Half-Step Down Bass Scales
Half-Step Down tuning on bass is Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, from the 4th string to the first. Every string is tuned down a half step from standard, so every shape you already know still works — it just sounds lower.
Bass · 4-string (Half-Step Down), tuned low to high: Eb, Ab, Db, Gb. 24 frets.
- Eb string: fret 1 E (5), fret 4 G (flat 7), fret 6 A (root), fret 9 C (flat 3), fret 11 D (4), fret 13 E (5), fret 16 G (flat 7), fret 18 A (root), fret 21 C (flat 3), fret 23 D (4).
- Ab string: fret 1 A (root), fret 4 C (flat 3), fret 6 D (4), fret 8 E (5), fret 11 G (flat 7), fret 13 A (root), fret 16 C (flat 3), fret 18 D (4), fret 20 E (5), fret 23 G (flat 7).
- Db string: fret 1 D (4), fret 3 E (5), fret 6 G (flat 7), fret 8 A (root), fret 11 C (flat 3), fret 13 D (4), fret 15 E (5), fret 18 G (flat 7), fret 20 A (root), fret 23 C (flat 3).
- Gb 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).
Above: the A minor pentatonic drawn on a bass in Half-Step Down 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
Half a step down is the most common non-standard tuning in rock: it makes strings slightly slacker and easier to bend, drops the vocal range a semitone, and keeps every shape you already know. Everything transposes down one fret.
Open strings
Eb, Ab, Db, Gb — fourth string to first.
Scales in Half-Step Down
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 |