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Scales
- Thread starter Kipp Harrington
- Start date
I try to emulate what was originally written in the song but occasionally I will throw in a little “run”, pull-off, or hammer-on here and there. Or maybe play the same series of notes an octave higher (or lower) than what was originally written.
What if I called a blues tune you hadn't heard or practiced. If I called a 1 4 5 blues in G.
Could you come up with something on the spot?
Hell yes, now we are getting going.
Ok the next thing to understand. The difference between a major and minor chord is one note - the 3rd.
A minor chord simple has a flatted 3rd. All that means is the note is a fret back.
Cmaj - C, E, G
Cmin - C, Eb, G
I would suggest playing each chord (by this I mean, one note at a time) all over the neck.
Start by just playing C on the 3rd fret of the A string, E on the 2nd fret of the D string and G on the 5th fret of the D string.
Then play that same pattern except with the Eb (first fret of D string) so you can hear the difference and see the pattern. Next move - find these notes everywhere up to the 12th fret so you can play the chords all over the neck. Patterns will emerge and you will find ways to connect the notes together across the neck.
If you know how to read music, you can read 99% of sheet music. Nothing to do with scales.
If you know how to read music, the note is sharp compared to the natural note, or even natural compared to the key signature.
To the OP:
Learning to play the different types of scales: major, minor, dorian, mixolydian, whole tone, diminished, chromatic, half-whole and whole-half, and really getting them into your fingers will make picking out various runs, patterns, and lines MUCH easier. You'll hear the run/line and your fingers will "know" what to do because you spent all the time getting those patterns into your fingers. Plus, your ear will develop and you'll be able to learn songs SO much quicker because you will recognize those scales when you hear them and you'll know exactly what they are.
Good luck!
Learning to play the different types of scales: major, minor, dorian, mixolydian, whole tone, diminished, chromatic, half-whole and whole-half, and really getting them into your fingers will make picking out various runs, patterns, and lines MUCH easier. You'll hear the run/line and your fingers will "know" what to do because you spent all the time getting those patterns into your fingers. Plus, your ear will develop and you'll be able to learn songs SO much quicker because you will recognize those scales when you hear them and you'll know exactly what they are.
Good luck!
Simply put, for bassists, in much of pop music (rock, jazz, country, etc.), it's largely a matter of playing the signature lines as composed and (usually through improvisation) inserting fills and transitions in between. To do the latter two you need to know the key the tune is in to know which notes will sound "correct". That said, you can also use "passing" notes, notes outside the song's key to smooth out these fills and transitions, but especially here use them intelligently and tastefully.
Sounds like your understanding of music is basic to someone else telling you where to put your finger on the fretboard. But, that's where everyone starts out, so you're not alone. ... And you did say, "I don't get scales.", which is a bold step. ... Everything you need, to have a basic understanding of music, is in the major scale. So, take the time to learn and understand the major scale till you know what this means, "M,m,m,M,D7,m,Dim,M", and you can play the arpaggios for each intervales. ... Everything we learn and understand leads us to a door we open that leads us to another and another and another. ... It never ends so accept as a journey.
I'm a music teacher so this is truly my area of expertise. Knowing your scales (major and minor) helps in a band setting when you are handed a piece of paper with chords written out. Or you a jamming and the guitar or KB player is telling you the chords to a song on the fly. I think of scales as a finger pattern that starts on what ever chord you are working with. The KB players says (A flatt ) and I grab an a Ab and mess around with my major pattern. The guitar players says (Cm) and I grab a C and mess with my minor pattern. It gets a little more complicated if you use any open strings but, I hope you get the idea. Keep working with it and it will pay off on down the road.
This. ^
It is too much for most people to try and learn all 12 major scales (or is it 15) until you get it fixed in your mind how C major fits together.
I think so. Would the song start in G and then move to B (4th) and then C (5th) and then "turnaround back to the G (1st)?
Scratch all that above! I was counting frets, not the notes in the G major scale. That I, IV, V would be G, C, D. The funny thing is that before you asked that question, I already knew the answer but I overthought it. When I answered G, B, C, I kind of knew that didn't sound right!
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Thanks AngelCrusher... I am really going to try and understand this stuff. You are a good teacher. I really appreciate all the time and care you have offered. It takes patience teaching someone who is slow to learn and gets frustrated easily. You're a good dude. As are all the people on this thread that are trying to help me see the light. It's because they care... and that's a very cool thing!
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Thanks. This is beginning to make a bit more sense. I’m a loooooooong way from home, though. When it comes to learning music, it takes me quite a while. I really need patience and understand that it WILL come to me, just not as quickly as it comes to most. Thanks again for your words.
We learned earlier that "Sunspot Baby" uses the I, IV, V chords in E Major: E, A, B.
Play E, A, B, and then play G, B, C. Do they sound like the same type of pattern? Or do they sound like different types of pattern?
Music theory is basically just a way of processing the songs you already know how to play, to make learning future songs easier.
This...We learned earlier that "Sunspot Baby" uses the I, IV, V chords in E Major: E, A, B.
Play E, A, B, and then play G, B, C. Do they sound like the same type of pattern? Or do they sound like different types of pattern?
Music theory is basically just a way of processing the songs you already know how to play, to make learning future songs easier.
I think so. Would the song start in G and then move to B (4th) and then C (5th) and then "turnaround back to the G (1st)?
Scratch all that above! I was counting frets, not the notes in the G major scale. That I, IV, V would be G, C, D. The funny thing is that before you asked that question, I already knew the answer but I overthought it. When I answered G, B, C, I kind of knew that didn't sound right!
So if someone in the band called out, "blues in Gm, It would be G, Bb, D, right?
Keeping it simple.
The simplest chord is 3 notes, a triad.
It comes in 3 flavors:
Major, 1 3 5 , i.e C E G
Minor, 1 b3 5, C Eb G
Diminished, 1 b3 , b5 C Eb, Gb
Each of these flavors has two fingerings, compact and extended.
Major, start on middle finger (compact) or index finger (extended)
Minor, Index (compact or middle (extended)
Dim: index or middle
The simplest chord is 3 notes, a triad.
It comes in 3 flavors:
Major, 1 3 5 , i.e C E G
Minor, 1 b3 5, C Eb G
Diminished, 1 b3 , b5 C Eb, Gb
Each of these flavors has two fingerings, compact and extended.
Major, start on middle finger (compact) or index finger (extended)
Minor, Index (compact or middle (extended)
Dim: index or middle
I don't read standard notation... is this book available in TAB format? Thanks!
