Bass Chords
Bass chords for 4 and 5-string bass: root and fifth, triad and 7th shapes with the root at the bottom, each one played as an arpeggio.
Keyboard: Space strums the selected shape, ← → step through the shapes. Click any chord box to hear it.
Chord chart
The easiest shape for every major, minor and dominant 7th chord in the current tuning. Tap one to see all its shapes above.
Building the chart…
Using the bass chord chart
This page shows bass chords the way bassists use them: pick a root and a chord type to see root and fifth, triad and 7th shapes on a 4 or 5-string bass, always with the root at the bottom, and hear each shape played as an arpeggio. Pick a root and a chord type to see the bass shapes, from two-note root and fifth shapes up to four-note chords, always with the root as the lowest note. Tap a box to hear it; Note by note plays the shape one note at a time, the way most bass parts use chord tones, as a line rather than a block. Space plays the selected shape and the arrow keys move through the list. The Tuning menu covers 4-string, 5-string and drop D. Tune the open strings first with the bass tuner.
The box shows the strings with the lowest on the left: E, A, D and G on a 4-string, with the low B added on the left for a 5-string. Numbers in the dots are fingers, and a box marked 5fr starts at the fifth fret. The shapes stay on neighbouring strings, so each one can be moved up or down the neck unchanged to play the same chord type from another root. To see where every chord tone and scale note sits on the neck, open bass scales.
How bassists use chords
A bass line usually leans on the chord tones of each chord: the root, the third and the fifth. In bluegrass and traditional country the bass plays mostly the root and the fifth. Walking bass lines mix arpeggios with scale notes and chromatic passing notes to spell out each chord. So on bass a chord shape is less something you strum and more a map: it shows where the chord tones sit under one hand position, so you can pick them in any order.
That is why every shape on this page has the root as its lowest note, and why the list starts with small shapes on two or three neighbouring strings. The 5 type (a power chord) is just the root and the fifth, the most used pair on bass; add the octave on the next string and you have root, fifth and octave under three fingers. Major and minor shapes add the third, and the 7th types add the seventh; in a 7th chord the fifth may be left out, so many 7th shapes are root, third and seventh only.
First bass chord shapes to learn
These shapes are the first in each list in standard tuning (strings E, A, D, G; x = not played):
| Chord | Shape | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| C5 (root and fifth) | x35x | C G |
| E5 | 02xx | E B |
| C major | x320 | C E G |
| A minor | 532x | A C E |
| E major | 0221 | E B E G# |
| G7 | 323x | G B F |
The closed shapes (no open strings) move anywhere: x35x is C5, the same shape two frets higher is D5. Learn one closed major shape and one closed minor shape with the root on the E string, then the same two with the root on the A string, and you can find any triad under one hand. The fretboard page shows where every note is, and bass scales fills in the notes between the chord tones.
How to practise
Pick a chord, press Note by note and play along: root, then each chord tone upward, then back down. Do it on every chord of a progression, one bar each, and you are already playing a simple bass line. Then change the order (root, fifth, octave, fifth) and the rhythm. Keep the fretting hand in one position and use one finger per fret, which is how the finger numbers on this page are laid out.
More for bass: Bass Tuner · Bass Scales · Fretboard Notes · Guitar Tab Maker · Bass Amp Simulator · Online Looper
Questions
Can you play chords on a bass guitar?
Yes, but most of the time bass guitar chords are played one note at a time, as a bass line or an arpeggio, rather than strumming them together. Two-note shapes such as root and fifth are the ones most often played together.
What is a power chord on bass?
The root and the perfect fifth above it, written with a 5 (C5 is C and G). Adding the octave above the root gives a three-note version.
Why is the root always the lowest note here?
The bass usually plays the root of the chord, so every shape on this page starts from it. Inversions exist, but they are the exception on bass.
Does this work for a 5-string bass?
Yes. Choose 5-string in the Tuning menu and the shapes are worked out again, including ones that use the low B string.