Looking for some guidance

[collicsws6z28]

I have been playing bass for about five years now, mostly trained by ear and have surprised myself how good my ear has become. I also play righty basses upside down (g string closest to my body). When I jam with people I usually just feel it out and go from there, but I would like to do it the real way of someone telling me to play in C or whatever the case might be. I'm looking for some guidance/links/instructions on what I need to learn to be able to be a part of a serious jam without having to feel around for whats right. All help is appreciated

 

[Dogbertday]

scales and arpeggios... good old triads and 7th 9th 11th and 13th scale degrees....
knowing how these ca ork together through chord changes will do wonders

 

[collicsws6z28]

I've been starting to practice scales recently...I guess I could do some research on arpeggios and triads cause I have not a clue what they are

 

[Dogbertday]

basically it's every other note in a scale is an arpeggio..

so a C major arpeggio would be C E G B D F A
scale degrees..........................R.3.5.7.9.11.13

the triad is just the first 3 degrees of it...

not to say that those are the only notes you can play per chord.... but it's a good starting point

 

[fearceol]

I guess I could do some research on arpeggios and triads cause I have not a clue what they are

A great site for explaining these and a great site in general is : www.studybass.com

 

[Bassist4Life]

I have been playing bass for about five years now, mostly trained by ear and have surprised myself how good my ear has become. I also play righty basses upside down (g string closest to my body). When I jam with people I usually just feel it out and go from there, but I would like to do it the real way of someone telling me to play in C or whatever the case might be. I'm looking for some guidance/links/instructions on what I need to learn to be able to be a part of a serious jam without having to feel around for whats right. All help is appreciated

Play with recordings.

Turn the bass down on the recording and insert yourself. It's a great way to jam and learn what sounds good and what doesn't.

You can take it another step further by recording yourself doing the play-along. Then you can use the theory to analyze what worked.

Joe