reading notes

[funkslaper]

Ive have been playing mostly from tabs so far ive been satisfied with that.
lately ive went to a local clinic with Victor Wooten and he strongly ecouraged the class to lern how to read music to be a complete bassist.
since the ive have been trying to lern i try to translate music sheet to tabs .
My confusion is if a note is played for example on G does that mean open G string ,D srtring 5th fret A string 10th fret or E string 3rd fret they are all GGGGSS!!!?? somehow to me they don't sound exactly the same tone
can a music master ore somebody help me??

[MalcolmAmos]

I do not have a bass fretboard example, so will show you a 6 string guitar fretboard. The concept is the some - just ignore the upper E and B string..

http://visualguitar.com/index.php

Notice the green C note and in standard notation see where it falls on the music staff.

Notice the blue C note and in standard notation see that its higher up on the music staff --- and you have to find this note in a different position on the fretboard.

Notice the purple C. Standard notation is higher still on the staff and you find that C in another location.

Where the note is on the music staff lets you know where you play that specific note on your fretboard.

Those C's are all C notes, however, different octaves of the C note - that's why they sound different. Where they fall on the music staff (ledger note below the treble clef) is one octave, then in the upper level of the treble clef is another octave and then ledger notes above the treble clef tell you this C is in a higher octave still and because of this you find it at another location on your fretboard.

Hope that helped.

[onlyclave]

The thing is you need to stop translating notes to tabs and then reading those because you're not going to get any better and you're putting an extra step in there that's unnecessary.

Try translating notes on a page to notes on the neck. To answer your question, Yes. Whereas tabs only give you a single option, standard notation is up for interpretation and which G you play is up to your experience and musicality.

Sorry, there's no simple solution other than leave the tabs behind and learn to become a complete bassist.

[M0ses]

Tabs are not absolute, either. If you wanted to, you could play the note referred to as D5 as G0, too. You have to decide where to play it based upon a combination of the sound, and the ease of playing it. Personally I like to play all the notes as close together on the neck as possible to keep the tone consistant, which mean's I'll be switching strings more and moving my hand up and down less.

Also, stop "translating" to tabs. If you're doing that, you're not actually learning to read the music, are you? Yes, you're going to have to go backwards and move slowly to learn it, but that's the only way. Actually, I would recommend playing the notes in multiple positions while learning, in order to learn the fretboard and learn where you prefer to play them. My notation reading is not all that advanced either. I play too much on the low end of the neck, and my playing suffers from it. I'm not as familiar with the fretboard as I should be.

[EADG mx]

There's no shortage of methods to notate how you want something to be fingered.


A) Roman numerals can be used to specify a change in position (VII = index finger on the 7th fret).

B) Classical string notation sometimes uses a "+" sign to indicate that a passage is closed (no open strings), and a "o" to indicate open.

C) An Arabic numeral can refer to the fingers of the fretting hand (1=I, 2=M, 3=R, 4=P).

D) You can use text (Sul G = on the G).

E) An Arabic numeral enclosed in a circle refers to a string: (1)=G, (2)=D, (3)=A, (4)=E). I didn't include this as I'm not sure how to do it on Finale.

[Cix]

When you're refering to your multiple G issue, you're talking about octaves. As you may, or may not, know, the 3rd fret on E is an octave lower than the 5th fret on D. The 5th fret on D and the open G are the exact same octave, and therefore can be used interchangable to however you're most comfortable with.

A general rule of thumb when it comes to reading music notation: the higher the note is on the staff, the higher pitch it will be. That is to say, if you read a G represented on the bottom line of the staff, you'd want to play the 3rd fret E string. Inversely, if you're reading a G represented inbetween the top 2 lines, you'll want to play either 5th fret D or open G.

[onlyclave]

Originally Posted by Cix

When you're refering to your multiple G issue, you're talking about octaves. As you may, or may not, know, the 3rd fret on E is an octave lower than the 5th fret on D. The 5th fret on D and the open G are the exact same octave, and therefore can be used interchangable to however you're most comfortable with.

