Notes on the double bass
Every fingering for the double bass, from low to high. First position. The open string sounds without a finger; each finger shortens the string by the distance shown.
The fingerboard
Open strings from low to high: E – A – D – G. The dashed marks are the semitones — where beginners put the tapes. Natural notes filled, sharps as rings; every sharp has a flat name too. In first position the first finger lies on the first or second mark, the fourth on the fifth.
| Note | String | |
|---|---|---|
| E1 | E-string | open |
| F1 | E-string | 1 |
| F#1 | E-string | 2 |
| G1 | E-string | 4 |
| A1 | A-string | open |
| A#1 | A-string | 1 |
| B1 | A-string | 2 |
| C2 | A-string | 4 |
| D2 | D-string | open |
| D#2 | D-string | 1 |
| E2 | D-string | 2 |
| F2 | D-string | 4 |
| G2 | G-string | open |
| G#2 | G-string | 1 |
| A2 | G-string | 2 |
| A#2 | G-string | 4 |
First position. The open string sounds without a finger; each finger shortens the string by the distance shown. Which finger takes which semitone depends on the key.
Related pages
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Photograph a page of sheet music or play the melody — Anotona finds the key, engraves the notes and transposes them into any other. Free.
See AnotonaEvery note on this page is computed, not typed in — following the rule that also makes F# major spell its seventh degree E#, not F.