My bass lessons (so much to learn!)

[Kattabass]

About a month ago I started taking bass lessons at my local music store, and I'm pretty happy with what the teacher focuses on: Standard Notation.

However, today he threw a lot of things at me; too much, I think. Although he said he wanted me to be introduced to these as quickly as possible.

So, I'll explain. I've learned the Key of C, and all the basic notes in it: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. I've learned what a whole-step is, what a half-step is, and how to use them to find the same note on the same string. (W-W-h-W-W-W-h) There's also some exercises I've learned, and some small 3/4 , 4/4 pieces I've played.

Well, today, we worked on the "Boogie" pattern, and the Blues with a slow change, meaning only 3 chords are used, or something. He talked about scales, and essentially said all I'm going to need to learn to formulate baselines are the numbers that identify the chords.

This confused the hell out of me.

This is what I've been talking about, maybe you can make sense of what I'm learning by what he penciled in on the book. He talked about the 7 by the G, and he circled certain notes on the staff.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...oor/img147.jpg

I really like what I'm learning , however, I'm having some trouble...

[BassChuck]

Sounds like you have a good teacher. They may see talent in you and got a little anxious to see how fast you can go. Or it may be a test to see what you can handle.

Just do your best at what you can.... keep a notebook with you as you practice and write down questions. Yea, I know that sounds a little dorky, but you'll forget some of them at your next lessons, so write them down and ask.

Good luck. Many of us here had to learn bass on our own, or had some strange way of getting where we are. You have a good teacher. Work for them and get the most from your lessons. It does take a while, but the effort is worth it.

And BTW... check out all the things in this forum. There is a ton of great information in all the stickies and interviews and tutorials. Make good use of TB. And always ask questions.

[Poop-Loops]

When I first started learning music theory with my current teacher, there were times where I'd go "What?? Is he making this stuff up or something...?" But after staring at it a for a while and playing it a number of times, eventually it all "clicked' and made sense.

The 7 on the G:

Normally a chord is R, 3, 5 (i.e. if you're playing in G Major, the notes are G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G. R,3,5 are bold), a G7 also includes the 7th of the chord, F#. Since you're not playing the chord, it doesn't matter too much, but it changes the flavor of the measure. That's why you need to play around with everything to get a feel for it.

Wait wait, I just figured it out. The song is in C Major (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C), but the G7 chord means that there is an F# there, that's not "supposed to" be there. Like I said, it just changes the flavor of the song.

The circled stuff I can't really tell.

[thebassclef]

Like Poop-Loops said. IN Order to learn to formulate baselines by the numbers that identify the chords, you have to look at the SCALE. C has CDEFGABC In the Major (Ionian) Scale. To formulate a bassline with the I, IV, V Blues pattern, you would use C, F, G.
What your teacher is trying to get you to learn is a real world tool. You will not always have sheet music to go by in every situation. Sometimes, All you'll have is a Chord chart, or some one will say, For Instance, "This is a I, IV, V in the key of B." When you learn the notes in all the Ioanian scales, you'll be able to create a bassline using that Numeric Pattern without sheet music.

[Bassist4Life]

I know that you feel overwhelmed. Don't worry. You're going to see this stuff over and over again. Once you learn it, you won't forget it.

When you learn to play boogie lines, you'll never forget them. You'll be able to do them starting on any note.

Your chord knowledge/vocabulary will build gradually.

Your note reading will develop in the same way.

Don't worry. Do your homework, practice, and you'll be fine.

Joe

[Bassist4Life]

Originally Posted by Poop-Loops

Wait wait, I just figured it out. The song is in C Major (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C), but the G7 chord means that there is an F# there, that's not "supposed to" be there. Like I said, it just changes the flavor of the song.

I think you are confused. A G7 chord does not include an F#. It is spelled:
G, B, D, F

Joe

[jumbosilverette]

I am where you are in the lesson trail, maybe a few steps behind. And what your teacher is doing looks a lot like what I'm
getting. As Basschuck and others have said, you'll be seeing this stuff again and again, then it will sink in. Once you apply the theory outside of a lesson (in a real world setting) it will snap into focus. I love taking lessons -- of course it helps that my teacher is also a babe.

Originally Posted by Kattabass

About a month ago I started taking bass lessons at my local music store, and I'm pretty happy with what the teacher focuses on: Standard Notation.

However, today he threw a lot of things at me; too much, I think. Although he said he wanted me to be introduced to these as quickly as possible.

So, I'll explain. I've learned the Key of C, and all the basic notes in it: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. I've learned what a whole-step is, what a half-step is, and how to use them to find the same note on the same string. (W-W-h-W-W-W-h) There's also some exercises I've learned, and some small 3/4 , 4/4 pieces I've played.

Well, today, we worked on the "Boogie" pattern, and the Blues with a slow change, meaning only 3 chords are used, or something. He talked about scales, and essentially said all I'm going to need to learn to formulate baselines are the numbers that identify the chords.

This confused the hell out of me.

This is what I've been talking about, maybe you can make sense of what I'm learning by what he penciled in on the book. He talked about the 7 by the G, and he circled certain notes on the staff.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...oor/img147.jpg

I really like what I'm learning , however, I'm having some trouble...

