This forum is a part of the result of the "Improving the DB Forums" thread. We have a few more things in the works, but this is a start. I'd like to begin by moving all of the theory type threads from DB MISC to this location , and then hopefully everyone will post here when they have a theory question or topic.

Just for everybody's information, this forum should be used for ANY type of theory discussion, and is NOT intended to be restricted to any one or two particular styles or genres. As I teach both jazz and "traditional" theory as a large part of my day gig, I'll be happy to answer any questions I can, but I am by no means suggesting that I am any kind of ultimate authority in these matters - just an individual with a vested interest. In other words, feel free to add your 2 cents worth at any time, regardless of how "official" your advice may be...this is all about sharing information, and I hope to learn as much as anyone here.

Last, I'm going to stick this thread to the top of the forum for a while until things get settled in a bit, and it would be nice if folks who find threads in other forums that they think might belong here would post the links to those threads in this thread - all I'd have to do then is move the thread in question here. In the meantime, I'll be moving all of the threads from the "Theory Links" MISC thread to this location. Please help pick up any strays you may find, and Enjoy!

Finally! I have little doubt that this will become one of TalkBass' most valuable resources.

For real....would it be too much to link to this forum in the GI forum of BG?

i'm guessing that all these threads were just moved over here. i mean, i wasn't gone _that_ long. :D

i've been pusing for a music theory forum for 3 years (not too hard, just suggesting it :) ) i'm glad we finally got one.

So, how is this gonna relate to GI over in BG land?

Seeing as this is a theory forum, and theory is somewhat independant of instrument, presumably this won't be limited to DB discussion?

Or are we gonna get lynched if we start analysing Jaco's solo on Donna Lee? ;)

Are we gonna get lynched for even mentioning Jaco? :D

Or more generally, if this ventures into very non-DB territory?

Or will this forum be open to theory talk pertaining to all instruments, and all music, regardless of whether it's got anything to do with DB? If so, then I suppose this forum will be a new home for theory discussions which would otherwise have belonged in GI?

Originally posted by moley
Or are we gonna get lynched if we start analysing Jaco's solo on Donna Lee? ;)

Are we gonna get lynched for even mentioning Jaco? :D


Lynched, maybe not, but I will track you down.:)

Seriously, we're at TalkBass, not TalkTrumpet, and this is the DB side. My vote is to be tolerant if discussion occassionally wanders, but to keep it relevant to DB playing.

Hey, this is great! After reading through the FAQ, I see I miss stuff by not frequenting the BG side often enough

Let this forum go forth and be threadful...

Originally posted by Peter McFerrin
Finally! I have little doubt that this will become one of TalkBass' most valuable resources.

Yeah, for DB.

Originally posted by Don Higdon

Lynched, maybe not, but I will track you down.:)

Seriously, we're at TalkBass, not TalkTrumpet, and this is the DB side. My vote is to be tolerant if discussion occassionally wanders, but to keep it relevant to DB playing.

That was why I was hoping that the theory forum could be independant of the BG & DB sides. We SLAB players like to talk theory too ;)

Originally posted by moley
So, how is this gonna relate to GI over in BG land?

Seeing as this is a theory forum, and theory is somewhat independant of instrument, presumably this won't be limited to DB discussion?

Or are we gonna get lynched if we start analysing Jaco's solo on Donna Lee? ;)

Are we gonna get lynched for even mentioning Jaco? :D

Or more generally, if this ventures into very non-DB territory?

That's a good question, and one I don't have the answer to at the moment. Paul said in an earlier communication that he needed to do something about a place for theory on the BG side as well, and I don't know what - if anything - he plans to do about that at this point. I think I'll try and ask that very question. I think there should be some separation betwwen the two, but not TOTAL separation...they'll both be joined by the (nearly) identical LINKS threads, which I'll continue to update every few months or so, and there will always be some overlap. At the same time, it would be nice if the information in this forum would be conceivably of interest to DB players.

Or will this forum be open to theory talk pertaining to all instruments, and all music, regardless of whether it's got anything to do with DB? If so, then I suppose this forum will be a new home for theory discussions which would otherwise have belonged in GI?


For some of them, yes. But GI has always been a broader topic, and has traditionally included quite a few topics that won't belong here.

