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sight reading material?

May 13, 2010
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196
Do you guys know of any novice - intermediate books of music for sight reading? Well, more than only sight reading of course. Learning songs by actual music and whatnot. I've seen a couple vids of people playing classical pieces on/for bass. But I can't seem to find any books on that. I just have nothing to keep my reading skills going. I learn something by reading it, then it becomes memorized. I do however begin playing them in different positions and in different ways, but it's still memorized. I need to practice playing songs by figuring out and playing in a comfortable position right away. Instead of figuring out days later, oops if I play in the 5th position everything flows better.

Any tips at all are welcome.
Thank you
 
As you no doubt have found -- sheet music of pop, rock, country and or blues - with the bass clef, on the Internet is not that easy, however, you do get lucky every once in a while.

Real books normally are just treble clef with chord names, so yes it looks like public domain on the Internet or a trip to the music store.

Be interesting what is recommended.
 
great, thanks! Yea, I definitely need it in bass clef, I can read treble fine, but bass takes me a minute...mainly because I'm so used to treble. The free-scores.com is like a candy shoppe, I can't decide what I want first and keep taking a little sample of all of them! Real books have the notes right? It's the fake books that just have the chords above the staff? I would LOVE to learn jazz, I could read the lead sheets on guitar and the notes enough to pull off playing in college jazz band years ago. I can't say I knew 100% what I was doing, but I knew enough to figure out workable chord voicings at home. But when I looked at the bass player's stuff he was rockin out with just the chords like I had, I was intimidated and impressed. That's a skill I hope to have one day.
 
The Finger Funk Workbook vol.1+2 by Anthony Vitti are my two favorites for stuff more bass oriented. A virtual funk goldmine. Charlie Parker Omnibook in Bass Clef. Chord Studies for Electric Bass/Trombone by Joseph Viola..same book. I also found that writing out my own exercises in standard notation helped quite a bit. I did a TON of this when I was learning to read.
 
+1 for Lucas Pickford's site. Dave Holland sells scores & transcriptions, for very reasonable prices at; Invalid Link Removed

Real Book & Real Book II are available in Concert, Bb, Eb & Bass Clef.

Wow for the link to DH. This is great. I have to check it out closely.


Any of the Carol kaye books are really good value, and Tab free.

+1 too for CK's books.
 
Do you guys know of any novice - intermediate books of music for sight reading? Well, more than only sight reading of course. Learning songs by actual music and whatnot. I've seen a couple vids of people playing classical pieces on/for bass. But I can't seem to find any books on that. I just have nothing to keep my reading skills going. I learn something by reading it, then it becomes memorized. I do however begin playing them in different positions and in different ways, but it's still memorized. I need to practice playing songs by figuring out and playing in a comfortable position right away. Instead of figuring out days later, oops if I play in the 5th position everything flows better.

Any tips at all are welcome.
Thank you
bp mag and pre 2000 geetar rags have bass transcriptions in notation and your local used book will have some for a couple of bucks each.....some are easy,some more difficult,but it's good practice and fun too....
 
I need to practice playing songs by figuring out and playing in a comfortable position right away. Instead of figuring out days later, oops if I play in the 5th position everything flows better.

Any tips at all are welcome.
Thank you

You have just described what is called learning! Seriously never beat yourself up for what you did. Sounds like, relatively quickly, you've worked out a few ways to play a passage. This in and of itself is an important skill, and one not learned by relying on tab.