Shape of an Octave Interval on Bass Guitar
On bass guitar, an octave shape refers to a line shape that expresses a movement from one fret and string pair (thereby note) to another fret and string pair, whose note is consequently an octave away (that is, whose note is the same note but either higher or lower).
The particular shape of the octave shape is a triangle (a triangle wherein two of its sides join at a 90 degree angle), a.k.a. a right triangle, such that the the lines forming the angle of the triangle both have a measure of , by different units: strings and frets (or, by mapped correspondence, semitones). The order of operations when executing the octave shape with one’s fingers on the fretboard is to ascend by strings (so, descend in terms of the pitch of those strings) and then move either right or left (typically left) by semitones or frets.
The octave shape can be seen below:
Applied to every note, this allows one to play not only the same scale at different octaves, but the same key that scale is in.
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- In The Midnight Hour By Wilson Pickett. Performed by Josh Fossgreen. Beginner to Badass. BassBuzz, n.d. 11:01.