Gaps in Music Knowledge

[mstott25]

Janek, we're all very appreciative of you taking the time to talk to all of us and inspire us. I have a question about becoming a better player. I started out learning scales and modes and really got a good grasp on them. I wasn't introduced to jazz until much later and I never taught myself to play by ear or pick up songs by hearing them on the radio or CD's. I always learned the changes to a song and tried to walk and solo over those changes.
One time I went to try out for some gospel group in the LA area. When I got there, there was a pretty good bassist already trying out and I noticed there was no music. I took a deep breath and watched the bass players hands and listened to the song to try and memorize the changes and sure enough, when my turn came up, they wanted to go over that song without any music. This was fine because I had fortunately learned that song. Well the music director was impressed and had a big smile, so off to the next song we went. Unfortunately, this is when it all started to fall apart! The piano player knew I was lost and was trying to help out and to shorten this up a little, I got a call the next day telling me thanks but no thanks!
This is what I'm trying to work myself out of, I've become a slave to books and charts and I want to develop my ear more. I just recently started to play Motown songs off of my CD's and I've been learning those, I wanted to work myself through a few of those tunes to start off and then learn heads and melodies off of standards rather than just reading them out of the fake book.
Is this the right way to go about getting out of my "hole"? I know so many guys who can play jazz tunes after hearing them only once, and they play them as if they've known them for years!
I know I started learning bass kind of backwards, most people start playing along with music before anything else, I unfortunately went the other route and therefore feel like I have a lot of holes in my bass playing!
Thanks!

[Gyoon]

I'm sure Janek will have better things to say on this than I . . . but here goes.

Maybe starting off playing with jazz tunes might be a litttle too daunting.
Start with Elton John, Avril Lavigne, pop stuff where the chords usually revolve around one key centre (with the occaisional modulation) I jam along with Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, because these songs, as beautiful as they are, are harmonically simple.

If you say you are already jamming with Motown then you might already be past this point. I'm lucky. I give 60 lessons a week to students who want to learn the newest songs on the radio (Fall Out Boy? Angels & Airwaves? who?) The students usually show up unannounced with CD's in hand and expect me to be some sort of "transcription service". Do this up to 30 hours a week and see where it gets you

I love me job,

Glenn

(P.S. I do work in the useful stuff too, technique, theory, etc . . . )

[janekbass]

ear training.....

..... really only comes from doing it over and over again.

You're starting out with the right stuff with the motown thing. That's some simple, identifiable music with some good song form.

Listening to anything that's on the radio is super useful too. And when you talk about seeing musicians who can pick up a jazz standard by ear after one chorus, and then play it like they've been playing it for years......

1) they've probably been playing standards for years

2) been playing things by ear for years

3) there are so many common harmonic movements in standard jazz songs that it's more like putting together a road map in your mind and naturally going to various sets of II-V-I's and passing chords that exist in almost all standards.


Ear training is no different from any other sort of training. You don't turn into a muscle laden body builder over night by going to the gym once, it takes time to develope that muscle. Same with the brain and ear developing a knack for picking thing up faster.

Do you have an ipod? or anything for listening to music on the go...? that's a great way to start simple with 3 chord pop songs and just reassure your mind throughout the day that you can hear "I" going to "V" and then back to "I" again. then get back and sit with your bass at home and confirm it again with the muscle memory in your fingers. you will slowly work out form and shape of those songs and be able to relate those basic harmonic progressions to almost any song.

I hope this helps.

Easy,

Janek

[mstott25]

Janek,
Yeah that helps a lot!!! and makes a lot of sense. Thanks.