Playing along

[mjnyc]

(Playing bass for a year and a half, taking lessons, mainly doing rock/blues at present)

Lately I've started playing along with / noodling on recordings of songs that I haven't learned or played previously but either am familiar with or are straightforward. I find it fun and satisfying, and can hit some reasonable notes fairly frequently. I'm of two minds about the usefulness of this:

1. It sounds good at times, but the good sound is more a function of the recording than my playing, and may give a false sense of security without contributing very much else.

2. It helps develop the ear and helps with recognizing some chord progressions, improvisation and learning what goes with what on the fretboard.

I am by nature much more a "by ear" person than a chart reading / theory person, though I fully appreciate the need for these and work on them.

A number of questions I've asked in this forum have sparked vigorous debate. I really appreciate all the thought that makes its home here...

Happy holidays

Michael

 

[Lobster11]

I think this is great (as per your point #2) as long as it is only part of your practice routine (as per your point #1).

 

[SteveCS]

...
Lately I've started playing along with / noodling on recordings of songs that I haven't learned or played previously but either am familiar with or are straightforward. I find it fun and satisfying, and can hit some reasonable notes fairly frequently. I'm of two minds about the usefulness of this:
...

Like anything, the value lies in doing if with purpose. So if you are truly working on developing your ear; developing your understanding of "how bass works" within arrangements; systematically building a library of 'typical', 'thematic', 'idomatic' or 'stylistic' concepts within a range of genre; or some other concrete objective then it can be useful and very effective.

On the other hand, if you are just mindlessly noodling (and from your point #2 it sounds like you might not be) then the impact and value might be limited.

YMMV

 

[fearceol]

Learning songs by ear and working out the bass lines without using tab is never a waste of time.

 

[Lownote38]

I spent the first 6 years of my playing experience doing things just by ear. I made a lot of money doing it that way, too. For rock, pop, blues, etc., doing things by ear is fine, and a great way to start out. I personally got to a point where I wanted to learn a lot more, so I went and got a music degree. Put into it what you want out of it.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

I spent the first 6 years of my playing experience doing things just by ear. I made a lot of money doing it that way, too. For rock, pop, blues, etc., doing things by ear is fine, and a great way to start out. I personally got to a point where I wanted to learn a lot more, so I went and got a music degree. Put into it what you want out of it.

It's always nice to hear from you.

P.S. I hope you did not forget to pay taxes on your "lot of money?".

 

[Lownote38]

It's always nice to hear from you.

P.S. I hope you did not forget to pay taxes on your "lot of money?".

LOL! That was from the ages of 13 to 19, so I wasn't making a living at it ($80 a night in 1990 was a lot to someone my age then). I just had more money than other kids my age and didn't need a fast food job. I did claim it on taxes, though.

 

[GlennRH]

@mjnyc

I encourage any non-professional (steadily making a living at it) bassist to make playing along with recordings an on-going form of practice.

I use a TASCAM Bass Trainer and a pair of Sony MDR-XB950 headphones to play along with CDs almost every day of the year. Thus, hardly anybody in my apartment building even knows that I play bass, and nobody says, "You keep getting that one part wrong," or "Please stop working on that one tune!"

From my CD collection, I now have 20 full albums that I play along with from start to finish, on average one per day. These represent (expose my attentive ear to):

• a range of genres
• a variety of composition styles
  
• a range of approaches to the role of the bass
• a range of tones (growly with some distortion to emulating upright acoustic bass).

The benefits to me as a bassist include:

• noticing and developing the ability to play the sophisticated nuances in bass parts that seem simple at first
• getting better at adjusting my technique + knob & switch positions to match the tone on the recording
• finding more efficient ways to play parts that seem tricky at first for finger/hand movement
• directly experiencing the genius of other bassists whose playing, to the inattentive ear, might just seem basic or ordinary.

Additional benefits:

• Complete control over what I play along with, how often, and in what mix.
• All of the other parts are played right, in tune, and on time.
• No waiting for anybody to show up.
• No lugging gear anywhere.
• Becoming a better player.
• Having fun learning.

 

[MrLenny1]

Gotts have big ears so #2.

 

[Polish Thunder]

So I have been playing for a little over 3-1/2 years. When I started, I had no bass experience, no stringed instrument experience, and the only basic music theory I had was playing blues harmonica. Now I play bass in an established Blues/Blues Rock band.

I took Mark's Talking Bass "Beginner" and "Fundamental" courses, which taught me the fundamentals and a good foundation of basic music theory.

I then went through and learned a lot of songs via tabs and YouTube video lessons.

It was when I started taking Skype lessons with a seasoned Bass Pro who also has over over a decade of teaching bass that I really made leaps in my playing.

My teacher would start out with some basic songs and I would have to determine the song key, chord structure, intro, outro, and any choruses and bridges, first by ear (no bass) then I would go back with my bass and confirm or correct my initial run through. This really developed my ear and hearing the intervals. I now do not need tabs. I will just listen through the new songs the band leader gave us. If I need to learn it fast, I might check out a site like Chordu to get the chords quickly to save time.

One of my pet peeves was an old friend that also played blues harmonica. He learned some basic riffs but would just noodle of songs without any consideration of the original harmonica part. Some songs like Help Me have a specific riff or hook. He just made crap up for the harmonica part.

This does not mean you need to learn all of the songs note-for-note, but you should deep dive into the songs and learn the bass parts to the best of your ability and as time allows. I use Transcribe software to loop, slow down, change the key, or isolate the bass, which helps with learning songs.

Everyone is on their own bass journey. My suggestion is to spend time learning the songs by ear. Having that skill is priceless in playing bass.

Good luck.

 

[Deenah]

Learning by ear is definitely priceless. I started sitting on the sofa playing along with commercials, I still do it to this day. Anything I hear I’ll learn it or at least try to play. When you get to the point that you can play anything by ear your worth goes up substantially. My favorite practice routine is to turn on radio or yt and just let the music play. Even if I don’t immediately know it I try to work through it and have the song down before it’s over. This alone has worked perfectly for me. I know very little music theory, it all just kinda fell in place. Now after 37 years there is very little I can’t play. Develop your ear and work on your technique.. pick and finger style.
If you’re serious about getting to be a great player that bass should be attached to you like a third arm.

the only time that bass should be on it’s stand is when your at work, sleeping, or dead.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

I started sitting on the sofa playing along with commercials

I think you are the first person that I've heard about who ENJOYS COMMERCIALS.

the only time that bass should be on it’s stand is when your at work, sleeping, or dead.

What about lots of work/working at HOME?

Now, seriously.

When you play along the commercials, do you know (more or less) chord progression/s (harmony) of those commercials?
Can you hear the quality of chords - major, minor, dim, aug, etc...?