Triad-Based Chord Progressions for the Bass VI

When playing chord progressions, I like to think of them in clusters. I learned to play bass using something like the Nashville number system, so I tend to think of chords in clusters of I, IV, V, vi, etc.

When you’re just playing the root note of chords, it’s pretty easy to keep track of where those intervals fall on the fretboard. Once you start throwing inversions in, it’s hard to think your way through it. At that point, you’re better off having the relationships between your triads memorized so you can easily jump from one to the next. Here are a few patterns that I find cluster together well. In order to show the relationships between these chords, I’m going to show them all in the key of D.

Note: In this post, like my last few, all the numbers in diagrams represent scale intervals.

I (C)	_ _ _ _ _ _ (5) _ _ 5 1 3 _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (7) _ _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (9) _ _ _ _ _ _
IV (F)	_ _ _ _ _ _ (5) _ _ _ 5 _ _    _ _ _ _ 1 _ (7) _ _ 3 _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (9) _ _ _ _ _ _
V7 (G7)	_ _ _ _ _ _ (5) _ _ 1 _ _ _    _ _ _ _ 7 _ (7) _ _ _ 5 _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (9) _ _ _ _ _ _
vi (Am)	_ _ _ _ _ _ (5) _ _ _ 3 5 _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (7) _ _ 1 _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (9) _ _ _ _ _ _

You’ll notice that all four of these chords are based around keeping your index finger on the fifth fret. This creates a kind of moveable box that gives you access to four of the most common chords in any given progression. Keep your index finger at the fifth fret, and by moving around your middle and index fingers, you’re able to get to the IV, the V7, and the vi.

So, the V7 chord might be a bit of a surprise. We haven’t discussed non-1-3-5 triads before. Let’s take a closer look at this chord. It’s voiced 1-5-7b. A 7 chord is quite common in rock music, especially in the V7 variety. If you want, you can raise that 7b a whole step up to the 8th fret and get a traditional power chord, although that might be a bit harder to fret.

Here’s another set of chord shapes that go together, this time with a bit more movement up and down the neck. We’ll move to the key of D for these.

I (D)	_ _ _ _ _ _ (3) _ _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (5) _ _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (7) _ _ 7 7 7 _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (9) _ _ _ _ _ _
IV (G)	_ _ _ _ _ _ (3) _ _ _ _ 3 _    _ _ _ 4 _ _ (5) _ _ 5 _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (7) _ _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (9) _ _ _ _ _ _
V (A)	_ _ _ _ _ _ (3) _ _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (5) _ _ _ _ 5 _    _ _ _ 6 _ _ (7) _ _ 7 _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (9) _ _ _ _ _ _
Vi (Bm)	_ _ _ _ _ 2 (3) _ _ _ _ 3 _    _ _ _ 4 _ _       (5) _ _ _ _ _ _   -or-    _ _ _ _ _ _ (7) _ _ _ 7 7 _    _ _ _ _ _ _ (9) _ _ 9 _ _ _

This progression is more useful when barring the I chord with your ring finger. Go from the I to the V quickly by lifting up your ring finger and fretting the “E” shape triad with your ring finger staying on that 7th fret.

Drop the same shape you’re using for your V chord down 2 frets and you get your IV chord. I find these shapes make a I - V - IV - V style progression (or any variation with the I - V - IV movement) very easy.

With the vi chord, you’ve got some options. You can go back up to the seventh fret, or you can jump up to the first three strings down at the second fret. Where I go usually depends on the chord I’m coming from or going to next. I find the voicing of this triad on the first three string very resonant on my bass VI, so I often prefer this for a minor triad to the version using strings two, three, and four.

There’s nothing stopping you from mixing the triads from one group in with one from the other. Just think about what the common relationships are.

Also, I only outlined the relationships for when the I triad is the second inversion shape barred across one string. What if the I chord is played using a major triad in the E shape? Where are your IV, V and vi chords then? Practice this often, and don’t be afraid to try new voicings for chords when playing songs or writing your own.

The addition of the top two strings on a bass VI opens up a lot of song territory, and using triads and their inversions is a great way to take advantage of that sonic space.

