The Circle of 5ths + ZONES = The SECRET to Fretboard MASTERY
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- Опубліковано 27 тра 2024
- Fretboard exercises can be found all over the internet and in almost any bass learning methodology book. Sometimes it's scales, sometimes it's specific patterns and almost in all instances they can definitely be useful.
Today, however, we want to talk about how you can break your fingerboard down into segments - or zones - to allow for a more focused learning experience. We'll cover the basic first step to getting these zones under your fingers, and then how to up-level from there so every single part of the fretboard will feel accessible and 'known' to you, no matter what key you're in.
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Major Triads:
C = C | E | G
F = F | A | C
Bb = Bb | D | F
Eb = Eb | G | Bb
Ab = Ab | C | Eb
Db = Db | F | Ab
Gb = Gb | Bb | Db
B = B | D# | F#
E = E | G# | B
A = A | C# | E
D = D | F# | A
G = G | B | D
===
Video Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
00:35 - What are fretboard zones and why should you use them?
01:47 - Mapping out the 3 fretboard zones
04:23 - The first step to mastering each zone
04:58 - Going a level deeper
05:48 - Applying the Circle of 5ths to Zone 1 using major triads
08:56 - Applying the same principle to Zone 2
09:55 - Applying it all to Zone 3
11:07 - Expanding the concept to all triads - Understanding that every triad has 3 shapes
12:26 - Why you want to be able to play all shapes for all triads
15:28 - In conclusion
===
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Just bought my first bass and I have no idea about how to play that thing:) This is gonna help, thanks!!!
Well done. if you can watch earlier lessons on here (not the very early ones they are much more complex for jazz) from over the last 4 or 5 years. Also Talking Bass channel is excellent for beginners (its ok to mention it here as Scott and mark from that channel are mates) 👍👍
I started playing bass in January. I signed up to SBL and it was the best decision I ever made. Its been 3 months and I'm jamming with guys that have been playing guitar for 25 years and I'm keeping up with them.
Good luck new comers!
Yeah, it will help - I’ve played guitar for years, but I’ve never learned the fretboard, so I’ve always felt clumsy with it. Two months after receiving my first bass, I’m working an earlier circle-of-5ths exercise from Scott, and find I’m spending far more time playing around on it than I ever have w/ guitar (vs ‘practicing’, ‘learning songs’j - so I’m already expanding on what this basic exercise is revealing.
Thing I’d say: DON’T be in a hurry: cramming never works, and you could spoil your appetite…i ‘spect eventually these exercises will turn into new music quite naturally
1. Use the fingers of one hand to push a string down to the neck.
2. Use fingers, thumb or a pick to strike the strings with the other hand.
1st let's just acknowledge what a beaut that F bass is! 2nd let's just thank Scott for all this great,high quality free lessons!👍🏻👍🏻
Nice 5 string banana
I have been going through your circle of fifths exercise every single day and suddenly the fretboard has become a friend rather than a foe.
I am working on the score for a musical that I am playing with the community theater this summer, so the music is all over the fretboard.
Because I wanted the warmest sound possible for some of the songs. I have been working up in zone 8 through 12 quite a bit.
After that, zone 1 through 5 is also comfortable but to me sounds more percussive, which is great for certain other songs. And yes this zone is called upon regularly for those lovely deep roots.
And then we have zone 5 through 9 which I need in almost all the songs, kind of the workhorse zone.
Although I play piano, I couldn't read guitar/bass music 3 months ago. Your fretboard exercise was the breakthrough I needed.
@@stacer1962 Hi Stacer, you are welcome. I was so disheartened at first because I had to sort out each note individually as I went through the score, and I thought it was hopeless because I was so slow. But bit by bit, it started getting better and now I can sight read pretty well - not perfect, not up to tempo, but much better. Slow and steady wins the race. Best of luck to you. It is so worth it.
I've been playing bass for 20 years now, and watching your videos has made me realise I really know bugger all about theory. I never had any lessons, started as a teenager when my mate needed a bass player and I thought go on then and have winged it ever since. You can still be a decent player after 20 years of winging it as you stumble across things and develop an ear from listening to others, but what I didn't know was why I was playing what I was playing and how it could be related to other things. Watching your videos has started to fill those gaps.
What he said... Been winging it for 35 years LOL.
