Fretrune

Bass

A bass fretboard trainer that listens to you play

Know every root on the neck by sight, so every line has somewhere to start.

Coming soon for iPhone and Mac

A bass player's job starts with the root. When a chart says F, or the guitarist moves to B flat, you need that note under your finger straight away, without counting up from the open string. Fretrune trains exactly that: it names a note, you play it on your bass, and it listens.

Start on the E and A strings

Most of the roots you play live on the two thickest strings. Learn the natural notes there first, frets 0 to 12, and the sharps and flats fall in between.

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The natural notes on the E and A strings. Between neighbouring naturals is a sharp, except B–C and E–F, which are only one fret apart.

Octaves are two strings up and two frets over

Once you know a note on the E or A string, you can find it an octave higher: two strings thinner and two frets up. It is the shape behind most bass lines, and a quick way to check yourself.

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G on the E string, and the G an octave up on the D string. The same shape from D on the A string.

What a microphone can hear

The open E on a bass is about 41 Hz, where it is easy to mistake a note for the same note an octave up. Fretrune scores the lowest notes by note name rather than octave, so a clean E counts as E. A quiet room and a note left to ring help more than volume.

For the full neck on paper, see the bass notes chart.

Questions

Is there a fretboard trainer for bass?
Yes. Fretrune supports four-string bass in standard tuning (E, A, D, G). It names a note, you play it on your bass, and it listens through the microphone.
Can a phone hear a bass?
Yes, but the lowest notes are the hardest for a phone microphone: the open E string is about 41 Hz. Play in a quiet room, let the note ring, and keep the phone or Mac near the instrument or amp.
Which bass notes should I learn first?
The E and A strings, frets 0 to 12. Most root notes you play sit there, and Fretrune starts on the E string for that reason.
I play guitar too. Do I have to learn it twice?
No. A bass has the same four notes as a guitar’s four thickest strings, an octave lower, so Fretrune counts progress on those strings for both instruments.