Tabs vs Chords YouTube Videos

[Soonlobo]

I’ve been playing bass 2 hours per day for about 6 months. Before that never played an instrument in my 59 years.

Currently progressing through BassBuzz, learning to read and play music via etudes, and watching tabs and chord progressions on YouTube.

I seem to be learning best via channels on YouTube that show rhythm guitar chord progressions making up bass lines within the progressions. I try to not play root notes only, throwing in fifths and octaves when I can.

Is this a reasonable and productive way to learn bass? Don’t have any other musicians to play along with in my area so that’s not really an option right now.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lobster11]

What you've been doing sounds great. Now the question is: What are your goals? Where are you trying to get with this bass thing?

 

[Soonlobo]

What you've been doing sounds great. Now the question is: What are your goals? Where are you trying to get with this bass thing?

Those are excellent questions!

Eventually I’d like to play along with others, maybe even in a band. So for now I keep playing, keep getting better.

I do belong to a couple of Facebook groups that host people looking for bands or people to play along with, but nothing has shown up yet.

 

[J Wilson]

Chord charts are fine, but I promise you there are no reading gigs that use tabs instead of chord charts, or written charts in standard notation. I'd pass on spending any time with tabs and work on reading charts and standard notation.

There's no tabs in the pit band charts for The Oscars, recording, or film scoring, or even serious wedding bands or Fake Book Jazz gigs. Granted most of us will play local gigs with very few charts, but it's knowing these things that can help your learning and probably get gigs other guys will pass on as they don't have these skills.

 

[Soonlobo]

Chord charts are fine, but I promise you there are no reading gigs that use tabs instead of chord charts, or written charts in standard notation. I'd pass on spending any time with tabs on work on reading charts and standard notation.

I like following tabs, but I can see how they may be wrong and for me it seems like I’m trying to get the right note for the tab rather than thinking about the chord structure how the song works musically.

Seems like making up my own bass line by following the chord chart is more fun and I learn more. Of course my bass line sucks compared to what the original bass player made up.

 

[pmatz2]

It’s sounds like it’s time to start learning songs to play with others. There are a number of YouTube sites that include tab and standard notation to learn songs.

 

[edwinhurwitz]

I like following tabs, but I can see how they may be wrong and for me it seems like I’m trying to get the right note for the tab rather than thinking about the chord structure how the song works musically.

Seems like making up my own bass line by following the chord chart is more fun and I learn more. Of course my bass line sucks compared to what the original bass player made up.

I think you are on the right path. I would respectfully suggest that you learn standard notation, in both bass and treble clef. It opens up a lot of music, not just bass music. Learn the melodies as well as the bass parts.

But, as long as you have a bass in your hand and not just practicing the stuff you already know or are just noodling, you are moving forward.

 

[AK Bass Guy]

My 2 cents is it’s good to know the fundamentals like simple notation and a little music theory. While us bass players tend to sit on the root a lot which is important, knowing how to get from one chord to another and know what notes work in key you are playing is where the flavor is at.

Notes that are not in the chord but compliment going from one to another are referred to as “passing tone” those notes are what make a bass line sound like a phrase and not just a set up patterns played one after another.

Other thing I also recommend to any rhythm player is always practice to a beat or metronome, even if your just playing scales or exercises. This will help you lock into a consistent groove when playing with others and there isn’t a reliable percussionist around. Because sometimes it’s the bass player who becomes the ensembles backbone.

Most of all keep playing, play with others if you can and have fun.

 

[bherman]

Agree with the advice to learn to read music notation. Tabs are ok for easy stuff, but if you want to go deep, learn to read. Best approach that I've seen is the Ed Friedland/Hal Leonard Bass Method Book. Start at the beginning and work through methodically, after a few months you'll be on solid ground. And aside from the more rigorous practice, just spend some time playing along with music. If you have Pandora or XM, just pick some artists or music styles that you like and just play along. Look for roots and changes, dont try to pick up bass parts at first. It'll help you develop your ear.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Cool man, sounds like you're on the right track.
Def use tabs at first, but drop them as quick as you can.
Following progressions and making lines by starting with the uppercase letters is basically reading charts.
Soon you'll know the numbers and lowercase letters also tell you what notes are available in that chord.
And if you take the time to learn standard notation, I promise In a couple months or years when you can look at a piece of music, read through it and hear it/sing/hum it and get it, well then man, the world is your oyster.

 

[KenD]

IMO you are absolutely on the right track. All I would add is the following (which you may already be doing):

- Make an effort to learn the scales from which the chords are derived. That should help you to be creative with improvising bass lines and soloing.
- include in every practice session several minutes of exercises that require you to focus on refining your technique. It comes slowly and needs constant refreshing.

