When to learn theory?

[lwknives]

I think learning theory is the fastest way to learn your instrument. I would go ahead and learn some songs to get your rhythm down and have fun, but playing chord scales is one of the best ways to get your fingers used to doing what they need to do.
Id say you should start now.
Dont forget to listen though, there are a lot of people who can read music like they read a book and know all sorts of chords and theory who cant do anything but play roots if thats all they are given. Theory is useless without your ears.

[Huge94]

Originally Posted by geeza

You speak of learning how to play and learning theory as if they are two different things. They're not, you can't have one without the other. In your particular instance you're just not as aware of the formal theory. You know it, you just don't know the formal names of things. You need to learn at least the fundamentals of theory, or you'll never get anywhere with learning how to play.

Yes I see where I diverge. I indeed thought of these 2 things as separated because for me, you don't need theory to actually play the instrument since that is what I've been doing for a year or so, but I understand that to actually PLAY it, not just play notes with it, I need theory.

I have read only for 10 minutes this article and it has already paid off big time: Introduction to Scale and Chord Theory

Thanks to the person who made this, and thanks to all of you for convincing me I need to start understanding, not just playing.

[Fergie Fulton]

A good basic theory book is about 250 pages, how you can use that information, is in the pages of thousands and thousands of books through the ages. Learning theory is easy, its the applications of it that take the time because they really work best when experience is involved.

To much practice can be a strain, so practice for 40mins, have a rest and read some basic theory while you have a drink and something to eat. This way you learn as you go along and can have some relevance and perspective to your level of playing.

For example, if you cannot name the notes you play, then read about how scales are constructed, then apply those to the fretboard and name the notes as you go. As well as helping you cover the full range of the fretboard, a really good work out for the hands, ( and brain as it will get you thinking and let you picture notes, scales, chords, intervals etc without having an instrument in your hands ) so it will give you a grounding on the next part of any theory to follow if you so wish.

If you want you could get one of the small theory books that deal with a chapter, then test you on it with questions. The great thing about theory is it is theory....no instrument required, you can do it all with a pen and paper, and for an instrument like bass it is best done as notation first then apply it to the bass.
A bass is not the easiest of instrument to learn how to see and hear the relationship in music, but once you have learned the basics, it and many other things just fall into place....it's a leap of faith in as much as you what you learn may not apply right now, but it will at some point and you will be prepared to deal with it better when it does.

A good place to start is, Music Theory for Dummies,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Music-Theory...ref=pd_sim_b_4

I downloaded it last week because I have a student that is using it, and I was impressed by his knowledge for only using it for a short time.
I was put off by the title, but it is a great book in that it it explains and sets up ideas really well using observations and other facts to support the ideas it teaches.
Because it is so well structured you could actually forget that you have to stop practice the ideas and learn them on an instrument.....and that is the beauty of such books....they can be applied to every instrument ever made because they deal with music, not any instruments perceived limitation, but music......it's the same 12 notes that Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart etc. used, the same 12 notes that Blues, Rock, Metal, Country, Reggae, Jazz etc have all used those same 12 notes.
It's funny when people think it has to do with the amount of strings.
Nothing could be further from the truth because its the same 12 notes.....just different or varying pitches involved. Funny that players like Miles Davis or Louis Armstrong ( both trumpeters ) had access to roughly the same amount of notes as a bass player ( around about three octaves ) but because they played their notes in a higher key they were not looked down on....Un-like a bass player......"must be easier, it has less strings".........."but still the same notes", as I like to remind anyone that aims that point at me.

[geeza]

Originally Posted by Huge94

Yes I see where I diverge. I indeed thought of these 2 things as separated because for me, you don't need theory to actually play the instrument since that is what I've been doing for a year or so, but I understand that to actually PLAY it, not just play notes with it, I need theory.

What I'm saying is that you DO need theory to do anything at all - you're just unaware that it IS theory. You know where to put your finger (notes), how long to play the note (quarter note, whole note, 16ths), when NOT to play (rests).
See? You already knew theory without knowing it!

[SBassman]

Theory is a big word, encompassing a big world.

But the basics of what's in a major and minor scale, intervals, chord arpeggios, and where those are on the fretboard - should be studied from day 1.

What you Don't have to do from day 1 is learn to read. [cue non-read haters] You can make that decision later, depending on what your ultimate musical goals become. But those other theory rudiments should be part of anyone's journey from the start.

[Stumbo]

Memorizing fretboard notes along with memorizing the treble/bass staff and associating the two would be important first steps.

Lots of learning software (many free) on the interweb.

Check out my >500 links below for more info on the topic.

I also suggest finding a teacher if possible.

Good luck!

[boristhespider9]

Right now, right here:

http://www.cyberfretbass.com/bass-theory/

It's that simple...no long thread needed.

[VBassRookie]

I'm right there with jmatt, you need to have the ability to apply the "theory". I also think that parts of theory above and beyond note structures and technique may hamper your own creative ability. You need to understand how notes relate on your instrument, but you don't always need to follow the rules. If you don't know the rules, you may create something you never would have discovered on your own. My ex-wife was a music teacher and if I was writing songs, she would tell me, you can't do that. She was restricted to the musician she was created as because of some of the theory instruction she had at college.

[Stilettoprefer]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

I'm going to go against the grain and say that the best time to start learning theory (besides learning basic scales and arpeggios) is about a year after you've already been playing. My thought behind that is that theory can be very hard to grasp and understand unless you already have some ability to apply it to your instrument. Otherwise you're just learning concepts without having an real direction or ability to apply them to anything, which means you're more likely to get frustrated learning them and you'll be more likely to forget them.

+1

I learned a bunch of theory about a year after I started playing bass, and it all made perfect sense. I'm sure that it would have made absolutely no sense to me when I first started playing.

Learning how to read music is important to do early on, though. It's much easier to learn how to read music while you're still getting started, than going back after a few years to learn how to read. But, knowing how to read notation isn't THAT important for cover bands, but knowing how to read chords is gonna be incredibly helpful in any situation. I can hack it at jazz because I know how to read chords VERY well.

Tabs just flat out suck. Get away from them as fast as possible!