books for sight reading

[cman500]

what are some good books to improve sight reading?

[onlyclave]

Charlie Parker Omnibook in bass clef. Chord Studies for Electric Bass by Rich Appleman and Joe Viola, Berklee Press.

I've sworn by these 2 books for years.

[matthewbrown]

Exercises and Etudes for the Jazz Instrumentalist by JJ Johnson -- Hal Leonard
Chesky: Contemporary Jazz/Rock Rhythms -- (intermediate and advanced) Colin Music
Dance Band Reading and Interpretation by Alan Raph (Sam Fox Publishing) -- excellent for big band rhythms and articulation
Sight Reading Funk Rhythms for Electric Bass -- Anthony Vitti
Essential Sight-REading Studies for Electric Bass David MOtto (three volumes)

See www.bassbooks.com for the last two -- I just got them.

[Chebass88]

+1 on the Charlie Parker Omnibook

The Carol Kaye books cover sightreading nicely.

Check out some cello, bassoon, double bass, and trombone music. It's in bass clef & it is more than enough to give you years worth of reading material.

Here are some of my favorites:
Bach Cello Suites
Simandl Book (Double bass)
Double bass etude books (Zimmerman, etc.)
Transcribed bass works (Jaco, Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten, etc.)
Standing in the Shadows of Motown (James Jamerson work)

Hope this helps!

IMP

[Andrew Jones]

Quarters..... Any transcription of famous jazz walkers.


Eighths...... Stagnaro's Latin bass book.


Sixteenths......A.Vitti's Sight reading Funk Rhythms


Swing Eighths/Jazz phrasing.....Stinnetts Paul Chambers book.


Aj

[jweiss]

"Sight Reading for the Bass" by Ron Velosky.

http://bassbooks.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=179

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by cman500

what are some good books to improve sight reading?

if you check your local used book stores you may find old beat up copies of guitar mags w/bass lines.....as long as the transcriptions are there and the price is cheap why not.you really can find tons of good stuff if you look and it is way better than e pay where used back issues often are pricier than new

[Dave Muscato]

I will add Jim Stinnett's "Reading in Bass Clef" and "Reading Bass Parts" vol I, II, and III, and also Rich Appleman's "Reading Contemporary Electric Bass" and "Chord Studies for Electric Bass" to the above mentioned books.

[James S]

What are some good books to improve sight-reading?

“Sight Reading” is really not possible. All reading is based on the ability to recognize previously identified symbols. You only become better at reading (sight reading) by being quicker at recognizing the elements of music. Now when I say, “recognizing,” I don’t mean with your eyes. I mean with your hands and ears. If all we had to do was look at music and not produce a sound then cool, just read. But playing written music is an entire different process.

Because we read the written word with our eyes, we often think this is the only task in reading music. Not true. It is virtually impossible for us to remember when we ourselves did not recognize the alphabet letter, A. We studied the alphabet, spelling, vocabulary, composition rules, etc. The speaking part is easy because we have been doing this since birth. The writing and reading of a language is far more difficult. The opposite is true of music. Visually studying music is the easy part. Execution of a pre determined written part is challenging. Imagine trying to sight-read the Japanese language. For myself, it would take years of studying the characters to even distinguish them. Then of course I would need to know how to pronounce the words.

A good sight-reader of music is someone who not only recognizes the pitches (the easy part) and the rhythms (fairly easy) with their eyes and brains, but who has also practiced the physical execution of the elements to the point of mastery. You must isolate and practice the elements that will be used when reading music. Just like a good writer and reader of written language needs to practice the pronunciation to actually speak, it is not enough to see and recognize written music to be able to perform the music. This false assumption would be like me saying, “Sure, I recognize this is a poem written in the French language” and then assuming I could read it aloud.

While all of the above mentioned books and sheet music are totally cool, you will benefit very little by attempting to sight-read them. Bach is beautiful music but far too difficult to use when practice reading, unless you are already a very good reader. The Omni book is full of some of the most difficult bebop every notated and will not offer you the opportunity to practice the fundamentals you need. This book is not intended for reading practice. While transcribed bass works by Jaco, Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten, etc., look really impressive and makes us feel cool because we have the hip **** on or music stand, this written music also is far too advanced for most folks to simply read.

