Question regarding relationship between chords progressions and bass lines

[vindibona1]

I know what to do in the next weeks and XMas Holydays Been playing for 5 years (notation reading quite good, chords theory, etc…) but I freaking don’t know my notes past the 5th fret… and only realize I hit a bad note past that when my ears tells me it doesn’t fit! Must learn my notes on the fretboard, must learn my notes on the fret board, must…

I truly understand your issue. I think one approach is to use the notes you do know to learn the other notes. I'm pretty certain, as a guitar player, you know all the bar chords with the E shape (F major on the first fret) all the way down the neck, probably to C or even D (E string 10th fret). The octave is of course two strings toward the treble side and two frets toward the bridge. Use octaves to learn from E string and A string (A shape/Bb 1st fret). Start with this.

Next suggestion... Get yourself some stick-on dots. I use glow-in-the-dark dots because I do shows where I might be playing in pitch black. But you can do the same and put dots on certain frets where your confused and mark the notes until you know where they are. There is no harm in putting 4 dots on a single fret area and mark the notes on the dots from 4th string to 1st. This will help you find the best note fingering for passages. As a personal example, in a recent show I had a fast Latin lick that at first I read it in 1st position with 3rd finger starting on 3rd fret C. But after practice I found it much less clumsy to be in 5th position starting on C with 4th finger on E string/8th fret. Over time you'll start seeing the fingerboard more strategically. But first you must learn the entire board to the 12th fret. 12 and beyond is just a repeat from the 1st fret.

Last suggestion... Start practicing basic scales slowly, starting at 4th or 5th position and say each note as you play them. If you don't know the note immediately, just stop there and figure it out. Repeat if you get stalled. Then move up each half step up the fingerboard, saying each note. We bass players tend to think in patterns rather than notes as we probably should be thinking both simultaneously instead of going brain dead (which I do sometimes). It's all just diligence and repetition.
Good luck.
P.S. I love the enlarged glow dots. FWIW, half-moon dot is 7th fret and double small dots- 12th fret. Cheats are fair game.

 

[turf3]

QFT

???

Quantum field theory?
Question formulation technique?
Quantitative feedback theory?

???

 

[MegaSwing]

Yeah, OK, but it sure is a hell of a lot easier to know what you're doing than to trial-and-error all the possible ways to play something that sounds bad and then hope to hit on the ways that sound good.

Which do you think has a better chance of success: William Shakespeare, or a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters?

Never have I recommended, nor would I recommend going into it with no knowledge or experience whatsoever. It is, after all, a discipline. One has to start somewhere. I started with chord shapes and learning the fingerboard.

In my case, I’d been playing guitar at a beginner’s level for about two years and decided I could try bass—especially since bass players were so hard to find at the time. I already knew enough to conceptualize what a bass player must do—in ANY music. Basic musicality is a big help. Knowledge is cumulative, and you can’t go into anything knowing everything.

If you have a tin ear and poor dexterity, no amount of book learning is going to make you competent.

It’s a process.

 

[SteveCS]

???

Quantum field theory?
Question formulation technique?
Quantitative feedback theory?

???

Quoted For Truth

 

[vindibona1]

I'd like to thank everyone for their input and suggestions. It is appreciated.

After playing guitar for a couple of years, what theory I have learned, my ear training, fretboard memorization (which on a six string is still a problem), and scales (from at pattern recognition perspective) are something I am carrying over into my bass practice. I'm in my 70s and memorization in general is an issue - but - I'm a visual learner and pattern recognition still clicks which is useful for scales and knowing where to find scale degrees to any given root note. Easier on the bass as I've got two less strings. Bottom line - I'm still learning and will always be learning as long as I'm sucking air.

There's a lot here to digest, but it is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks kindly! I will put it to use!

I feel for you. I just turned 73 myself, and my ability to grasp new things isn't what it used to be. I am mentally slowed by life-saving medication, so I have a lot of experience in learning new stuff at my age at a snail's pace. If I may suggest... approach the elephant one bite at a time but come back for SEVERAL bites during each day. These days my practice sessions last about 8 minutes, but I find it more effective if I come back to it often during the day and evening. That's why most of my guitars and basses hang on the wall. I do not case the instruments I practice with so I am not labored getting them out of the case which my lazy self will then find excuses not to practice. Find things that are SLIGHTLY challenging so that you aren't so far over your head that you can't see daylight and then quit. I know what it's like to be over one's head. I have just started learning classical piano and am hacking away at Debussy's _Clair de lune_. I suspect it will take me one to three years and will happy to get the first two pages under my fingers in 3 months. I have also recently started studying Mandarin Chinese. When my wife asked me why I chose that, my reply was "because it's hard". If any of this were easy everyone would do it. PLAN YOUR WORK and WORK YOUR PLAN.