Same here. Finally started lessons to fill in those gaps after 30 years of playing lol. My short term goal is to get to a place where I can read the Nashville Number system. I occasionally fill in for other bands and NNS would reduce the time I need to prepare from weeks to days and it would mean I don't have to commit everything I play to memory before I can play which can be tough, especially when I fill for bands doing 3-4 hr sets. I'm only maybe 2 months in and it's already paying off. Sat to learn a song with a lot of walking bass for an upcoming gig and realized what I heard was just a combination of major scale pieces and pentatonic scales. It made learning the song vastly easier. It's been a fun and interesting process for sure.
Best bass teacher on the Internet - period. Scott, your stuff is so freakin' good mate.
YOU ARE HELPING ME AFTER PUTTING THE BASS DOWN FOR 25 YRS
My bass teacher started me (after the notes of each string) in the 5-9 zone. Learning that first made the other 2 zones just fall into place. It definitely made a difference that I could already read music and play the piano and saxophone. The other thing he made me do from lesson one is use my pinky. The first few months were painful but I’m so grateful!
That's a great comment, Rebecca. As a beginner bass student, I should follow your teachers advice and start in the 5-9 zone. 🙏
I've just started bass being part of the sax & piano gang and tbf it's crazy how much I don't know/missed/picked up without understanding so I'm becoming a proper beginner! SBL is fantastic!
Scott, now with my 60 years ... I must restart my life from the beginning with you as my teacher. Promise, I will be a much better bassplayer. Thanks for your work
I hear ya - well into my 70s, & a bass player for…8 weeks….
good luck to you, Papa, make great music!
@@charliemoody7168 thanks for your friendly words
Im turning 60 in a week, Been procrastinating and starting and stopping on bass for so long but Scott has a lot of great material up here and its motivating. Wishing you the best on this journey. Peace.
Been playing for 3 decades, and have always been studious. Taught myself with books, took lessons for several years, played with bands. I will definitely say that I've learned more with the fretboard accelerator course (and I'm less than half way through) than i did with years of lessons and book based practice.
The fretboard accelerator course takes the best and most important parts of all my past musical training and combined them all into one program that has transformed how i look at the fretboard, and unlocked my playing. It's hand down the best bass training I've ever seen. Highly recommended for all bassists of all levels!
Wow, your journey is inspiring! We're thrilled to hear the Fretboard Accelerator is making such a positive impact on your playing 🙌🏻🎸🚀
I started out on piano when I was 9.
It was hard on the hands, but so easy on the brain: like having one really long bass string. Visually too.
I started playing bass when I was 16 in ‘88.
Within a few seconds I knew it was my instrument: I always liked bass tones and harmonies (which is what the bass builds in music).
But, what was hard was the four (or more) strings and all the positions, opposite of what I knew from the one-string: the piano.
How you describe that is solid dude, shit, never thought about it like pianos, each string is a seperate piano👍 thats helpful, to me, i cant read music, cant work it out, never have, but i can remember sounds and that, but a piano per string. Yep that works for me👍
I have been an intermediate guitar player for years. I caught a bass bug a while back, and got my first one a couple weeks ago. It's so fun! Now I'm learning theory from you I just couldn't force myself to learn on guitar. Thanks for this!
Thanks to all the metal I've learned in my life, I have always been more comfortable in frets 5-9😋
I’m weird , I’m super super comfortable with Fret 8-12 , second I’m okay with 1-5, This video actually exposed to me that I’m unaware of frets 5-9 entirely. Thanks Scott !
It’s been a week…. My neck is so unlocked now 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾
I've mostly been learning Sabbath tracks, so 5-9 is my comfort zone
For double bass, it's quite important to learn 0 to 4 aswell. (applies for electric too prob)
Im glad the lessons are still going on❤❤❤
I like this breakdown into 3 zones. In addition to the 3 fingering types, I like to play all the notes in the zone from the E to the G. That gets you using your inversions too. For example in the 2nd zone, Ab played on all 4 strings in one position (finger per fret) means pinky on C on the E (1st inversion), Eb on the A, Ab on the D and C and Eb on the G
This is perfect for where I am right now in my career. I’ve been playing a long time but I’m limited by having some blank spots in my knowledge of the fretboard. I know the notes but not like the back of my hand. I haven’t found a good system for really internalizing it all so I can apply it in the moment. I think this might be that system!
Randomly landed here looking for some circle of fifth routines for the bass guitar. This is by far the best lesson I've come across on UA-cam. The fretboard positions and the triads make a lot of sense. Thank you. Working on major triads will look out for the accelerator in 2024. Cheers!
