Octave Method for Low E : 4-String Bass
Major Scales & Arpeggios


CAGED4BASS eBook cover

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eBook :


Octave Method for Four String Bass


Fretboard navigation method for 4-string bass based on an instrument specific modification of the CAGED guitar method, using linked octave shapes rather than open position chord shapes for ease and simplicity of use.


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Paperbook Book :


CAGED4BASS : Octave Method for 4-String Bass


Fretboard navigation method for 4-string bass guitar based on an instrument specific modification of the CAGED guitar method, using linked octave shapes rather than open position chord shapes for ease and simplicity of use.

Octave Method for Low B : 5-String Bass Paper Book


Jonas Hellborg


Jonas Hellborg

Jonas Hellborg

Jonus Hellborg is the acoustic bass player from Göteborg.

Jonas Hellborg live at Warwick Bass Concert Melbourne

Steve Bailey and Jonas Hellborg face to face

Lee Sklar with the Warwick "Jonas Hellborg Signature" Bass

Warwick at NAMM 2013 - Jonas Hellborg, Robert Trujillo and the bass of Jaco Pastorius.

Jonas Hellborg, Shawn Lane & Felix Sabal-Lecco Live 1998

Warwick Jonas Hellborg


CAGED4BASS - C major blues scale box shapes

In this BLOGoZON we take a look at the C major blues scale box shapes and join them all together to form one long CAGED4BASS chain.

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Hence the CAGED4BASS sequence is shown for C natural in the diagram that follows:-

CAGED4BASS C nautral octave shapes

guitarpro6_c_natural octaves

The notes of the C major blues scale are presented below in the CAGED4BASS style:-

CAGED4BASS fretboard C major blues scale notes

As always a more long term solution to fretboard navigation is to see arpeggios as INTERVAL shapes rather than note names - as these are universal to all scales, arpeggios and chords rather than specific to one particular root note - with this in mind the intervals for the C major blues scale are detailed below in the
CAGED4BASS manner:-

CAGED4BASS fretboard C major blues scale intervals

The tables and tabbed panels below detail all five box shapes for the C major blues scale in the CAGED4BASS style.


CAGED4BASS - C major blues scale box shapes

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3C* pdf
3A1 pdf
4G1 pdf
4E2 pdf
2D* pdf
3C* at 12 pdf

  • 3C*
  • 3A1
  • 4G1
  • 4E2
  • 2D*
  • 3C* at 12

GuitarPro6 3C* box shape

GuitarPro6 3A1 box shape

GuitarPro6 4G1 box shape

GuitaPro6 4E2 box shape

GuitarPro6 2D* box shape

GuitarPro6 3C* box shape at 12



  • 3C*
  • 3A1
  • 4G1
  • 4E2
  • 2D*
  • 3C* at 12

3C* box shape

3A1 box shape

4G1 box shape

4E2 box shape

2D* box shape

3C* box shape at 12



Once the individual box shapes have been assimilated all five shapes should be linked together and played in one continuous exercise (with the first shape - 3C* - being repeated at the 12th fret).

The video shown to the right demonstrates the CAGED4BASS chain-linked sequence for the C major blues scale box shapes.


The complete TAB for the previous exercise follows:-

C major blues scale box shapes TAB


The box shapes for the previous exercise follows:-

C major blues scale box shapes

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C major blues scale box shapes pdf

C major blues scale box shapes TAB pdfC major scale box shapes TAB pdf


Jonas Hellborg

Abstract logic....Zon Brookes

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