The Octave

Lesson 3/41 | Study Time: 5 Min
Course: Beginner Bass
The Octave

The Octave

An octave is the range of eight notes of a major scale. The first note and last note of a major scale always have the same name. In the C major scale the distance from the lowest C to the C note above it is one octave (eight notes).

The C major scale over one octave is notated as follows:

Play the C major scale with the left hand fingering as indicated.

  • The distance of two frets is called a tone (T).
  • The distance of one fret is called a semitone (ST).
  • The notes B and C are always separated by one semitone (1 fret).
  • The notes E and F are always separated by one semitone (1 fret).
  • All other notes are separated by a tone (2 frets).

All major scales have this pattern of tones and semitones.

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Gary Turner

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Class Sessions

1- INTRODUCTION 2- The Eighth Note 3- The Dotted Quarter Note 4- Notes on the 3rd String (A String) 5- Sharp Signs 6- The C Major Scale 7- Notes on the 1st String (G String) 8- The Sixteenth Note 9- The Tie 10- Eighth Note Triplets 11- Creating Your Own Bass Line 12- Tuning Your Bass 13- Rests 14- The Hammer-On (H) 15- The Octave 16- Shuffle Rhythm 17- Arpeggio Playing 18- Turnaround Progressions 19- Tuning the Bass to Itself 20- Approach to Practice 21- Alternate Picking 22- Notes on the 4th String (E String) 23- Understanding the Score Symbols 24- 12 Bar Blues 25- More titles by LearnToPlayMusic.com 26- Bass Guitars 27- Syncopation 28- The Chromatic Scale 29- Notes on the 2nd String (D String) 30- Notes on the Bass Fretboard 31- Amplifiers 32- The G Major Scale 33- Strings 34- Tuning Your Instrument 35- Playing Position 36- The Right Hand 37- The Left Hand 38- How to Read Music 39- Music Notation 40- Fretboard Diagram 41- Using a Metronome

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