The Ultimate Guide To

Bass Harmonics
Create chords, melodies and solo bass pieces
using harmonics


























 How To Use This Guide
Welcome to this Ultimate Guide! It’s great to have you on board.

First things first, if you haven’t already seen the first 3 lessons on the site, go ahead and
do that now. You can find all of them right here.

In lesson 1, you’ll learn exactly what harmonics are, and the technique that you can use to
get these beautiful sounds out of your bass.

Click Here To Watch Lesson 1

In lesson 2, you’ll the 4 things you can do to instantly get a beautiful, shimmering,
singing sounds out of your harmonics.

Click Here To Watch Lesson 2

In lesson 3, you’ll learn about the sequence of notes that you can get out of all of your
strings when you use harmonics.

Click Here To Watch Lesson 3

These lessons will give you a solid foundation for what you’ll learn in this guide.

The guide itself is split up into two parts. First, you’ll get bass harmonic charts that show
you where to find all of your harmonics and what notes they produce.

Then, you’ll learn a whole lot of chords that you can make that are built using harmonics
– plus where you can use them.

Of course, you’ll learn a few melodies that you can play that are made of harmonics, and
you’ll learn how players like Victor Wooten and Jaco Pastorius make their own awe-
inspiring solo pieces.

You can go through this guide in order, or you can jump to the parts that interest you
right away. There’s no right or wrong way to use all of this material.
Bass Harmonics Chart: 4-string Bass

Notice a few things here. The letters are

the names of the notes of the harmonics
– not the fretted notes.

They may seem a little bit random, but

that’s just the ‘harmonic series’.

Also, notice that each string is following

the same pattern. For example, the note
at the 5th fret harmonic is the same as the
open string of all strings. This is the
same for the 8th and 12th fret too.

The 3rd and 7th fret harmonics both

produce a note that is a 5th above the
open string. The relationship between
the notes of the harmonics and notes of
the open string are exactly the same!

Next, notice that on the 6th and 10th fret

harmonics, the blue circles are just a
fraction closer to the nut of the bass.
This is because your finger needs to be
ever-so-slightly behind the fret in order
for the note to come out cleanly. Check
out the “All Of Your Notes” lesson
above to get the full picture.

Finally, notice that there are 10 unique

notes you can get out of the harmonics
on a standard 4-string bass. The 2 notes
we can’t get using our natural harmonics
are Bb/A# and Eb/D#. Everything else
though is available to us.
Bass Harmonics Chart: 5-string Bass

Adding an extra string means that we

now have access to that string’s
harmonic series!

This means that now have 11 of the 12

notes that make up music because the
D#/Eb note has appeared on the B-string
at the 4th and 9th fret harmonic.

Just like the 4-string version of the chart,

each string is following the same pattern.
The relationship between the open
strings and the harmonics on those
strings is exactly the same.
Bass Harmonics Chart: 6-string Bass

Finally, with the 6-string bass, we add

the final note – the Bb/A#, which you
can find on the 6th and 10th fret
harmonic on the C-sstring.
 “Secret” Harmonics
Now these bass harmonics charts are accurate, but they don’t tell the full picture.
There are actually quite a few more harmonics that you can use – specifically around
the 2nd and 3rd frets.

There are 2 extra harmonics in between

the 2nd and 3rd fret harmonics. They take
a very light touch in order for them to
come out cleanly, but you have these
extra harmonics at your disposal.

There’s also an harmonic between the 1st

and 2nd fret as well, but once again, you
need a very light touch.

Just like the rest of the harmonic charts,

the pattern is exactly the same for all of
the strings – it doesn’t change no matter
which string you use.
“Secret” Harmonics – 5-String Basses
“Secret” Harmonics – 6-String Basses
 Bass Harmonics Chords
Bass harmonic chords can sound amazing. With the chord grounded in a ‘regular’ fretted
note and the harmonics singing above it, it’s a beautiful, rich sound. For these chords, the
harmonics will be in blue and the regular fretted notes will be in red. The numbers in the
diagrams represent the suggested fingerings for each chord.

Also, pay close attention to where each of the notes are. The red fretted notes are
naturally in between frets. This is where you’ll be playing them. However, the harmonics
are right over the fret-wire. Be careful to keep the harmonics over the frets and the
regular notes just behind them.

E(add9) E(add9)
You could use this chord over either an This chord has the same notes, but is
E major or minor sound. The harmonics voiced slightly differently. Rather than
are an F# and a B, so this chord doesn’t using the open E, this uses the E on the
have a third in it. Also notice the open E- A-string and harmonics at the 9th fret.
string. Again – use this over E major or minor
chords.
 Em7 Em7
This chord is played using ONLY Again, this is the exact same Em7 chord,
harmonics – no regular fretted notes. but played with the 5th fret harmonics
You could also use any other finger to rather than the 12th fret harmonics. This
graze the strings. means it sounds a lot higher.