Is anti-clockwise the same as counterclockwise? 🤔 Asking for a friend.
Yes it is! :)
I started learning songs by ear and by Tab reading. As an iron maiden big fan, i actually am confident from 3rd fret to the 14th at least, but i don't know scales o theory at all. I Just play what i learn, without being able to get beyond that limit.
Your lessons are a miracle..... Thanks very much for every lesson or tip you give us.......
Now i'm waiting for next giveaway, hoping to get one of those wonderful basses you put in.....
I said that because i cannot afford the expense to get even a used one.
I have my old 1969/71 Eko made in Recanati Italy, and he needs a big restoration. Then i have an Harley Benton 5 strings, mp 5 ej enhanced lake Blue.....
I Always Dream about having a Fender Steve Harris signature, but i'll never afford such price.
So, in the beginning of my bass journey, the 1-5 zone was definitely the most simple and the most easy one to remember.
As I have gotten more confident in my playing (after about 16 years), I would say that my comfort zone is easily the 5-9 zone. It's easy enough to remember, and it gives me the flexibility when needed to move my hand a bit around.
Then again, I've been playing both guitar and bass 50/50 each, and on guitar it's mostly been lead stuff without ever using tabs, so I have been kinda forced into figuring these zones out myself quite early.
And since I prefer 5 string basses (just ordered a 6 string for the first time, and I am super excited), I have gotten very used to playing simple chords and using certain patterns and other things that have just decided to stick to my muscle memory.
Talk about that bass your playing sometime soon, see you playing it a lot love to hear you talk a bit about it
You're the best online Teacher with your tips & tricks on UA-cam. Greetings from Switzerland. Your passion is coming out of the videos
At last! After years of searching for the right video! I find you here with the bassists.
This is exercising parts of my brain I didn't know I had. Can't thank you enough for the content.
This is a really interesting exercise, never thought about doing this this way!
Scott, I would *LOVE* to take your course, but 2 months in, I can’t use an accelerator yet!
To say nothing of merging households, moving & all that - it’s impacting my practice time
I hope the thing is a smashing success, and I’ll see you there when I can keep up: by the time I get these ‘C5’ exercises down, I should be ready & available
Thanks again for doing what you do - I’ve learned more about the fretboard & how to play in a few weeks w/ you than I have in decades of playing at guitar (I simply had no idea how to learn it or what to do, & no instruction helped). I hope you get enough out of doing it to keep bodies & souls together - in every sense
The clearest and smartest bass guitar teacher on the web.
Thanks, Scott. I appreciate all of your knowledge that you share.
This is a great way to learn any stringed instrument, especially if you play in different tunings or banjo, steel, etc. Thanks for a wonderful lesson!
believe me when I tell you the fretboard accelerator course is worth every penny/moment you spend on it. I am wrapping it up right now with module 16 which deals with all they keys playing a chord progression 143 flat3 251 over each of the major keys and doing a continuous movement exercise... its AWESOME and as Scott says you will see the fretboard open up to you... very cool
Absolutely spot on. This is the real secret behind your fretboard dexterity. Great 👍
That was really good! It really helped me to visualize the necessity of learning the circle of fifths and the role it plays in fretboard mastery.
I started off dubious about this but, damn, Scott has convinced me! Great video!
You'll notice that the "second finger" position for the major chord also maps over the major scale. That's a useful way to find the shapes for major and minor chords, it's just the 1st-3rd-5th-7th etc notes in the scale.
Very useful. I wish someone would have taught me that before (and I've taken plenty of lessons including SBL!). I guess the upside of learning this very late in my learning journey is that I was able to do it right away XD
Same! with id have discovered this system a few years ago (greatly simplifies the fretboard). Better late than never!
To be honest when you started this channel I thought how could he possibly make a UA-cam channel on bass ? Is there really that much to learn???? Lol was I wrong ! What has it been 12 years ? And I’m still getting lessons from you for free
Thank you for all you’re time in doing these vids man .
This is a wonderful lesson, which opened my eyes... I am learning bass at the moment and this video is really priceless for me. 🙏
come back to the shallow waters !!! my best and much success !!! 🎉🎉❤😊
Thank you so much Scott !! I can't believe that I didn't see this before!! Just this lesson will launch my technique to hyperspace!! I'll even try it on my 5 string!! Keep coming with these eye opening lessons!!👍🤘
This was very helpful, Scott. Thanks!
The very best exercise ever!
