How important is it to know the names in the chords you are playing? I know how to play them, but i might not all the notes in them off the top of my head, so i've been trying to memorize the notes in the maj and minor triads, and major, min, dom, and dim 7th chords. Is this a waste of time? How important is it to know all the notes in every chord?
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how important is it........
- Thread starter funkybass
- Start date
It also depends on who you want to play with, how far you want to take playing music, etc. The first thing I tell my students is that they need to know the names of all the notes on their instruments, and understand what makes a chord or scale major or minor. Once they have that down, they need to know about the 7ths, what dominant chords are, what they are used for, and what scales go along with what chords, etc. I believe it is fundamental for playing in a band situation, and to be able to communicate with other musicians.
I've got them memorized, without 'trying' to do so. Always know what you are playing. If you play the inversions you have to know right off what note is the third, 5th or 7th etc. Play through the circle of 4th, 5ths Chromatic, etc and you'll get it.
Yes, everything you can add to your musical knowledge will help in the long run. Hard to play chord tones if you do not know what tones (1-3-5 or 1-b3-5) are in each chord.
Time well spent.
Time well spent.
Roy Vogt
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The more notes you know, the more choices you have. Remember, you can just add a 7th to all of the existing triads you've got (they're either going to be major 7ths or b7ths with the exception of fully diminished chords). Knowing the notes you are playing (being able to call the note name) is pretty important. Knowing what that note looks like on the Staff puts you in the top percentile of bass students. Being able to play the note at sight in time is a skill most if not all professional musicians develop.
Food for thought.....
You can get by from patterns, but it's worth it to learn the note names. The way in which you go about it will make a huge difference in how easy/hard it is to learn them. Instead of learning every single note individually for every chord, learn the majors first. Then learn what makes a minor different from maj, augmented different from maj ect... so that you can think "ok, minor has a flat third, so in Bb that'd be Db instead of D" ect.
I'm a newbie...2 months in to learning the bass after decades away from it. I'm calling out each note I play when I practice. I'm working with a book to learn to play and read. The book is based on reading music. Doing this everyday has me "memorizing" w/o really studying anything. I'm just doing it over and over.
When you are practicing, consciously THINK or say what the note is. I had the opposite problem. I knew the what notes are (within the chord) and I knew chords but I was constantly fret counting and could be in the middle of something and not know what note I was playing because I could simply use the numbers. So I brushed up on my scales and chords and learned the neck for free. I think this should work for you as well.
Don't memorize them, learn them. It's a subtle distinction, but the difference is that you know not only what the b7 of D is, but why. Build this in steps. Know the major scale, and know the formula for the chords. From that make exercises where you drill those things. So, you want to know why the D scale is D E F# G A B C#, not so much that it IS those notes, but why. Because if you know the why, then you'll be able to figure out the what. And like anything else you do, the more you do it the more you'll know it.
John
John
When the rhythm guitar sounds a chord he does so with a finger pattern. Does not really matter what each individual note of the chord is IF he has the finger pattern correct.
Bass guitar knows he is playing to a C chord. Does it really matter that he know the C chord consists of the C note, the E note and the G note - IF he is using patterns? Or is just knowing that C chord can be produced by placing the root on a C note then playing the 3rd and 5th interval of the C scale, is that enough?
If we play patterns note names are of secondary importance, the Interval number is the important factor in pattern playing.
Should you know both? Sure. Is it really necessary? Probably not.
Have you got 15 minutes a day for this for the next 6 months? 15 minutes every other day? This doesn't have to be a black hole for time. Take small bites, chew & swallow.
Take some time every day to work through Chapter 2 of http://www.wheatsbassbook.org/
When you're done, you will be a better musician. You probably won't be able to imagine playing music without the things you have learned.
I am not being smart or being funny, but think how life would be if you did not know the names of your family, reletives, friends, work colleagues, school friends, or their characters or what makes them tick? Well chords are the same it makes life easier, and when you talk about them to others that know them, the understand what/who your talking about, no mistaken identity so to speak, but it takes time to understand them to know what makes them tick.
