Drop B Bass Scales
Drop B tuning on bass is B, F#, B, E, from the 4th string to the first.
Bass · 4-string (Drop B), tuned low to high: B, F#, B, E. 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).
- F# string: fret 1 G (flat 7), fret 3 A (root), fret 6 C (flat 3), fret 8 D (4), fret 10 E (5), fret 13 G (flat 7), fret 15 A (root), fret 18 C (flat 3), fret 20 D (4), fret 22 E (5).
- 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).
Above: the A minor pentatonic drawn on a bass in Drop B 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
Drop B takes the same one-finger-power-chord idea into genuinely baritone range. Heavier string gauges are effectively required — standard-gauge strings go slack and intonate badly this low.
Open strings
B, F#, B, E — fourth string to first.
Scales in Drop B
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 |