Best apps for an improving beginner

[OllieVT]

I'm going to be away from my bass for about a month from the end of July. I'd like to keep getting better during that time. Resources for books/reading and youtube or other video seem common here (and I have plenty I'm looking forward to getting into) but I've only seen scattered bits and pieces for apps. Please point me in the right direction if I've missed something.

Apps seem like they have some advantages over reading and watching, mostly the chance to be interactive. At the very least it seems like they can/should be a good supplement.

I'm interested in opinions on any and all apps that would make me a better bass player. I've been learning for a year, with a monthly in-person lesson since February using the Hal Leonard books---I'm getting close to the end of Book 2. One app I've already found useful is "Bass Guitar Notes" for Android. It teaches the fretboard very effectively, IMO.

Two particular areas that seem ripe for an app given my current place are ear training and rhythm practice. I've bought a silly space-based ear-training game (SpaceEars, Android) and a more sensible-looking iPad one (FunctionalEarTrainer) but have barely started with them. I was going to take the plunge on a rhythm one too, but then realised I had the brains trust here to consult so thought I'd do that first.

I'd generally rather pay a couple of bucks to dodge the ads, but all formats welcome. I'm interested in any area that will improve my playing, in any genre (if it happens to be genre-specific). I'm wedded to playing a fretted 4-string for at least the near future though.

Suggestions? Reviews?

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

The Danny Ziemann course "Better Ears in 30 Days" is great. Not an app, but you don't need your bass and you can do most of it from your phone.

 

[OllieVT]

Reading about it now, looks promising (although possibly above my level). Thanks!

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Reading about it now, looks promising (although possibly above my level). Thanks!

Sure thing man.
I went slow, repeated a lot of the daily lessons, and didn't move on til I felt good about the material.

 

[srosenthal13]

I get a fair amount of use out of Soundbrenner, Perfect Ear, and Clefs. (Android, but I assume also iOS).

 

[OllieVT]

Thanks! I have an Android phone and an iPad, so either operating system is fine for me. Ideally, I'll end up with a handful on each for different situations. Of those, Perfect Ear looks the most immediately beneficial, so downloading that now.

 

[Killing Floor]

Keyboard on your Garage Band? Theory and confidence comes pretty quick when you understand the pattern of keys. That might help you as a beginner more than a bass method.

 

[OllieVT]

Good call. I had some dimly-remembered piano lesson as a kid 30+yrs ago, which has been just enough to feel like I know the basics of a keyboard. But getting better at GarageBand in general has been on my list for a while, but I keep forgetting about it or doing other stuff. I have an iRig to run a bass into it and I'd like to explore what I can do beyond just having the bass make noise without a dedicated amp/speaker, which was the main reason to get it.

 

[mambo4]

I'm going to be away from my bass for about a month from the end of July. I'd like to keep getting better during that time.

My preferred "away from my bass" practice is reading rhythm
Print out this PDF of rhythm exercises and practice reading rhythms
No need for an instrument, you can clap or vocalize

 

[OllieVT]

Already done! (Well, it's downloaded to my iPad, which is about as close as I get to physically printing anything these days.)

 

[KellyC]

Scotts Bass Lessons has a free app download called Groove Trainer that is basically a metronome.
Playing in time can be more challenging than it seems until you have a metronome holding you accountable.

 

[SteveCS]

I'm going to be away from my bass for about a month from the end of July. I'd like to keep getting better during that time. Resources for books/reading and youtube or other video seem common here (and I have plenty I'm looking forward to getting into) but I've only seen scattered bits and pieces for apps. Please point me in the right direction if I've missed something.

Apps seem like they have some advantages over reading and watching, mostly the chance to be interactive. At the very least it seems like they can/should be a good supplement.

I'm interested in opinions on any and all apps that would make me a better bass player. I've been learning for a year, with a monthly in-person lesson since February using the Hal Leonard books---I'm getting close to the end of Book 2. One app I've already found useful is "Bass Guitar Notes" for Android. It teaches the fretboard very effectively, IMO.

Two particular areas that seem ripe for an app given my current place are ear training and rhythm practice. I've bought a silly space-based ear-training game (SpaceEars, Android) and a more sensible-looking iPad one (FunctionalEarTrainer) but have barely started with them. I was going to take the plunge on a rhythm one too, but then realised I had the brains trust here to consult so thought I'd do that first.

I'd generally rather pay a couple of bucks to dodge the ads, but all formats welcome. I'm interested in any area that will improve my playing, in any genre (if it happens to be genre-specific). I'm wedded to playing a fretted 4-string for at least the near future though.

Suggestions? Reviews?

I've used "Complete Ear Trainer" in the past and thought it was good - there is a 'game' mode which is little more than a trinket with limited novelty value, but the no-frills meat and potatoes stuff is solid and progressive. I think there is also a rhythm module now.

Home

 

[bass12]

I’d also be looking for a made-for-students theory exercise book (unless your grasp theory is already solid).

 

[OllieVT]

Groove Trainer and Complete Ear Trainer added to the stack. Thanks!

My theory is ahead of my practice, but that's not saying a huge amount. Also, by temperament/experience/whatever, I find I pick up theory much faster than the practical end. The more abstract end of theory strikes me as more book/video-friendly too, so the problem there (not that it's actually a problem) is an overabundance of sources. I've never struggled to find something that will explain concepts I'm working on (including the lazy option of making a thread/post somewhere here to ask).

