39 Arpeggios bass tabs
Arpeggios for:
C Major
F Major
G Major
B flat Major
D Major
E flat Major
A Major
A flat Major
E Major
D flat Major
B Major
G flat Major
F# Major
C Major
Sharps: ———
Flats: ———
Tonic (C)
|G|——————————————0——|
|D|———————————2—————|
|A|————————3————————|
|E|——0——3———————————|
Subdominant (F)
|G|——————————————2——|
|D|———————————3—————|
|A|—————0——3————————|
|E|——1——————————————|
Dominant 7th (G7)
|G|——————————————0——|
|D|————————0——3—————|
|A|—————2———————————|
|E|——3——————————————|
—————————————————————
F Major
Sharps: ———
Flats: B
Tonic (F)
|G|——————————————5——|
|D|———————————7—————|
|A|————————8————————|
|E|——5——8———————————|
Subdominant (Bm)
|G|——————————————7——|
|D|———————————8—————|
|A|—————5——8————————|
|E|——6——————————————|
Dominant 7th (C7)
|G|——————————————5——|
|D|————————5——8—————|
|A|—————7———————————|
|E|——8——————————————|
—————————————————————
G Major
Sharps: F
Flats: ———
Tonic (G)
|G|————————————————7——|
|D|—————————————9—————|
|A|—————————10————————|
|E|——7——10————————————|
Subdominant (C)
|G|————————————————9——|
|D|————————————10—————|
|A|—————7——10—————————|
|E|——8————————————————|
Dominant 7th (D7)
|G|————————————————7——|
|D|—————————7——10—————|
|A|——————9————————————|
|E|——10———————————————|
———————————————————————
B flat Major
Sharps: ———
Flats: B, E
Tonic (B flat)
|G|————————————————10——|
|D|—————————————12—————|
|A|—————————13—————————|
|E|——10——13————————————|
Subdominant (E flat)
|G|——————————————————12——|
|D|——————————————13——————|
|A|——————10——13——————————|
|E|——11——————————————————|
Dominant 7th (F7)
|G|——————————————————10——|
|D|——————————10——13——————|
|A|——————12——————————————|
|E|——13——————————————————|
——————————————————————————
D Major
Sharps: F, C
Flats: ———
Tonic (D)
|G|——————————————2——|
|D|———————————4—————|
|A|————————5————————|
|E|——2——5———————————|
Subdominant (G)
|G|——————————————4——|
|D|———————————5—————|
|A|—————2——5————————|
|E|——3——————————————|
Dominant 7th (A7)
|G|——————————————2——|
|D|————————2——5—————|
|A|—————4———————————|
|E|——5——————————————|
—————————————————————
E flat Major
Sharps: ———
Flats: B, E, A
Tonic (E flat)
|G|——————————————3——|
|D|———————————5—————|
|A|————————6————————|
|E|——3——6———————————|
Subdominant (A flat)
|G|——————————————5——|
|D|———————————6—————|
|A|—————3——6————————|
|E|——4——————————————|
Dominant 7th (B flat 7)
|G|——————————————3——|
|D|————————3——6—————|
|A|—————5———————————|
|E|——6——————————————|
—————————————————————
A Major
Sharps: F, C, G
Flats: ———
Tonic (A)
|G|—————————————————9——|
|D|—————————————11—————|
|A|—————————12—————————|
|E|——9——12—————————————|
Subdominant (D)
|G|—————————————————11—|
|D|—————————————12—————|
|A|——————9——12—————————|
|E|——10————————————————|
Dominant 7th (E7)
|G|—————————————————9——|
|D|——————————9——12—————|
|A|——————11————————————|
|E|——12————————————————|
————————————————————————
A flat Major
Sharps: ———
Flats: B, E, A, D
Tonic (A flat)
|G|—————————————————8——|
|D|—————————————10—————|
|A|—————————11—————————|
|E|——8——11—————————————|
Subdominant (D flat)
|G|————————————————10——|
|D|————————————11——————|
|A|—————8——11——————————|
|E|——9—————————————————|
Dominant 7th (E flat 7)
|G|—————————————————8——|
|D|——————————8——11—————|
|A|——————10————————————|
|E|——11————————————————|
————————————————————————
E Major
Sharps: F, C, G, D
Flats: ———
Tonic (E)
|G|——————————————4——|
|D|———————————6—————|
|A|————————7————————|
|E|——4——7———————————|
Subdominant (E)
|G|——————————————6——|
|D|———————————7—————|
|A|—————4——7————————|
|E|——5——————————————|
Dominant 7th (B7)
|G|——————————————4——|
|D|————————4——7—————|
|A|—————6———————————|
|E|——7——————————————|
—————————————————————
D flat Major
Sharps: ———
Flats: B, E, A, D, G
Tonic (D flat)
|G|——————————————1——|
|D|———————————3—————|
|A|————————4————————|
|E|——1——4———————————|
Subdominant (G flat)
|G|——————————————3——|
|D|———————————4—————|
|A|—————1——4————————|
|E|——2——————————————|
Dominant 7th (A flat 7)
|G|——————————————1——|
|D|————————1——4—————|
|A|—————3———————————|
|E|——4——————————————|
—————————————————————
B Major
Sharps: F, C, G, D, A
Flats: ———
Tonic (B)
|G|——————————————————11——|
|D|——————————————13——————|
|A|——————————14——————————|
|E|——11——14——————————————|
Subdominant (E)
|G|——————————————————13——|
|D|——————————————14——————|
|A|——————11——14——————————|
|E|——12——————————————————|
Dominant 7th (F#7)
|G|——————————————————11——|
|D|——————————11——14——————|
|A|——————13——————————————|
|E|——14——————————————————|
