Reading Music

[fimfie]

I've just started Bass. As a little 7 yr old I played violin for a while. Sort of read some treble clef. The bass has got me and I want to get a good system from the start for learning bass reading of the sheet / Bass clef / music. Can anybody please point me to a proven method ????

[waleross]

Get yourself some piano music. Look at the bass clef and read the spaces from the bottom up: "All cows eat grass" and the lines the same (bottom up) "Good Boys do fine Always"......Here is a link to see it work, good luck ...

http://www.ehow.com/video_4951230_read-bass-clef.html

[Arthur Strand]

If you already have treble clef basics in your head, you will have to adjust. As for any instrument, combining technique with reading will take time. Scales show you where notes are but these, as exercises, help you to read the dots and feel your way around the instrument. When confronted by a new piece (bass line), don't rush into it. take it slowly then build up each time round to the tempo required. Being aware of the chords too will help comprehension. Sometimes you will encounter chord charts to work from. Chord names are used: CM7 represents C major 7th whereas Cm7 = C minor 7th etc.
More bass players don't read Standard Notation than those who do. However, some things cannot be written down such as emotive feel and there are plenty of ways that "feel" occurs. Blues, Soul, some folk all sorts rely on "feel". That comes with experience. Sometimes, composers do not provide a bass line so you have to create one of your own, incorporating root notes and notes from chords + fitting in with guitar, piano and drums.
Tip # 1 never rush a new piece and try to listen to the recorded version several times, focusing on the bass line. Tip # 2. Sit comfortably with the stand and page set up at a comfortable distance. Tip # 3. If playing with a pick, ensure it is firmly held but do not grip too tightly, relax some. Tip # 4 Get amp or headphones set up accordingly before you start. Tip # 5. Work slowly but surely and if you get stuck, break for a while then return to the piece.
Rome was not built in a day. It takes a long time to build up a repertoire for any instrument. Do not go at more than a piece a day: some pieces may take a week depending on your rate of development. Each individual has different rates of progress for different subjects. one man may pick up Maths quickly but be very slow at music.
Best of luck. There are tutor books on sale.

[JTE]

Biggest help for me was getting over or past "All Cars Eat Gas" stuff and trying to relate everything to a fret/string. Music isn't tab, it's not a code for "fifth fret third string", it's telling you what things SOUND like. Learning intervals helped so much, and it's a lot easier to read treble and bass clef that way. While reading I look at phrases or lines in terms of the starting note and then what the intervals are from there. For example, if I'm reading a line that goes D D C D A Ab G C D F, I'm not thinking "fifth fret third string, repeat, third fret third string, back to where I started, 7th fret second string, 6th fret", etc. I'm thinking "I starting with D at the fifth fret, repeat that note, down a whole step, back up to the first note, up a fifth, then down a half-step, another half-step, down to the whole step below the first note, then the first note, then a minor third". It's a lot more to read, say and type all those words than to think them, but that's what I'm reading.

So, when I was working out the head to "My Foolish Heart" from the fake book sheet (melody line in treble clef and chord changes only) I started with checking the key signature, and seeing the starting two notes are the fifth (F in the key of Bb). The next note is down to the 2nd; the next two just go up in diatonic thirds, then two seconds, and down a whole step to end the phrase on the 2.

That will get into making music a lot faster than having to think through "that's the first space in G clef so it's F, and that's on the 8th fret, then I gotta go to a D below that so that's either the fifth fret on the same string or the 10th fret on the next lower string..."

It's a lot easier than it sounds IF you have the right mindset about learning to HEAR what's written rather than learning that it's a map for where to put your fingers.

John

[BassChuck]

Your goal should be to read music just like you're reading these words. That is, in groups (phrases) with meaning and direction. True, now and again you'll have to 'sound out' a word.. and in music there will be times you need to work out a rhythm or fingering, but 99% of the time you should be able to look at music notation and your mind will direct your fingers without much thought. Being able to look ahead a few notes and know what the sound is before you play it is skill that will come in time.

All this takes time. Its not an event or some piece of knowledge you can get in a half hour of practice. The best way for many people is to be in a music ensemble that reads. As soon as you can get there, do that. If you attend a church with band that reads, get with it. Lots of community groups have bands and orchestras. Ask to be a part of rehearsals. Even if you don't perform with them, reading parts in rehearsals is valuable.

Once you can read well, the doors to many musical experiences will be open. You will be able to play with good musicians and many different styles of music. The products of centuries of musical geniuses will be available to you. It is worth the effort.

[groooooove]

you should really try and find a teacher, but i think musictheory.net has some things to practice learning the pitches and some rhythm stuff too.

[deckard]

Get yourself a copy of "Sight Reading for the Bass" by Ron Velosky - and no, it isn't just for sight reading, by the way. BassBooks.com has it, I think...

Best of Breed, IMHO

[tZer]

A music teacher is a great resource.

[bherman]

you might try the Hal Leonard Bass Method - Complete Edition: Books 1, 2 and 3 available from Amazon (only about $12!). I have been using it to re-learn how to read after a two-decade hiatus. Working through it methodically should get you there.