That said, it wouldn't hurt to be a bit more systematic. I already have a bunch to read related to this math-teaching project. What I have for that tends to be broader than applicability to bass, but it's all good stuff to take on board. Maybe I'll pack one of those books alongside my usual sci-fi novels.

 

[Jazzdogg]

I'm going to be away from my bass for about a month from the end of July. I'd like to keep getting better during that time. Resources for books/reading and youtube or other video seem common here (and I have plenty I'm looking forward to getting into) but I've only seen scattered bits and pieces for apps. Please point me in the right direction if I've missed something.

Apps seem like they have some advantages over reading and watching, mostly the chance to be interactive. At the very least it seems like they can/should be a good supplement.

I'm interested in opinions on any and all apps that would make me a better bass player. I've been learning for a year, with a monthly in-person lesson since February using the Hal Leonard books---I'm getting close to the end of Book 2. One app I've already found useful is "Bass Guitar Notes" for Android. It teaches the fretboard very effectively, IMO.

Two particular areas that seem ripe for an app given my current place are ear training and rhythm practice. I've bought a silly space-based ear-training game (SpaceEars, Android) and a more sensible-looking iPad one (FunctionalEarTrainer) but have barely started with them. I was going to take the plunge on a rhythm one too, but then realised I had the brains trust here to consult so thought I'd do that first.

I'd generally rather pay a couple of bucks to dodge the ads, but all formats welcome. I'm interested in any area that will improve my playing, in any genre (if it happens to be genre-specific). I'm wedded to playing a fretted 4-string for at least the near future though.

Suggestions? Reviews?

If you're familiar with the Nashville Numbering System, I recommend writing quick charts while listening to songs. You won't need you bass, or manuscript paper, for this. Just good ears, a pencil, and a notebook.

Nothing has been as invaluable to me as learning The Cycle and recognizing intervals and chord tones by ear.

When you're reunited with your bass, play the songs you've transcribed and you'll quickly know if they are correct.

Good luck!

 

[OllieVT]

...good ears, a pencil, and a notebook...

Well, I have two of those!

I understand Nashville numbers, but more abstractly than practically. I can go from the numbers to playing a rudimentary bass line (at least I assume I can---I think I understand and can implement all of the steps, but I've never done it). I can't hear a chord, even in context, and have much of a clue what it is though. That's one of the things I'm hoping an app might help with.

Maybe I'll be ready for your advice by next summer!

 

[mambo4]

I can't hear a chord, even in context, and have much of a clue what it is though.

hearing chord progressions is both easier an more useful than recognizing a specific chord in a vaccum
For example recognizing the verse of Stand By Me and Every Breath You Take are the same I - iv - IV - V progression.
(along with a million doo wop songs)

You could play around with something like iRealbook ChordBot that lets you compose chord progression and play them back.

 

[Jazzdogg]

Well, I have two of those!

I understand Nashville numbers, but more abstractly than practically. I can go from the numbers to playing a rudimentary bass line (at least I assume I can---I think I understand and can implement all of the steps, but I've never done it). I can't hear a chord, even in context, and have much of a clue what it is though. That's one of the things I'm hoping an app might help with.

Maybe I'll be ready for your advice by next summer!

Just remember: whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

 

[Deleted member 341607]

A metronome and drumsticks.
Guarantee.

 

[Jazzdogg]

You might want to concentrate on hearing and naming scale degrees and intervals for awhile; when you feel confident about hearing basic intervals, everything else will come more readily.

When I started in '68, Pop (a jazz double bassist who started gigging professionally in 1947) immediately taught me the "circle of fifths" (including relative minors and accidentals) major scales, and the importance of learning songs in all twelve keys. Pop was trained in Sol Feggio as a child, and his ability to immediately identify, name, and play intervals was very well developed. He expected me to be able to hear, name, and sing intervals; it was important to him that I learned to hear minor thirds and sixths, two-five changes, turn arounds, endings, etc. So that's what I concentrated on. The songs I listened to at the time were very simple (Kris Krisftofferson) and not intimidating.

When I got into high school, Pop introduced me to Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Bill Evans, which made it immediately apparent that these gentlemen "had ears for days" and I was but a struggling child. I always tried to find a way to play with folks who were better musicians that I was, and I tried real hard to learn something from everyone I played with - not just other bassists.

Pop frequently hosted sessions, and I was lucky enough to attend several. At first, I was just a "fly on the wall" trying to soak up as much as I could by listening carefully. After awhile, I was invited to sit in on one of the simpler standards. The old pros could be brutally truthful, but they were doing me a huge favor by allowing me to learn from them, and Pop made it clear that it was far better to learn from my mistakes with his buddies, one song at a time, than to be a cocky kid and get kicked off of the bandstand for making my mistakes in public. When my musical uncles learned that I took their teaching to heart by woodshedding my a$$ off, each one would take me aside to offer guidance and the occasional kick in the butt.

I don't know what kinds of learning opportunities are available to a bassist just starting out in the twenty-first century, but I sure feel blessed to have had so many opportunities to learn from one of the best people, and best bassists, I have ever known.