A general rule of thumb when it comes to reading music notation: the higher the note is on the staff, the higher pitch it will be. That is to say, if you read a G represented on the bottom line of the staff, you'd want to play the 3rd fret E string. Inversely, if you're reading a G represented inbetween the top 2 lines, you'll want to play either 5th fret D or open G.

As you may or may not know, the 15th fret on the E, 10th fret on the A, 5th fret on the D and open G string are all the same note. No octave displacement is going on there.

[Jayhawk]

This may be helpful:

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...oard_notes.jpg

I've used something similar in the past.

[two fingers]

Originally Posted by onlyclave

The thing is you need to stop translating notes to tabs and then reading those because you're not going to get any better and you're putting an extra step in there that's unnecessary.

Try translating notes on a page to notes on the neck. To answer your question, Yes. Whereas tabs only give you a single option, standard notation is up for interpretation and which G you play is up to your experience and musicality.

Sorry, there's no simple solution other than leave the tabs behind and learn to become a complete bassist.

I tend to agree with this. In fact I think you're going at it backwards. I would try learning the music from notation. If you are having a hard time coming up with an easy enough way to play a particular piece, THEN try looking at the TAB for a suggestion as to how to pull it off. Notation first, and TAB as a "crutch" only if you need it. Good luck!

[mambo4]

Originally Posted by funkslaper

G does that mean open G string ,D srtring 5th fret A string 10th fret or E string 3rd fret they are all G...

As OnlyCalve was pointing out,the first 3 are the same pitch(the space below the top line on bass clef)
E string 3rd fret is an octave down (bottom line)
but you probably knew that.

Notation does not always come with fingering charts, because it's not always for one instrument. Trombone fingerings would not translate

You must discover for your self what the best position to play a phrase is. Most of the scale shapes we first learn are in a single position, so If you are familiar with your scale shapes, you should have little problem finding the best position rather quickly. The key of the piece can give you a good clue. Pick one of the options available and start playing the piece. if you have to move your hand around and shift positions alot, that's a clue that there may be a better position available. In general you should be able to fit a given phrase in a position that does not require a span of more the 4 or 5 frets. There will always be exceptions of course.

[onlyclave]

Originally Posted by mambo4

As OnlyCalve was pointing out,

That's OnlyClave. Claw-vay

[singlemalt]

Don't forget to learn the treble clef while you at it, and if your to be a COMPLETE bassist the tenor clef needs your attention too.

Just kidding. Learning to read will help everything you do. You'll get note values and measure divisions and rythmic phrases and melody in a whole new way. You'll have a visual memory of what note combinations sound like. It'll get easier if you practice everyday. Just pick anything that's not too hard to start. Spend a few bucks on a used metronome that fits in your bass case, gig bag. I found one at goodwill for $3.

But getting to where you are a sight reading wiz? That's going to take some serious commitment. Don't beat yourself up. Lots of bassist can't read for squat.

IMHO its not as important as say, ear training, playing nice with others and having fun.

Ed Friedland's books with the CD's are awesome. The What Duck Dunn book is another good one for pretty easy lines in the most useful blues forms. Lots of classic tunes as a bonus.

[mambo4]

Originally Posted by onlyclave

That's OnlyClave. Claw-vay

My percussionist keeps getting mad when I play my tumbao against his calve.

[MooseLumps]

Originally Posted by mambo4

Trombone fingerings would not translate

Valve trombone?

[countrybassist]

I don't read music. And I won't use tabs. I listen to the song, then play it.

[JTE]

Don't try to "translate" notation to tabs. That's like trying to translate written English to diagrams of where to put your tongue and shape your lips when you speak.

Instead, learn music. It's all integrated, so you don't want to be thinking "The top space is the fifth fret of the 2nd string (or the 10th fret of the 3rd string or the open 1st string- as you've experienced). You want to know that the top space is a G. And you want to know where G is all over the neck. And you want to know what that note is in relation to the note before it and the note after it.

Learn to read music by learing what it SOUNDS like. The goal is to be able to see a line of music and figure out what it sounds like, then your fingers find the sound.

John

[onlyclave]

Originally Posted by countrybassist

I don't read music. And I won't use tabs. I listen to the song, then play it.

What do you do if there's no recording?