Practice Advice/Material

[FatboyJ115]

I've been playing bass for nearly 5 months now and I would say I've made some nice progress. I've got my finger speed to a decent pace, even though I prefer a pick. I want to know where I go from here, I've learned most if not all major & minor scales. I've done quite a bit of searching and haven't found anything. I want to know what some of you would recommend me to practice. There's nothing specific I'm looking to work on like speed buy just some more general stuff to better myself as a player.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

I've been playing bass for nearly 5 months now and I would say I've made some nice progress. I've got my finger speed to a decent pace, even though I prefer a pick. I want to know where I go from here, I've learned most if not all major & minor scales. I've done quite a bit of searching and haven't found anything. I want to know what some of you would recommend me to practice. There's nothing specific I'm looking to work on like speed buy just some more general stuff to better myself as a player.

OK, I assume you have got your fingers knowing where the major and minor scale notes are on your fretboard and you can take this into all keys. If so.....

... It's time to work on chord tones. Think of chord tones (the notes of a chord) as little scales. Cmaj7 chord coming up in the song and your fingers know that the spelling for a Cmaj7 chord is the R-3-5-7 scale degrees of the C major scale. Next chord coming up is the G7 chord and you should know that it's spelling is R-3-5-b7.

OK why chord tones next. First reason is we play harmony 90% of the time, i.e. we augment the solo (melody) instruments. How? Little theory, hang on....

The song writer will place harmonizing chords in the song so that those chords harmonize with the melody line. If we play the notes of those chords, wait on it, we too harmonize with the melody, and sound good.

For the melody line and the chord line (bass clef) to harmonize they need to share some of the same notes at this specific point in the song. It's the sharing of notes that bring harmony. So if the melody is revolving around the C, E or G notes a C major chord is going to harmonize that melody as the C major chord is made of the C, E & G notes.

So get your chord tones into muscle memory. I do this with the major scale box and Nashville numbers using fake chord sheet music. There are other ways, pick how you would like to go forward. I bet you have used fake chord sheet music before with your guitar. Instead of strumming the chord we play the notes of the chord one note at a time to the beat of the song.


Major Scale Box.
G~~|---2---|-------|---3---|---4---| 1st string
D~~|---6---|-------|---7---|---8---|
A~~|---3---|---4---|-------|---5---|
E~~|-------|---R---|-------|---2---|4th string
I'm sure you have seen this with dots.
Add the numbers and this box becomes the Rosetta Stone for all your scales and chords.

Here is the spelling for all the chords.
http://www.smithfowler.org/music/Chord_Formulas.htm Scroll down for the rest of the chords.

Here is the spelling for all the scales you will ever need. http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/guitar/index_rb.html
Scroll down to reveal what you need:

C Harmonic Minor
intervals: 1,2,b3,4,5,b6,7
half-steps: 2-1-2-2-1-3-1
notes: C,D,Eb,F,G,Ab,B​

Get in the shed.

Have fun.

 

[fearceol]

So get your chord tones into muscle memory.

+1 to all Malcolm's post...especially the above.


OP..."Study Bass" is a great site for learning all things to do with bass. In the link below it
deals with the importance of chord tones.

IMO, in the absence of a teacher, you could do a lot worse than to go to the beginning
of the site lessons and work your way slowly through them.

Spend about a half an hour a day on the lessons for now. Any more than that and the
brain shuts down with the message...."too much information !!".

Later on you can increase the time.

Also, try to develop your ear by playing along to some of your favourite songs.

Here is the Study Bass site : http://www.studybass.com/lessons/bass-chord-patterns/chord-tones-are-primary/

 

[Ralph Walker]

As a longtime working drummer, I have been working on playing bass for about four years now and it is coming along nicely. I am lucky to be able to sit in as bass player when my guitar players do their acoustic duo shows where the lead player, who started as a bass player years ago schools me. Along with him occasionally cueing me on up coming chord name, which can be hard to hear, I have gotten him used to sometimes using the number system of chord coming up in relation to key scale. To wrap my head around the chord possibilities in a given key and their correct chord notes I made some home made charts of things to work on such as all the mode shapes within a key, their chord notes and related pentatonic notes in said key. This really helped with learning how to use more of my fretboard and knowing where I am and what I'm doing.
Check em out, play around with all the different patterns, chord notes and related pentatonic notes. Working on this stuff along with learning songs to play out with my guitar players gives me plenty to do and is moving me along nicely.
I hope my home made charts make since to you and are useful, especially the mode chart. I could not find one online that showed modes, chords and pentatonic notes all together so I had to make one. Lots of useful patterns to use on one page.

 

[FatboyJ115]

Thanks for the pictures Ralph, I was able to make some sense out of them and they pointed me In the right direction. I checked out the study bass website and it explained the whole thing very well. I'm still open to any tips anybody has to offer.

It feels like the more I learn the more the fretboard seems like a puzzle that slowly comes snuggly together

 

[Ralph Walker]

Yeah FatboyJ115, Glad you're able to make some sense out of my crude hand made charts, especially the one on modes. A lot of relevant info on one page as to using and understanding more of the fretboard when playing around with different chords of any chosen key. It is also useful to teach yourself how to play through all those chord notes of a chosen key from one four fret position as opposed to moving up the fretboard.
And oh yes, about that hard to learn fretboard, I'm right there with you. Sometimes while playing out I look at it and think, what am I doing and where the hell am I? Other times, things just click and I am pleasantly surprised to have played some nice stuff, usually when being somewhat conservative while paying attention to tone, note choices and rhythmic placement (drummer background). For me, progress sometimes seems to be at a snails pace, and then when least expected the light bulb comes on and one of those very rewarding nights presents itself....and that is way cool.
Keep plugging along and enjoy those moments of realizing you have progressed, when they present themselves.
Enough typing for now, I think it's time to pick up a bass and have at it.

 

[lyla1953]

For me - I've generally always worked with an instructor. What we studied was mainly authored by Ed Friedland. In order; I did all 3 Method Books, next I completed the book titled Building Walking Bass Lines, next was Blues Bass which will be done this week and then I'm on his Grooves book. While I was doing this I set time aside each session to work on my fret board knowledge. Generally I used Joe Hubbard's random exercise, completely avoid TAB with lessons and songs and learn most lessons and songs in several positions on the neck. I have to honest and say for me the fastest most economical way to progress is with a good live instructor and a plan.

 

[bassrockz20]

Try learning Higher Ground by Red Hot Chili peppers it's really fun to play.

 

[BrotherMister]

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EIf3jfsi3rU/T31RdYTQ82I/AAAAAAAAAAU/cLjZOYFC_NM/s1600/Jeff+ex.jpg

This one sheet of paper has a lifetime of work on it. Learning all types of arpeggios in all their inversions from the lowest available note to the highest and back is a lot more demanding than you think but it does wonders for your technique as well as what ideas you when creating music.