S C OT T S BA S S L E S S O N S .
C O M
FRETBOARD
CLARITY
C H E AT S H E E T
FRETBOARD CLARITY CHEAT SHEET 2
THE PROBLEM —
Knowing some of the
fretboard, but not all of it.
A lot of bass players are comfortable in certain areas of the neck—maybe around
the 3rd to 5th frets or up by the 12th—but beyond those familiar zones, it can
start to feel foggy. You might know some shapes, some riffs, maybe even a
couple of chord tones here and there…
But what’s missing is connection. The ability to move confidently from one area to
another—without getting lost or second-guessing yourself—is what truly unlocks
the fretboard. That’s the goal of this guide: to help you connect the dots.
(Literally. The diagrams you’ll find here use dots connected by lines to create
simple, repeatable, moveable shapes that you can rely on anywhere on the neck.)
THE SOLUTION —
Triads as your fretboard GPS
Yes, ok, we know—triads aren’t always a super-sexy topic. Because when we learn
them early, they get filed away as “basic theory.” But if you know how to use them,
triads can become one of the most powerful fretboard tools in your back pocket.
Here’s why:
— They show you where the harmony lives: Root, 3rd, and 5th—those are your
guideposts in every key.
— They give you connection points across the neck, letting you move smoothly
from shape to shape, and area to area.
— They create a visual framework of patterns and shapes that helps your
fingers—and your brain—build spatial memory.
— They act as reference points: Once you can see where the triad tones are, you
can easily locate other intervals. For example, if you know where the 5th is in an
F major triad up at the 10th fret, it’s no stretch to find the 6th or the 7th nearby.
And the best part? You only need four shapes for major triads. Learn those, and
you’ve got a full fretboard system. From there, creating minor shapes is as easy as
lowering the 3rd—so the visual patterns stay mostly the same.
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FRETBOARD CLARITY CHEAT SHEET 3
The 4 Triad Shapes
These four shapes are your new fretboard toolkit. They each give you a different
way to play a major triad, depending on where you are on the neck and which
string you’re starting from.
The cool thing is, once you get familiar with them, you'll see how they overlap and
connect—helping you move smoothly across the fretboard. Let’s meet the shapes:
SHAPE 1 SHAPE 2
The Wide Triangle (aka “Root on E”) The 3-to-5 Stretch
Key of F Key of D
G 3 G 5
D R D 3
A
5 A R
E R 3 E 3 5
This one’s a classic. It starts with the root on the E string and This shape gets its name from the stretch between the 3rd and
forms a wide triangle shape when you connect the root, 3rd, and 5th on the low E string. It might be the least familiar shape to
5th. It’s easy to visualize and super useful when you’re starting many players—but that’s what makes it powerful. It acts as a
a line or phrase from the low E string. If you’re more comfortable connector, bridging the gap between the more commonly used
in the lower positions of the neck, this shape will feel like home. shapes. Master this one, and you’ll unlock the ability to shift
fluidly up and down the neck.
SHAPE 3 SHAPE 4
The 5 Below (aka “Root on A”) The Ultra-Classic
Key of B-flat Key of F-sharp
G R G 3
D 5 D R
A R 3 A 3 5
E 5 E R
This one is closely related to the Wide Triangle. But here’s the You’ve probably seen (and played) this one before. It’s the shape
twist: the first note you play is actually the 5th of the triad. If that gets taught first in a lot of method books and lessons—
you play it low to high, you’re climbing up from 5 → Root → 3rd. and for good reason. It starts with your 2nd finger on the E
It’s especially handy when you’ve found your root note on the A string root, just like the Wide Triangle, but this time the 3rd is
string and want to build your triad from there. moved up to the A string. It’s compact, easy to remember, and
incredibly versatile.
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FRETBOARD CLARITY CHEAT SHEET 4
Fretboard Flow: All Shapes in F
Now that you’ve seen each triad shape on its own, it’s time to step back and
look at how they all fit together across the fretboard. This full, Fretboard Flow
chart shows all four major shapes laid out back-to-back.
Use it to see how the shapes connect, where they overlap, and how you can
move from one to the next without losing your place. The goal is to help you
recognize these patterns not just as isolated chunks—but as part of one big,
connected map you can move around freely.
Major Shapes
There are four shapes to learn for major triads which serve as the foundation
of this fretboard mapping system. And the very best way to learn these is to
speak the number of each triad note aloud as you play them—”root, 3, 5.”
Key of F Major:
5 R 3
G 3
D R 3 5 R
R
A
5 R 3 5
E R 3 5 R
R
Shape 1 Shape 2 Shape 3 Shape 4
Minor Shapes
To get the minor shapes in the same key, all you have to do is lower the 3rd of
each triad by a half step (down one fret). So, the shapes essentially stay the
same with the exception of the lowered 3rd!
Key of F Minor:
5 R b3
G b3
D R b3 5 R
A 5 R b3 5
E R b3 5 R
Shape 1 Shape 2 Shape 3 Shape 4
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FRETBOARD CLARITY CHEAT SHEET 5
Find the Connections
The real magic of these shapes isn’t just in learning them individually—it’s in seeing
how they connect. Each triad shape shares some notes with the shapes next to it,
creating natural linking points across the neck. These shared notes act like bridges,
helping you move fluidly from one position to another.
When you start to recognize these overlaps, you’re not just memorizing isolated
patterns—you’re building a connected, flexible map of the entire fretboard. That’s
what turns shapes into freedom.
Use the Same Shapes in Any Key
One of the most powerful things about these triad shapes is that they’re moveable.
That means once you learn a shape, you can apply it in any key—you just need to
know where your root note is. This is called transposition.
Because the bass is tuned in fourths and follows a consistent pattern, the same shape
that outlines a G major triad at the 3rd fret can also outline a C major triad at the 8th.
The shapes stay the same—only the starting point changes. Once you can confidently
find root notes up and down the neck, these patterns become universal tools for
navigating all 12 keys with ease.
Key of C Major
To help illustrate the point about movability, here are the shapes in the key of C Major.
We’ve written them notation-style with tab this time to give you a different view of the
same patterns.
These shapes are presented in order from low to high on the fretboard.
S2� The 3-to-5 Stretch S3� The 5 Below S3� Ultra-Classic
œ œ œ
? œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ
0 5 9
¤
2 5 10
3 3 7 7 10
0 3 3 8
S1� The Wide Triangle œ S2� The 3-to-5 Stretch (up high) œ
4 œ œ œ œ
? œ œ œ œ œ
9 12 12
¤
10 14
10 15
8 12 12 15
2
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