I do not want to rain on anyone’s parade, but if you want to become a better reader you need to accept where you are and acquire some music that will allow you to practice the basics. I know, the level of music you need to practice will not sound so hip but you cannot escape the fact that you must learn to walk before you can run. Mastery in performance of quarter-notes, eighth-notes, and diatonic pitches in a major scale, are but a few of the basics that are required before you move on. Again, I must repeat, recognition is not enough. Practice to the point of creating muscle memory is necessary for you to begin to sight-read.

[Lon86]

Bass nerd sighted...

If you can't do it...teach it!

[Audiophage]

Originally Posted by James S

“Sight Reading” is really not possible. All reading is based on the ability to recognize previously identified symbols. You only become better at reading (sight reading) by being quicker at recognizing the elements of music. Now when I say, “recognizing,” I don’t mean with your eyes. I mean with your hands and ears. If all we had to do was look at music and not produce a sound then cool, just read. But playing written music is an entire different process.

Because we read the written word with our eyes, we often think this is the only task in reading music. Not true. It is virtually impossible for us to remember when we ourselves did not recognize the alphabet letter, A. We studied the alphabet, spelling, vocabulary, composition rules, etc. The speaking part is easy because we have been doing this since birth. The writing and reading of a language is far more difficult. The opposite is true of music. Visually studying music is the easy part. Execution of a pre determined written part is challenging. Imagine trying to sight-read the Japanese language. For myself, it would take years of studying the characters to even distinguish them. Then of course I would need to know how to pronounce the words.

A good sight-reader of music is someone who not only recognizes the pitches (the easy part) and the rhythms (fairly easy) with their eyes and brains, but who has also practiced the physical execution of the elements to the point of mastery. You must isolate and practice the elements that will be used when reading music. Just like a good writer and reader of written language needs to practice the pronunciation to actually speak, it is not enough to see and recognize written music to be able to perform the music. This false assumption would be like me saying, “Sure, I recognize this is a poem written in the French language” and then assuming I could read it aloud.

While all of the above mentioned books and sheet music are totally cool, you will benefit very little by attempting to sight-read them. Bach is beautiful music but far too difficult to use when practice reading, unless you are already a very good reader. The Omni book is full of some of the most difficult bebop every notated and will not offer you the opportunity to practice the fundamentals you need. This book is not intended for reading practice. While transcribed bass works by Jaco, Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten, etc., look really impressive and makes us feel cool because we have the hip **** on or music stand, this written music also is far too advanced for most folks to simply read.

I do not want to rain on anyone’s parade, but if you want to become a better reader you need to accept where you are and acquire some music that will allow you to practice the basics. I know, the level of music you need to practice will not sound so hip but you cannot escape the fact that you must learn to walk before you can run. Mastery in performance of quarter-notes, eighth-notes, and diatonic pitches in a major scale, are but a few of the basics that are required before you move on. Again, I must repeat, recognition is not enough. Practice to the point of creating muscle memory is necessary for you to begin to sight-read.

I see plenty of recommended books that dwell on the basics of sight reading, whats wrong with suggesting a few books that are a little more advanced? Once you've mastered those it's good to have some new challenges to tackle. You know what I mean?

[DocBop]

To learn to sightread there are lots of books and approaches, but key is once you have the basics down is to be reading everyday and preferably music you haven't seen before or haven't seen for a long time. So get as much music as you can anything bass clef like trombone, lower staff of piano, anything. I've had teachers just take a piece of music and put it upside down on the stand and say read it. Start getting good at sightreading bass clef start working on treble clef. Sightreading is one of those skills you just have to do it and do it everyday. Even carry some music with you and somewhere you have to kill some time pull out the music, tap your foot and tap or sing the rhythms of the music.

Learning to sightread is more about training your eyes to SEE and read music the way you read words. Most words you see and instantly know and read, others you subconsciously have a way to break the word down and figure it out instantly. Music is same, but you learn to spot rhythmic words and apply melodic fragments of a scale, or intervals, or spot chords. All about seeing and recognizing.

[brusinow]

Originally Posted by Lon86

Bass nerd sighted...

If you can't do it...teach it!

Sheesh... no wonder great teachers like Jim rarely come around here anymore...