Hope this has given you an idea to think on in that question.
I am not being smart or being funny, but think how life would be if you did not know the names of your family, reletives, friends, work colleagues, school friends, or their characters or what makes them tick? Well chords are the same it makes life easier, and when you talk about them to others that know them, the understand what/who your talking about, no mistaken identity so to speak, but it takes time to understand them to know what makes them tick.
Hope this has given you an idea to think on in that question.
QFT!
In my experience, especially when creating music with others, and in most musical situations where you will be called on to play bass, it is the bass player's primary function to know what chord is happening at all times. Just knowing where it is may be fine at the moment when you are playing on stage, as in, it doesn't need to be in the front of your mind. You can be checking out the hot chick in the first row, or watching the football game on TV, but it is your JOB to know what the NEXT chord is, and when it comes, so you can lead the band into it, whether you call it the B chord, or the V chord or a B dominant 7th. In the context of learning a piece of music, you should really know what the chords are so someone can hand you the lead sheets and you can perform your function.
I couldn't disagree more, pattern's are a huge crutch. If you don't care to improve your playing, stick with patterns. If you don't want to hobble around on crutches, learn the notes.
I find that the names of notes etc. makes it harder for me to understand them. Letters of the alphabet are such an unintuitive way of describing notes or chords. Sure, by habit of restringing and tuning my instruments, I know the names of the notes of the open strings, and that can be convenient some times, but the easiest way for someone to communicate a note or chord to me is by creating the actual sound of it. I know the difference between major and minor, and half step and whole step. I was playing diminished 7th chords and using them correctly for years before I finally learned that they were called diminished 7th chords.
I need to have as few extraneous concepts between me and the music as possible. Letters of the alphabet just get in my way. If you're playing an instrument and you want me to play a certain note, just play the note, and tell me if you want it an octave down. It's much quicker for me that way. My brain doesn't work in the way it would need to work for the letters assigned to notes to have any meaning. It doesn't work symbolically or linguistically, it works sensually, graphically, geometrically. Maybe some people would call it a handicap, and maybe it is for certain things; but for other things, the way my brain is wired helps me immensely. Chord diagrams and tab is something that works for me. Even numbers can be useful, as they are usually just one step away from a graphic image in my head. I visualize shapes and patterns; letters of the alphabet have no place there.
I need to have as few extraneous concepts between me and the music as possible. Letters of the alphabet just get in my way. If you're playing an instrument and you want me to play a certain note, just play the note, and tell me if you want it an octave down. It's much quicker for me that way. My brain doesn't work in the way it would need to work for the letters assigned to notes to have any meaning. It doesn't work symbolically or linguistically, it works sensually, graphically, geometrically. Maybe some people would call it a handicap, and maybe it is for certain things; but for other things, the way my brain is wired helps me immensely. Chord diagrams and tab is something that works for me. Even numbers can be useful, as they are usually just one step away from a graphic image in my head. I visualize shapes and patterns; letters of the alphabet have no place there.
So you're saying someone could play you any note, and you could play it back on your instrument on the first attempt every time? You must be some kind of musical genius. Don't you think that musical genius + musical education would make you a virtuoso?
I am not being smart or being funny, but think how life would be if you did not know the names of your family, reletives, friends, work colleagues, school friends, or their characters or what makes them tick? Well chords are the same it makes life easier, and when you talk about them to others that know them, the understand what/who your talking about, no mistaken identity so to speak, but it takes time to understand them to know what makes them tick.
Hope this has given you an idea to think on in that question.
The names of people have nothing to do with what makes them tick. They are just symbols. You learn about what makes people tick by watching them, experiencing them, and interacting with them. The average person can identify way more individual people by sight than they can remember the names of.
Sorry lunarpollen, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but you are giving bad advice. It works with some instruments, but on the bass, you need to know the names of the notes and chords. It's just that simple. Nobody is going to want to play with a bass player who can't find the "A" on his bass.
