How do you write down your bass notation?

[pierreluc09]

Hi everyone,
I’ve been playing bass for 10+ years, decent intermediate player. I am wondering what do people to when they want to write down a new song.
(1) I never write it down, I just find the bass tabs (e.g. Guitar tabs)
(2) I find the notes and/or write them down (e.g. GuitarPro)
(3) I just write down tabs on a piece of paper
(4) ??

I usually learn form both (1) and (2) but I’d like to be able to just write down some quick notes when I learn a song, things I want to remember, etc. Is there an easy software for that? Kind of a notepad for music?

Thanks!

PL

 

[Calebmundy]

I use Nashville Number charts with some extra notes on kick patterns and key lines as needed. Unless it’s such a riff-based song that it takes less time to just memorize it.

 

[JRA]

How do you write down your bass notation?

Is there an easy software for that? Kind of a notepad for music?

i use sibelius because it's legible ( ) but staff paper and pencil = cheapest software --- with a natural learning curve!

 

[LeeNunn]

I'm with JRA. I notate because, in the long run, it's more efficient for me. I started using software because I couldn't read my own writing. Like JRA, I use Sibelius. After using Sibelius, I discovered benefits way beyond legibility. Playback reveals wrong notes. Copy-paste and transpose make the process efficient. Creating a pdf file makes it easy to share with others. There was a learning curve.

 

[bigthemat]

I don't have my student version of Finale anymore, but I've found MuseScore to be great for notation and for lead sheets. I don't love tabs since rhythm is hard to notate when there's a perfectly fine music notation system already in use. Even worse are the lyrics with the chords written above... just give me measures lol.

 

[EarnestTBass]

My handwriting is illegible, so I spent/invested about 10 minutes on an introductory tutorial for MuseScore. I have been able to easily learn the rest of the program as I kept using it over the last several years.

It will be quicker to just scratch out something by hand on paper- but once you have entered the standard notation into MuseScore, there are benefits. When I correct my (numerous) mistakes on MuseScore there are no smeared eraser marks. Enlarge the font size for easier study and then squeeze it all onto one page for the stage. If your vocalist gets flaky, transpose the key signature with a point and click. If the band leader wants to be "creative", just cut and paste the new arrangement.

I am also a cheap sob and, fortunately, MuseScore is free. MuseScore does everything I might ever need to do with sheet music.

Here is an example of the last tune I entered into MuseScore. If I can do it, anyone can.

 

[Pings Bass]

If I need to play something note-for-note, I'll transcribe it in standard notation. No shortcuts or tricks; I just write it down so I can't forget it.

When I'm writing my own parts, I often iterate with a DAW and may or may not write down the part at all (if it's just for the recording, why bother). If I write the part on the keyboard, the DAW will write the part for me, then I read that to learn the part on the bass.

Standard notation is precise, concise, and universally intelligible. Good enough for the masters, good enough for me.

 

[MrLenny1]

Just a chord chart then memorize the bass lines.

 

[J_Bass]

I use standard notation.

If I didn't know how to read music, that would be on top of my priorities.

 

[2112]

I can read standard notation, but prefer the efficiency of tabs. I transcribe tabs note-for-note, using my own system of compact, but robust, tablature. I try to keep each file sized so the entire song fits into a single screen of my tablet.

My tabs are developed in text files, which are kept in a free Dropbox account. This allows me to download them to devices. No costs except some time.

I've been doing it this way for a very long time, and so I've tabbed many, many songs. I've also learned that a great number of tabs found online are quite poor. However, there are a great number of very, very good bass cover videos with tab available on YouTube which make great starting points for a tab file. Rocksmith videos are also quite helpful.

I find that the rigorous study needed to accurately tab out a song helps me learn it well before I even start playing it, reducing the time I need to crutch on the tabs before I cut myself loose. The tabs also serve as a useful archive if I don't play a song for a long time and need to work it back up... a couple play-throughs and I'm good-to-go.

