How do I play from THIS sheet music?!

[Fassa Albrecht]

Seriously, I think I'm doing this completely wrong.


Sometimes in worship band we're not given sheet music but something that looks like this-

E.g.

G........G/B............C.............G
Amazing grace how sweet the sound

G..............Em...............D7
That saved a wretch like me


Question is, how on earth am I supposed to play from this?! At the moment I'm forced to play by ear to the piano and that's pretty hit-and-miss.



Any help?

[Arandaz]

Just play the notes it says, you'll have to listen for the rhythm unless you know the song. When its G/B or any chord symbol with a slash, just play the note after the slash, it changes the inversion of the chord but you just have to worry about that bass note after the slash. When you have minor chords like the Em, you could just stick to playing E, or if you wanted to mix it up you could add arpeggios in there.

[jimmy rocket]

that's not sheet music. that's just chords written over the words. As a fellow sufferer of spotty praise music copies I can only advise you to begin with roots, and then play through chords so see where you can offer variety and transition.

oh and anything that looks like "G/B" you play the B

[MonetBass]

+1 to above. Also, you'll notice that the chord indications are positioned a certain way above the lyrics. That tells you when to change notes/chords.

[Fassa Albrecht]

Originally Posted by MonetBass

+1 to above. Also, you'll notice that the chord indications are positioned a certain way above the lyrics. That tells you when to change notes/chords.

I know about that but the bassline sounds really minimal when I play

[jimmy rocket]

Originally Posted by MonetBass

+1 to above. Also, you'll notice that the chord indications are positioned a certain way above the lyrics. That tells you when to change notes/chords.

loosely....

plus you're going to have 4 different people with 5 different versions in their heads. Have one person who knows the melody (usually your guitarist or pianist) run down through the song. You'll hear the changes soon enough.

[OtterOnBass]

This kind of notation depends a lot on your having heard the song. I like this because it gives me lots of freedom on what I can play.

[downneck]

Originally Posted by Fassa Albrecht

I know about that but the bassline sounds really minimal when I play

improvise lines in the keys indicated

edit:

having gone over the song in my head a couple times, i'd say that in a church-y situation you probably don't want to go too nuts with the improv. maybe dotted quarter roots on the 1 and something interesting like a quarter 5th, 3rd or 2nd on the 4. i don't really play this type of music so i couldn't say what'd sound good. play around with it

[wazzel]

I play from that all the time in our choir. You just need to learn to improv over chords. Pick up the feel of the song from the others and run with it.

[stflbn]

Originally Posted by Fassa Albrecht

I know about that but the bassline sounds really minimal when I play

That's a positive... it gives you tons of room to create what feels right. Float around those notes musically and you'll be golden.

If they give you freedom, give them something worthwhile.

[DocBop]

It's just a quick and dirty chord chart you see stuff like this working with singers. Usually a chord chart would have bar lines and slashes for the beats and/or rhythm of the changes. But having the lyric you should be able to hear and feel where the changes go. I love chord charts they give you lots of room to come up with your own lines.

Part of learning to play is learning to deal with the various ways people will write out tunes. Lead sheets, xeroxed fake books with scratched in chords for a key change. Chord charts, Nashville charts, strips of notebook paper with who knows what. That is why you should carry pencils and eraser with you to make notes. Learn to fixup the chart if necessary. Can be helpful to keep some staff paper in your gig bag to take a disaster of a chart or scrap of paper and write it out.

Last learn to play some guitar and notes on a KB. Sometimes you just have to fake it and between your ear and sometime looking at the guitar player or KB's left hand will get you thru the gig.

[doctorjazz]

Originally Posted by Fassa Albrecht

I know about that but the bassline sounds really minimal when I play

That can be a very good thing.

[JimmyM]

Fassa, chord charts are pretty common and fun to play. You don't have to stick rigidly to the root notes at all times. They're pretty cool, actually, because they give you some leeway to come up with your own lines. But just make sure you establish the root of each chord before you go off on a tangent

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by OtterOnBass

This kind of notation depends a lot on your having heard the song. I like this because it gives me lots of freedom on what I can play.

Well chord charts are really designed for people who haven't heard the tune and as has been said - it's just a case of knowing what notes are in each chord, then it helps to see where the chords are going and how they resolve - generally a chord sequence will have a logic to it and a shape. As bass player it is your job to outline this and help make sense of things by giving forward momentum - so if you can look ahead and see that a chord change is coming, you can "signpost" it for people.

[Fassa Albrecht]

Originally Posted by doctorjazz

That can be a very good thing.

Yeah....





IF I'm playing minimalist rock.

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Fassa, chord charts are pretty common and fun to play. You don't have to stick rigidly to the root notes at all times. They're pretty cool, actually, because they give you some leeway to come up with your own lines. But just make sure you establish the root of each chord before you go off on a tangent

Good plan

[Deacon_Blues]

That's how I write down songs I introduce to my band. Doesn't need to be more complicated, you have listened to the song and know it right?

One small note about the slash chord... one above said that you only need to care about the note after the slash. That's true only if you plan to play nothing but that note. Otherwise, the chord before the slash determines what you can play. What I'm trying to say is that if you accidentally play the chord notes of a B major, it will most likely sound like crap....

[MarkTAW]

But if you play the chord notes of B minor......

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by MarkTAW

But if you play the chord notes of B minor......

It can still be off-chord.

[jimmy rocket]

Originally Posted by Deacon_Blues

That's how I write down songs I introduce to my band. Doesn't need to be more complicated, you have listened to the song and know it right?

One small note about the slash chord... one above said that you only need to care about the note after the slash. That's true only if you plan to play nothing but that note. Otherwise, the chord before the slash determines what you can play. What I'm trying to say is that if you accidentally play the chord notes of a B major, it will most likely sound like crap....

right, should have said this earlier. You're still within the G scale there, you're just providing logical movement to the next chord by playing the B. It provides some harmonic tension.

[Phil Smith]

Originally Posted by Fassa Albrecht

Seriously, I think I'm doing this completely wrong.


Sometimes in worship band we're not given sheet music but something that looks like this-

E.g.

G........G/B............C.............G
Amazing grace how sweet the sound

G..............Em...............D7
That saved a wretch like me


Question is, how on earth am I supposed to play from this?! At the moment I'm forced to play by ear to the piano and that's pretty hit-and-miss.



Any help?

Just sit down with your bass, sing the melody and just play the root notes and it will begin to make sense to you.

As for the chart, you need to know what the notes of the chords are and also need to be able to translate that into a bassline that fits with the style of music that you're playing.