The notes of a bass
A four-string bass guitar is tuned E–A–D–G, from the thickest string to the thinnest. Each string is a fourth above the one before — five frets — with no exception, which makes a bass fingerboard more regular than a guitar’s: any shape you learn works on any pair of strings.
The four notes are the same as a guitar’s four lowest strings, an octave lower. That puts the open E at 41.2 Hz, the lowest note in most music and lower than many phone and laptop speakers can reproduce — which is worth knowing before you try to tune to a reference tone you cannot actually hear.
Tap a string to hear its target pitch, then match your own to it.
String notes and frequencies
The exact pitch of each open string at concert pitch, A = 440 Hz — the numbers a strobe or a frequency counter would show. The tuner above works from the same targets.
| String | Note | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 4th | E1 | 41.20 Hz |
| 3rd | A1 | 55.00 Hz |
| 2nd | D2 | 73.42 Hz |
| 1st | G2 | 98.00 Hz |
Tuning a bass by microphone
- Pluck gently, over the end of the fingerboard. A hard pluck near the bridge is mostly overtone and very little fundamental, and the dial may name a note an octave or a fifth too high.
- Let the note ring before you read it. A bass string takes longer than a guitar string to settle. Read the dial after the first second.
- Check the octave. The targets are E1, A1, D2 and G2. A reading of E2 on the lowest string is the tuner hearing the octave overtone.
- If the low E will not register, use its harmonic. Touch the string lightly over the 12th fret and pluck: the note that rings is E2, an octave up and far easier for a microphone to hear. Tune that until the needle centres on E, and the open string is in tune — the chip under the dial waits for the open string itself, so it will not light for the harmonic.
Where the notes are
The first five frets of every string in this tuning. Each fret is one semitone, so this is also how to check a string against its neighbour: find the fret where the lower string plays the higher string’s open note.
| String | Open | Fret 1 | Fret 2 | Fret 3 | Fret 4 | Fret 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | G | G♯ | A | A♯ | B | C |
| 2nd | D | D♯ | E | F | F♯ | G |
| 3rd | A | A♯ | B | C | C♯ | D |
| 4th | E | F | F♯ | G | G♯ | A |
Frequently asked questions
What are the notes of the strings on a bass guitar?
E, A, D and G, from the 4th string (thickest) to the 1st (thinnest) — in full E1, A1, D2 and G2. Each is five frets above the last.
Is a bass tuned the same as a guitar?
The same notes as a guitar’s four lowest strings, one octave down. So anything you know about where notes are on the low four strings of a guitar is true on a bass.
Why does my tuner show the wrong octave on the low E?
Because the string’s overtones are louder than its fundamental, especially through a small microphone that cannot pick up 41 Hz well. The note letter is what matters for tuning: if the dial says E and the needle is centred, the string is in tune. The 12th-fret harmonic avoids the problem entirely.
Can I use a guitar tuner for a bass?
A chromatic tuner, yes — it names whatever note it hears. A tuner that only knows a guitar’s six notes will work for a bass too, since the letters are the same, but one built only for a guitar’s range may not follow the E and A strings, which are an octave below anything a guitar plays.
For everything else about tuning the instrument itself — strings that slip, pegs, and what the dial is telling you — see the bass tuner.
Chords on a bass
A bass rarely holds a chord shape: it plays a chord’s notes one at a time, and most of the time just its root. Two shapes cover nearly everything. The fifth of any note is on the next string up, two frets higher; the octave is two strings up, two frets higher. Root, fifth and octave are the frame of every major and minor chord, and because a bass is tuned in fourths throughout, that shape is the same anywhere on the neck.