theory for dummies?

[your idol]

ok guys so i have been playing varied instruments since age 11..im 28. i have played in tons of bands and ive never been the weakest link in terms of playing but never the star of the show. ive got along playing by ear and just figuring out how stuff works the best. most of the time if you give me a note i can make a jam around it.

the crusher: cant read music, dont know my notes up and down the board, and to me music theory has always been associated with the bookish fellows working at the guitar store.


i work a ton and dont have time for lessons but im at the point im feeling very restricted nd i was wondering if there is one REALLY good starter book for actual music theory related to bass. it would help too if there were a video to accompany the reading because im a visual learner.

i know personal instruction goes along way and maybe when my work schedule regulates i can attempt lessons but for now i just need something to give me a good foundation to work on

[topper]

Get a beginning bass dvd for a short course. Much of it will be really basic but you'll get some fundamentals like notes on the fretboard, basic scales, etc.

If you're a netflix member, you can get some through them. Watch it in the evening after work.

[Ground Pounder]

While theory and reading go hand in hand, you should really concentrate on learning to reading music first. Once you have a solid grasp on reading music, you'll be able to draw the parallel between the audio basis and written basis of theory much better.

Learning to play the piano really helped me with reading music, because you have to work the entire range, not just the bass clef. Even if all you have is a simple casio keyboard and a couple beginners books, it should set you on the right path, especially if you can draw the lines between the piano and bass with your ears.

Hope that made sense - I'm tired!

[Munjibunga]

This looks pretty comprehensive.

Music Theory for Dummies

[SSINTENSE]

A great place to start is the major scale and its modes.

[SpecialEdd]

One of the books I used to get a kick start to learning theory is the Bass Grimoire. It seems somewhat daunting because there is a lot of information, but it lays it out in a really easy to understand way. Check it out, cause not only does it help you understand the basics of theory, it gives you scales, mode generators, chord charts, etc. Really good resource!

[onlyclave]

Originally Posted by SpecialEdd

One of the books I used to get a kick start to learning theory is the Bass Grimoire. It seems somewhat daunting because there is a lot of information, but it lays it out in a really easy to understand way. Check it out, cause not only does it help you understand the basics of theory, it gives you scales, mode generators, chord charts, etc. Really good resource!

This book is absolutely useless for learning music theory, just as a dictionary is useless to teaching grammar and language.

Music theory is not endless scales.

[MalcolmAmos]

I agree reading music is important, however, I do not consider reading music as being music theory. A prerequisites yes, but, not part of.

1.) Several have mentioned the Major scale. Yes everything in the Western part of the World starts with the Major scale. Until you understand why the C scale has no sharps or flats and the B scale has 5 sharps you will keep inserting wrong notes and keep running into stone walls.

2.) Next on the list is an understanding how the notes of a scale are used to produce the chords found in that specific key. If you do not use the correct scale notes how are you going to make correct chords? Kinda hard to construct a bass line if you don't know what notes are in the chords - OK if you could read standard notation you could read the bass clef.

3.) Then an understanding of how they (notes and chords) work together (harmonize each other) is important. The notes in the melody and the chords used under that melody should share some of the same notes. Read that again, it's the Granddaddy rule of all music theory - the glue that holds everything together. If they share some notes the melody line and the chord progression will harmonize, i.e sound good together. Ask your self why do we need to change chords in the song. It's because the melody notes have moved on and no longer share notes found in the old chord - and your ear tells you that you are no longer harmonizing - so you have to find a chord that does share some of the new melody notes.

When you understand how notes and chords work together to form harmony you are ready for the rest of the story.

Here are a couple of things that are hard to find all together on one sheet of paper. Merry Christmas.

1.) Major Scale Chart
C D E F G A B...............Notice the C scale has no Sharps
G A B C D E F#.............and the G scale has one, the F#
D E F# G A B C#...........and the D scale keeps the F# and
A B C# D E F# G#.........adds the C#. Then the A scale keeps
E F# G# A B C# D#.......everything and adds the G#. See how
B C# D# E F# G# A#.....it builds on it's self.
F# G# A# B C# D# E#
C# D# E# F# G# A# B#
F G A Bb C D E.............Look what happens with the flat scales
Bb C D Eb F G A...........F has one the Bb, then the Bb scale keeps
Eb F G Ab Bb C D.........it's self and adds the the Eb. Same thing
Ab Bb C Db Eb F G.......the sharp scales did...
Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C
Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F
Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb
Memory pegs; See God Destroy All Earth By F#irey C#haos. ( Key signature has 3 sharps, tick off your memory peg)
Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds. (Need to know what sharp, tick off your memory peg.)
Farmer Brown Eats Apple Dumplings Greasily Cooked. (Memory peg for flats.)

