scales — Charts in Every Key
Free bass scale charts — every scale, mode, and arpeggio in all 12 keys, with notes, scale degrees, and printable PDFs. No sign-up.
Scale charts for 4-, 5-, and 6-string bass, showing every note of the scale across the whole 24-fret neck, with roots marked and scale degrees labelled.
Tuning
Standard 4-string bass tuning is E, A, D, G from the fourth string to the first. A 5-string adds a low B, and a 6-string adds a high C. ScaleSpace also supports drop D, drop C, drop B, drop A, half-step down, whole-step down, BEAD on a 4-string, and the tenor (high C) 5-string tuning, E, A, D, G, C.
The five pentatonic box positions
Bassists learn the pentatonic scale as five box shapes, numbered P1 to P5. Each box spans four frets, one finger per fret, with two notes on each of the E, A, D and G strings. Played in order up the neck, the five boxes join into the whole scale. In A minor pentatonic, P1 sits at frets 5 to 8, P2 at 7 to 10, P3 at 9 to 12, P4 at 12 to 15, and P5 at 14 to 17. The same shapes repeat 12 frets higher, and P4 and P5 also fit at the nut, at frets 0 to 3 and 2 to 5. Change the key and every box slides along the neck by the same number of frets.
Bass · 4-string, tuned low to high: E, A, D, G. 24 frets.
- E string: fret 0 E (5), fret 3 G (flat 7), fret 5 A (root), fret 8 C (flat 3), fret 10 D (4), fret 12 E (5), fret 15 G (flat 7), fret 17 A (root), fret 20 C (flat 3), fret 22 D (4), fret 24 E (5).
- A string: fret 0 A (root), fret 3 C (flat 3), fret 5 D (4), fret 7 E (5), fret 10 G (flat 7), fret 12 A (root), fret 15 C (flat 3), fret 17 D (4), fret 19 E (5), fret 22 G (flat 7), fret 24 A (root).
- D string: fret 0 D (4), fret 2 E (5), fret 5 G (flat 7), fret 7 A (root), fret 10 C (flat 3), fret 12 D (4), fret 14 E (5), fret 17 G (flat 7), fret 19 A (root), fret 22 C (flat 3), fret 24 D (4).
- G string: fret 0 G (flat 7), fret 2 A (root), fret 5 C (flat 3), fret 7 D (4), fret 9 E (5), fret 12 G (flat 7), fret 14 A (root), fret 17 C (flat 3), fret 19 D (4), fret 21 E (5), fret 24 G (flat 7).
Swipe the chart sideways to see all of it.
Above: A minor pentatonic on a 4-string bass, with the five boxes marked along the top.
Which bass scales to learn first
Start with the minor pentatonic: five notes, and the shape most bass lines in rock, blues and funk come from. The major pentatonic uses the same five shapes, starting from a different note. The minor blues adds one note, the flat 5, to the minor pentatonic. The major scale and natural minor add two more notes each. Mixolydian is the major scale with a flat 7, and Dorian is the natural minor with a raised 6.
4-, 5- and 6-string bass
A 4-string bass is tuned E, A, D, G, with the low E at about 41 Hz. A 5-string adds a low B a fourth below, at about 31 Hz. A 6-string also adds a high C above the G. All of them tune each string a fourth above the last, so a scale shape learned on one set of strings works the same on the next set over.
Chords on bass
The bass chord pages show the shapes bassists play: root and 5th, root and 10th, and double and triple stops, on 4-, 5- and 6-string bass.
Compare two scales at once
ScaleSpace can overlay two or three scales on the same fretboard at the same time, drawing every note the scales share as a split two-color dot — so you can see exactly which notes two scales have in common and which ones differ.
Questions and answers
What are the five pentatonic positions on bass?
They are five box shapes, numbered P1 to P5, that together cover the pentatonic scale across the whole neck. Each spans four frets, one finger per fret, with two notes on each of the E, A, D and G strings. In A minor pentatonic, P1 sits at frets 5 to 8, P2 at 7 to 10, P3 at 9 to 12, P4 at 12 to 15, and P5 at 14 to 17. The same shapes repeat 12 frets higher, and P4 and P5 also fit at the nut, at frets 0 to 3 and 2 to 5.
What scale should I learn first on bass?
The minor pentatonic. It has five notes and fits the five box shapes, and the major pentatonic uses the same shapes from a different starting note. Add the flat 5 and it becomes the minor blues scale.
How is a 5-string bass tuned?
B, E, A, D, G, from the fifth string to the first. It is a 4-string's E, A, D, G with a low B added a fourth below the E, at about 31 Hz.
What is BEAD tuning?
BEAD tunes a 4-string bass B, E, A, D: every string a fourth lower than standard, the same notes as the bottom four strings of a 5-string. You get the low B without a fifth string. The strings are still a fourth apart, so every scale shape stays the same.
What is tenor tuning on a 5-string bass?
Tenor tuning sets a 5-string to E, A, D, G, C: every string a fourth higher than standard. It drops the low B and adds a high C, so the bottom four strings match a 4-string bass.