EbMaj7(#11) Eb7(#9)
This is a Jaco Pastorius chord. You can
This is a very specific type of chord, and hear it in Portrait of Tracy at the 0:30
it sounds very bright. mark.
 E7
This is a great chord to play with FMaj7
harmonics! It has 4 notes and you can You can play around with the fingering
play all of them with this shape. The on this one. Using the index on the E and
stretch can be a challenge, but it’s pinky on the D and G is just a
nothing you can’t overcome. suggestion.

F#5 G5
This is another one that will work over
both F#/Gb major AND minor chords. This chord is yet another one that you
can use for either a G major chord or a G
minor. Once again, there is no third, so it
will work with both.
 G Major GMaj7
A slightly more colorful version of the
Perfect for using as a beginning or plain old G major chord.
ending chord for a song in G major.

GMaj7(#11) Abm7/G#m7
Perfect for using as a beginning or Another chord that only uses harmonics.
ending chord for a song in G major. Again, you can use any finger that you
want to to get this chord out, although
the index finger is probably the strongest
bet.
 AbMaj7(#11) A5
Yet another #11 chord, and again, the This is yet another harmonically
suggested fingering is just that – a ambiguous chord. It could be used over
suggestion. Feel free to figure out what an A major OR an A minor chord as it
works for you. has no third in it.

A Major A Major (add9)

Unlike the A5, this chord does have a This is a very pretty version of the
major third in it, and should only really regular A major chord. Adding the 4th
be used over A major chords. fret harmonic on the G-string really
brings this chord to life and gives it a ton
of color.
 Bb6 BbMaj7
This is another very pretty chord that Another major 7 chord, and just like a
you can use over Bb major chords – and few of the others, you can fiddle with
if you’re feeling adventurous, you could which fingers you use for this one.
also use it over G minor chords.

B5 B(add9)
Once again, we’ve got another chord This is the kind of chord you could use
here that can be usedin different places. over a B major or a B minor. The
You can play this one over a regular B difference between it and the B5 is that
major chord or a B minor chord. this chord has a C# in it – the ‘9th’ – a
very pretty sound
 Bm7 Bm9
This chord could be played with all This is a tricky one to get all the notes at
harmonics, the way it is shown here, or the same time. I usually do the notes one
you could actually play the 7th fret on the at a time. This is one of my favorite bass
E-string and make it a hybrid. harmonics chords.

C(add9) CMaj7(#11)
Yet another chord that can be used in You can use this chord over CMaj7#11
more than one place – firstly over C chords, but if you’re feeling
major chords, and also over C minor adventurous, you could try playing them
chords. over regular C major chords. Be careful
with them though.
 D5 D Major
This is the final chord that you can use This is very similar the A major chord,
in multiple places – in this case, over D just using other strings – and of course,
major as well as D minor. use this chord over D major chords.

DMaj7
Another ‘all-harmonics’
chord, and it’s another
where you’ll have to
play the notes
indivdually.
 Bass Harmonics Bonus Lessons
Along with this Ultimate Guide, there are 4 bonus video lessons that will show you
exactly how you can use all of these harmonics to make some pretty amazing music.

In lesson one, you’ll learn about ‘artificial’ harmonics and how you can use them to play
absolutely any note you want in harmonics. You might have noticed in the charts, you
don’t have immediate access to all of the notes that music is made up of, but using
artificial harmonics, you can pretty easily play all of the riffs, licks, melodies and bass
lines that you already know, but play them in harmonics.

Click Here To Watch The Artificial Harmonics Lesson

In the 2nd bonus lesson, you’ll learn yet another advanced technique using harmonics.
‘Tapped’ harmonics are incredibly percussive way of getting these harmonics and it
involves using your right hand tapping the string on the fretwire. Be careful to not follow
through with the strike though. You want to be like a cobra – striking quickly, then
withdrawing.

Click Here To Watch The Tapped Harmonics Lesson

In the next harmonics lesson, you’ll learn all about the chords you can form using bass
harmonics. The one thing you have to be fairly careful of with these is that your fretting
hand arches up and over D, G and even A-strings so that the harmonics you play there
ring through nicely.

Click Here To Watch The Bass Harmonics Chord Lesson

In the final bonus lesson, it’s all about taking all of the knowledge that you now have and
creating music with it. That means playing melodies in harmonics! Melodies sound great
in harmonics – the ‘singing’ sound makes the bass sound much more like a voice. That’s
why harmonics are such a great device to use – they can really help you connect with
your audience.

