Music theory on bass

Not rules to memorize — patterns to see and hear on the bass. Every scale, chord and key drawn where you play it, tapped to hear it, and an exercise for each so the theory becomes something your ears know.

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Theory you can hear

Music theory is descriptive, not prescriptive: it documents the patterns people's playing has produced. You could rediscover them by playing alone — it just takes longer. On the instrument the patterns are shapes: the major scale is one shape in every key on a neck, the pentatonic is that shape with two notes removed, a triad is three of its notes, and the chords of a key are triads stacked on each of its degrees — the nesting the whole curriculum is built on.

The course's blocks below draw each of those on the instrument and let you tap them; the figure above is the same viewer, with every set in the row. And theory is only known once it is heard, so each block ends in an exercise: hear it, play it back.

On the bass: four strings in standard tuning, the first twelve frets. Every set in the row above is drawn at every fret and key; a tap plays it.

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