Double Bass Memorizing standards

[Kindofblue]

Hey everyone , the other day I was going through my fake book and writing in the numerals underneath and noticed a common quality. Instead of thinking by numerals thinking about how far they move. Ie. In "all the things you are" in Ab the first four chords are f minor 7 - Bb minor 7 - Eb7 - Ab maj 7. I noticed how the other chords for the most part move up in fourths. Does anyone else have a similar method or do you use this type of approach ? Thanks !

 

[bassbuddie]

Sure. I think mixing the two is good. Example: The First A section of All the things is
Vi | II | V | I | IV | Up a half step for a | II-7b5 V | I | I, then same chord but minor wich is the Vi of the next Cycle....

I think it's easier with practice to have a simple snapshot of the the song. Ex. The A section is a I Vi II V and the B is a cycle of fifth of 7th chord starting on the third.... Am I clear, I try to but I speak french so.... that's why I put a lot of ...

 

[Marc Piane]

This has been discussed at length 'round here. Run a search.

For the last few years I have been using the piano to memorize tunes. Memorizing numbers works but it is not music and sometimes we (or at least I) can get caught up in the cerebral exercise of remembering a succession of numbers rather than the psychocacoustic or sensory/perceptual event involved in hearing how chords react, move, and function within a song. Also knowing/hearing how chords work with the melody helps immensely.

Knowing a tune in this way makes it easier to hear chord subs and the like too. Often subs are not changing the function of the harmony and sometimes have elements of the original harmony in the in the sub. If you know the sound of the chord then it is easier to pick this stuff out.

Patitucci talks about it on his clinic he did at Gage's. He says it is not necessarily important to be able to name a chord (though that comes with ear training too) but rather to hear it and be able to react in the moment.

I am nowhere near this point but getting there enough that I think that is the way to have a deeper understanding of tunes.

 

[bassbuddie]

I agree with you Fingers, the Piano is a very good way, to internalize the sound and it helps to have a sound on those numbers. The was a time were I could not ear and II-V-I the piano solved everything.

 

[Dave Speranza]

Instead of thinking of "how far they move" learn to understand the FUNCTION of the chord - then you are on your way to having an understanding of the tune, and you will no longer worry about "memorizing" tunes, you will be LEARNING them.

 

[Marc Piane]

+1. And I'll take it one more step. When you really internalize the sound of a tune you don't even have to think about how it moves or understand why. I just seems like the movement to that place is inevitable and perfect.

 

[jgbass]

Now that I have some basic jazz piano chops, piano is becoming the way for me to memorize and work out tunes. Several instructors have suggested this to me anyway. Its natural for me, though, because I had the childhood piano lesssons, but I cannot stress how important it is to get those piano skills. Just learning basic chords will do a lot.

 

[Marc Piane]

To add to that... I SUCK at piano. Pathetic. I barely passed piano in college. That said I have a firm understanding of chords, chord voicing, and theory. Just banging through tunes in a rudimentary way (which is about all I can muster) will do wonders.

If you don't have the theory understanding get either the Jazz Theory Book or the Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine. They cover many of the same things in a slightly different way. I prefer the Jazz Theory Book myself but they are both good.

 

[TroyK]

I've done all of that and tried a few other things, like singing the roots. Playing the roots, playing just the 3rds, just the 5ths, just the 7ths, just whatever altered not the chord suggests, then walking, etc. Arpeggiating all the way through is a great exercise.

But, here's what I've been doing lately, which may or may not be good advice, but its really, really helped my playing. I get as familiar with the song as I can and then I just play it. I make sure to hit major milestones and I make sure to perrochially outline some of the more important chords, but I actually ignore or don't concern myself with all of the changes.

For example, if the chord is D-7 - G7 - Cmaj, I might play something like D - A - F up an octave and then just start making my way down to C however my ear tells me too. I started thinking about this after transcribing. I found that I couldn't justify the notes a lot of greats were choosing with my knowledge of theory and so I let go a little bit. If the piano player is making the changes, those chords will still be there, I focus (sometimes) now on making a nice bassline and playing great time, rather than technically knowing all the changes. If the band needs the structure, thats different and I give it to them.

But, if I know the sound aurally, some of that math and spacial relativity are actually keeping me from playing good lines and frankly it's really hard for me to memorize 1,000 tunes that way. But I can sing them.

I'm not suggesting not knowing tunes or playing free behind a hard bop band, but just that for me, giving myself some room to follow my ear has not only expanded my repretoire, but introduced some things to my playing that I don't think I could have learned any other way.

For what it's worth.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

Nice Troy - you've turned those songs into music, which is the basic idea. Its all about how it makes you feel.

 

[Marc Piane]

It's that freedom within the tune and knowing when to exercise it is the thing to strive for. One exercise I do with my students is to have them play a 2 beat over changes that I am hammering out on piano. No music. I keep it simple at first but the goal is to have their ear guide the line. After that we try it with walking. Most students have trouble at first but learn to really trust where their ear is telling them to go.

Of course this is much harder on a gig where the piano is playing more complex rootless voicings but you should still be able to pick stuff out of that chord as your ear improves.

 

[chris dammann]

I never try and memorize anything (ever), just try and hear the melody or what the soloist is doing. The only way I could ever learn solo pieces in school with out the music was to get to the point where I could hear them start to finish in my head. I try and do the same when playing jazz and do my best at beating the soloist to where there taking the harmony. I love play alongs at half speed. With Transcribe! you can put a single chord/progression on loop which is great for the ears.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

This has really worked for me....

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Does anyone else have a similar method or do you use this type of approach ?

Yes.