All Bassists Should Know This: Understand the Fretboard Using These Descending Triad Arpeggio Patterns

Most bassists immediately think of fast sweep runs at the mention of arpeggios. However, arpeggios are a lot more than that and can be any combination of notes that build a chord. The one that we usually start with is the major triad.

Another thing about bassists and arpeggios is that we often think of ascending arpeggios. However, the descending ones can be useful for song arrangements and improvisation and a great way for beginner or intermediate players to understand the fretboard fully.

In this new lesson I prepared, we start with a simple G major arpeggio in the 4-fret span shape. It’s the usual one, with the middle finger on the third fret of the E string, the index on the second fret of the A string, and the pinky covering the fifth fret of the A and D strings. These are G, B, D, and G, or root, major third, fifth, and octave.

Instead of going in that order, let’s try going the opposite — octave, fifth, third, and then root. We can then use the same shape and order and move on to C and D arpeggios. We keep the same shape, but the index finger and the root note are on the third and fifth frets of the A string, respectively. Once you learn these three, you can play around with the I-IV-V chord progression.

But that’s not all. Once you get ahold of the descending pattern with these shapes, you can try other combinations. For instance, you can go in a different descending pattern, like octave, third, fifth, and root. Add in some rhythmic variation, and you’ve got yourself infinite possibilities.

Either way, learning arpeggios in descending instead of ascending order is a great way to start figuring out your fretboard.