——————————————————————————
G flat Major
Sharps: ———
Flats: B, E, A, D, G, C
Tonic (G flat)
|G|——————————————6——|
|D|———————————8—————|
|A|————————9————————|
|E|——6——9———————————|
Subdominant (C flat)
|G|——————————————8——|
|D|———————————9—————|
|A|—————6——9————————|
|E|——7——————————————|
Dominant 7th (D flat 7)
|G|——————————————6——|
|D|————————6——9—————|
|A|—————8———————————|
|E|——9——————————————|
—————————————————————
F# Major
Sharps: F, C, G, D, A, E
Flats: ———
Tonic (B)
|G|——————————————6——|
|D|———————————8—————|
|A|————————9————————|
|E|——6——9———————————|
Subdominant (E)
|G|——————————————8——|
|D|———————————9—————|
|A|—————6——9————————|
|E|——7——————————————|
Dominant 7th (F#7)
|G|——————————————6——|
|D|————————6——9—————|
|A|—————8———————————|
|E|——9——————————————|
Learn 39 Arpeggios on Bass with Tabs
About This Tutorial
If you’re a bassist looking to improve your playing or songwriting, learning the most commonly used arpeggios is a great place to start. Arpeggios are broken chords, meaning you play the notes of a chord one at a time, rather than strumming them all together. By learning arpeggios, you’ll be able to create more interesting bass lines and understand the chord progressions of the music you’re playing.
Why Learn Arpeggios?
There are several reasons why learning arpeggios on bass guitar can benefit your playing and writing:
- Improve your bass lines: Arpeggios can be used to create interesting and melodic bass lines that follow the chords of a song.
- Understand chord progressions: Knowing the arpeggios of a chord progression can help you understand the structure of a song and how the chords relate to each other.
- Improve your technique: Playing arpeggios can help improve your finger dexterity and coordination on the bass fretboard.
- Create your own bass lines: By understanding how to play arpeggios, you can create your own bass lines that complement the chords of a song and give it a unique touch.
Step-by-Step Guide to Learning Arpeggios on Bass
Learning arpeggios on bass guitar may seem daunting at first, but with a step-by-step approach, you’ll be playing them in no time.
Step 1: Understand the Theory Behind Arpeggios
Before diving into playing arpeggios, it’s important to understand the theory behind them. Essentially, an arpeggio is just a chord broken down into individual notes. For example, if you were to play a C major chord on bass (C, E, G), playing the individual notes separately in order would create a C major arpeggio.
Step 2: Learn the Moveable Shapes of Arpeggios
There are several moveable shapes that arpeggios can take on bass guitar. These shapes allow you to play the same arpeggio in different positions on the fretboard. Some commonly used moveable shapes include:
- Root Position: This is when the lowest note of the arpeggio is the root note of the chord.
- 1st Inversion: This is when the lowest note of the arpeggio is the 3rd of the chord.
- 2nd Inversion: This is when the lowest note of the arpeggio is the 5th of the chord.
Step 3: Practice Playing Arpeggios
Once you understand the theory and shapes of arpeggios, it’s time to start practicing playing them on your bass guitar. Start with the basic shapes and progress to more complex ones. Use a metronome to practice playing the arpeggios at different tempos and to improve your timing.
Step 4: Apply Arpeggios to Songs
After you’ve mastered playing arpeggios, it’s time to start applying them to songs. Listen for the chords in a song and try to play the corresponding arpeggio over them. You’ll notice that by playing the arpeggios, you’ll create more interesting and melodic bass lines that follow the chord progression of the song.
39 Arpeggio Tabs for Bass Guitar
Here are the 39 most commonly used arpeggios on bass guitar with tabs to help you learn them.
C Major Arpeggio
(Root Position)
G|---------------------
D|---------------------
A|--------3--2--0-------
E|--0--3--------------
A Minor Arpeggio
(Root Position)
G|-----------
D|--------0--
A|--0--3-----
E|-----------
Conclusion
Learning arpeggios on bass guitar is an essential skill for any bassist. By understanding the theory and shapes of arpeggios and practicing playing them, you can improve your bass lines, understand chord progressions, and develop your own unique playing style. Use the tabs provided to help you learn the 39 most commonly used arpeggios on bass guitar, and don’t be afraid to experiment and create your own!