 

[Patrice B]

I truly understand your issue. I think one approach is to use the notes you do know to learn the other notes. I'm pretty certain, as a guitar player, you know all the bar chords with the E shape (F major on the first fret) all the way down the neck, probably to C or even D (E string 10th fret). The octave is of course two strings toward the treble side and two frets toward the bridge. Use octaves to learn from E string and A string (A shape/Bb 1st fret). Start with this.

Next suggestion... Get yourself some stick-on dots. I use glow-in-the-dark dots because I do shows where I might be playing in pitch black. But you can do the same and put dots on certain frets where your confused and mark the notes until you know where they are. There is no harm in putting 4 dots on a single fret area and mark the notes on the dots from 4th string to 1st. This will help you find the best note fingering for passages. As a personal example, in a recent show I had a fast Latin lick that at first I read it in 1st position with 3rd finger starting on 3rd fret C. But after practice I found it much less clumsy to be in 5th position starting on C with 4th finger on E string/8th fret. Over time you'll start seeing the fingerboard more strategically. But first you must learn the entire board to the 12th fret. 12 and beyond is just a repeat from the 1st fret.

Last suggestion... Start practicing basic scales slowly, starting at 4th or 5th position and say each note as you play them. If you don't know the note immediately, just stop there and figure it out. Repeat if you get stalled. Then move up each half step up the fingerboard, saying each note. We bass players tend to think in patterns rather than notes as we probably should be thinking both simultaneously instead of going brain dead (which I do sometimes). It's all just diligence and repetition.
Good luck.
P.S. I love the enlarged glow dots. FWIW, half-moon dot is 7th fret and double small dots- 12th fret. Cheats are fair game.

View attachment 7092445

Thanks! My biggest problem… is that I do it for 5 minutes then goes with my bad habits and begin to noodle some random riffs… I must do it seriously and imprint the position of the notes in my brain by telling each one out loud… until I know where each notes is sitting.

On a keyboard, it’s a second nature for me as it is on a wind instrument but I’ve learnt it at a young age with a more malleable brain

 

[vindibona1]

Thanks! My biggest problem… is that I do it for 5 minutes then goes with my bad habits and begin to noodle some random riffs… I must do it seriously and imprint the position of the notes in my brain by telling each one out loud… until I know where each notes is sitting.

On a keyboard, it’s a second nature for me as it is on a wind instrument but I’ve learnt it at a young age with a more malleable brain

I feel you. Luckily I started guitar at around 13 and took lesson until I went off to college. I was in 60's bands as a kid and got tagged to play bass with a used bass that I bought for $15. Mercifully the guitar stuff has been in my DNA, but got side-tracked for almost 50 years as I became a semi-professional trumpet player. I could play AT the piano as my mother was a concert pianist. At 72 I started studying classic piano. It's tough especially because my eyes cannot decipher two staff systems at the same time.

These days I have the attention span of a gerbil, and have about 8 minutes of focus before I have to walk away from what I'm practicing or reading. Memory? What was I saying just now? Oh. I remember :0. I play in an group where I've played most of the tunes 50 times and I still need the lead sheets in front of me.

One more suggestion... Get music for what you're practicing and highlight the sections that are challenging or giving you trouble. PRACTICE THOSE FIRST so if you go noodling you have the actual practice part done before you lose concentration. Also... USE A METRANOME RELIGOUSLY. One of my mentors demanded that I buy a Boss DB-90 even back then cost $150 and I never regretted it. As a bass player you must learn to keep a steady groove.

 

[Major Seven]

???

Quantum field theory?
Question formulation technique?
Quantitative feedback theory?

???

No, string theory.

 

[lowplaces]

but I freaking don’t know my notes past the 5th fret

Try this

 

[Patrice B]

Try this

Love this guy approach! Yes, now in vacations for Xmas and I’ll work on it (I swear… or not )…

 

[lowplaces]

Love this guy approach! Yes, now in vacations for Xmas and I’ll work on it (I swear… or not )…

He's my go-to for lessons. I'm self taught and consider myself as intermediate level but most of his lessons have made me a better player.

 

[Patrice B]

He's my go-to for lessons. I'm self taught and consider myself as intermediate level but most of his lessons have made me a better player.

Self-taught also in my case and I followed (tried) a lot of online free resources but it’s the first time I see a « real » (maybe he is not, I don’t know but I mean « better » maybe) teacher like him…