Becoming competent enough to play in a bad; skills required to gig

[aarono]

When I was younger I played in a few bands while in highschool. Mainly we were goofing off, but I always felt out of place in comparison to the guitarists/drummers knowledge. They'd ask me how I was going to sync into their playing, and I'd just be at a loss for words of how I'd do it. I could usually come up with decent rhythm when playing but for the most part I was embarrassed.

I just turned 20 and I want to play in a band again. It's something I do not want to regret when I'm 45 and looking back.

I'm willing to put in the hours and just practice, practice, practice!

What I want to know guys is what are the top 5, top 10, top whatever things I should start practicing more so that I can become band competent? My theory side is extremely unintelligible but my technical/speed is half-way decent.

Thanks guys!

[Tim C.]

Lessons; practice everyday for at least an hour. Practice to a click track or along with recordings to learn timing, rhythm and groove/feel.

Learn chord/scale patterns up and down your fretboard, but also learn to use your ears.

[fdeck]

Short of studying theory, I suggest that whatever bass lines you learn, try to practice them in every key. There's actually a lot of theory, and some technique, hidden in that simple task.

[jd858us]

Depends on the kind of band you hook up with. If it's all original, you'll probably be a near-equal part of the creative process, and frequently will have to make up your own parts. If you'll be taking over for a departed member, you may be asked to learn his/her parts. For covers, you should have access to the source material to play along with.

If you're practicing scales and/or conditioning exercises, some time-keeping help in the form of a metronome, drum machine, or click track is a must. For ear training, play along with your favorite songs.

Hopefully, you'll also have a likable personality and can get along with others. This often overlooked factor is at least 50% of the band experience. Chops will only get you so far.

Good luck and HAVE FUN!!

[fish bulb]

Originally Posted by fdeck

Short of studying theory, I suggest that whatever bass lines you learn, try to practice them in every key. There's actually a lot of theory, and some technique, hidden in that simple task.

Say a song is in A (major). Would you play it in all the major keys thus only changing the root/tonic? Or would you also play it in A minor, A mixolydian, etc. by changing the intervals? i.e. minor 3rd becomes mixolydian 3rd.

[dalconthenovice]

first off learn to get over the shame of playing wrong notes (this is key to learning to how to play the right ones) then listen to your favorite artists and just PLAY with 'em! just say to yourself "does this sound good?" or "does this sound bad?" learn as much theory as you can, learn your chord tones, play them in every key, scales too! and if you get stressed out tryin to figure somethin out STOP!! and try again later
i highly recommend playing with artists of different genres

[tobie]

Good adviceall over. If possible, get recordings of the songs you'll play from the band and use them in your practice sessions.

[Chris K]

First, to get started for playing in a band:

1. Learn to play from music notation. You are neither a composer nor an arranger - if they want you to play, they have to provide the basic material!
2. Learn to transcribe bass parts from audio files, to write out your own parts, and to improve them after tryout.

Later, to take on miscellaneous gigs:

3. Learn to play from lead sheets/chords sheets and study the theory that goes along with chords: scales, intervals, chords & their inversions.

[Bootzilla]

haul your behind over to studybass.com.

Also it's all about the chords. The scales are mainly there to provide the chords but when you play with a band your notes have to match the chord and not the scale (playing the scale notes will sound decent but in the end you have to support the chord and not the scale).

Still learning scales is essential.

[MalcolmAmos]

Yes to www.studybass.com. You are expected to be able to play the songs the band plays, i.e. how you do that is pretty well left up to you. You can wing a bass line or you can play by rote from sheet music - your choice. So learn how to wing it or learn how to play from sheet music.

There is an in between area - play covers using fake chord sheet music. Here you use the sheet music to tell you what chords are being used in the song - it's left up to you how you do that. You can play only root notes or root-5's or R-3-5-3. There is a video below that goes into detail.

So you gotta read from the music or be able to hear the chord changes - whichever, but, that is number one. From there you develop a groove, which you indicate you can do. The actual notes involved are secondary to the groove. How to do that? Learn your fretboard so you know where the notes are. Studybass.com will help with that. All kind of tricks for that -- where is the 5th? Up a string and over two frets from the root, yep every 5th is always up a string and over two frets from it's root. Where is the three? Up a string and back one fret from the root.

Lot of advise on this string - pick one or two things the guys have given you and start. Here is a video you can start with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUK5pE5x_6A

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/vid...-1405432824686

When can you start with a band? When you are comfortable playing with the backing tracks and videos you find on the Internet. How long will that take? Depends on how long it takes you to be comfortable. Your job is to lay down a groove that holds the band together. Get started.

Little theory is in order. The director says; OK guys the next one is "Kiss Ole Mary" in G, 1 and 2 and 3 ..... Gotta know what chords are in the G scale/key does not really matter how you do that, memory, cheat sheet, charts, whatever - it's left up to you. Here is a chart that willl help.
http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/chords/chordchart.htm
The band willl play in the key the vocalist likes, normally three or four keys at the most. For now guys sing in G or D gals sing in A or G. So --- get comfortable with G, D and A. Next throw C into the mix.