It's one thing to disagree with someone on here (although for the record, Jim can DO just as well as he can teach) but it boggles my mind how the anonymity of the online world gives some people a free pass to be rude and disrespectful.

[Scot]

Already some great suggestions so far.

I recommend getting a book full of rhythms such as this one:

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/a/item...0&item=2965619

It's good to get a handle on reading rhythms so, for this part of your reading practice, you can put away your bass, set your 'nome and clap the rhythms.

[Andrew Jones]

lready some great suggestions so far.

I recommend getting a book full of rhythms such as this one:

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/a/item...0&item=2965619

It's good to get a handle on reading rhythms so, for this part of your reading practice, you can put away your bass, set your 'nome and clap the rhythms.

+1 rhythm is huge! Clap away, its fun.

If you feel like getting deeper, sing them with duration or play one note on the bass,with duration. It's important.



Aj

[JehuJava]

Originally Posted by jweiss

"Sight Reading for the Bass" by Ron Velosky.

http://bassbooks.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=179

+1

Starts off easy...gets you comfortable with recognizing notes without having to read or say them in your head.

[Jim Carr]

Originally Posted by Lon86

Bass nerd sighted...

If you can't do it...teach it!

Well, fine. Thanks for that "wisdom."

In fact, I am a teacher and a gigging bassist. I can assure you that comments like yours are what make people who can play and teach want to ignore the "General Instruction Forum."

Oh wait, is this the General Instruction Forum?
Yeah, it is. Perhaps good bassists who teach MIGHT visit. MIGHT.

Excuse me for being angry, but the vast majority of professional bassists (all musicians, in fact) also teach. That you don't know that SUGGESTS you are no pro. SUGGESTS.

I have a few manners left, even after a tough day of teaching, so I will not tell you what I really think of your comment about James S.

PS. Suggested reading:
http://www.nhbassfest.com/artists/index.html Click on the bio link for Jim Stinnett.

[Jim Campbell]

i for one hope that the pro teachers dont run off in disgust.i would love to hear any wisdom you may wish to dispense especially the free kind as cash is a tad low these days...i really would like to find sight reading material as well as some help with stuff that goes beyond the primers stage ie, triplets inside triplets ,quints etc.i guess what might be called intermediate to advanced,to figure out how to count that stuff out properly.....the hard part about trying to sight down a victor wooten line is that i aint victor wooten...ive got lots of gp and gftpm mags but they arent really meant as reference material......you can either play them or you cant and i suspect a lot of guys plateau out then give up frustrated

[DocBop]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

i for one hope that the pro teachers dont run off in disgust.i would love to hear any wisdom you may wish to dispense especially the free kind as cash is a tad low these days...i really would like to find sight reading material as well as some help with stuff that goes beyond the primers stage ie, triplets inside triplets ,quints etc.i guess what might be called intermediate to advanced,to figure out how to count that stuff out properly.....the hard part about trying to sight down a victor wooten line is that i aint victor wooten...ive got lots of gp and gftpm mags but they arent really meant as reference material......you can either play them or you cant and i suspect a lot of guys plateau out then give up frustrated

What a drummer told me once about tuples is to find a word with the same number of syllables as the beats in the tuple you're working on. Each syllable is your beat, since we tend to say the syllables in words evenly you get a way to hear, feel the tuple.


Or you could use the syllables from Indian music to create a pseudo word with the appropriate pulses.

Konakkol:

1 Ta
2 Ta Ki (pronounced: Tuh Kee)
3 Ta Ki Ta
4 Ta Ka Di Mi (pronounced Tuh Kah Dee Mee)
5 Ta Ki Ta Ki Ta
6 Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ka
7 Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ki Ta
8 Ta Ki Ta Ta Ki Ta Ta Ki
9 Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ki Ta Ki Ta

[Andrew Jones]

1 Ta
2 Ta Ki (pronounced: Tuh Kee)
3 Ta Ki Ta
4 Ta Ka Di Mi (pronounced Tuh Kah Dee Mee)
5 Ta Ki Ta Ki Ta
6 Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ka
7 Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ki Ta
8 Ta Ki Ta Ta Ki Ta Ta Ki
9 Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ki Ta Ki Ta

Wow, great this is something I'm very interested in and know the tiniest 3rd person knowledge of.

I've considered taking a lesson from a tabla guy to really get this stuff.


Please explain in detail.


Aj