Theory, best place to start?

[RyannosaurusRex]

Alright, folks. I've been searching through this site, and other sites, and I still can't find a straight up answer to this. I'm sure this type of question is asked frequently, but I just can't seem to find it elsewhere. Anyways, I've been playing for 3.5 years or so, and I've just learned my favorite songs and jam with friends. However, I feel ready to apply theory to my playing, with scales and such. I'm pretty sure the best place to start is to learn the notes of the fretboard, which I've been working on for a few days now, but after that. What to begin learning? Thanks for all suggestions and help! ~Ryan

[Elrend]

Chord construction and basic functional harmony.

[puddin tame]

scales, chords, harmony, tension and resolution (like sounding 'in' vs 'out')

don't forget that what notes you are playing is only a small part of the music

[RyannosaurusRex]

Alright, so if I were to begin learning scales, would I just begin learning every scale I can, or like blues scales, major, minor, etc?

[Blake Bass]

key signatures, major scales. triads..Check out The Evolving Bassist book by Rufus Reid..

[Schlyder]

The best place to start is at the beginning Grasshopper.

[RyannosaurusRex]

Alright, thanks. I'll check it out. By the way, I noticed you live in Annapolis, MD? I live in Calvert County.

[RyannosaurusRex]

Originally Posted by Schlyder

The best place to start is at the beginning Grasshopper.

Words of the wise?

[kb9wyz]

If you want to learn theory in a general sense, I recommend the Complete Idiots Guide to Music Theory. Great intro to theory. Well written and worth owning. Two other books follow the series for Composition and Orchestration and Arrangement.

For Bass specifically. I think that The Evolving Bassist by Rufus Ried is a great place to go.

[oldrookie]

Originally Posted by Elrend

Chord construction and basic functional harmony.

Just started lessons after trying to teach myself for the last two years. This is where the instructor took me.

[Schlyder]

Originally Posted by RyannosaurusRex

Words of the wise?

Start at the beginning. You already mentioned learning the notes on the fretboard. Add learning to sightread. So learn the notes on the staff, then key signatures etc.
There is a plethora of books that will teach you the basics of theory and then some. Start doing your research.
So like I said... start at the beginning.

[derridiandrift]

Find a teacher to work through theory and harmony from the beginning, with a workbook and everything. Do it on piano and bass if you have that option.

[RyannosaurusRex]

Thanks for all the help so far, folks!

[MalcolmAmos]

The beginning is with the major scale and how it is constructed. The following site will start there and five steps later you will be at melody. Take it one step at a time and it will make since. If you skip around all you will end up with is bits and pieces and none of them will fit together.

Start with post # 2 from this site: http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/...ad.php?t=11975 Print off a section, find an easy chair and spend an extra hour a day for as long as it takes.

Good luck

[Drifta]

C major scale

C D E F G A B C

triad : C E G

Arpeggio : C E G B C

Go play those, move the patterns up to the next note, D , and so on and so on. Great starting place.

[treekiller]

Actually the Mel Bay theory book is pretty decent, especially for beginners and dummies like me.....

[JTE]

From an earlier thread (this topic comes up a LOT), and with thanks to Mambo4 for the original design...

Theory can seem like a quagmire to those who are starting out, and it's often difficult to know just how important a particular aspect of it is. I will say that learning how chords are built from scales is the most important aspect of theory. It is far more useful to understand chord construction than to memorize all those "Scales A and B go with chord X" formulas.

I'd say the logical progression learning music theory is this:

1.) Learn the major scale, and how it's constructed
2.) Learn how basic chords are built from the major scale- e.g Major is 1,3,5, minor is 1,b3, 5, etc.
3.) Learn how to harmonize the notes of any diatonic major scale by building chords / stacking thirds.
4.) Learn arpeggios/chord tones
5.) Learn to look at common chord progressions as "numerals" (eg, I-IV-V etc) to understand how the chords relate to the song's key.
6.) Learn the Natural Minor scale (a/k/a Aeolian mode) and the dominant scale (a/k/a Mixolydian); And learn how these relate to the major scale (i.e.; its the V and vi mode)
7.) Understand how other 4 modes of the major scale are derived (less important to memorize these other modes at first)
8.) Dive back into modes for more detailed ideas about what "goes" with what chord.

Bass playing is basically a matter of knowing what to play over various chords. It may seem daunting at first, but my practical experience (bass in pop/rock) has been that I mostly use Major, Minor, and Dominant 7 related bass line patterns, usually based on chord tones and pentatonics. Even if you're playing some guitar oriented riff-rock, each riff is going to imply a chord of some kind.

"BUT HOW DO I APPLY THIS THEORY TO MY PLAYING?"
85%+ of the time, you will be going from root note to root note as the chords change. The trick is learning how to do it with a groove and feel that is stylistically appropriate to the song. The best way to reach stylistic understanding is to learn songs you like and pick them apart to see how the bass line relates to the chords. I cannot emphasize this idea enough: The answer to this common question is to LEARN AND ANALYZE BASS LINES BY THE MASTERS. Once you understand what Jamerson (for example) did with a particular set of changes, these ideas become added to your tool set, to use, change, blend and create your own voice.

John

[MonetBass]

www.musictheory.net <--- Here

Go through all of the exercises. You should have a pretty fundamental understanding after that. Good luck!

[Icculus]

As someone who was asking this question only a few months back, listen to the MalcomAmos method that was posted by him and also reiterated by JTE. Both of those guys were extremely helpful for me being introduced to theory (thanks guys!).

www.studybass.com is a great site (similar to musictheory.net) that is good for going stepwise through the material.

Don't try to take on too much at once. Let things soak in. Basic theory is really not all that complex, but it seems like it if you try to tackle it all overnight.