Help with reading staff

[Jaye]

Hello everyone, I have been playing for some time now but have never bothered to learn to read staff very well (I know I know Booo Hissss). I can very slowly tell you that this dot is an A and that dot is a C# my problem however is that I have absolutly no idea where those would apear on the neck of my bass (e.g. "Is this B on the staff going to be open B string, 7th fret E string, 9th fret D string, etc??").

Here is where my asking for assistance comes in, I have decided to better myself as a player and have bought a pretty intense book on scales, chords, modes, etc. (The Serious Electric Bass by Joel Di Bartolo) and of course it is all in staff. To help me learn I was wondering if anyone on here has the time or patience to help me by actually writing out a diagram showing me where "open E" would apear on the staff, etc. etc.

I think being able to see that chart will greatly improve my reading as I go through this book.

To anyone who can Thank you in advance.

 

[jazzbo]

Here's a start.

 

[rodoherty1]

Hi Jaye,

I found the software below very good in helping me familarise myself with the fretboard. I used it for about 6 weeks and it kick-started my staff-reading efforts.

It costs $29.00 (there is a downloadable demo which I suggest to try).

http://www.absolutefretboard.com/

Rob.

 

[stephanie]

Hi Jaye,

Continue to familiarize yourself with the notes on the fingerboard and where those notes on the staff lie. When you practice your scales and chords try playing them starting with the lowest note to highest (Ex: C Major scale, lowest note would be E on a 4 string). Say the notes as you play them.

 

[Tez]

Once you work out all the note positions on the neck and start to read score, you will learn that it depends on what key you are playing in where you are note wise on the neck and where you are going to be next or soon, example if you have to play an F note written on trhe 4 line of the staff you can play it 3rd fret on the D string or 8th fret on the A string but if you were to have to play the octave F 2 lines and a space above the staff straight after it it would make sense to have played the F on the A string as it requires the minimum movement to play the octave F on the G string at the10 th Fret , so when you first start to read a piece of music it helps to know what scale you will be in "see key signature!" and work out where you will be playing on the neck, but some times you have to move around a little so you can choose the best note for tonal reasons , the more you do it the better you get,

The best way to improve is to get in a band that reqires you to sight read charts that way it will start to make sense , ( Even a community Band will teach you heaps } Just sitting at home trying to read bass clef or string studies will be difficult and boring and you will lose confidence and enthusiasum