A♭ major scale on 5-string bass

A♭ · B♭ · C · D♭ · E♭ · F · G

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 15 · One position.

The notes

  1. A♭1
  2. B♭2
  3. C3
  4. D♭4
  5. E♭5
  6. F6
  7. G7

The A♭ major scale is A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G.

You may also see it called Ionian.

On the staff

A♭B♭CD♭E♭FGA♭

On a bass staff, the A♭ major scale is written A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G.

This is one octave of the A♭ major scale, written on the bass clef. Guitar and bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds, and the small 8 under the clef is the sign for that.

Why the A♭ major scale has these flats

  1. A♭1
  2. T
  3. B♭2
  4. T
  5. C3
  6. S
  7. D♭4
  8. T
  9. E♭5
  10. T
  11. F6
  12. T
  13. G7
  14. S
  15. A♭8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is T T S T T T S: a tone, a tone, a semitone, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T stands for a tone, which is two semitones. The pattern is what gives A♭ major its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

The second rule is that a seven-note scale uses each letter name once, from A to G, so its seven notes take seven different letters. That is why A♭ major is spelled the way it is, rather than with whichever accidental looks tidier.

Together, the two rules leave no room for choice. If you walk the pattern up from A♭, three letters cannot keep up:

  • B♭ — the second. The pattern needs a tone from A♭, but A♭ to B is only a tone and a half, so B has to fall to B♭.
  • D♭ — the fourth. The pattern needs a semitone from C, but C to D is only a tone, so D has to fall to D♭.
  • E♭ — the fifth. The pattern needs a tone from D♭, but D♭ to E is only a tone and a half, so E has to fall to E♭.

None of those accidentals was a choice. Once you pick the note to start on, the pattern decides the rest, and a key signature is a record of the result.

The A♭ major scale is written with A♭, B♭, D♭ and E♭. A♭ has its accidental because that is the key, and the other notes need theirs because the T T S T T T S pattern of steps cannot be spelled from A♭ with plain letters.

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

3CDE6F7GAB3CDE6F7GAB3CDE6F7GAB3CDE6F7GAB3C4D♭5E♭F♯1A♭2B♭4D♭5E♭F♯1A♭2B♭4D♭5E♭F♯1A♭2B♭4D♭5E♭F♯1A♭2B♭C0C1C2C3C4

The keyboard shows the same seven notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the A♭ major scale, and you can click any key to hear it.

A♭ major scale on the whole neck

BEADG123456789101112131415C3D♭4E♭5F6G7A♭1B♭2C3D♭4F6G7A♭1B♭2C3D♭4E♭5F6G7B♭2C3D♭4E♭5F6G7A♭1B♭2C3E♭5F6G7A♭1B♭2C3D♭4E♭5F6G7A♭1B♭2C3D♭4E♭5F6G7A♭1B♭2

63 notes of the A♭ major scale are marked across five strings.

This is every place the notes of the A♭ major scale fall on the 5-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 3
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Position 2 — starts on the 4
BEADG234567456712345671234
Position 3 — starts on the 5
BEADG456789567123456712345
Position 4 — starts on the 6
BEADG67891011671234567123456
Position 5 — starts on the 7
BEADG8910111213712345671234567
Position 6 — starts on the 1
BEADG91011121314123456712345671
Position 7 — starts on the 2
BEADG111213141516234567123456712

The A♭ major scale has seven playable positions, at frets 1–5, 2–6, 4–8, 6–10, 8–12, 9–13 and 11–15.

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

BEADG91011121314151617181920211234567123456712345TAB9111314111315161315161815171820171820

The climb runs from fret 9 to fret 20 and plays nineteen 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 a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.