I'm tired of lying.

[R. Laevinus]

Theory IS unneccessary for ANY kind of music. All you need to do is play notes that sound good.

The advantage of theory is that it allows you to understand why the notes sound good - and therefore, to play more notes (or less notes, each with greater impact), each of which sound better, and which relate better to the music. Theory also allows you to easily step into genres other than those that you are used to, because music theory is universal.

You CAN play without theory. But it's foolish to limit yourself.

Honestly, just because I CAN walk from here to California does not mean I won't catch a plane when vacation time rolls around!

 

[Ron Plichta]

As Marcus Miller once said during a clinic: "If you don't know theory, you've lost the gig before you've even played the first note".

Interval theory is good to know since it will show you how scales are constructed. Everything else just builds on that.

 

[EADG mx]

The best "chord chart" out there is knowing your fretboard, and knowing how chords work.

 

[ransombass]

Here's a website that I use with good results:


http://www.studybass.com/

 

[Shovelbone]

without getting into modes.......

just remember

whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step

same for every key.

Major key that is!

 

[MtManiac]

Theory IS unneccessary for ANY kind of music. All you need to do is play notes that sound good.

The advantage of theory is that it allows you to understand why the notes sound good - and therefore, to play more notes (or less notes, each with greater impact), each of which sound better, and which relate better to the music. Theory also allows you to easily step into genres other than those that you are used to, because music theory is universal.

You CAN play without theory. But it's foolish to limit yourself.

Honestly, just because I CAN walk from here to California does not mean I won't catch a plane when vacation time rolls around!

+1, best answer yet.

Theory developed to both explain why things sounded good, but also to allow people to make new things that also sound good.

 

[R. Laevinus]

Thanks, Bill.

I find a lot of people seem to be afraid of/angry at/condescending towards/etc music theory. I personally have no idea at all why this is.

In all fairness, I have worked with people who were entirely self-taught, and knew no theory. Some of them were outstanding musicians, and together we produced great music.

However, I have also worked with people who had trained in theory - either through a teacher, through classical methods, and even by themselves, through the internet. Some of these folks were also outstanding musicians, and together we produced great music.

Thing is, the great music tended to be produced much faster with the latter group.

I'm not hating on anybody - you want to go by ear, cool. But - try to keep an open mind. There's more than one way to skin a cat, or, in this case, to create a great bassline. In the end, that's what really counts, right?

 

[Bill Staudt]

I’ve heard that on Halloween if you repeat the phrase:

“I do it completely by ear. There are millions of musicians who operate this way.”

Jeff Berlin will appear and ram a Peavey bass up your pooper.

 

[thndrstk6]

Thanks, Bill.

I find a lot of people seem to be afraid of/angry at/condescending towards/etc music theory. I personally have no idea at all why this is.

In all fairness, I have worked with people who were entirely self-taught, and knew no theory. Some of them were outstanding musicians, and together we produced great music.

However, I have also worked with people who had trained in theory - either through a teacher, through classical methods, and even by themselves, through the internet. Some of these folks were also outstanding musicians, and together we produced great music.

Thing is, the great music tended to be produced much faster with the latter group.

I'm not hating on anybody - you want to go by ear, cool. But - try to keep an open mind. There's more than one way to skin a cat, or, in this case, to create a great bassline. In the end, that's what really counts, right?

I think people tend to think that theory is some intensely hard thing to
understand so they go down the "by ear" road and say that they want
to be different and go against the structure of theory to be original.
That's fine but I guess the thing is you shouldn't bash something that
you don't know anything about. I can see how someone who knows a
lot of theory but has no sense of their own style can be very plain and
knowledgeable at the same time. I think that having style and
knowledge of theory go hand and hand.

The whole reason I wanted to start learning theory was so that I could
take what I knew was my style and be able to come up with things
quicker. Learning theory has also opened a lot of new ideas up that I
wouldn't have thought about. In the end I think having a good sense of
ones style and also knowing how and why it works is most important.
I'm glad I didn't learn any formal theory for the first 8 or so years of
playing bass. I think I got to find my voice before I was told what I
was doing and how it worked.

 

[TortillaChip520]

learning by ear just hasn't been as fruitful as it seems. like i've developed my style somewhat, i just know there are so many more things to learn and ways i can express what i want to play much easier than always playing by ear.
plus, i've gotten tired of playing hardcore music and want to start playing more jazz and things like that that involve alot of improv. i do a bit of improv as of now, but like i said, i just want to expand upon it. thanks for all the advice and sites guys!! and thndrstk6, i pm'd.

 

[Ten Four One]

If you know the major scale & the minor scale, you know enough to figure out the notes in any of the chords in that key, you just skip every other note.

