I only took up playing bass about 3 months ago, but I've been playing guitar for over two years. Unlike when I first started playing guitar, I have been actually trying to the best of my ability to learn music theory and work towards becoming a groovy bassist. I have been taking bass lessons once a week, and practicing a couple hours every day and reading "Bass for Dummies". I also have been trying to jam with my friends who also play instuments (guitar, drums, piano etc) so I can kind of figure out what basslines go with which chords and whatnot.

Unfortunately it seems like most of the time, whenever i'm jamming with a group of people, I'll think of a sweet groove that fits with whatever key the guitar (or piano) is in and play that, but as soon as the chord changes it's tonality, I am lost. As much as I read through that damn book, and practice all the scales (which I probably don't do enough) I really don't understand how to construct a groove to fit around a certain key. I know to find the root note, but everything besides that is basically just a guessing game, when I'm actually in a jam. Sometimes it works and sometimes it just ****s everybody else up.

Could somebody please explain to me, in the simplest terms possible, how I make my basslines fit the chords someone is playing on guitar? Not so much the key it's in but mostly just the tonality, like when the guitar play switches from C7 to C and then to C minor.

I'm just hella confused...

This may be too simple, but play in the key of the song for the whole song.

For example, the song starts in E (usually the first note is the key of the song) so you play in the E major scale. When the guitars move to A, you start that measure on the A, but don't leave the E scale. Some of the notes are going to be different than playing the A scale, and this is where the sound difference is coming from.

The A scale and the E scale contain most of the same notes (A,B,C#,E, F#) but the others are different. This is why the guitars play Cmin7's and such - to match the key of the song.

To learn more about this, you should look into intervals - 4th's 5th's etc.

Am I too simple or complex? It's hard to judge since you know so much for only playing 3 months.

Since you've played guitar, hopefully you know where all the roots (root notes) are. Since you are a guitar player, I'll walk you throught this with guitar fingering, rather than bass "Simandl" fingering (which is usually taught because of the longer bass scale). But do some left finger expansion stretches first to prep your hand.

The first step of, course, is to get into a "root - fifth" rhythm (for instance, C - assuming you're playing a 4 string bass - 3rd string, 3rd fret). The fifth tone of the C scale is G, either the one below it, or above it....or alternate back and forth in quarter note rhythm. Now, apply that same "pattern" to a 12 bar blues:

C /C /C /C /F /F /C /C /G /F /C /G

Where each letter indicates a measure of that chord being played by a guitar. Just alternate between the root and fifth tones to start.

The next step is to evolve it into a "walking pattern" based on that root. Let's just start with C. Use your second finger. The notes you're going to play will be the root, third, fifth, sixth, and root (but an octave higher), and then come back down. Note by note, that would be C, E, G, A, C, A, G, E and then start again with C.

But it's all a pattern....like this:

C - third string, third fret, second finger;
E - second string, second fret, first finger;
G - second string, fifth fret, fourth finger;
A - first string, second fret, first finger;
C - first string, fifth fret, fourth finger.
(then come back down)

Use the pattern in the above 12 bar blues. When it comes time to switch the chord and you're not through the pattern yet, switch to the new root and start the pattern on the new root.

Your basic chord voicings are built off these tones listed above. For a minor chord, flat (move down one fret) the 3rd tone to become a b (read, "flat"...not "B")3 (and sometimes the 6th). For a dominant 7th chord, raise (move up one fret) the 6th to become a b7 (ditto). An augmented chord is a 1-3-#5 (the fifth tone raised up one fret), while a diminished chord is a 1-b3-b5, and a diminished 7th chord is a 1-b3-b5-6. Makes for a pretty cool pattern too.

This is REAL basic stuff. I started taking guitar lessons when I was 6, and started playing "bass" on my guitar when I was 12. I got my first bass for my 14th birthday, and have been doing it for 33 years. What I described above was how I got started. That's the technique - groove is allowing the flow of the music to enter your soul.

More advanced lesson...when you get to be able to play with a group, the secret to playing "in the pocket" is to become implicitly honed in on the drummer's kick drum. If you're playing a line exactly as it is on a song, and it's "not sounding right," like it's "not tight," the drummer's kick drum has to be playing what you're playing rhythmically. Two ways to remedy it....you have to change or drummer has to change. The worst drummers are those that have no consistent kick drum pattern. It's impossible to connect into a groove with them. Some of the most fabulous experiences are the ones where you start playing and you almost instinctively synchronize because you listen to one another. And when the accents in the song are together - that's an incredible high.

Hope this helps a little....good luck!!

Z

I don't know how long you have been taking lessons but if you have been going for more than a month your tutor should have explained how "key" applies to diatonic chord progressions by now or at least how to apply the corresponding notes of a given chord to an arpeggio or melodic line. Assuming that most of what you are playing with your friends is diatonic (based on the major scale and its modes) it should have been explained to you how to find a key and stick to it. This is definitley a question your tutor should be able to handle. My advice is that if they can't you are wasting your time and money. Get someone who knows what they are talking about.

Get your bass, turn on the radio and start playing along. Just play roots don't worry about the line. See if you can figure out the chord progression before the song is done on the radio. This helps your ears, after awhile you will start noticing common chord movements. The more you do this the better you get at guessing where chords are going to go. Then you will be the King of the Jam session with your friends. No matter what chord they go to you can follow them and keep the groove going.