In this lesson, you’ll obviously learn how to play a few melodies, but you’ll also learn
how to start making your own solo pieces that use harmonics. It’s not as hard as you
think. In fact, getting started is as simple as playing a melody in harmonics and just
picking some simple bass notes to put underneath that melody. From there, you can let
your creativity take over. This is the exact same process that players like Victor Wooten
and Jaco Pastorius use to create their own awe-inspiring solo pieces.

Click Here To Watch The Melodies And Solo Pieces Lesson

 Bass Harmonics Melodies
These are the melodies from the final bonus lesson

There are 2 staves for these melodies. The first is the tablature that tells you exactly
which frets to play the harmonics at. The bracketed mean that the note is a harmonic. For
example if you saw this (7) on your G-string, you’d play the 7th fret harmonic on that
string. The regular fretted notes are not bracketed.

The notation staff shows you which notes will sound when you play these harmonics. It
can be a bit confusing at first.
7 I recommend
5 4 5 7 4 starting
5 4 with
5 7 the
4 tablature
5 4 –5 it7 will
5 probably
4 5 7
be ¤the most useful in this case!
5

‰ œ œ Bugle
? Ó™ œ œ Call
œ -œReveille
œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ
J
7 5 4 5 7 4 5 4 5 7 4 5 4 5 7 5 4 5 7

¤ 55 4 5 7 4 5 4 5 7 4 5 4 7 7 5

¤ ™ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œ
? Ó ‰ œ œ œœ œ œ œ
? œ œ œ œ œJ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
5 4 5 7 4 5 4 5 7 4 5 4 7 7 5

¤
¤ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
? œ œ œ œ œ ˙
? ∑ 3
4
Bugle Call – Call To Post
¤ 7 5 4 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 4 5 7

¤
? ∑ 3
œ œ œ œ 4
? 43 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙™
7 5 4 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 4 5 7

¤ 7 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 7 7 7 7 5

¤ 3œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
? 4 ˙™
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
? œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙™
7 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 7 7 7 7 5

¤
12 12 12 12
¤ œ 7 œ 7 œ œ7 œ œ 7 œ 12 œ7 œ 7 œ 7 œ œ7 œ œ 7 12˙™ 7
?
? 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
 7 5 4 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 4 5 7

¤
œ œ œ œ
? 43 œ œ œ Bugle Call – Charge
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
2 ˙™
7 5 4 3 4 3

¤
7 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 7 7 7 7 5

¤ œ œ œ œ™ œ ˙
?
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
? œ œ 3 œ œ œ œ œ ˙™

Bass Line – Billie Jean (in E)

¤ 3
12 12 12 12
¤ 7 7
7
7
12
7
7
7
7
7
12
7
?
¤? ∑ ##
4œ œ
4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
? ## ∑ # 43 ∑ 3
4
2 4 4
5
3
Melody
3
5 –4 Amazing
5
Grace
5 4 4
¤ 3 3 3 3
7 5 4 3 4 3
5 4 5 4 5
¤¤? # œ œ œ œ œ œ 3 œ œ œ 3œ œ œ 5
œ3 ™ œ ˙
5 5
# J
?
? #œ43 Ó œ ˙œ œ œ™œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙˙
œ œ ˙ œ
3
5 5
4 4 3 3 4 5 5 4 5 5
¤ 3 3 3
5 4 5 4 3 3
3 3
¤¤? ## œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ ˙
œ œ œ ˙ œ ˙™ ˙™ J
?# ˙
? ∑ ##

4
5
Melody
4
5
–3 ‘Ode
3 To Joy’/Beethoven’s
5
4
3
5
5
5 Symphony
3
4 4 #9
5 3 3
¤ 5 5

¤ 4 œ 4 œ œ 3 œ 3 œ 5 œ 4 œ 3œ
5
5 5 4
œ œ 3œ œ
4
œ™ œj 3˙
3
¤
?#
?# # w w w w
? ## œ œ œ œ ∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ∑ ™ œ ˙
J
5 5
4 4 5 3 3 5 4 5 5 4 5 5
4 5 4 4 3 5 5 5 3 4 4 3 3 5 3
¤¤ 4
2
5
4 2
5 5 3
3
3
5
5 3 3
œ 3 œ 3 œ œ 4 œ 3 œ 5 œ 5 œ 3 œ 4 œ 3 œ ™ 5œj 5˙
¤? #B‹ œ œ F©‹
#œ w œ œ œ œ w œ œ œ G w œ
A
œ œ™˙ œj ˙ ˙
? œ œ œ œ œ œ
?### wœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ ˙
w w w J

