3 Octave Arpeggios On 6-String Bass Bass Tabs - Bass Lesson @ BigBassTabs.com

This tab illustrates how to play 3 octave arpeggios on 6—string bass.
This entire example will illustrate how to play every diatonic arpeggio in C. 
It is very easy to get lost during this exercise so make sure you practice
this to a metronome slowly.

1) C major 7
 |C E G B C E G B C E G B C B G E |C B G E C B G E C               |
C|——————————————————————111211————|————————————————————————————————|
G|——————————————————9—12——————129—|————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————9—10——————————————|109—————————————————————————————|
A|——————————7—10——————————————————|————107—————————————————————————|
E|————3—7—8———————————————————————|————————8—7—3———————————————————|
B|1—5—————————————————————————————|——————————————5—1———————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

2) D minor 7
 |D F A C D F A C D F A C D C A F |D C A F D C A F D               |
C|——————————————————————121412————|————————————————————————————————|
G|——————————————————1014——————1410|————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————1012——————————————|1210————————————————————————————|
A|——————————8—12——————————————————|————128—————————————————————————|
E|————5—8—10——————————————————————|————————108—5———————————————————|
B|3—6—————————————————————————————|——————————————6—3———————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

3) E minor 7
 |E G B D E G B D E G B D E D B G |E D B G E D B G E               |
C|——————————————————————141614————|————————————————————————————————|
G|——————————————————1216——————1612|————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————————1214——————————————|1412————————————————————————————|
A|——————————1014——————————————————|————1410————————————————————————|
E|————7—1012——————————————————————|————————12107———————————————————|
B|5—8—————————————————————————————|——————————————8—5———————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

I like to play 3) as an augmented chord sometimes
just for the sake of practice, sounds good to.
 
3) E augmented 7
 |E G#C D E G#C D E G#C D E D C G#|E D C G#E D C G#E               |
C|————————————————————1214161412——|————————————————————————————————|
G|——————————————————13——————————13|————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————101214——————————————|141210——————————————————————————|
A|——————————11————————————————————|——————11————————————————————————|
E|————8—1012——————————————————————|————————12108———————————————————|
B|5—9—————————————————————————————|——————————————9—5———————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

4) F major 7
 |F A C E F A C E F A C E F E C A |F E C A F E C A F               |
C|——————————————————9—12161716————|————————————————————————————————|
G|——————————————9—10——————————1714|————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————7—10——————————————————|1514————————————————————————————|
A|————3—7—8———————————————————————|————1512————————————————————————|
E|1—5—————————————————————————————|————————13128———————————————————|
B|————————————————————————————————|——————————————106———————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

5) G Dominant 7
 |G B D F G B D F G B D F G F D B |G F D B G F D B G               |
C|——————————————————1114171917————|————————————————————————————————|
G|——————————————1012——————————1916|————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————9—12——————————————————|1715————————————————————————————|
A|————5—8—10——————————————————————|————1714————————————————————————|
E|3—7—————————————————————————————|————————151310——————————————————|
B|————————————————————————————————|——————————————128———————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

6) A minor 7
 |A C E G A C E G A C E G A G E C |A G E C A G E C A               |
C|——————————————————1216192119————|————————————————————————————————|
G|——————————————1214——————————2117|————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————1014——————————————————|1917————————————————————————————|
A|————7—1012——————————————————————|————1915————————————————————————|
E|5—8—————————————————————————————|————————171512——————————————————|
B|————————————————————————————————|——————————————1310——————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

7) B half diminished 7
 |B D F A B D F A B D F A B A F D |B A F D B A F D B               |
C|——————————————————1417212321————|————————————————————————————————|
G|——————————————1416——————————2219|————————————————————————————————|
D|——————————1215——————————————————|2119————————————————————————————|
A|————8—1214——————————————————————|————2017————————————————————————|
E|7—10————————————————————————————|————————191713——————————————————|
B|————————————————————————————————|——————————————1512——————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

once you finish playing 7) going up, i recommend that you start at
the highest octave and go down, then come back up like this:

7) B half diminished 7
 |B A F D B A F D B A F D B D F A |B D F A B D F A B               |
C|2321————————————————————————————|——————————————2123——————————————|
G|————2219————————————————————————|——————————1922——————————————————|
D|————————2119————————————————————|——————1921——————————————————————|
A|————————————2017————————————————|——1720——————————————————————————|
E|————————————————191713——————1317|19——————————————————————————————|
B|——————————————————————151215————|————————————————————————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

do the same thing with the rest of them.
when you get comfortable with each postition,
you can start bouncing around instead of just going in order.

I would also recommend that you play these exercies in the key of
B major and Db major
i'm not going to write them out again but i will give you the notes

B major (everything a half step down from C major)
1) B major 7 (B D# F# A#)
2) C# minor 7 (C# E G# B)
3) D# minor 7 (D# F# A# C#)
4) E major 7 (E G# B D#)
5) F# dominant 7 (F# A# C# E)
6) G# minor 7 (G# B D# F#)
7 )A# half diminished (A# C# E G#)

Db major (everything a half step up from C major)
1) Db major 7 (Db F Ab C)
2) Eb minor 7 (Eb Gb Bb Db)
3) F minor 7 (F Ab C Eb)
4) Gb major 7 (Gb Bb Db F)
5) Ab dominant 7 (Ab C Eb Gb)
6) Bb minor 7 (Bb Db F Ab)
7) C half diminshed (C Eb Gb Bb)

If this doesn't help you learn the notes on your 6—string,
then you can come to my house and punch me right in the balls.

How to Read Bass Tabs

Bass tablature (tabs) is an easy way to learn songs without needing to read traditional sheet music. Here’s a quick guide to understanding the symbols and techniques commonly found in tabs:

1. The Basics

Strings and Frets:
Each line in a tab represents a string on your bass:
- The top line is the highest-pitched string (G on a 4-string bass).
- The bottom line is the lowest-pitched string (E on a 4-string bass).
Numbers on the lines indicate which fret to press. For example:
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------------------|
A|---3---------------|
E|-------------------|
            
```
This means you play the 3rd fret on the A string.

2. Common Techniques

Hammer-On (h):
Play the first note by picking it, then press down on a higher fret with another finger without picking again.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5h7---------|
            
```
Pull-Off (p):
Pluck a note and then "pull off" your finger to let a lower fret ring.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------7p5---------|
            
```
Slide (/ or \):
Move your finger up (/) or down (\) the fretboard while maintaining pressure.
```
G|-------------------|
D|-------5/7---------|
            
```

3. Advanced Techniques

Bend (b): Push the string up or down to raise the pitch. Example: G|-------7b9---------|
Vibrato (~): Shake the string slightly after playing a note to create a vibrating sound. Example: G|-------7~----------|
Muted Notes (x): Rest your finger lightly on the string without pressing a fret and pluck for a percussive "click" sound.

4. Rhythm and Timing

Tabs don’t always indicate timing, so listen to the song while reading the tab. Wider spaces between numbers mean longer pauses, while closer numbers indicate quicker notes.

5. Slap and Pop

Slap (s): Strike the string with the side of your thumb for a percussive sound.
Pop (p): Pull the string away from the fretboard and let it snap back.

Practice Makes Perfect

Tabs are a great tool to learn songs, but mastering the techniques takes practice. Listen carefully to the original track and play along to lock in the rhythm. Don’t rush — smooth, accurate playing is more important than speed. Happy jamming! 🎸

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Bass Lesson — 3 octave arpeggios on 6-string bass bass tabs