Where to learn music theory?

[Psycho]

So, seeing as this is my senior year in highschool i've been thinking about my music career.

As a bassist, and a metal bassist at that i've been looking into music theory to both help with getting gigs, and making music.

So, my question is what's a good way to go about learning theory? I unfortunately can't take the class this upcoming semester, but taking it at the nearby community college is an option. I don't want to seem like i'm doing the whole "Be a rockstar, get famous and rich fast" thing, but getting the key stuff without dealing with the things that don't apply would be helpful.

[Mayers]

Well if you want to learn there isn't a lot of way of doing it. Go to school.

Since you like metal ... a lot of death metal et technical death metal are inspire by classical music. And you know ... the more you know the better you will be.

I don,t think there is something you can avoid completely ... or that won,t help you in a way or another.

[GianGian]

I think that getting a teacher is a good idea. Also, you will have a hard time to learn kays and chords and harmony in general if you don't go outside metal. Don't get me wrong, heavy metal is a great style, but not the most appropriate to learn some things. But don't be fooled, learning chords and keys will be very useful to play metal.

[Psycho]

Thanks!

I've been looking less into sheer plucking speed, and more into fretboard speed, and getting timing down.

Anything I should be aware of before I begin?

[Mayers]

If you go to school in music, you will sing. I think that learning to play upright and jazz bass is a good idea. That way you learn to play in a classical setting and in a jazz setting.

[GianGian]

Originally Posted by Psycho

Thanks!

I've been looking less into sheer plucking speed, and more into fretboard speed, and getting timing down.

Anything I should be aware of before I begin?

I wouldn't call "fretboard speed, and getting timing down" theory, but if this is what you want to improve, get a metronome and play a lot along with it. Start slow, and only move up to a faster tempo when you can play perfectly clean on the slower one.

[Psycho]

Originally Posted by Mayers

If you go to school in music, you will sing. I think that learning to play upright and jazz bass is a good idea. That way you learn to play in a classical setting and in a jazz setting.

Not to sound naive, but is learning upright going to help that much?

I completely understand jazz, and i'm actually a bit of a jazz fan, but upright seems...

Out of place I guess, could you help me understand?

[MalcolmAmos]

IMO theory is something that is extra in addition to our normal practice time. A normal bass lesson from a teacher does not have a lot of time for a theory discussion. Community College classes take too long and progress very slow. You can accomplish, with independent study, twice as much by yourself.

Problem with teaching yourself is the instructor does not know a lot about what he is teaching - so -- The second post of the string listed below will give you a step by step listing of what I feel should be studied and the logical order it will take to eat this elephant. Yes it's best one bite at a time. Too much at one time will make you sick and you will stop, so eat just enough to satisfy your hunger and give your mind time to digest what you have eaten. It's a journey that can occupy the rest of your life, there is always something more - open one door and another awaits you.

http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/...ad.php?t=11975.

Have fun.

[dave64o]

Originally Posted by MalcolmAmos

IMO theory is something that is extra in addition to our normal practice time. A normal bass lesson from a teacher does not have a lot of time for a theory discussion.
.
.
.

That statement is simply false.

I speak from experience, having left a teacher that was the typical guitar player who also teaches some bass "because, well, it's like a guitar, and it's only got four strings so how hard is THAT?!?!". I got very little out of that investment.

I'm now working with an instructor who's goal is to make me a better MUSICIAN, not a teach me some bass. A huge chunk of my lessons are the theory behind what I'm learning and how I can apply it to do things like learn a song I never played before, dive deeper into songs I already know and show how a current topic is applied in that song, improve my technique, etc. I can also say that the best sessions I have are those where we hardly play at all and instead talk about what is going on underneath what's on the page.

People seem to equate lessons with high school or that you're going to learn what the teacher wants you to learn the way he wants to teach it, and "tough $h!t if you don't like it because we're doing things MY way!!!!". If that's the kind of lessons you have or had, then you simply have/had the wrong instructor. My lessons are NOTHING like that. We spend the vast majority of the time in my sessions talking about the theory and techniques behind what I did in the past week, how I found examples of them in songs I already know how to play, how I used them to learn a song I didn't how to play, how it changed the way I've been playing and how it will help me in the future, how it showed me new options for doing things I've always done one way, etc. The best sessions of all are the ones where we hardly play at all!

If theory is something you want to learn and your instructor won't do it or doesn't know how (probably the latter in most cases), then find another teacher who knows it, is capable of teaching it, and most importantly WANTS to teach it. Remember, the teacher isn't in charge - YOU are!


EDIT - Ugh. I was trying to do a lot of editing and re-wording to say what I wanted the way I wanted to say it and ended hitting Submit before I should have. But, ignoring how I repeated myself in this post, I still stand by the main idea.

[Mayers]

Originally Posted by dave64o

That statement is simply false.

I speak from experience, having left a teacher that was the typical guitar player who also teaches some bass "because, well, it's like a guitar, and it's only got four strings so how hard is THAT?!?!". I got very little out of that investment.

I'm now working with an instructor who's goal is to make me a better MUSICIAN, not a teach me some bass. A huge chunk of my lessons are the theory behind what I'm learning and how I can apply it to do things like learn a song I never played before, dive deeper into songs I already know and show how a current topic is applied in that song, improve my technique, etc. I can also say that the best sessions I have are those where we hardly play at all and instead talk about what is going on underneath what's on the page.

People seem to equate lessons with high school or that you're going to learn what the teacher wants you to learn the way he wants to teach it, and "tough $h!t if you don't like it because we're doing things MY way!!!!". If that's the kind of lessons you have or had, then you simply have/had the wrong instructor. My lessons are NOTHING like that. We spend the vast majority of the time in my sessions talking about the theory and techniques behind what I did in the past week, how I found examples of them in songs I already know how to play, how I used them to learn a song I didn't how to play, how it changed the way I've been playing and how it will help me in the future, how it showed me new options for doing things I've always done one way, etc. The best sessions of all are the ones where we hardly play at all!

If theory is something you want to learn and your instructor won't do it or doesn't know how (probably the latter in most cases), then find another teacher who knows it, is capable of teaching it, and most importantly WANTS to teach it. Remember, the teacher isn't in charge - YOU are!

I can't say it in better words. I started with a teacher who was a guitar player first and teach bass for the same reason. I dropped the teacher and I went to college in music. Very different, you talk more than you play and everything you learn in other classes are ridiculously useful in the bass class. So a huge +1

[Mayers]

Originally Posted by Psycho

Not to sound naive, but is learning upright going to help that much?

I completely understand jazz, and i'm actually a bit of a jazz fan, but upright seems...

Out of place I guess, could you help me understand?

Because learning the big brother will help a lot. It is really somthing else to play. I learned to play with a lot of emotion, I learn to go from piano to fortissimo and stuff like that. It really expend your musical voice.

[mambo4]

+1 to bass lessons from a bass player for theory.

the problem with academic music theory classes at a community college is that you will be at the piano if anything, and spend at least the first quarter analyzing key signatures and notating 4 note baroque harmony voice leading exercises....all of which is valid musical information to know, but not immediately useful to you as a bassist.

With decent lessons form an actual bassist, you will be learning theory as it applies directly to what you want to do.