You can assume the I-IV-V chords will be used. So for Kiss ole Mary grab a G and play the chord tones of G till the song moves to C. What are the chord tones of C? C, E & G . You need a scale chart and a chord spelling chart. Here is a chart for the chord spelling http://www.smithfowler.org/music/Chord_Formulas.htm
Here is a post that has the notes in the major and minor scales. http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/...ad.php?t=11975
Google is your friend.

Have fun.

[Steady Eddie]

All good advice given above. Personally, I would focus at first on learning some core skills that will let you get started quickly.

Firstly learn your basic chord shapes: major, minor and diminished triads and major, minor, half-diminished and dominant 7ths in open and closed positions. These are straightforwad to remember. See sites such as Studybass for info on this.

Next learn typical chord progressions for the kind of music you will be playing. It’s a simple chord number system for all keys. Again check out Studybass and Musictheory.net and the wider web for actual song examples.

Hook up with a drum machine and play the chord progressions working through the following common keys: G, D, A, E, F, Bb. Start by just playing the root note for each chord change, then add the 3rd, the 5th, the 7th, the octave, and the 6th to spice it up. Fool around with these notes and try to create simple patterns that your play repetitively with an occasional variation thrown in. Play slowly at first to make the changes smoothly and then gradually up the tempo. At this point you should prioritise two things, keeping time and muting strings to get a clean sound.

While you are getting this under your belt listen as much as possible to recorded music of the type you will be playing. Try to pick out the bass line and spot the chord changes. This is fun and connects you to real music.

Once you feel confident enough you can start jamming with a band. You simply follow the chord changes the guitarist makes and keep tempo with the drummer!

Two pieces of advice here. Firstly, the other guys in the band are not just looking for a musician they are also looking for a person they can get along with. Secondly, if you don’t understand what they are talking about when discussing the music, ask for an explanation and join in the discussion to clarify what you need to know. You might think you are showing your ignorance but really you are establishing a relationship and showing that you want to play the music right.

Once you start playing with others you will get such a boost that your interest will propel you to learn more and your progress will improve dramatically.

Good luck!

[aarono]

Thanks guys. I'm going to dig deep into studybass.com

I was lost in practice. It felt like I'd learn scale forms, just work on playing different scales, finger exercises, work on memerizing notes on the neck, etc. but it didn't feel like I was making any progress.

When I hear people say play the roots of the chord progress, etc. it just goes all over my head so perhaps this studybass.com will help immensely.

Thanks guys.

[CoffeeJanitor]

1) Get a great teacher.

2) Practice.

3) ???

4) PROFIT!!!

[sleepytime]

Timing and rhythm, lock in with the drums, song structure, chord progressions, scales and arpeggios. At any point in a song, you should know what chord you are playing over, what chord is coming up, and how you are going to get there. If you can play the root and appropriate arpeggio notes over a chord, use them to lead to the next chord and it's associated arpeggio, and do it with style, then you have a base to build on and you are on your way.

If you can't identify chord changes when listening to a song, then you are lost. Get instruction. Once you can follow the changes, listen to how all the instruments weave through them.

Know where the 'one' is in every measure. The rest of the measure is basically a journey to the next 'one' (sometimes multiple measures form a pattern leading to subsequent one-beat, but even the ones within that pattern involve certain target notes).

But the first step is to learn to listen, so you can learn by example. If a song is just a mysterious jumble of notes, you need to unlock that. Listen to songs with very basic bass patterns and build gradually. This has all been a bit of a ramble off the top of my head, because I'm on my way out the door. Hope it makes some kind of sense.

[aarono]

Originally Posted by sleepytime

Timing and rhythm, lock in with the drums, song structure, chord progressions, scales and arpeggios. At any point in a song, you should know what chord you are playing over, what chord is coming up, and how you are going to get there. If you can play the root and appropriate arpeggio notes over a chord, use them to lead to the next chord and it's associated arpeggio, and do it with style, then you have a base to build on and you are on your way.

If you can't identify chord changes when listening to a song, then you are lost. Get instruction. Once you can follow the changes, listen to how all the instruments weave through them.

Know where the 'one' is in every measure. The rest of the measure is basically a journey to the next 'one' (sometimes multiple measures form a pattern leading to subsequent one-beat, but even the ones within that pattern involve certain target notes).

But the first step is to learn to listen, so you can learn by example. If a song is just a mysterious jumble of notes, you need to unlock that. Listen to songs with very basic bass patterns and build gradually. This has all been a bit of a ramble off the top of my head, because I'm on my way out the door. Hope it makes some kind of sense.

I'm trying to understand what you're saying. Do you have any basic song recommendations?

What you're telling me is I should have a good idea of what note I should be playing next due to a basic understanding of chord progression? Is this somewhat like when you're listening to a song on the radio that you've never heard and you can almost hum the song before it goes on to the next measure?

Like I said I'm going to spend hours on that website trying to soak it all up.