Man, I had a nice long reply typed up and I crashed the darn computer. Well I'll be brief...

The suggestion to have a theory forum link on the BG side that links to this DB forum would not work well, IMO. User confusion ('how'd I end up on the DB boards?') coupled with forum software limitations (would have to 'hack' the forum list page) were two factors that I considered...

Two separate theory forums may be the only solution, if we want to go that route. A while back it was decided that by taking tablature out of General Instruction, there would be plenty of room for music theory in GI. As the number of posts/day continues to grow the increased topic separation resulting from a separate BG theory forum may be a good thing... one drawback would be newbie confusion (GI vs Music Theory - where to post a question on scales etc...) Hmm....

For now, I'd say that this forum should be of interest to the double bassist primarily...

I think this forum should actually be top-level.

Originally posted by Don Higdon
My vote is to be tolerant if discussion occassionally wanders, but to keep it relevant to DB playing.

i was always under the impression that theory was instrument independant. :) after all, all the instrument related potential topics are well covered in existing forums.

Originally posted by Peter McFerrin
I think this forum should actually be top-level.

agreed. :)

Originally posted by paul


The suggestion to have a theory forum link on the BG side that links to this DB forum would not work well, IMO. User confusion ('how'd I end up on the DB boards?') coupled with forum software limitations (would have to 'hack' the forum list page) were two factors that I considered...

I only meant the "Theory Links" pages would be nearly identical. Unless there is some objection, I'll find a way to denote in each of the links threads which forum the thread resides in to lessen any possible confusion.

Two separate theory forums may be the only solution, if we want to go that route. A while back it was decided that by taking tablature out of General Instruction, there would be plenty of room for music theory in GI. As the number of posts/day continues to grow the increased topic separation resulting from a separate BG theory forum may be a good thing... one drawback would be newbie confusion (GI vs Music Theory - where to post a question on scales etc...) Hmm....

For now, I'd say that this forum should be of interest to the double bassist primarily...

We'll go down that road and see what happens, but try not to draw the line too severely...after all, as some have pointed out, theory is not instrument dependant. I think once it starts going we'll figure out what's right most of the time.

Originally posted by john turner

i was always under the impression that theory was instrument independant.

I agree - theory is not related to any particular instrument, although there is theory about basslines and their construction, for example - but any such theory is always going to be as applicable to BG as it is to DB.

However, I think it is better to have this in DB as "generally" DBers are more serious about theory and a high proportion of BGers never come into contact with it - of course there are always exceptions, but I don't think it "hurts" any BGers to find themselves on the DB side!! ;)

My experience over the last few decades has been that if you take an interest in theory, you usually find yourself in the worlds of Jazz and/or Classical - where the assumption is DB anyway!

Originally posted by Peter McFerrin
I think this forum should actually be top-level.

Yeah, this is what I was thinking.

Paul, is this a possibility?

While Bruce is right about DBers generally being more interested in theory than BGers - some of us BGers like to talk theory just as much as you DB guys do.

I just think it might not be all that fair to limit the theory discussion to DB. I'd like to think that we could wander into Weather Report, or post-60s Herbie Hancock territory if we want to.

But then, since this is in the DB forum, and I'm not a DBer I guess I can't really say what I'd like to see in this forum and expect it to hold any sway.

Anyway, I agree with Pete, I think this should be a top level forum.

Originally posted by moley

I just think it might not be all that fair to limit the theory discussion to DB. I'd like to think that we could wander into Weather Report, or post-60s Herbie Hancock territory if we want to.


What you're basically saying there is what I said in reply to the original idea - that it should be a Jazz theory forum!

I think the distinction is that Jazz BG players tend to get involved with theory - whereas BGers who play other types of music generally don't (although there are always exceptions).

Originally posted by Bruce Lindfield


What you're basically saying there is what I said in reply to the original idea - that it should be a Jazz theory forum!

Heh. Could do, but I'm not sure if there's any point. It'll probably pretty much become a Jazz theory forum anyway, but at least classical theory (and any other theory anyone wants to discuss) could be welcome.

I think the distinction is that Jazz BG players tend to get involved with theory - whereas BGers who play other types of music generally don't (although there are always exceptions).

