BEAD Bass Scales
BEAD tuning on bass is B, E, A, D, from the 4th string to the first. Every string is tuned down a fourth from standard, so every shape you already know still works — it just sounds lower.
Bass · 4-string (BEAD), tuned low to high: B, E, A, D. 24 frets.
- B string: fret 1 C (flat 3), fret 3 D (4), fret 5 E (5), fret 8 G (flat 7), fret 10 A (root), fret 13 C (flat 3), fret 15 D (4), fret 17 E (5), fret 20 G (flat 7), fret 22 A (root).
- 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).
Swipe the chart sideways to see all of it.
Above: the A minor pentatonic drawn on a bass in BEAD tuning. Every note is placed and named for this tuning, not transposed from a standard-tuning diagram — so the note names are the ones you actually play.
Why players use it
BEAD tunes a 4-string bass like the bottom four strings of a 5-string: B, E, A, D. You get the low B without a fifth string or a wider neck. Every string is still a fourth apart, so every shape you know works unchanged. You lose the high G, so lines that sit up there move down a string.
Open strings
B, E, A, D — fourth string to first.
Scales in BEAD
Each link opens the interactive fretboard with that scale and this tuning already applied. You can change key, hear any note, and export a printable PDF from there.
| Scale | Key |
|---|---|
| Minor Pentatonic | A · E · D · G · C · B |
| Major Pentatonic | A · E · D · G · C · B |
| Minor Blues | A · E · D · G · C · B |
| Natural Minor | A · E · D · G · C · B |
| Major | A · E · D · G · C · B |
| Dorian | A · E · D · G · C · B |
| Phrygian | A · E · D · G · C · B |
| Mixolydian | A · E · D · G · C · B |