_____
@janitor. I've had a teacher. He would tell me theory and would try to help me as best as he could but it would just never click with me. Seems like he was basing off everything he wanted me to understand from some example that I still had no clue about. It was very frustrating.

[aarono]

Just been on studybass.com for about 15 minutes and it's already helped me! I was reading the information regarding roots/octaves and then I saw that "My Sharona" is a great example of how a song is built on playing the root note and mixing it up by playing a higher octave. To finally understand how a bassline is built helped.

I'm excited.

[MalcolmAmos]

Originally Posted by aarono

What you're telling me is I should have a good idea of what note I should be playing next due to a basic understanding of chord progression? Is this somewhat like when you're listening to a song on the radio that you've never heard and you can almost hum the song before it goes on to the next measure?

Somewhat. You can assume that a song written in a major scale will revolve around the I- IV - V chords of that song's major scale/key. Basic rock, Country - simple songs normally have a 4 line verse. The first two lines will revolve around a I-IV-V7-I progression and this same progression will be repeated in the last two lines of the verse. Like I said you can assume it will happen this way. Then you listen and see if it does happen this way. If this song was using the key of C - the C chord is the I chord, the F chord is the IV Chord and the G7 chord is the V7 chord. Over the C chord you can play the Root note C, or the Root note C with the 5th note G in a R-5 riff.

Over the F chord you could play the Root note F or the Root note F with the 5th note C in a R-5 riff. Same generic riff R-5, but as you root is now F F's 5th is a C.

If that is mud don't worry it'll come. Just trying to give you an overview.

Have fun.

[MalcolmAmos]

Go here:
http://www.studybass.com/tools/chord...-note-printer/
At the bottom of the screen - Click on Diagram - then click on Show All.

That is a diagram of your fretboard. Print it off.

We were talking about a song in the key of C. Find the C note - 3rd string 3rd fret.
A I-IV-V progression in C is the C, F & G chord. Look at the C note 3rd string 3rd fret. Where is the F note on your fretboard? How about just above the C note, i.e. 2nd string 3rd fret.

Where is the G note on your fretboard? How about just below the C note, i.e. 4th string 3rd fret.

If you place your I root note on the 3rd string it's IV and V are above it and below it. Is that great or what!

Now where is the root's 5th? Up a string and over two frets. Yep every root's 5th is up a string and over two frets.

Looking at your fretboard diagram - see what you have to do to play a generic R-5 base line riff over the C, F and G chords. Take that to your guitar.

It gets better. Say the song is using the key of A. The I IV V for the key of A is A, D, E. Find A on the 3rd string. 3rd string nut or 0 fret. Where is the D note? Yep second string nut and E is 4th string nut. Check out the 5ths for those three notes - yep up a string and over two.

Like that all over your fretboard! All you gotta do is place the I tonic root note on the 3rd string and the IV and V with their 5ths are waiting for you.

Get that fretboard diagram and work all that out. Once you "see it" your fretboard should open up for you. Ask specific questions.

Have fun.

[sleepytime]

Originally Posted by aarono

I'm trying to understand what you're saying. Do you have any basic song recommendations?

What you're telling me is I should have a good idea of what note I should be playing next due to a basic understanding of chord progression? Is this somewhat like when you're listening to a song on the radio that you've never heard and you can almost hum the song before it goes on to the next measure?

Like I said I'm going to spend hours on that website trying to soak it all up.

_____
@janitor. I've had a teacher. He would tell me theory and would try to help me as best as he could but it would just never click with me. Seems like he was basing off everything he wanted me to understand from some example that I still had no clue about. It was very frustrating.

Here's a pretty easy one. A lot of riding the root, with some arpeggio patterns too. Listen to how Carl Radle walks from one chord to the next. Learn this song and you can sit in on a blues jam.

Key to the Highway

Here's another snoozer, same idea. Hit the root note of the chord on the one. Listen to the lead ins. In a song like this you could almost play nothing but roots on the one, but hear how the simple lead-in phrases add to the bass line. This style will get you through a lot of ballads.

Wonderful Tonight

This song has a standard trick using the I and the V in each chord. You can count it out in your head:

(In Dm)
I, V, back to the
I, V, and to the

(In Am)
I, V, back to the
I, V, etc

Notice John McVie sometimes using the V below the I, sometimes the V above the I.

Black Magic Woman

Sorry to throw all the blues at you, but that's my gig and it's a great way to learn bassline construction. Once you learn the basics, you can listen and learn more effectively. Your notes outline the chord changes, your rhythm echoes the drummer. These are generalizations, but they are effective generalizations. Pretty soon, the light bulb will go on. Good luck.

[aarono]

I've tried to listen closely to the music I've been hearing lately trying to pick apart the bass lines.

I was listening to Invisible Touch by Genesis today and I was trying to imagine how the bassline would sound in my head as it wasn't very audible on the track. Now I know I can just play the roots/5ths of the chords but how do you know which chord is being played? Is it just something that comes with ear training/time?

I'm trying very hard to understand this stuff so please bare with me on this.