That opening riff sounded like the guitar riff to "You Can Stay But The Noise Must Go" by Walter Wolfman Washington!
I'd actually say I'm most comfortable with 5 through 9, because I started and still mostly play funk and rock, a lot of chillin in the key of E/A. 1-5 is slightly less familiar just because of the bigger reach. Also with so many bad midi to tab conversions where they threw everything on open fingerings, I've deliberately avoided that out of fear and trauma
I'm actually more confident in frets 5-9. It's the open strings in the 1-5 that throws me off. And yes open strings aren't technically frets and not included in frets 1-5 but i hope i make sense anyway.
I have a zerofret. So yes, the open String is a fret :D
Brilliant exercises. Really challenging. Thank you.
Thanks Scott, so clear. The video I liked most is the one about the amazing outro of "Funky monks, I almoust play it despite I'm a guitar player, bass is my second instrument😊
Thank you so much for these precious informations and exercises.
Really great video, keep up the great content! At some point it would be great to see Ian and Scott look at some of Casiopea's basslines!
Scott I think you are great. Thanks for sharing.
I play Rocksmith. The songs on bass regularly go to the 14th fret to the 21st fret!
I've been doing this (on guitar) for the past couple of months, funny how I ended up dividing the fretboard in the same exact zones😅
Do a free download on "harmonic layering" . Similar to the one about harmonic minors over a dominant chord.PLEASE!
Melodic minor over dominant 7.Do a harmonic layering primer free download
Melodic minor over dominant 7.Do a harmonic layering primer free download
Im a piano player on the praise team but also the church asked me to also learn bass so i can alternate between so i bought me a bass and am practicing with your videos
I do play guitar but only fifths rythm in second rythm form like more of a rock thre finger formation but bass should be easy to pick up with the guitar knowlege and theory in classicle and jazz that i have been exposed to
Oh yeah I Def need this!! That's Y I singed up for the Fretboard Accelerator!
Loving the Fedora! But hey Scott, you're scaring the newbies with that 5th string. Makes my head hurt just looking at it. :)
A very good lesson ,presented in a very easy to digest way !!
Hey Scot! I just read from a interview that Nikki Sixx used your lessons through these last years! How awesome is that?!
Don’t often see you playing a five stringer Scott! As always great info. Thanks for all your efforts man.
He also had a few videos using the 6 string.
Thank you! This is very helpful!
Most confident: 3-9 Least confident: 20-24
Scott, in getting to grips with the fretboard I found that I learnt the notes on frets 1-5 first then came the notes on frets 5-12 but only on the E and A strings. The notes in frets 5-12 on the D and G strings came/ are coming to familiarity later.
Sincerely, this make no sense for me. Actually, fretboard marks never made any sense for me, I realised that when I learned to play the cello and the classical guitar.
I will not say it's a rule, but for me, learning the cello scales, arpeggios and some good chord progressions/voice leading from the repertorie just made everything clear about it.
Plus, the cello tuning in fifths just seems to make everything more fluid and expanded.
Good thing is I took some of the left hand techniques from the cello and classical guitar to the bass - e.g. make use of the same string the most I can on phrases to conserve tone. also, avoid open strings in the middle of a prhase form the same reason.
Finally, I believe studying other string instruments and their respective techniques + some valuable repertorie can be a great complement to the standard bass technique.😉
Finally an independent comment. While the zones can make learning notes easier by compartmentalizing it reduces the fluidity and restricts one's playing. Plus, there are many patterns that cross over two patterns. I don't like "rules" that reduce playing efficiency. Seems like people just don't want to put in the hard work to see all patterns available up and down the entire fingerboard - as one soundboard. I've learned a lot from Scott's teaching but am growing weary of the clickbaity facial expressions and headlines: "best ever!", "If you don't do this ... ", or "the secret __ ", etc.
Playing a 5 string bass made me familiar with playing the zones although I never took lessons
love this lesson,
Thanks SBL
I certainly will use the anti-clockwise method. I have not used the circle of fifths in detail. I always learn new terminology from Scott. Apparently anti-clockwise is the same as counter-clockwise that I know.
Scott is Bri'ish
Thanks for making these videos, they're super helpful! I've recently started playing bass but have a minor nickel allergy. What kind of gloves do you recommend? (I'm probably changing to steel strings on my personal bass soon, but I also switch instruments with my bassist at practice and his are nickel)
You should do a video on the bassline for Fine China by Chris Brown. Once you hear that basslines, it's almost impossible to forget.