Triad Inversions for the Bass VI

In my last post, we looked at major and minor triads for use when playing chords on the bass VI. Let’s take a look at inversions, and how we can use them play chords as well.

We defined a major triad as the 1-3-5 of a scale played together, in that order. What happens if you play them in a different order? That’s where inversions come in. When the lowest note in a chord isn’t the tonic (the 1 of the scale) then you have an inverted chord.

Inversions are numbered by convention, so the first inversion of a major triad is 3-1-5. This is the third note played first, followed by the rest of the chord. The second inversion is 5-1-3. The second inversion is what I’m going to focus on here, since it still strongly sounds like a full major chord.

Let’s take a look at an A chord shape.

“A Barre Chord Shape”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ 1 _ _ _ 5
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ 5 1 3 _
_ _ _ _ _ _

The 1-3-5 is in there, like we talked about last week. That can be kind of a thin sounding voicing, though, and isn’t quite as easy for my gigantic bass player hands to fret as the E derived major triad is. But what’s this? That 5-1-3 in the middle, that’d be really easy to play. A single finger barred across three strings plays that second inversion almost effortlessly. And it sounds incredibly rock and roll, as well as being familiar. If you’ve ever heard a Rolling Stones song, you’ve probably heard this chord voicing being used. It’s meaty, strong, and major. This chord is something you’ll get a ton of use out of when playing triad based chords on the bass VI.

Now, take a look at this open G chord shape. See anything familiar? That’s right, our second inversion is in there, exactly the same as it is in the A shape.

“Open G Chord Shape”

E A D G B E

_ _ 5 1 3 _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ 3 _ _ _ _
1 _ _ _ _ 1
_ _ _ _ _ _

Let’s add in another inversion. Since we just used that G shape, why don’t we find a chord that can be used in a progression with that shape. We haven’t looked at the C shape yet, so let’s chart that out.

“Open C Chord Shape”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ 5 _ 3
_ _ _ _ 1 _
_ _ 3 _ _ _
_ 1 _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

If you’re getting a hang of this whole inversion business, you’ll see there are three triads we can pick apart from this chord shape.

“Major triad: 1-3-5”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ 5 _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ 3 _ _ _
_ 1 _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

“First inversion: 3-5-1”
E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ 5 _ _
_ _ _ _ 1 _
_ _ 3 _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

“Second inversion: 5-1-3”
E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ 5 _ 3
_ _ _ _ 1 _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

The question becomes, when are you going to use these chords?

That first major triad shape can be pretty muddy, especially when played towards the nut of a bass VI. You’re probably not going to get much use out of that one.

The first inversion is going to be useful when transitioning from the A shaped triad we talked about earlier. If you barre the A shape with your index finger, you can drop your middle and ring fingers down into the first inversion shown above for a new chord. This gives you a I - IV progression. Now that you have all these chord shapes to use, the trick is to start clustering them together in patterns and progressions. What’s convenient for moving from one chord to the next?

The second inversion of this shape is an interesting one to me. You’re playing an open D shape chord with no root! Jumping from the barred A shape second inversion to this second inversion gives you a I - IV progression as well.

Up next, we’ll take a bunch of these triads and start building some common chord progressions out of them, so you can start to see some patterns you can use in your own playing. The bass VI is a peculiar instrument, so some things work really well, while others that might work on guitar don’t.

Chords and Triads on the Bass VI

On the bass VI, fully voiced chords can sound sloppy and muddy, even with the EQ adjusted and the bass strangle switch (if you’re playing on one of the new Squier VM models) engaged. There’s just too much boom in there. But you can still play chords. You just can’t play the bass VI like it’s a guitar.

I’m a bass player, and only a mediocre guitar player. I’m self taught on the guitar, so I learned open and barre chords, but not much nuance around them. Playing the bass VI like a bass isn’t that hard, if you already play the classic four string style. But, the bass VI offers a lot of versatility, and isn’t really that great if all you’re doing is playing it like a four string bass. So, I decided to take some bass VI lessons from a guitar teacher, and that helped me figure out quite a few things about the instrument.

