How Off The Mark Am I On This?

[avi]

There is also something to say for improvising the stuff you can't hear well. It doesn't have to be note for note. 95% of the people you play to will never know the difference. As long as your having fun so will they.
I get if it's a I have to figure it out thing but honestly I think I came up with some pretty good stuff that way. Then when I went to play with other people just to jam, if they started playing a song I didn't know but had heard enough I could do something with it.
I liken it to following Google maps when I'm away for vacation. I try to ween myself off it so I can figure out where I'm going on my own. If I follow Google exclusively I will never learn my way around. Besides I always have it as a backup if I need it.

 

[DrMole]

Hi Everybody,

So recently I posted a thread about learning via just playing along to songs vs using tabs.

Admittedly this has been a somewhat uncomfortable step forward for me, however I believe it’s going to be “worth it” long term.

From a listening standpoint-I can’t always pick out the bass line with other instruments present especially on songs I’m not as familiar with.

Someone on TB mentioned singing along to the song to work on pitch as a method to figure the song out..

This has me a lot...Between piano as a kid and a stint in junior high and high school choir I’m not a total newbie when it comes to music, however tonight I was wondering if I’m ever going to get better at hearing the specific bass line in the song.

I’m thinking I just need more practice and I will probably be able to pick out the bass part better when the guitars and drums are present the more I practice like this, however in the meantime I’m wondering if I’m screwing myself up by only trying to accompany the vocals when I’m playing.

It’s weird bc a lot of time when I have my bass in my hands and try to play along I think “This sounds about right”, but when I’m listening to music on my own, I can’t tell what’s being played even if I’m trying to figure out the notes.

Just wondering if anyone else has gone thru this and how long it took you to feel more confident with what you were doing.

Still practicing an hour a day 6x a week so I’m good with consistent practice and I’m guessing I just need to be patient and let time do it’s thing, but additional suggestions on improving with playing along to songs would be appreciated.

Thanks! \m/

Think of the bass part as just another voice in the choir. Do you hear the bass vocal in a SATB performance?

Try a similar angle on the bass parts of songs.

Hear it. Sing it.
Make all the other parts background while you listen.
Having the song, tune, part- internalized makes the rest a (relative) piece of cake.

So much great advice in this thread.
Your practice regimen will pay off.

Best

 

[mambo4]

Understand the chords of the song - things like chordify are great. Once you know the chords, there can be so many choices, and they will be centered around the chord tones.

for me this is the key: I learned the sounds of common chord progressions. The Roman numeral stuff I IV V, I V VI IV, basic blues and rhythm changes. (If progression or cadence has a name , you should learn it) My ear playing process is

1. Recognize the chord progression
2. Use my bass to find the root notes
3. Use roots to establish the rhythm
4. Connect the dots and fill in the rest

If you can get to 3, you can usually fake it just fine.

How long does it take to get good? For me I remember quite clearly sitting in a bar and realizing that the I knew exactly how to play the bass line on the song that was playing. Not the specific pitch, but relative. That was 8 years after I started. But I practiced nowhere near 1 hour a day 6 days per week. Keep at it and you will get there faster.

all this assumes that your listening and learning a broad spectrum of music . If your in some obscure deep corner of adjective metal common chord progressions may be of less use.

 

[bbh]

You need to understand song form. ... Most songs are 1, 4, 5. ... Learn to recognize the same notes of a chord back to the root. ... What happens between the chords is just your choice. ... Plus you always play the ONE! ... When the chord changes then 'hit the one'. ... When you understand the relationship between the downbeat and the chord colour (maj/min/demin/7th/9th/13th/etc) and your roll in choosing the right note to play, you'll start to understand how much time you have between those chords to make your choices. ... Once you understand the time between notes that time lengthens. ... Try taking the fastest song you know and play just the root of every chord and then start to imagine what you can do between those notes.

Don’t play the in reggae. Rules are meant to be broken. They are just standard guidelines.

 

[El_Charro]

There is also something to say for improvising the stuff you can't hear well. It doesn't have to be note for note. 95% of the people you play to will never know the difference. As long as your having fun so will they.
I get if it's a I have to figure it out thing but honestly I think I came up with some pretty good stuff that way. Then when I went to play with other people just to jam, if they started playing a song I didn't know but had heard enough I could do something with it.
I liken it to following Google maps when I'm away for vacation. I try to ween myself off it so I can figure out where I'm going on my own. If I follow Google exclusively I will never learn my way around. Besides I always have it as a backup if I need it.

-------------------------------------------------
Thanks...Appreciate this advice bc I need to get out of the habit of trying to make it "perfect"- Aside from taking all of the fun out of it, I'm thinking I'm still too new to playing to worry playing every song perfectly.

Was playing along to something this week and I wasn't sure I wasn't 100% certain I was hitting the right note, but it sounded "right" relative to the song I was playing and for the acoustics of the room I was practicing in so I just sorta went with it...

Thanks! \m/