Playing along to music

[Deesack]

When playing to music you just find the key and scales and play right.. kinda predicting when and what the changes are..

I'm trying to play along to TV, during commercials, whatever. Whatever comes on I play cause I guess it seems like some sort of good training.. like if you could just jump in to any band and instantly play.. and be able to interact with the dialog..

What do you think, waste of time?

Because I'm thinking, it would be better to sit and actually write some nice lines, play it well... rather than kinda sloppy root notes/end fills to the TV. I'm just lazy tho..

[PJSShearer]

Absolutely not a waste of time for the reasons you give, I would recommend it to anyone as the best ear training you can get - play along to the TV, the radio, anything you can get your hands on!!. Once you get the sloppy root notes/end fills down then you can try and come up with the nice lines that will fit :-)

As a teenager during the school holidays I'd spend my days playing along to a top 40 station on the radio. During the course of a day they'd probably play the same records 3 or 4 times if they were top 10, so I got plenty of chances to figure the changes and the Bass lines as well. It was a good way to learn what Bass Lines suit what chord changes, styles of music etc. and from there I could come up with my own lines.

When I played Bass for a job I was certainly expected to be able to "just jump in to any band and instantly play" that was a "given" and the time I spent playing along to the radio, the TV, my parents MOR albums etc. allowed me to do that.

My Signature is a punch line from a old British TV commercial, but it ain't there as a joke:

You hum it, I'll play (along to) it.!!

.. and if you put the time in - and it takes time - so could you. !!

[Randall]

Not a waste of time. Good ear training. Great for Jam sessions where you all listen to each other and create new music. My thoughts anyway.

[MalcolmAmos]

What key? Sound the 4th string one fret at a time. When what you are doing and what is being played on the CD, radio, whatever, sound in sync (good together) you've found the tonal center, thus the key/scale. Just look down at the fretboard and if this came together on the 4th string 3rd fret the song is in G or Em - G's relative minor. If it came together on the 4th string 8th fret the song is in C or Am. How about the chord progression? Assume a basic I IV V if that is off then assume the song is in the relative minor and use a i iv v - close enough for jamming. Welcome comments from those that play minor stuff - how do you know it'll be minor. I'm country and never go there.

Yes jamming to your CD's or radio is great fun. The Internet is now full of backing tracks try some of them.
http://www.guitarbackingtrack.com/pl...ic/cocaine.htm

I heard E.

Have fun.

[wetzelman1]

thats how I trained my ears. Ear training is really the key to jamming in my experience. If you can play along with a tv or radio, than you can play along with people.

[Doktor_Gee]

Another suggestion, if i may, coming from what I am trying to do. Get all the music you own, put it together on computer, select it all (like in a playlist on Winamp) and randomize or shuffle the result. If you play along to this it can be good practice for your ear and helps to remind you of some songs you might have forgotten!

[mjdaby]

Since I've played to songs I've noticed my skills for improvising and catching on to the flow of a song significantly increase. This is a totally worthwhile activity, and it is essentially imperative if you are hoping to really train your ear (takes time to perfect it).
What I found that works for me is hook my computer up to a 2.1 stereo system, and then turn the subwoofer off. I than have most of the low bass frequencies out of the mix and am able to work on different bass lines and experiment with what works over those chord changes. It has helped me a lot.

[derrico1]

Originally Posted by Deesack

Because I'm thinking, it would be better to sit and actually write some nice lines, play it well... rather than kinda sloppy root notes/end fills to the TV. I'm just lazy tho..

The ear training is absolutely worthwhile, but it shouldn't be your *only* practice.

[CamiloDíaz]

I do it all the time to my mp3 in "shuffle" mode, so I can't learn the order of the songs. It's good training to develop some adapting skills, cause I listen to records that present many different tunings (i.e. Tool, Muse, Diana Ross, Metallica, Radiohead, Soundgarden and a looong list of Prog both vintage and modern) and I always tune standard E, so I have to arrange my playing to fit in the key of the songs. That's something that was very useful in my ex-band where some of the songs the guitard used low B tuning, and I remained E standard. It gave the songs a very unique texture not being the "octave down guy".

[INTP]

I used to turn on the radio, pop in a cassette, and press record. Then I'd play along with whatever was on for that side. Having the cassette was nice because I could rewind and listen more closely when needed. Playing along without the recording is certainly useful, too, but I like having the option to go back to listen more closely.

These days, I play along with youtube videos a fair amount.

It's all good.

[Solarmist]

I do it all the time, and know the music to several commercials (freecreditreport.com) but I love to play along with Metalmania on VH1C. Sometimes the tuning is off on the older videos though ... must of not had tuners

[dwm74]

I'm just an intermediate player with very little band experience, but I was so stagnant for the longest time until I started playing along with CDs of my favorite bands. It immediately gave me feedback on how 'off' my timing/tempo was, along with a few runs that I didn't quite have all the notes down.

I went from thinking I would never be able to nail down the 'three-note-gallop' on Iron Maiden's The Trooper until I started playing along with it. Surprisingly, within a week I was nailing it about 97% of the time. It gave the confidence to start playing many other songs I (previously) thought were beyond my abilities.

It's not the same as being in a band obviously, but it certainly helps sharpen one's playing.

[stratovani]

In Ed Friedland's book "The Working Bassist's Tool Kit" he places a high value on acquiring "faking" skills, where you get to know certain chord progressions and patterns and use them to play along with unfamiliar songs. It's a good skill to have, and I've used it extensively with my church group. At the end of Mass our pianist will usually play a song I'm not familiar with, and I'll try to play along. And more times than not I'm correct.

[xaxxat]

Software like the Amazing Slow Downer program really helps - especially on the tricky stuff.

[nashster]

Hi,

my first post here, great forum. tons of ,knowlege and experience here. I'm a beginning bass player- not a beginning musician .

imho, playing along to recorded music is an good way to supplement your ear training but I would'nt reply on this method exclusively. -- A thorough understanding of scales, arpegios, basic theory and the patterns associated with common chord changes (as you play by ear) trumps the ability to just pick up and play when you reach a certain level of musicianship.

nashster

[LowendinFL]

Playing along with recorded music is generally how I learn the music if I'm playing with a new band. I usually get it on my ipod and play along with it. If its really simple I just write down the chord progressions, but if its more complicated I take time to write it out in tab form generally. Then when I go back and practice it I make the most out of my time if I have reference to go by.

As for playing along with the T.V. or something I sometimes do it with my acoustic bass. Maybe I should do it more and I would learn more tunes!