Here’s my first big take away from working with a guitar player to understand the bass VI:  Chords are a jumbled mess, but triads are clear and full without sounding boomy. For this post, I’m going to assuming you understand scales, basic chord shapes (particularly open chords and full barre chords). If you don’t, you’ll still probably get some use out of the triads I’ll show you, but you’ll definitely want to find some further resources on chord basics.

Playing only three notes, with no repeats, gets chords across with clarity, and the bass VI’s unique voice can make that sound pretty badass. I’m going to show you a few shapes so you can start playing your major and minor chords on the bass VI without the mud associated with trying to play full open or barre chords.

Let’s start by looking at the construction of a major triad.

Major Triad

A major triad is composed of the root, the 3rd, and the 5th notes of the major scale. So, we have the 1-3-5 pattern we seen in most chords. In most chord shapes on the guitar, these three notes are repeated in various patterns to create the full chord sound. In the open E shape, for instance, you have a pattern of 1-5-1-3-5-1.

“E Major Shape Barre Chord”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
1 _ _ _ 5 1
_ _ _ 3 _ _
_ 5 1 _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

(Note: This is a vertical representation of the guitar neck, not tablature. In this post, the numbers represent scale intervals, not frets. No particular fret is assumed, as we’re talking about shapes, not specific chords, at this point.)

If we’re looking to pair down the number of notes in a chord as well as operate in the bass VI voice sweet spot, we need to find ways to play just three of these notes at a time. If you look closely, you can spot the first triad shape we’ll use in the open E chord pattern: 1-3-5.

You’re probably more used to seeing this pattern when the E shape is used as a barre chord. You might have even learned part of it as an “F” chord: 1-3-5-1.

“F Major Shape Chord”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ 5 1
_ _ _ 3 _ _
_ _ 1 _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

Take out that top repetition of the 1, and you’ve got your first major triad shape. Here’s the pattern with scale intervals as numbers, and then again with just the triad we want.

“E Major Shape Barre Chord”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
1 _ _ _ 5 1
_ _ _ 3 _ _
_ 5 1 _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

“E Major Shape Triad”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ 5 _
_ _ _ 3 _ _
_ _ 1 _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

Rooted on the 4th (D) string, move this shape up and down the neck when you need a major chord. It’s played at the same position of the neck as an E style barre chord would be played, so you if you know all the notes on your E string, you shouldn’t have much trouble quickly finding the triad you’re looking for.

For instance, if you want to play an A major triad, keep your index finger on the fifth fret, just as if you were going to barre that entire fret.

Muting is a skill you’re going to need a lot when playing multiple strings on the VI. Use the side of your index finger to mute your first string, and either your thumb or the side of your ring finger to mute the 5th (and optionally 6th) string. This frees up your picking hand from needing to be completely clean when striking the triad.

Minor Triad

Now let’s add a minor triad to the mix. This works along the same principles as the major triad we constructed before, except now the 3 is flattened a half step to create a minor chord.

Just like the E major barre form before it, we can borrow from the E minor barre chord and end up with:

“E Minor Shape Barre Chord”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
1 _ _ 3 5 1
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ 5 1 _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

“E Minor Shape Triad”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ 3 5 _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ 1 _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

Let’s throw in another option, though. Just like we found an existing triad inside the E minor chord shape, we can do the same thing with the A minor chord shape.

Here’s that A minor chord shape, with the numbers representing the scale tones of the notes. See that 1-3-5 pattern? By playing just that portion, you also get a nice and chimey minor chord. (It’s also the same exact fretting pattern you play one string below for a major chord.)

“A Minor Shape Barre Chord”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ 1 _ _ _ 5
_ _ _ _ 3 _
_ _ 5 1 _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

“A Minor Shape Triad”

E A D G B E

_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ 5
_ _ _ _ 3 _
_ _ _ 1 _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

So far we have one voicing for a major triad and two voicings for a minor triad. If you haven’t already figured it out, why don’t you chart out the intervals and find a 1-3-5 triad in the A major chord shape as an exercise?


In my next post, I'll go over triad inversions and and add a bunch of new triads to the toolbox.