So in the key of C major

C major = C E G
D minor = D F A
E minor = E G B
F major = F A C
G major = G B D
A minor = A C E
B diminished = B D F (not really used)

So my advice - if you don't know the major & minor scales, learn them. And if you do know them, learn basic chord construction, it's not too difficult & will take you a long way.

 

[RomancintheTone]

I learned almost exclusively by ear and just listening to what works or hearing a line in my head, singing it and recreating it on the bass. After a while, you'll start to see the patterns form on the neck without having to think about it. These are usually the same patterns you'd find on theory charts, but this way you are more familiar with what sounds like what and so on. I'm not saying this is the best way and or that it works for everyone, only that it's possible.

 

[snaverb]

http://www.amazon.com/Mel-Bass-Guitar-Chord-Chart/dp/0871667789

5 bucks and you can look at it all day. I used to require that ALL of my students get this chart (or one like it).

Thanks for that suggestion, I am going to buy one of those for myself!

 

[jpfbass]

I don't know if this has been suggested, but the Improviser's Bass Method is one of the best bass books I've ever owned. It was written by Chuck Sher, don't know if he's famous or not, but it has been endorsed by the great Richard Davis, not to mention Eddie Gomez and Paul Jackson. Really a great book, if you use it correctly you should be able to comfortably play improvised bass lines over chords, and it just gives you a great familiarity with grooving in general. Also it has lines by all the greats: Mingus, Pastorious, Jamerson, and Chambers just to name a few.

 

[pizmeyre]

I've had a bass for a couple years but only practice haphazardly, so I basically stink on ice currently.

One thing that I wonder though: how does one play by ear? I know if I'm listening to a song I have NO IDEA what key they are playing in, what notes, or anything. I can tell when they do a chord change and whether it's higher or lower but that's about it.

Will that come with time, or am I just doomed?? I don't THINK I'm tone deaf, but who knows...

-Piz

 

[TortillaChip520]

I've had a bass for a couple years but only practice haphazardly, so I basically stink on ice currently.

One thing that I wonder though: how does one play by ear? I know if I'm listening to a song I have NO IDEA what key they are playing in, what notes, or anything. I can tell when they do a chord change and whether it's higher or lower but that's about it.

Will that come with time, or am I just doomed?? I don't THINK I'm tone deaf, but who knows...

-Piz

Being able to tell what key it's in takes a little guess work, but with some experience after a while you'll be able to tell commonly used chord progressions and what note it's going to go to next and what not.

i'm pretty much in the same boat as you, my friend

 

[MtManiac]

I've had a bass for a couple years but only practice haphazardly, so I basically stink on ice currently.

One thing that I wonder though: how does one play by ear? I know if I'm listening to a song I have NO IDEA what key they are playing in, what notes, or anything. I can tell when they do a chord change and whether it's higher or lower but that's about it.

Will that come with time, or am I just doomed?? I don't THINK I'm tone deaf, but who knows...

-Piz

Play with as many people as you can, get some guitar players to give you a run down of what notes to play over what chords, and just jam with them. Try to do actual songs, not just 12-bar blues riffs. Listen to those songs along with reading a lyric sheet with the chords written over the words, memorize the chord changes. Listen to those songs while driving and mentally rehearse the chord changes while listening. Imagine what you would play over those chords, and try to figure out (without your bass) what the recorded bass player is playing over those chords. Sit down and play along with the song while reading the chord/lyric sheet. Play some more with your guitar player friend, and keep it up. In time, it will definitely come to you, and you'll be figuring out songs while listening to them *without* your bass and *without* a chord chart and *without* knowing the key.

You have to work, one way or the other - work on your ear, work on your theory, or here's a thought - work on both!!

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

I remember a class with the great UK Jazz Player/Composer/Producer Jason Yarde - we were talking about Free Jazz and somebody asked what the difference was between a beginner improvising freely and say Jason, just improvising freely...?

So he said how the beginner would run out of ideas very quickly and would start to repeat things, it would become boring and repetitive.

Whereas a good Jazz pro who has studied the "greats" and had a good grasp of theory can play for hours and hold an audience's attention, without repeating themselves...

 

[dougjwray]

It's easy. Just study a lot of music books, do hundreds of gigs and gain 15-20 years of experience...problem solved......you young ones and your wanting everything instantly. There is a road which you must travel...grasshopper.

+100

I can only add the part about making truckloads of humiliating mistakes and shrugging them off.

 

[dvh]

I remember a class with the great UK Jazz Player/Composer/Producer Jason Yarde - we were talking about Free Jazz and somebody asked what the difference was between a beginner improvising freely and say Jason, just improvising freely...?

So he said how the beginner would run out of ideas very quickly and would start to repeat things, it would become boring and repetitive.

Whereas a good Jazz pro who has studied the "greats" and had a good grasp of theory can play for hours and hold an audience's attention, without repeating themselves...

That's just it. A lot of ear-only players will play the same notes the same way every time they play the song. It's like a paint by numbers.