I'm pretty stuck. ( check this out)

[bassAddict05]

What up all. New member to this site. Anyways I have been playing bass for about 6 months now. Getting better by the day. Can play alot of covers and have some originals with couple buddies who play guitar. my problem is, making up grooves even better. I dont get how a C major scale , how you can transform it into something righteous and out of this world. I have a book, Bas for dummies ( by patrick p. ) great book but I still kind of dont understand. Maybe someone could explain to me, or stuff like Cmajor7.....whats the 7 for ...stuff like that, Thanks.

[FUNKonthewall]

First thing: get lessons. This will help you immensely.

When you see a CMaj7 chord this means that the chord is comprised of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th scale degrees. The notes are C, E, G, B. If you've got piano nearby, play these notes as a chord. You'll hear what a Major 7th chord sounds like. Once you learn which scales and modes to play under the different chords, it'll open up a world of new ideas. Knowing how to do this is essentially the nuts and bolts of writing jazz basslines. Good luck!

[bassAddict05]

well Im not going to get lessons. I dont have the money plus I feel like I can teach myself pretty good......but not good enough yet. Anyways, thanks for explaining but maybe expand more on......how ic an comebine Cmajor scale with D major scale and still make it sound good , or stuff like that, thanks

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by bassAddict05

well Im not going to get lessons. I dont have the money plus I feel like I can teach myself pretty good......but not good enough yet. Anyways, thanks for explaining but maybe expand more on......how ic an comebine Cmajor scale with D major scale and still make it sound good , or stuff like that, thanks

Learning information can happen from anywhere, but where a teacher will help you is learning how to apply it.

Combining scales such as C maj and D maj isn't exactly a beginner's topic. So I'd hold off on that for a while.

[geoffkhan]

Originally Posted by bassAddict05

well Im not going to get lessons. I dont have the money plus I feel like I can teach myself pretty good......but not good enough yet. Anyways, thanks for explaining but maybe expand more on......how ic an comebine Cmajor scale with D major scale and still make it sound good , or stuff like that, thanks

Yeah, I never took a bass lesson in my life, and I still can groove and solo and everything. The trick is to listen and watch as many good bassists as possible.

To make up grooves, just mess around. A good place to start is octaves and fifths. Then add the seventh, especially if it's a dominant or minor chord. Just play and use your ears always. Play things that sound good to you, and imitate other people's playing. Maybe try to learn basslines from songs, etc.

[Jace The Bass]

There are numerous number of sites that can help you by using the cpu as well as going to see other musicians play as mentioned earlier
One of the best ways to learn is by transcribing either written down or by learning to play it on your bass as you have been doing so keep at it here's a ear-training site you can use www.good-ear.com and if you wan't to learn theory do a goggle search on it
Goodplayers have a knowledge in all or most areas of having good-ears as well as a sound knowledge in music theory another thing is to learn to read which will open doors but that comes under attitude
You must wan't to learn but it's not hard people think it's hard so they never become intrested in it and get put off. Jazzbo's practice thread is a great help on what areas you need to make yourself become a better musican

So bottom line get as much info you can from anywhere and make use of it to your advantage
Anyway welcome to TB and goodluck