• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Noob with theory book question

S

sydandpaigesdad

Dec 5, 2010
70
3
#1
Hey all I know there r threads about music theory books but Id like to give some background as to possibly get some specific recommendations. I'm brand new to bass, 2 months, and my teacher and I decided to study music theory instead of just tabs. I have no musical experience at all, not since junior high lol and I'm 37, luckily my wife is an awesome piano player and music director at our church so I got that going for me lol. Could u guys and gals recommend a music theory book for bass based on my information? Thanks so much in advance I love this site and everyone's been so helpful
 
#2
Be wary of any book that tout's itself as "bass theory". Music theory is music theory, regardless of instrument.

"Harmony and Theory: A Comprehensive Source for All Musicians" by Keith Wyatt is good. I actually like "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory" by Michael Miller quite a bit.
 
#3
sydandpaigesdad said:
Hey all I know there r threads about music theory books but Id like to give some background as to possibly get some specific recommendations. I'm brand new to bass, 2 months, and my teacher and I decided to study music theory instead of just tabs. I have no musical experience at all, not since junior high lol and I'm 37, luckily my wife is an awesome piano player and music director at our church so I got that going for me lol. Could u guys and gals recommend a music theory book for bass based on my information? Thanks so much in advance I love this site and everyone's been so helpful
Click to expand...

+1 to what MattP said. There's no such thing as music theory for bass in any meaningful sense, there's just music theory. Check out this book too:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#4
+ 1 to forgoing tabs. Tabs and playing by rote, i.e. standard notation traps you into needing your sheet music to play anything. Good luck trying to memorize tabs to 10 songs. A little music theory and then assuming what chord tones will be played opens the door to jamming, which by the way is a lot of fun. I'm not opposed to tabs, they help us see how things are and have been done, but, there is a life with out them. Of course IMHO.

Now to A BOOK - most guitar books are too specific, and jump over some of the basic concepts, IMHO you need some generic theory on how music thinks, i.e. dirt simple basic stuff, I bet your wife will have her Alfred's Theory books around somewhere. Get them and let her guide you through how to harmonize a melody line. How to lay down a bass line that harmonizes the melody line. Get her to tell you what her left hand is doing and why. I think that will let you see the big picture before you get tied down and lost in all the detail.

[This invalid link has been removed] best $7 you will ever spend.

My big WOW came when I realized chords have two functions in a song. One is to move the song through the verse, i.e. move from rest (I) to tension (IV) to climax (V7) then back to rest (I). That is done with the chord progression you chose. The other function is to harmonize the melody notes. That is done with the notes you make sure your chords are using under the melody. The chord line and the melody line have to share like notes at the same time in the song for harmonization to take place. As you read your theory keep those two facts in the back of your mind. That is how music thinks.

Good luck.
 
#6
Agreed, theory is theory. I would have thought your teacher would/should have a preferred book to recommend.

Remember it's his job to point you in that direction, the practice is down to you but the what to practice should be all him, especially at this point.

Welcome to bass :)
 
#9
MattP said:
I actually like "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory" by Michael Miller quite a bit.
Click to expand...
I recently bought this book, in no small part based on its Amazon reviews.

Upon receiving it I turned to Chapter 3, Scales. The first thing I saw is a bold section header: "Eight Notes Equals One Scale". It was followed by this sentence: "A scale is, quite simply, eight successive pitches within a one-octave range".

The major pentatonic scale is mentioned in passing in a Chapter titled Melodies. Other pentatonic scales are ignored. The blues scale is never mentioned, although blues progressions are.

The diatonic scales vs. modes discussion is botched, as is usual.

Being a top-down kind of person, I'm not impressed.

Edly's, on the other hand, is a good book.
 
#11
PhiDeck said:
Upon receiving it I turned to Chapter 3, Scales. The first thing I saw is a bold section header: "Eight Notes Equals One Scale". It was followed by this sentence: "A scale is, quite simply, eight successive pitches within a one-octave range".
Click to expand...

When I read the book, I didn't the implications of that statement much thought. However for someone new to theory, that statement could lead someone down the wrong direction. I wasn't new to theory when I read it.

I don't remember the specific coverage of modes. I remember it was very basic (what I liked).

I'll check out Edley's.
 
#12
Prior to buying a book it can be instructive to determine what else the author has written.

Ed Roseman (Edly) has written two books, both on music, both good.

This is part of Michael Miller's capsule bio on Amazon:
"Michael Miller is the best-selling writer of more than 100 non-fiction books. He writes about a variety of topics, including computers, online selling, business, consumer electronics, and music."
Jack of all trades, master of none?

(I have no financial interest in either author's fortune)
 
#13
She is a proponent of chordal approach, vs scales- learning the notes on the fretboard, and how to play a simple three note chord, as this is the most applicable approach to playing bass in pop and beginning jazz. Triads, sevenths, sixths, etc. Fortunately for bass, this is very simple for a beginners, because initially, these are a repeating patterns, so all you need to do is to learn the notes on the neck, learn the pattern and move it up and down the neck. Once you get the idea, and get comfortable with it, then you can expand and build on this.

I started playing single reeds - 12 years of it- a lot of reading and scales, but when I picked up the bass, I found that knowing what chords were made of, and how to play them, was more practical.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back