[All_¥our_Bass]

Originally Posted by Poop-Loops

. . . a G7 also includes the 7th of the chord, F#. . .

No it doesn't, if a chord is written "G7" it is assumed that it has a minor 7(F, in this case), 7th chords are assumed to have minor sevens unless otherwise noted.

like this
"G7" is G B D F
"G Maj7" is G B D F#

Dont worry this confused me at first as well, since all other intervals are assumed major/perfect unless otherwise noted, while sevens are always assumed minor unless noted.

[Kattabass]

Wow, that's a lot of help.

...of course it helps that my teacher is also a babe

.

You're so friggin' lucky. I have a really annoying dude.

Just do your best at what you can.... keep a notebook with you as you practice and write down questions. Yea, I know that sounds a little dorky, but you'll forget some of them at your next lessons, so write them down and ask.

I took heed of the notebook advice, and I'm writing down some boogie patterns. However, I have a problem. I started with F7, so it's F-A-C, then what? I know it's not C again. I think, atleast.

Thanks for the all the help thus far everyone. This is the friendliest, most helpful forum I've been to.

[jumbosilverette]

F-A-C-D-D#, then back down

[Freddels]

Originally Posted by Kattabass

This confused the hell out of me.

This is what I've been talking about, maybe you can make sense of what I'm learning by what he penciled in on the book. He talked about the 7 by the G, and he circled certain notes on the staff.

I didn't see a response to this question so, the notes that your teacher circled are the 3 notes of the triad. In the first (C E G) which is the C triad. The fourth note in that measure (A) is the sixth of the C chord. In the second circled chord, he has circled the F triad (F A C) and again the fourth note of that measure is the sixth of F chord (D). And lastly, the third circled notes make up the G triad (G B D) and again the fourth note in that measure is the sixth of the G chord (E).

Even though the G chord is written as a G7, there is no seventh in that measure. Perhaps, that is what your teacher was referring when he brought that up. Don't be afraid to ask him to clarify this at your next lesson.

[Kattabass]

Yes, he reffered to the sixth, I just didn't understand it. The way he taught it was basically throwing it all at me in about 20 minutes...

Thanks for clarifying that. I'll take note of it.

[Kattabass]

Originally Posted by jumbosilverette

F-A-C-D-D#, then back down

How come that one has 5? The other boggie patterns I made consisted of "1-3-5-6" (ex. C7 = C-E-G-A.) Does that have to do with them not having a 7?

[Poop-Loops]

Originally Posted by All_¥our_Bass

No it doesn't, if a chord is written "G7" it is assumed that it has a minor 7(F, in this case), 7th chords are assumed to have minor sevens unless otherwise noted.

like this
"G7" is G B D F
"G Maj7" is G B D F#

Dont worry this confused me at first as well, since all other intervals are assumed major/perfect unless otherwise noted, while sevens are always assumed minor unless noted.

See, I didn't know that part. My mistake.

[wtg203]

Just a piece of advice for getting the most out of your lessons: If your instructor says something that you don't TOTALLY get or understand, STOP HIM. Say "What, what? What does that mean? what are you talking about?" This isn't public education, where you might feel stupid for asking a question out loud, or just don't care about truly understanding: your PAYING this guy. I sometimes just let my eyes glaze over during lessons and nod dumbly, a habbit I'm trying to break. This isn't a reprimand, just a reminded to ALWAYS ask questions.

[Kattabass]

You're right. He said it would be stupid if I didn't have questions.

[Naveed Afzal]

Is that the Mel Bay Electric Bass MEthod?

[Kattabass]

Yep. It's what my teacher works with.

[Gyoon]

This thread is intriguing. I'm a teacher too, and I always feel a need to explain "why" the notes work. Sometimes the student gets it, but a lot of the time it goes way over their heads. I still think they can get a lot out of learning, say, a boogie pattern. They just won't get the whole picture.

The example is a pretty basic pattern that we ALL have to play at least a thousand times in our lives. Above the notes are the chords that are being played behind you, either by a guitarist or a pianist. Your job, as a bass player, is to match the notes that you play with those chords. (Bar one is a C7 chord, goes to F7, Back to C7, etc . . . )

The chords will TELL you what the right notes are.

Here's the number one question that students NEVER ask me:

How do I know what the right notes are?

Answer: The chords will tell you. "Bad", off-colour notes are simply notes that don't jibe with the chord. The right notes sound good against the chord.

How'm I doing so far? Are you on the right track now? I hope that this will get you understanding a little better "why" you're being shown this exercise the way that you are.

Glenn

[thebassclef]

Originally Posted by Kattabass

How come that one has 5? The other boggie patterns I made consisted of "1-3-5-6" (ex. C7 = C-E-G-A.) Does that have to do with them not having a 7?

Katta, What Poop was talking about is palying ascending and descending. I Have written in notation and recorded both ways so you can hear the difference. The first part is how you are talking about doing it, the second parts has the descending notes.

http://media.putfile.com/boogie-53

And in notation:



Note that these are just two ways to play a blues boogie. There are Infinate ways out there.