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Nashville Number System (NNS) - 5-String Bass Guitar Fingerboard Reference Chart - Printable PDF

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Download and Print our NNS 5-String Bass Guitar Fingerboard Reference Chart (PDF)

By request, and building on the 4-string version, we at JotChord™ put together a printable, quick reference guide to help you find the scale degrees on a 5-string bass guitar fingerboard for each Major key.

If you're just learning to apply Nashville numbers in your 5-string bass guitar journey, this handy, visual guide will get you up and running quickly.

How to use the reference chart

  1. Simply find the key you're playing in, and then locate scale degrees on the fingerboard reference.

    • Page 1 includes the Key of C, plus all keys with sharps (G, D, A, E, B, F♯, C♯).
    • Page 2 includes the Key of C again, plus all keys with flats (F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭).

  2. Start with the boxes that surround a group of 4 frets. These are the most convenient positions to be able to play all scale degrees without shifting positions. (In this 5-string version, there are 3 main positions for each key. The dotted box overlaps the solid/thin box in many cases.)

  3. Break out of the boxes by gaining familiarity with all of the scale degree locations on the fingerboard.

While this only includes the diatonic scale degrees (that is: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), you can move your finger one fret higher on the fingerboard to sharp (♯) the scale degree, or one fret lower to flat (♭) the scale degree.

Let us know if you have any feedback on this. We're eager to help people learn NNS.

Get the PDF

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NNS Bass Guitar Reference Chart PDF Preview

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