Real Book in bass clef? Or for C instruments? - Page 2

BassChuck · #21 10-04-2006, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemur821

Nah, nobody uses it anymore unless they're either studying old music or learning to transpose as they sight read in a fancy school. It's a shame, really. I'd rather see a clef change than a ledger line.

By the way, the bass is a C instrument. That letter refers to how an instrument is transposed when it's written. A Bb trumpet is written a whole stop higher than it sounds, and an F horn is written a fifth higher. While the bass is transposed when written, it's by an octave, so it's still a C instrument.

Any instrument that reads in Bass Clef is a "C" (concert pitch) instrument. Yah, even all the different keyed tubas, they 'transpose' by learning different fingerings.

If you want to learn to read jazz heads in Bass Clef, get the Treble Clef Real Book and write out the heads in Bass Clef, you'll learn a lot from that.

lemur821 · #22 10-04-2006, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassChuck

Any instrument that reads in Bass Clef is a "C" (concert pitch) instrument.

Not all of them. Horns see some bass clef, but it's transposed the same as the rest of the piece. The bass guitar, however, is a C instrument.

jadesmar · #23 10-04-2006, 02:21 PM

IMO, the bass guitar is not a concert pitch instrument as it sounds an octave lower than written.

It's a "C" instrument though.

lemur821 · #24 10-04-2006, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jadesmar

IMO, the bass guitar is not a concert pitch instrument as it sounds an octave lower than written.

It's a "C" instrument though.

I'm not sure whether "concert pitch" refers to a particular octave or not, but I'd like to know. I hear stuff like "play a concert Bb" all the time, and everyone just plays in whatever octave makes them happiest, but maybe we're all just sloppy.

jadesmar · #25 10-05-2006, 08:18 AM

Well,.. no real octave information is passed in saying "play a concert Bb".

Now, if the request was "play the Bb just below middle C".. first of all, it's possible that not all instruments could comply with the request and secondly, this would be played at the 15th fret of your G string.

If you saw, on a staff, a Bb below middle C in music transcribed for the bass, this would be, for instance, at the 3rd fret of the G-string (as well as several other places on other strings).

Anyhow, these IMO are two different notes.

Phil Smith · #26 10-05-2006, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by str8_bourbon

Ah, I get it. So the only difference between the bass clef version and the treble clef version, is that the head is notated differently. Is that right? And the main reason that I would want to get a treble clef version, is so that I can share it with other musicians at a gig?

The head is notated in bass clef but keep in mind that the bass usually sounds an octave lower than written. The low E in the real book would correspond to your E at the 12th fret on the E string, not the open E.

The bass clef book is great for your bass clef reading and once you can read every tune in the book, then get the treble clef version.

jc-bass · #27 10-06-2006, 11:35 AM

Hi! I just posted this before, but I think it may give a bit of knowledge for those who didn´t know:

There´s a total of 7 clefs (to adapt to the different instruments) which classical musicians do master at some point....! Most of us do only know F(bass) clef and G clef(treble)! But there are 5 more: C clef in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th line, and F clef in 3rd line! There was a composer named Heinrich Schütz that used F clef in 5th line, which would be like G clef but two octaves lower!! (it´s never used). Learning them too is really useful...for example: transposing!

Cheers!

Alan Vorse · #28 10-06-2006, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

I've got both!

+1

iplaybassguitar · #29 10-07-2006, 10:14 AM

most of the time u probably wont be reading the notation anyway...unless u need the melody...95 percent of the time u can just look at chord names

tplyons · #30 10-08-2006, 07:52 PM

I have both. I use the treble clef version almost exclusively.

BassManPatsFan · #31 10-09-2006, 07:17 AM

I have the treble clef version and use it somewhat often. Here's the thing about the real book; they make them in any key or clef for any instrument that would ever play in a jazz band, but most of the time unless you have rehearsed previously with a group, a lot of the playing that one might do out of the real book would probably just be jamming, in which case a c real book is desirable. Everyone who wants to make it as a jazz musician and wants to have fun jamming with others should be able to read out of a C real book, so the bassist needs to learn treble clef, and the winds need to be able to transpose. That's what I was told early on and I'm quite thankful.
-Alex

str8_bourbon · #32 10-09-2006, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Everyone who wants to make it as a jazz musician and wants to have fun jamming with others should be able to read out of a C real book, so the bassist needs to learn treble clef, and the winds need to be able to transpose. That's what I was told early on and I'm quite thankful.

I thought someone mentioned earlier on that the bass clef version was in C, or rather for C instruments. If the bass clef version, and treble clef version can both be used for C instruments, I don't see why, as a bass player, I would prefer the treble clef version. I'm pretty sure I'll get this all cleared up, see the advantages/disadvantages, once my book arrives, which by the way is taking ages.

slybass3000 · #33 10-09-2006, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by str8_bourbon

Ah, I get it. So the only difference between the bass clef version and the treble clef version, is that the head is notated differently. Is that right? And the main reason that I would want to get a treble clef version, is so that I can share it with other musicians at a gig?

Yes!

SB