• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Help with treble clef deprogramming

S

skycruiser

Jan 15, 2019
3,765
6,562
#1
Casual player here, looking for a little help with reading bass clef.

I learned to read treble clef playing saxophone through middle school and high school. It is fairly deeply ingrained even though I haven't played in years. I'm doing some bass clef reading now and what I'm hoping to get to is where there's no translation delay between the seeing the notes and locating my fingers on the bass. Presently, I instinctively read treble and need to translate to bass clef, then translate to finger. If I get stuck I even find myself fingering the saxophone note in my mind (e.g. press down my 3 left hand fingers when I see a bass clef "B", playing in my mind a saxophone "G"). I'd like to purge this treble clef nonsense since it is really slowing me down.

I'm playing through Jim Stinnet "Finger Funk" series books that do not include tabs and do not provide any guidance on string positions or anything like that. It's basically the notes on the bass clef. These exercises are moving me in the right direction I think - they are not excessively repetitious so I do need to think about each note (as opposed to scales where patterns can allow you to forget note names).

I'm wondering if there are any books that work specifically on this type of thing. I have the feeling scales won't help too much because the patterns are too predictable, so unless I make a strong effort to ignore that aspect, I will get into the position translation issue and not learn the notes. The things I'm playing now are not bad - they force me to identify each note and figure out where to play them, but I thought there may be something more focused on this specific type of issue.

Any recommendations?
 
  • Like
Reactions: IamGroot
#7
For me, I always think notes in concert pitch, regardless whether its a guitar, bass, piano, trumpet or alto sax.

If you play piano, you should already be doing this.
Eb Treble, use the trick,
Bb Treble, gotta learn it by rote
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bass4Brkfast
#9
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Sounds like I'm on a good track and need to keep at it until bass clef sticks. I picked up these Stinnet books partly because they leave out tabs which I know would hamper my progress. Though I would have appreciated position hints in places - but that is left for you to figure out.

When I get tired of working on finger funk I'll look for something different, some sort of bass etudes maybe? I really don't like playing repetitive and non musical exercises.
 
#10
Read bass clef exclusively long enough and you will have the same problem going back to treble. Eventually if you do enough of both, if will just take a sec to check and you will be good.

Just remember where middle C is. Then throw in some tenor clef reading and writing, and you're golden.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JRA, Border and IamGroot
#14
skycruiser said:
I'd like to purge this treble clef nonsense since it is really slowing me down.
Click to expand...
:laugh: :roflmao:
FWIW: i wouldn't try to "purge" it away --- but adding bass clef to your skillset(s) makes sense. you're not the only one! lots of us came up reading treble clef for band/orchestra/whatever.
0000.jpg

skycruiser said:
Any recommendations?
Click to expand...
what @Nashrakh and @Malcolm35 and @Esteban Garcia said. the more you do it = the better you get! good luck with your bass clef! :thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: AGCurry and skycruiser
#15
DaDo625 said:
For $2 I loaded this app on the phone: Speedy Note Bass Clef
( ‎Speedy Note: Bass Clef )

Instead of playing some other mindless game, I used this.
You can start with just a few notes (C-D-E) and then add notes above and below by advancing the "level".

If you make learning a game instead of a chore you will be amazed how fast you can learn it.
Click to expand...
Not a bad idea, like flash card training. Usually in my idle time I look at latest posts on TB, but switching over to bass clef training for a few minutes couldn't hurt!
 
#19
skycruiser said:
Casual player here, looking for a little help with reading bass clef.

I learned to read treble clef playing saxophone through middle school and high school. It is fairly deeply ingrained even though I haven't played in years. I'm doing some bass clef reading now and what I'm hoping to get to is where there's no translation delay between the seeing the notes and locating my fingers on the bass. Presently, I instinctively read treble and need to translate to bass clef, then translate to finger. If I get stuck I even find myself fingering the saxophone note in my mind (e.g. press down my 3 left hand fingers when I see a bass clef "B", playing in my mind a saxophone "G"). I'd like to purge this treble clef nonsense since it is really slowing me down.

I'm playing through Jim Stinnet "Finger Funk" series books that do not include tabs and do not provide any guidance on string positions or anything like that. It's basically the notes on the bass clef. These exercises are moving me in the right direction I think - they are not excessively repetitious so I do need to think about each note (as opposed to scales where patterns can allow you to forget note names).

I'm wondering if there are any books that work specifically on this type of thing. I have the feeling scales won't help too much because the patterns are too predictable, so unless I make a strong effort to ignore that aspect, I will get into the position translation issue and not learn the notes. The things I'm playing now are not bad - they force me to identify each note and figure out where to play them, but I thought there may be something more focused on this specific type of issue.

Any recommendations?
Click to expand...

I can identify with this. I started out playing trumpet when I was 8. At age 13 switched to Baritone horn with charts in bass clef. Talk about finger confusion. “What do you mean the fingering for a Bb is open!!! LOL!

For me I don’t have an issue reading the bass staff using Good Boys Do Fine Always for the lines, and FACE for the spaces when playing the bass. Give me a three valve instrument and I’m a mess!
 
  • Like
Reactions: skycruiser
#20
IamGroot said:
So there is an app for that! Sigh. Are you going to tap your phone while you are playing music?

A note in treble clef reads a third lower than in Bass Clef.
Click to expand...

Over the years I've had the need to learn some interesting, and divers, skill sets.
From writing code in Fortran, MAD and COGO when I was an intern at NASA to having to learn how to speak Bahasa Indonesia for a project in Jakarta - along with weird things like being a navigator in 130mph road rallies or mixed gas diving or packing parachutes.

Early on I was fortunate to learn that individuals learn things differntly - and part of the process was learning what works best for you.

I started on the Bass with no background in music and I was an old guy.
Fortunately my first teacher was a gifted instructor who could intuitively connect with how his students processed information. Unbeknownst to me he was well known for being able to teach guitar to young students with learning disabilites (I tell people that is how he could teach me)

If it works (for you) - it works.
There is still the commitment of time and effort as we learn the component skills that make up the "craft".
Finding that method/system, whatever it is, is often key in the process.

And finding "your way" often starts with the willingness to explore as many options as possible.
YMMV
 
  • Like
Reactions: skycruiser

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back