A few questions

bassistpatrick · #1 10-04-2007, 11:26 AM

I asked my bass teacher to give me some sight-singing exercises. I've been working on them, and I have some questions.
When I sing the exercises or sing intervals, I'll let the first note sustain while I sing it, and slide my voice up or down to match the pitch. Then I'll stop the note, sing the exercise or interval, then I'll play it and see if im in tune. Is this right? Or should I be able to play the first note, stop, get the sound of it in my head, and sing it in tune?
Will sight-singing and interval singing help you identify chords and chord progressions? Or are chords something you just have to play over and over untill you get the sound of then in your head?
And last, I've been trying to get away from using a tuner, and start relying on my ears to tune my bass. I've been tuning with my ears, and then checking with the tuner to see how accurate I am. Im pretty close, but sometimes I'll be a little off. Should I just stop using the tuner altogether, even if it means my bass will be a little out of tune? Would playing a bass slightly out of tune affect the developing of muscle memory somehow?
thanks

bassist1962 · #2 10-04-2007, 03:29 PM

In HS we did an execise for vocals, up to the fifth. I think it helped me in developing my ear as a musician. However if you are having to slide your voice to match the pitch, then I would think you have a problem that we used to call tone deafness. Are you working on bass,vocals, or both?

Don Higdon · #3 10-04-2007, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassistpatrick

Will sight-singing and interval singing help you identify chords and chord progressions? Or are chords something you just have to play over and over untill you get the sound of then in your head?

Yes.
That is, do both.
The most valuable training I ever had was was ear training with composer Ron Nelson. Intervals, triads, melodic dictation and finally 4 part harmonic dictation, in which we also had to figure out the key signature, time signature, and bar line placement.
In addition, my bass teacher's rule was that you don't start playing it unless you can sing it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by basspatrick

Would playing a bass slightly out of tune affect the developing of muscle memory somehow?
thanks

IMHO, no. You ear will sharpen with time.

wineaux · #4 10-05-2007, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassist1962

In HS we did an execise for vocals, up to the fifth. I think it helped me in developing my ear as a musician. However if you are having to slide your voice to match the pitch, then I would think you have a problem that we used to call tone deafness. Are you working on bass,vocals, or both?

"Tone deafness," I think, is not the issue here. If he were tone deaf, he wouldn't be able to hear that he had to slide up or down to hit the note. Since he can hear the note, with practice he'll hit it eventually.

bassistpatrick · #5 10-05-2007, 10:33 AM

I think what I wrote was a little confusing. I'm definitely not tone deaf.
Anyway just to make sure, when i do these exercises, should i play the first note, and then try to sing it in tune from memory?

dodgy_ian · #6 10-25-2007, 11:48 AM

play the first note. then sing it so its in your head and then sing the phrase/exercise from there. You should be able to retain the starting note in your head as a reference from which to pitch the other notes from.

Or, play the root note of the key that you are in and then pitch everything from there.

+1 with the don't play it til you can sing it - its a hard route to take but its very worth while!

jgbass · #7 10-27-2007, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassistpatrick

I asked my bass teacher to And last, I've been trying to get away from using a tuner, and start relying on my ears to tune my bass. I've been tuning with my ears, and then checking with the tuner to see how accurate I am. Im pretty close, but sometimes I'll be a little off. Should I just stop using the tuner altogether, even if it means my bass will be a little out of tune? Would playing a bass slightly out of tune affect the developing of muscle memory somehow?
thanks

Patrick,

I have studied with some really great bassists, and none of them would ever advocate giving up the tuner. They all seem to use it themselves as a point of reference at the beginning of their practice sessions, and ask that I use it as well when I begin practicing, or am having a lesson. Yes, it is important to rely on your ears as well and to keep the awareness of correct pitch. What I sometimes do is use the tuner to reference A and then use harmonics to tune the other strings, more like the orchestral way, but other times I simply tune to the tuner. Their are slightly differing results with each method. My challenge is being aware of when my strings go out of tune and making those quick adjustments by ear.

Playing slightly out of tune has never been anything advocated by any of my teachers and is not my goal.

Don Higdon · #8 10-27-2007, 04:20 PM

It depends on the teacher. Mine, Linda McKnight, of Manhattan School of Music, would not permit anything but a tuning fork in a lesson. Whatever time it took, that was part of the lesson.
I will use a tuner in a club where people are yakking, glasses clanging, or in orchestra when the tympanist and the trombone section are behind me warming up.