5-String Bass Chord Chart
5-string bass, tuning B–B–E–A–D–G · chord tones across the neck · tap a note to hear it
How to play
- Pick a root and a chord type. Every place that chord's notes appear on the bass lights up, labelled by role: R root, 3/♭3 third, 5 fifth, 7/♭7 seventh.
- On bass you usually outline chords one note at a time rather than strum them. This map shows where those notes live so you can build bass lines and arpeggios anywhere on the neck.
- Tap any lit note to hear it. Play arpeggio sounds the chord tones in order from the root. The green dots are roots — strong landing notes.
- Strings read top-to-bottom G D A E (thickest, lowest E at the bottom), exactly like bass tab. Vol sets volume.
- Keyboard — Tab to any note or control, Enter/Space to activate.
This is an interactive chord map of the five-string bass. This is a kind of wizard that uses your computer keyboard to navigate controls, or mouse clicks on buttons to interact. The idea behind this widget are to help you see where chord tones is around the neck. You can also hear them in context.
You begin by choosing a root note from the first row of buttons. You can select any root; C, D, G or whatever suits. It doesn’t matter which one you pluck. However, it sets the tonal center of the chart because the root determine the key.
How to Use the Interactive Chord Map
From here you then opt to play a particular type of chord. Here you have the choice of major, minor, seventh, maj7 or power chords. As soon as you make your selection, the chart refreshes and you is presented with all the notes of that chord on the fretboard.
As you can see it has five string fretboard display with the strings tuned from top to bottom as follows: G, D, A, E, and B. The arrangement of this are identical to how a bass tablature would be presented. The root note is shown by green dots. In most cases, this will be the strongest-sounding note in the chord.
There are additional buttons that shows the other chord tones or intervals such as 3rd, 5th, and 7th. Each button have a label that tells you what chord tone it represents. Clicking on each of the notes will produce a sound of that note played as a single bass tone. This allows you to see if your instrument is in tune (intonation). It also allows you to get an idea of where a particular note might fit in a line.
The play arpeggio button sounds all the chord tones in sequence. The arpeggio starts on the root, ascends through the chord’s intervals, and returns to the root an octave above.
The Master Output Level is located on the bottom right, where the volume slider lets you adjust how loud the instrument sounds when played. This is useful for playing in a shared environment, or if you simply want it quieter. You can also drag this volume control to the right to increase sound of the instrument.
Help Button: At the top, toggle the help function on or off to see a brief guide that explains the interface. The Fullscreen Button expands the widget across your entire screen to free up space, so you can see the fretboard more clearly on smaller screens.
Map out bass lines fast. Choose a progression and identify where the fifths and roots falls across the neck. That way, you’re not making big jumps that make for awkward voicings; instead, you’ll have an easier time finding something smooth.
The arpeggio player is a great exercise for training your ear as well. Listen through a few times then try playing what you hear. That will help you get the sounds of all the chord types stuck in your head. So grab that five string bass and listen for differences when you switch between like chords. Try comparing a major to a major seven, a minor to a minor seven, etc… Can you hear the change of intervals and the change in color?
Then find some other places on the chart that you perhaps haven’t found in a book. Experiment with the low part of the B string area or up into the higher notes, where you may be able to extend your range.
The interface is intuitive and speedy. Experiment with various progressions, changing types and roots on-the-fly. Listen to the arpeggio to absorb the harmony, or tap the notes to check their pitch. Leave the volume high enough that you can keep it going for hours of practice.
You should of get started learning the fretboard and expanding your vocabularly today.