55 55
 5 5
4 4 3 3 4 5 5 4 5 5 3
¤ 3 3 3

¤? ## œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ™
Solo Piece – ‘Ode To Joy’/Beethoven’s Symphony #9 with bass
J note
? ## ∑ accompaniment
# 43 ∑ 3
4
5 5
4 4 3 3 4 5 5 4 4
¤ 5 3 5 3 5 3 3
5 5 4 5 4 5 5
5 3 3 5 5
¤ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 3
œ™ œj ˙
?#
? # 43# w
Ó œ ˙ w œ œ œ ˙ w œ ˙ œw ˙ œ

5 5
5 4 4 4 3 53 4 4 5 53 4 3 5 5
5 3 3 5 3 3 3 5
¤¤ œ œ œ œ œ5 œ œ 5
œ œ œ˙™ œ œ œ˙™™ œj ˙
?###˙w
? œ œ œ ˙ œ w ˙ 4
w ˙ 4
In this example, I’ve put the harmonic melody up an octave in the notation part so you
can see the bass notes a little more clearly. It can be challenging to play both the bass
notes and the harmonic melody – sometimes your left hand will end up in a bit of a weird
¤
position.
? #4
Solo4Piece – ‘Ode To Joy’/Beethoven’s ∑Symphony #9 with different bass
note accompaniment

5 5
4 4 3 3 4 5 5 4 4
¤ 2 3 3 3 3
2 3 5
F©‹
B‹ G A
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ™ œj ˙
?# w
w w w

5 5
4 4 3 3 4 5 5 4 5 5
¤ 2 3 3 3
2 3 5 7

B‹ F©‹ G‹ A B‹
œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œj ˙
?# w
w w ˙ ˙

Notice how the melody is exactly the same – nothing has changed there. The only
difference is in the fretted notes. They change the harmony and the way the melody feels.
 The chords that these bass notes imply have also been written in between the tabs and
notes. You don’t need to worry about playing these chords – they are implied in the bass
notes.

You can also add in different rhythms to create a groove – something that will get people
tapping their feet. The only limit here is your imagination. If there is a note in the melody
you’re trying to play that just isn’t anywhere to be found, you can always turn to using
artificial or tapped harmonics to get the melody out.

Be sure to check out the 4th bonus lesson to get the full picture.

Experimentation is the key with the harmonics. It’s one thing to ‘understand’ how they
work on an intellectual level, but it’s an entirely different game when you start trying to
use them to create solo pieces. You’ll learn so much by trying things out, making
mistakes and figuring out how to get the sounds that you want.

4 Melody – Birdland (Weather Report)

14 19 14 19 14 19 14 19 14 19 12 17 12 17 12 17 12 17 14 19 14 19
14 19 14 19
¤
Bend Bend Bend
? # 44 Ó™ bœ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ
‰ J

14 19 14 19 12 17 12 17 14 19
14 19 12 17
¤
Bend
? #<b>œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ™ Œ ‰
bœ
J

14 19 14 19 14 19 14 19 12 17 12 17 12 17 12 17 14 19 14 19
14 19 14 19
¤
Bend Bend
? #<b>œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ

14 19 14 19 12 17
14 19 12 17
¤ 14 19

? #<b>œ œ œ œ œ ‰ nœ ™ Ó

¤
This is a melody that uses artificial harmonics. It was originally played by Jaco Pastorius
when he was in Weather Report, but there have been countless other bass players since
who have played this melody.

Notice how the artificial harmonics are written. The unbracketed number is the note
that’s actually being fretted. For example, the very first note is being fretted at the 14th
fret. The number in the brackets immediately after the regular number is where the
artificial harmonic is being played.

For example, 14(19) would mean that you fret at the 14th fret, and then pluck your
artificial harmonic at the 19th fret – 5 frets above your original note. This is going to give
you the same note as the 14th fret, but 2 octaves above.

Also, some of the notes you need to bend up half a step. It’s always the 14th fret bending
up to be the same note as the 15th fret. This is quite difficult to imagine without hearing
the recording, but you can check that out here:

Click Here To Listen To The Original Recording

The melody starts at the 0:18 mark. Jaco actually starts by playing the harmonic 12 frets
above the fretted notes. The second time around, (0:30 mark) it’s only 5 frets above
which takes the melody up an octave.
 Next Steps
I strongly encourage you to go through these lessons and this guide as many times as you
need to let everything sink in.

I’d love to hear it what you’ve done with all of the material in these these lessons.
Whether you’ve come up with a riff, melody, like or even an entire song that uses
harmonics, I’d love to hear it!

I’d be so grateful if you could send me a link to a video or a recording at:

becomeabassist@gmail.com

I may even be able to feature your song on the site.

Also, if you have any questions about anything you see here or in the lessons, feel free to
reach me at the same email. I’d be happy to help out however I can.

Good luck with all the harmonics lessons and happy playing!

Talk soon,