Yeah, that does seem to be the trend.

Is this a theoretical forum....:confused:

Originally posted by moley


Yeah, this is what I was thinking.

Paul, is this a possibility?

We're still working out the details, but Paul and I agreed that DB could use a theory forum. What happens in BG or at the "top level" of the forum is not up to me. I used to post in BG GI a lot, but the signal to noise ratio just got too high and I got too busy to wade through it. I think the pace of things down here - while it may bore some folks to death - is better suited to the pace of life most of us crusty old DBers are used to.

While Bruce is right about DBers generally being more interested in theory than BGers - some of us BGers like to talk theory just as much as you DB guys do.

Then please do.

I just think it might not be all that fair to limit the theory discussion to DB. I'd like to think that we could wander into Weather Report, or post-60s Herbie Hancock territory if we want to.

But then, since this is in the DB forum, and I'm not a DBer I guess I can't really say what I'd like to see in this forum and expect it to hold any sway.


I like DONOSAUR's wording of his reply, "to keep it relevant to" DB playing. While in some ways that seems pretty vague, I think it's also a good starting point, as the stuff you mentioned above would certainly still apply, while someone looking for advice on how to write a better death-metal song would be more likely to look for advice up in GI. Like I said, it's a beginning, and I'm sure that after we live with it for a while, what needs to change (if anything) will become clear.

Idunno, it smacks of DB chauvinism a bit to me. Honestly, I think that having a top-level Music Theory forum, along with a top-level Songwriting & Composition one, would be the best option. Get rid of General Instruction in BG, too.

Originally posted by Peter McFerrin
Idunno, it smacks of DB chauvinism a bit to me.

The idea wasn't to create a forum that would have something not available to anyone else at the site, but merely to give DBers a place to talk about theory topics that might be of interest. GI in BG has been that upstairs for a while now, while we've had all of our theory threads stuck in DB MISC down here for a while now. This just gives us a place to put them. It's more a question of being able to find useful information, as many - and possibly most - DBers don't read the BG forum threads. I've tried to create and maintain links threads both here and upstairs (and thanks to Chris A :rolleyes: for helping me do that) so that stuff is easier to find for everyone.

At the same time, I know I'll be visiting the BG forums less and less as time goes by...not for "chauvinistic" reasons, but merely due to time constraints...and I'd like to be able to find threads of interest quickly, without having to sift through a bunch of stuff which doesn't apply to me, and I suspect that many DBers feel the same way. Is that so wrong?

Honestly, I think that having a top-level Music Theory forum, along with a top-level Songwriting & Composition one, would be the best option.

How does this forum keep that from happening?

Originally posted by Peter McFerrin
I think this forum should actually be top-level.
That depends entirely on what is posted.

A top-level forum is a possibility. There is a major VBulletin upgrade coming out this summer (version 3.0), and I have a lot of changes planed when that gets implemented (because of all the hacks and tweaks I've put into this board, upgrading is going to be a MAJOR project with probably several days of down-time...). One possible route is to have BG, DB, and then a "General" category - the general could house off topic, theory, humor, and any other instrument-independant forums). Just a thought... I don't think it'd work to stick theory out on it's own (Bass Guitar / Double Bass / Music Theory on the homepage doesn't really 'fit' in my opinion...)

Originally posted by paul
One possible route is to have BG, DB, and then a "General" category - the general could house off topic, theory, humor, and any other instrument-independant forums)

This would be even better.

Yup, that general category looks like a good idea to me.

Look at the other threads in this forum. It all seems pretty open to me.

Why don't we just enjoy the new forum and opportunity to learn, give a big thanks to Durrl and Paul for their work, and begin using the new forum.

Would somebody please ask a question?

Originally posted by Don Higdon
Would somebody please ask a question?

You just did.

Originally posted by jazzbo
Look at the other threads in this forum. It all seems pretty open to me.

Why don't we just enjoy the new forum and opportunity to learn, give a big thanks to Durrl and Paul for their work, and begin using the new forum.

I couldnt agree more. Theory as stated earlier is instrument independant. I dont play a DB yet. But I know that this forum will still be a great asset to me and anyone who wants to increase their knowledge.

Thank you Paul and Durrl for a great forum that everyone will be able to benefit from.