 

[bigboy_78]

What you're doing is fine. Learn to read notation if you want, but I'll go against the grain and say find the tabs or videos or whatever you can and learn all your favourite tunes, then find some guys who have the same favourite tunes (or a local jam/open mic) and get amongst it.

There are some late starters (60/70yr olds) at a jam I go to that can barely talk music, let alone read it, but they know their tunes and have a great time.

If anything musically, learn the 3rd & 7th as well as root/5th/octave. Then you can start outlining the harmony, rather than just playing 2 notes in different parts of the neck. From there it's a small step to actually playing the bass, rather than just being the bass player.

 

[shadven]

At this point in would start spending some time on learning how to read music. When you get comfortable reading notes on a staff, learning songs will come a lot faster. That being said I learn most songs by ear, but complicated bass parts often require actual sheet music. The Nashville Number system is genius.

 

[Topkat13]

Are you progressing? Having fun? There you have it.

 

[LiptonJigglers]

Treat bass tab as a quick reference guide to unfamiliar parts of songs you're learning but they're no replacement for reading music notes

 

[SteveCS]

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Is this a reasonable and productive way to learn bass?
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Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

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work on reading ... standard notation.
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learn standard notation
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it’s good to know ... notation
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learn to read music notation.
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Best approach that I've seen is the Ed Friedland/Hal Leonard Bass Method Book.
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take the time to learn standard notation
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learning how to read music.
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reading music notes
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Looks like a pretty clear mandate on learning Standard Notation, and I will add my voice to it. Start at the beginning and do a little every day. The Ed Friedland/Hal Leonard book mentioned by @bherman is a very good place to start. It even has it's own dedicated thread here ( https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-hal-leonard-bass-method-thread.1008337/ ) to which @edfriedland himself contributes. Get maximum value with the 3-in-1 'Complete' volume. Ed begins by teaching a 3-finger technique based on the classical double-bass 'Simandl' method, then introduces the 4-finger 'one-finger-per-fret' approach around the middle of book 2.

If you fancy the 4-finger technique from the get-go, Chuck Rainey's 'The Complete Electric Bass Player, Book 1: The Method' might suit better, if you can find a copy - it's been out of print for a few decades now but remains valid and relevant.

 

[Polfuste]

One more voice here, after 30 years of playing by ears (transcribing what i ear in tablatures to be able to keep a trace). Standard notation is not a big deal to learn. it took me 5 months (15 to 30 minuts per day) to be able to understand notation in both keys. I'm not talking of sight reading: another story. But being able to understand standard notations, learn tunes from standard notation sheets and also transcribe what i ear using Musescore software is a real blast; and helped me to write down my first composition and be able to share it with my bandmates who have already have these skills.

 

[dune]

Standard notation, scales (modes) and arpeggios. I came from having played trombone, so I worked through a lot of low brass method books like Arban's for trombone. These days I would also suggest something like @SteveCS suggested above, or maybe Jeff Berlin's Bass Mastery - A Complete Reading Course.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I’ve been playing bass 2 hours per day for about 6 months. Before that never played an instrument in my 59 years.

Currently progressing through BassBuzz, learning to read and play music via etudes, and watching tabs and chord progressions on YouTube.

I seem to be learning best via channels on YouTube that show rhythm guitar chord progressions making up bass lines within the progressions. I try to not play root notes only, throwing in fifths and octaves when I can.

Is this a reasonable and productive way to learn bass? Don’t have any other musicians to play along with in my area so that’s not really an option right now.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Tabs and listening.

 

[brianrost]

I like following tabs, but I can see how they may be wrong and for me it seems like I’m trying to get the right note for the tab rather than thinking about the chord structure how the song works musically.

As someone who learned standard notation in the 4th grade for the school band, I find tab slower to work from because I have to convert the fret/string combination to pitch in my head. It also doesn’t provide any rhythmic information like standard notation.

I do understand why someone who has never learned a musical instrument before would find tab useful at first, but at some point the books you will need to work out of will only use standard notation sometimes with chord notation above the staff. Some double bass method books do include fingering suggestions which simply indicate which finger should be used to fret the note. That’s to indicate when to make position shifts.

For example, in the Ray Brown book used by many jazz players, the very first section is scales and it specifies what string to use as well as what finger…0 is an open string, then 1, 2 or 4 (4 is ring and pinky used together). He has exercises playing a given scale across three strings then across only two strings then using only one string which teaches the players options on when to shift positions. When he does exercises in tenths he only gives finger numbers leaving it to the student to understand that an ascending pattern of say 1-4-1-2-4 would be on adjacent strings but you choose which two strings, dictating what position to play in.