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Triads are the basis of everything — chord structure, harmony, and the notes you choose on the bass. I used to teach scales first, but I've come to see that triads are the real key, and the notes of the scale are just ways to connect the triad notes. Get comfortable with all four flavors in every key.
I used to think scales were the most important music vocabulary to work on, but the more I played the more I realized triads and arpeggios matter more. As I've said before, triads are the harmonic material of every bass line you have played or will ever play — so build your lines outward from the triad's harmonic and rhythmic core.
Bebop arpeggios are the chord-tone vocabulary of bebop-era jazz soloing, worked through every chord change so strong beats land on chord tones. Even if you never plan to play jazz, spending time in this style sharpens your rhythmic control over which note goes where — a skill that carries straight into bass lines in any style.
A smart move for any bass player at any level is to make sure you're up on your triads. The notes of the triad are the life's blood of every bass line — past, present, and future. This post walks through practical ways to organize the major and minor triad notes across the bass neck.
Triads are the most important note group to have organized physically on the bass neck. Because a bass line's core job is outlining the chord one note at a time, being able to play a triad's root, third, and fifth comfortably from any position and in any inversion is what gives your lines harmonic strength.
The note-job of a bass line is to outline the chord sound one note at a time, which makes an understanding of triads and chords essential. Not only where the notes are on the neck, but what they are, why they are, and — crucially — what they sound like. Listen, listen, and listen again.
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