 

[foal30]

I'm with JRA. I notate because, in the long run, it's more efficient for me. I started using software because I couldn't read my own writing. Like JRA, I use Sibelius. After using Sibelius, I discovered benefits way beyond legibility. Playback reveals wrong notes. Copy-paste and transpose make the process efficient. Creating a pdf file makes it easy to share with others. There was a learning curve.

I have read a couple of your transcriptions, excellent stuff.
Well done

 

[Jefenator]

Depends a lot on the material. And my time budget...
I have become a big fan of the Nashville number system because it lets me map out a whole song (or two whole sets worth of songs) pretty much in real time. Not surprisingly, it seems to work best for country / folk / Americana. (Where the form & chord structure is most relevant, and parts can be generated on the fly.)
Chord charts work better for me for Jazz & Latin - on a staff sheet so I can notate certain passages as needed.
Transcribing is awesome for you on multiple levels. But when pressed for time (which I usually now am) I would very seldom notate an entire part. Especially for material where the original line was probably not written & read.
A colleague once said that charts actually get in the way of his learning a song. He makes a good point; I must concur that making or having a chart often delays or even prevents full memorization. And there's nothing like being able to just close your eyes & play. With that in mind, I'll try to get "off book" on new material whenever time permits.
But all too often time does not permit; that's why my ForScore library has over 2000 titles.

 

[LeeNunn]

My notes for rehearsal fit on an index card. One card for each song, and after a couple of rehearsals I don't need the card any longer. I rarely play anything note for note.

I use the transcriptions to develop an understanding of the bass line and to preserve that understanding for the future. So I don't always notate for ease of reading. For example, I'll use double sharps and flats (if necessary) to emphasize the role of a note. If it's a Gb7 chord, that low E is Fb. Same for the chords. I like to know the chords, even if I'm just playing the root. I often struggle with rhythm and chord identification more than I do with the pitches of the individual notes.

 

[Neon Scribe]

When I'm transcribing bass lines, I use standard notation, in pencil, bass clef on blank staff paper that I print myself. I use Audacity to slow down recordings. Sometimes I apply a low-pass filter so I can hear the bass more clearly. Sometimes I even shift the pitch up an octave. I would not give these scrawls to anyone else to decode! When I'm happy with what I've written, I enter it into a LilyPond source file. LilyPond is a free, open-source music typesetting program. It is extremely powerful and produces beautiful output. It is easy for me to use, but it is not easy to learn unless you have some experience with writing code. Once you have made a few of these, making the next one is very simple.

For most people who are not familiar with writing code but who are comfortable with standard notation, MuseScore is inexpensive, easy to learn, and good enough for the job.

 

[bfields]

I write charts by hand and keep them on a tablet. Depending on the song I might just use chords and lyrics, or something more Nashville number-ish, or standard notation, or often some mixture of all of those.

I spent a little time with MuseScore a few years ago and it seemed OK if everything was organized around standard notation, but difficult for anything else. So I gave up and went back to mostly doing things by hand. Maybe I should give it another try.

 

[smeet]

I like standard notation, so at home, that’s what I use, either with pencil and paper, or in Logic.

But what do I do when I’m at a rehearsal without staff paper and I want to remember a funky riff? I’ve tried drawing a little staff on a chord chart, but it’s super hard to read. Sometimes I just notate rhythms and write note names under each note. Not great. I guess I should put a staff paper notebook in each gig bag.

 

[bfields]

But what do I do when I’m at a rehearsal without staff paper and I want to remember a funky riff? I’ve tried drawing a little staff on a chord chart, but it’s super hard to read. Sometimes I just notate rhythms and write note names under each note.

I've done both of these! And with a stylus on my tablet, which makes my ordinarily bad handwriting even worse.

Usually it's legible enough to at least jog my memory.

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

I can read music so, it really just depends what's convenient/available, at the time.

I will add: I find Tabwritier to be easier than Guitar Pro