Natural Minor Scale Chart
A B C D E F G ................Notice how the 6th column of the
E F# G A B C D................Major scale becomes the 1st column
B C# D E F# G A..............in the minor scale and how the 7th
F# G# A B C# D E............column of the Major scale is now the
C# D# E F# G# A B..........2nd column in the minor scale. And
G# A# B C# D# E F#........yep, the 1st column in the Major scale
D# E# F# G# A# B C#......is now the 3rd column, etc. etc.
A# B# C# D# E# F# G#....Ask your self why?
D E F G A Bb C
G A Bb C D Eb F
C D Eb F G Ab Bb
F G Ab Bb C Db Eb
Bb C Db Eb F Gb Ab
Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db
Ab Bb Cb Db Eb Fb Gb

2.) Same thing for chord formulas ..... so here they are:

Chord Formations
Major = 1-3-5 …….. A Major chord is made up of the 1-3-5 note of the scale.
Minor =1-b3-5 …… A Minor chord is made up of the 1-(flatted 3rd) b3-5 note of the scale. Any minor chord will have a flatted 3rd.
Augmented = 1-3-#5…… You sharp the 5th to make an augmented chord
Diminished = 1-b3-dim5…The 3rd and 5th are flatted or diminished.
Seventh = 1-3-5-b7 This one is called the dominant 7th
Minor seventh = 1-b3-5-b7…… Same as you did to turn a Major into a minor.
Major seventh = 1-3-5-7 ... notice the 3rd is natural, thus major as is the 7th.
Sus2 = 1-2-5
Sus4 = 1-4-5
Fifth = 1-5 Power chord, and notice it’s generic, no 3rd so it can not be minor.
Sixth = 1-3-5-6
Ninth = 1-3-5-b7-9
Add9 = 1-3-5-9
Are there more, sure.

3.) Cheat sheet for harmonizing a melody line:
Playing using the key of C. If you have a C melody note what chord will harmonize with that note, i.e. what chord could you use under that C melody note? Well, how about the C chord, F chord, Am chord or Dm7 chord as all of them have a C note in their makeup thus any of those chords will harmonize the C melody note. Which one will work best? Well, that's part of the rest of the story.


C Scale degrees (melody notes) Try these chords:
1 C.....I (CEG).… IV (FAC).. vi .(ACE).. ii7 (DFAC)
2 D.....V (GBD).. ii7 (DFAC).iii7(EGBD)
3 E.....I (CEG)…. vi..(ACE)….iii (EGB)
4 F....IV (FAC)…. ii..(DFA)...V7 (GBDF)
5 G.....V (GBD).. I...(CEG)...iii (EGB)
6 A....IV (FAC)... ii..(DFA)…..vi (ACE)
7 B....V7 (GBDF).iii.(EGB)

Once you understand these basic facts music theory will not be a big mystery any longer - and you will have build a firm foundation and be ready to tackle the rest of the story.

Have fun.

[Lo-E]

If piano is one of the instruments you've played in the past, learning basic theory on a keyboard is a great way to go because it's linear; each note only appears in one place on the instrument. You can then transfer that information pretty easily to bass.

My first theory books were not bass-specific and just layed everything out on the keyboard.

I originally learned to read using the old Chuck Rainey books, but I wish I had learned to read G clef at the same time. It would have saved me a lot of back-pedalling in the years since.

[J. Crawford]

Originally Posted by SSINTENSE

A great place to start is the major scale and its modes.

Yes, I agree.. But how?

[T-Funk]

As a music instruction book junkie, I scanned through the following book at a music store last week:

Music Theory for Bassists: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask (Bass Method)

In my opinion, it is a good introduction to music theory for bassists. If I were starting to learn music theory, the said book would have been an excellent investment.

[MalcolmAmos]

Originally Posted by J. Crawford

Yes, I agree.. But how?

Well first we have to know what notes are in each scale. Memory is nice, however, a chart is all you need. I gave you one several posts up from this. Sooner or later we have to spend time doing our scales. Piano scales gets our fingers doing what they need to do and gets our left hand working independently from the right hand. With guitar basically the same thing our fingers need to know where to go on the fretboard and which are the good notes from the bad notes. With bass the scale note order R-3-5-3 is an important part of our World.

Its a beginning. A passage thing. Once we understand how to do scales we are ready to use them to make music. Understand music theory by itself may not make us a great musician, it just helps us understand what the songwriter had in mind. Plus music theory gives us a language so we can talk music to each other.

Modes were mentioned. Knowing how to make modes has little to do with how to use them in music, however, we have to first know how to make them. Making them and running them in mode order up and down the fretboard is a modal exercise nothing more - that's not music. But, it is the first step in incorporating modes in our music.

You gotta start somewhere. Lot of people, myself included, think that the Major scale is the place to start.

[greenboy]

Scales and modes for bass players not soloing are good to know as ways to connect the dots, but what really counts is a good knowledge of chord construction and harmonic concepts.