Thank you!!!😀
Ast learn E and A then all you have to do is imagaine the nut is on the second fret on the D and G....as they are just a tone higher.....
I like to play on the third fret with my index especially if im in C or G. Or I’m with you on A which is common for female singers. Or like you said, 8th fret for male singers. It just depends on song and vocalist. Best just to know all of it. I do the zone thing though and switching between them is kinda like a key change for me in my mind. Unless I’m soloing and then I try to stick to 2 strings and then do zones based on key. I’m sure that’s confusing but thats what I do
Thanks man😎
Awsome theory...thank you sir
If I get tight with the triads, I may make enemies with the Yakuza... 😂😂😂 I am solid on 1-5 and 8-12. It was 5-9, especially on the D, G, and C strings that tripped me up. I'm looking forward to getting this exercise under my fingers!
Great lesson..
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Dude how is this free?! Thanks so much!!!
I'm playing mainly on 6 strings bass (sometimes 5) thus I'm finally more familiar with the second zone, I mainly use the 5-9 on the B string instead of 1-5 on the E string...
Hi Scott excellent explaination (as always) ! ls the fretboard accelerator course included with annual membership ?
I love the methodology
Great video Scott!
Is there a reason playing triads instead of playing the whole major/minor scale for each key in the circle?
I’m most confident about 5-9 cause the first notes I learnt/memorised on the bass was the A minor scale starting on fret 5 on the E-string. I’m starting to get more comfortable with 1-5 now that I go to a music school though and I’d say I’m least confident about 8-12. I haven’t really thought of it as zones though, I have a couple notes on each string I’m 100% confident with instead. Like on the E-string I’m very confident with E, F, G, A, B, C and on the A-string I’m the most confident with A, B, C, D, E and for the D-string it’s D, G and A and in the G-string it’s probably just G. I know all the notes on all the strings though (of course) but those notes are the ones I would never have to think twice about. And then I check the octave of some notes on the D- and G-string sometimes since I’m most confident with the E- and A-strings
7-10 is straightforward: BC-D EF-G A-BC D-EF. 7th fret is BEAD and 10th is DGCF.
I think A natural minor is the best scale to learn the fretboard because it breaks down into symmetrical patterns all over the neck.
One to Five for sure ! The other two forgetabout it lol!
I always played the 5 to 8 zone but that’s probably because i started out with Blues and Ska, my least confident zone is the 8th to 12th because i always made the mistake between the tenth and eleventh frets which is probably one of the most important places to end your lines when doing a warmup going back and forth or to impress a certain person.
Your face photo things cool👍
Hey Scott, can I just have that amazing yellow F bass?
I play in Zone 1. The other zones are where I grip to pick up my bass.
I find myself really confident in the middle to the 12th fret but the first 5 are big jumps that I need to practice better.
The 5 string makes all this stuff a lot easier!
Oooooohhhhh! Let’s name the zones the zones the zones!
I play in zone 5 through 8 mostly. I play five and six string basses and rely on my low b string for all things E through A.
Thanks
What bass are you playing??? Beautiful!
F Basses
Hmm ... What about triads that cross over two zones? It seems you would miss out on fingerboard efficientcy by only playing a triad that fits into each zone. For example: a two octave F#m descending from the 1st string, fret number 11 (using fingering pattern 1), then shifting down from that pattern 1 putting the index finger at the 7th fret, then continuing down to the 5th string's F# at fret 7 (again, ending at fingering pattern 1). That last pattern crosses over Zone 2 and Zone 3. By teaching my brain to only play the notes in each zone I'm concerned that subconciously I'll ignore some very efficient movement during performances. What I do is acknowledge the three zones when I play but always reference the root note of the pattern with the zone location, not being concerned if it crosses into another zone. I do all of this subconciously now.
5th fret is my comfort zone for the money of E on my 5 String.
I’m actually not a big fan of the first area because I don’t like working open strings into the scale. My brain shorts out when I add in open notes because my left hand has to do the opposite of what it normally does to play a note. I don’t think I’ve ever played the main bass riff to Money by Pink Floyd perfectly more than 7 times in a row.
8:50 I thought that was going to turn into a Windmill in Old Amsterdam
Hey Scott
I'm comfortable with frets 1-5
I need to work on frets 6-12
🎉i am unfamiliar with:8 to 12 frets. Tx J.p.
Love that Fodera. See you in the shed.
5-9 is the best! Smash that open E, slide up to the 7th fret on the A String and start Riffin!