E♭ augmented arpeggio on 6-string bass

E♭ · G · B

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 9 · The triad.

The notes

  1. E♭1
  2. G3
  3. B♯5

The E♭ augmented arpeggio is E♭, G, B.

You may also see it called 1 3 ♯5.

On the staff

E♭FG♭GA♭B♭C♭DE♭

On a bass staff, the E♭ augmented arpeggio is written E♭ G B.

The solid notes are the E♭ augmented arpeggio. The pale notes are the rest of E♭ harmonic minor, the larger scale it is carved out of, so you can see which notes it leaves out.

Why the E♭ augmented arpeggio has this flat

  1. E♭1
  2. 4
  3. G3
  4. 4
  5. B♯5
  6. 4
  7. E♭8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is 4 4 4: 4, 4, 4, and so on. 4 stands for a step of four semitones. The pattern is what gives E♭ augmented its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

This scale has only three notes, so it does not use every letter. It is E♭ harmonic minor with some notes taken out, and it keeps that scale's spelling exactly.

Apart from the tonic, no note needs a sharp or a flat, because every other letter already falls where the pattern needs it.

The E♭ augmented arpeggio is written with E♭. Only the tonic carries an accidental, and that comes from the key you picked rather than from the 4 4 4 pattern of steps.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

C7DE2F3GA♯5BC7DE2F3GA♯5BC7DE2F3GA♯5BC7DE2F3GA♯5BC7DE2F3GA♯5BCC♯1E♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭C0C1C2C3C4C5

The keyboard shows the same three notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the E♭ augmented arpeggio, the pale keys are the rest of E♭ harmonic minor, and you can click any key to hear it.

E♭ augmented arpeggio on the whole neck

BEADGC123456789101112131415B♯5E♭1G3B♯5G3B♯5E♭1G3B♯5E♭1G3B♯5E♭1G3B♯5E♭1G3B♯5E♭1G3E♭1G3B♯5E♭1

38 notes of the E♭ augmented arpeggio are marked across six strings.

This is every place the notes of the E♭ augmented arpeggio fall on the 6-string bass, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the 1
BEADGC45678913♯513♯513
Position 2 — starts on the 3
BEADGC89101112133♯513♯513♯5
Position 3 — starts on the ♯5
BEADGC121314151617♯513♯513♯51

The E♭ augmented arpeggio has three playable positions, at frets 4–8, 8–12 and 12–16.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

BEADGC45678910111213141516171819202122232413♯513♯513♯513♯5TAB487111014131716201923

The climb runs from fret 4 to fret 23 and plays twelve notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes two notes on every string. The widest stretch on any one string is four frets.