I'm serious, how important for a bass player is scales?
Any good videos that break them done or book or etc? I know there is many but what is the best ones to follow?
Scales are the foundation of understanding any instrument. The rest of the instruments follow the bass, so your knowledge of the songs the band will play, and your understanding of very basic, but crucial, music theory, are the key to the band's success. Several other replies suggest chords are more important than scales, but you can't properly understand chords until you understand scales. The good news is that scales are very easy to understand and learn. Start with the normal major scale. You don't really even need a book. Starting on ANY NOTE at all, go up one whole step (two frets), whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. You have now played eight notes, and you have ended up on the same note that you started with; one octave higher. For instance, in the key of G, that would be G-A-B-C-D-E-#F-G. Key of F: F-G-A-bB-C-D-E-F. Key of C: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. And so on. Reverse order going down, the exact same notes. Practice every sensible way you can finger them, for instance start on an open string for E and A, then start with your bird finger on either the E or A strings, last start with your pinkie. See that you can finger any scale at least two, more often three or more ways, that require no shifts at all, or only one. Practice every key! Can't emphasize that enough. Once you can confidently play the major scale in all 12 keys, start playing them going up two full octaves. Some basses don't have enough notes to go all the way up in bE or D. Spend time with the scales every day, and your fingers will go where you want them to unfailingly, with ease. Say the notes out loud as you play them, and you will master your knowledge of the fingerboard. With this under your belt, then learn minor scales, pentatonic scales, etc, at your leisure. Your chord studies will now make perfect sense, and practice routines based on chord forms, arpeggios, progressions, and so on will be very beneficial. Somewhere along the line, look at a circle of fifths (can be called cycle; same thing) and give it a permanent space on the wall where you practice. You are now on your way to being the bass player every band calls first.
