I don’t know how to ask this and guessing I’ll sound really odd. Old man learning bass for a couple of months and its going pretty well - enjoying myself.
One thing is bugging me. Why is the order of strings on common guitars in opposite order of the scales/staves and fret charts? That is, on the scale the lower notes are on the bottom and on guitars, the lower notes are on the top. Seems that relating the notes on the strings to the notes on the staves would be easier to learn if the lower tone string was on the bottom and the higher tone string was on the top. Sorry - just asking. Seemed like the proper forum. :*/
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I obviously can’t speak for whoever it was that made it the way it is, but to me it made sense because if I’m holding a guitar/bass in playing position and look down at it, from my playing perspective it lines up with the order the strings are notated in tablature.
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Hold your bass in your lap, facing upward. The lowest notes (bigger strings) are now on the bottom, just as lower notes appear on a notation staff.
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Hi @bukbass 
The easiest way I can think to explain it (aside from the standard definition of music noatation, low notes are lowest … highest notes are higher on the staves ) would be this … and this is how I came to terms with what seemed backwards as well to me … when I first started.
Take your bass, and set it on your lap (with strings up obviously) . then look down at it
Do you see the similarity to the tabs now?
Hope this helps clarify, and make things easier for you
Cheers!
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LMAO!! you beat me to it!
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That’s a fine explanation, but considering how recently standard notation was developed I wonder if the answer isn’t the string order came first. I could totally see lutes or their predecessors traditionally being strung lowest string on top being older than musical notation on a stave.
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My guess it has nothing to do with looking at the strings, or even guitar at all.
On a piano, the bass clef is meant to be played left handed, and the treble clef is meant to be played right handed. It’s a piano thing we inherited.
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I suspect it’s true that stringed instruments were around before musical notation like we have today.
As for why they’re strung the way they are, here’s an idea, I have no idea if it’s right or not.
Down strokes/strums seem more common than up strokes (maybe not true? Probably not true. I’m not a guitar or lute player). If you’re going to strum a chord, it makes sense to strum from low notes to high notes, so you hear the root first. So maybe that’s why?
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It could have gone either way, but simply “He, who made it stick, gets to set the standard”. It’ll take 5 minutes and you’ll get used to it. I asked the same question when I first saw the Tab.
String order definitely came first. I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise.
My point was: when holding a bass face-up in your lap, the strung neck offers a rough visual representation of a notation staff, with lower notes oriented at the bottom in each case.
Thanks for all the thoughts. Having lived a career in tech I’m very familiar with the “how standards come to be” thing. Google says the Se was the first string ii instrument 2700 years ago.Dunno when the staff was created. It’s not a debilitating problem. Just a curiosity. My thought is that it is m my responsibility to know where the notes are on the instrument I choose. The composer’s is to use the best tool to convey what is in their heads. Normally I would go down this rabbit hole to find out more but Im going to stick with enjoying playing. Maybe I I’m get good enough to play SKA someday. Thanks again for all the thoughts.
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