E♭ major scale on 6-string bass

E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭ · C · D

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

The notes

  1. E♭1
  2. F2
  3. G3
  4. A♭4
  5. B♭5
  6. C6
  7. D7

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

You may also see it called Ionian.

On the staff

E♭FGA♭B♭CDE♭

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

This is one octave of the E♭ 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 E♭ major scale has these flats

  1. E♭1
  2. T
  3. F2
  4. T
  5. G3
  6. S
  7. A♭4
  8. T
  9. B♭5
  10. T
  11. C6
  12. T
  13. D7
  14. S
  15. E♭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 E♭ 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 E♭ 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 E♭, two letters cannot keep up:

  • A♭ — the fourth. The pattern needs a semitone from G, but G to A is only a tone, so A has to fall to A♭.
  • B♭ — the fifth. 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♭.

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 E♭ major scale is written with E♭, A♭ and B♭. E♭ 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 E♭ 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

6C7DE2F3GAB6C7DE2F3GAB6C7DE2F3GAB6C7DE2F3GAB6C7DE2F3GAB6CC♯1E♭F♯4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭F♯4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭F♯4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭F♯4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭F♯4A♭5B♭C0C1C2C3C4C5

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

E♭ major scale on the whole neck

BEADGC123456789101112131415C6D7E♭1F2G3A♭4B♭5C6D7F2G3A♭4B♭5C6D7E♭1F2G3B♭5C6D7E♭1F2G3A♭4B♭5C6D7E♭1F2G3A♭4B♭5C6D7E♭1F2G3A♭4B♭5C6D7E♭1F2G3A♭4B♭5C6D7E♭1F2G3A♭4B♭5C6D7E♭1

87 notes of the E♭ major scale are marked across six strings.

This is every place the notes of the E♭ major scale 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 6
BEADGC123456671234567123456712
Position 2 — starts on the 7
BEADGC345678712345671234567123
Position 3 — starts on the 1
BEADGC456789123456712345671234
Position 4 — starts on the 2
BEADGC67891011234567123456712345
Position 5 — starts on the 3
BEADGC8910111213345671234567123456
Position 6 — starts on the 4
BEADGC9101112131445671234567123456
Position 7 — starts on the 5
BEADGC111213141516567123456712345671

The E♭ major scale has seven playable positions, at frets 1–5, 3–7, 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

BEADGC4567891011121314151617181920123456712345671234567123TAB46896810118101113101213151213151714151719

The climb runs from fret 4 to fret 19 and plays 24 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 four notes on every string. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.