How do you know what notes you should be playing for a song?

[fleabitten]

I'm kind of taking music theory piece by piece. I haven't gotten to chord tones yet, but I know what they are. I just don't want to overwhelm myself all at once. I figured the scales, and notes on the finger-board were a good starting point.

find utube videos on shapes and boxes. once you find a right note the shapes that move up and down the fingerboard will find the next tight note for you most times. the same for 6 string. 40 years ago i wasted time learning stairway to heaven from sheet music. hard. seeing the shapes/ boxes used is faster and instant for speed and understanding of the musical idea.

 

[Mr.Ace]

Play the roots of the cords. Play with the kick. If The drummer plays a fil maybe play some muted ghost notes that land when the drummer makes contact. then come back in on the root of the next cord. Weatherby the one or whatever.
Good luck my man, don't never give up

 

[capnsandwich]

I found that when I first started out, it really helped me to get very familiar with the major scale, no matter what key. Since the majority of western music is based around the major scale, getting to know the different patterns allowed me to play songs and learn songs much quicker.

 

[Buzz E]

Intervals.

 

[aprod]

You learn music and LISTEN!

 

[dreamadream99]

Keys are aural concepts that exist only as sound waves, and key signatures are notational concepts that exist only on the written page

And there you have it. One hundred percent correct.

 

[hsech]

Look for live performance video's on YouTube for the songs you want to learn. That's how I do it if I'm pressed to learn a song I'm totally unfamiliar with. You can learn a lot that way.

 

[Ric5]

 

[DrummerwStrings]

Keys are aural concepts that exist only as sound waves, and key signatures are notational concepts that exist only on the written page.

Technically, you can notate any song using any key signature. For example, hypothetically speaking, you could notate "Stairway to Heaven" using an A Major key signature (3 sharps) and use lots and lots of accidentals. A less crazy example is that some modern compositions are so 12-tone and chromatic, it is often easiest to just use a key signature of no sharps or flats, not because the song is in the key of C (or A minor) but rather for clarity of notation and ease of reading. A famous example is John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" which modulates through three different keys (Eb, B, and G) and is notated in the Real Book with a key signature of no sharps or flats.

However, the vast majority of the popular music we know and love, it is most logical and convenient to match up the aural key with the corresponding notational key signature.

Or, you're trying to communicate, so be clear.

 

[devnulljp]

I'm kind of taking music theory piece by piece. I haven't gotten to chord tones yet, but I know what they are. I just don't want to overwhelm myself all at once. I figured the scales, and notes on the finger-board were a good starting point.

Learn chord tones and arpeggios - then you'll know what notes are allowed and what notes aren't allowed (and then you can break the rules once you know em).
For example, a major chord is just root, major 3rd and 5th, so (simplistically) play any of those notes under a major chord and it'll work; if you get a minor chord, play any of the root, minor 3rd, 5th.
Then you get to more complex chords like dominants, which is just a major chord with a flat 7, so now you kinda have 4 notes to choose from and know that playing the natural 7 might sound out.
Same with other chords like maj7/min7 etc. -- it kinda gives you an idea where to go.

Have a look at this -- better explanation than I can give you

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Then you have to know how to harmonise your scales: Major scale is Maj, Min, Min, Maj Dom Min, Half diminished. All that means is for each note in your major scale, there's a corresponding chord.
For C major, you have
I CMaj
ii Dminor
iii Eminor
IV F Maj
V G7
vi A minor
vii Bmin7 b5

Thn you can figure out where your chord progression is going and pick our common ones -- like the I-iv-V used in almost all blues and a lot of rock and pop songs, or vi-ii-V-I used a lot in jazz.

 

[Frenchy-Lefty]

I just know. Remember Luke Skywalker shooting the target to destroy the death star? Same thing. I hear this voice in my head that says..."Frenchy, feel the Groove" and my fingers move where they should...or something like that

 

[socialleper]

I've been playing drums for over 20 years, and when I hear a song, I can figure out pretty quickly what kind of beat to lay down. I'm trying to figure out how to do that for the bass.

You sort of answered your own question here.
Experience and developing an ear for your own tastes in playing takes time with any instrument. With drums, you start with the time sig and move on from there. You develop your own feel as you grow more comfortable with it. With the bass, you start with the root notes of whatever chords the song is moving through, and then start filling in the gaps. Sometimes the roots are all the song calls for. Sometimes you need to fill in space or walk a transition from one root to the next. Knowing what sounds right to you takes a lot of time.
I guess one starting place for thinking beyond the roots is listening to other bass players in the same style you are playing, and pick apart their lines. When you listen to, and maybe learn enough of another players lines, you start seeing their "style" more. There might be things in there you like and can incorporate into your own style.

 

[hrodbert696]

So one last question since you guys have been so helpful.

I've been playing songs that are in the C-Major scale, just to get a feel for how some of those songs were played.

I was doing Blink 182, foo fighters, 3 doors down

All doing this while playing along the C-Major scale just at a basic level to get a feel for the song.
All felt really good and I was able to play along with just using the C-Major scale. Then I come across this guy...

Chris Tomlin - How Great is our God.
How Great Is Our God by Chris Tomlin @ Song Key Finder


The first site says it's in the key of C-Major....Buuuut as I'm playing along, I'm playing a C#...Then an A#...Then F#....Then up to a G#...And I'm like....what the crap this doesn't feel like a C-Major song.

So after doing some research on the notes I was playing, it feels more like this song was written in D-Flat Major. Is that true? If so then that answers a huge question as far as "What to play" Because it would seem like focusing on the key of a song helps guide the notes you are supposed to play by using the scale. Does that sound right?

What you stumbled on here is that often there are different versions of a song out there in the world, and they may be in different keys. That's especially going to be the case with songs that get played by many different artists, in this case because it's popular with church worship teams. There's going to be an "original" recording and versions that are tuned down or tuned up, etc. You'll likely find similar variations with, say, old blues or rock and roll songs. Jailhouse Rock might have been recorded in Eb but you'll find versions in D... or in E. That's one reason to do what you're doing and learn theory and the structure of a song so you can transpose it, rather than relying on a tab and only know to finger certain notes on certain frets.

 

[GBBSbassist]

You can learn as much theory as you want, it certainly helps, but you need to develop your ear. If you can't hear when something sounds bad, all your theory knowledge will only give you a long-winded way to explain why you write songs that sound bad.

 

[James Collins]

I'm sure this is said before, but the notes you play outline the chord at that part of the song. You would generally want to play within the corresponding scales related to the chords, but particularly emphasizing the notes of the chord. Also, if you are experimenting and a note sounds wrong, you are a fret away from a good note.