When did you begin to memorize bass lines?

[Lamphun_Lamyai]

I'm nine weeks in to learning bass. Realistically, at what point did you begin to memorize bass lines? I don't have anything memorized and still work off of tab as well as beginning to learn music notation sight-reading. First week doing that. But memorization. When did ya'll start?

 

[Zooberwerx]

I'm nine weeks in to learning bass. Realistically, at what point did you begin to memorize bass lines? I don't have anything memorized and still work off of tab as well as beginning to learn music notation sight-reading. First week doing that. But memorization. When did ya'll start?

From the git-go…50 years ago. Comes from sheer repetition & practice. IIRC, the majority was Maynard Ferguson charts (Stoney End, Eli’s Comin’, Chameleon, etc.).

Riis

 

[FunkHead]

I'm nine weeks in to learning bass. Realistically, at what point did you begin to memorize bass lines? I don't have anything memorized and still work off of tab as well as beginning to learn music notation sight-reading. First week doing that. But memorization. When did ya'll start?

About 48 years ago, Mom got me a rental bass. I was playing most of Zeppelin 2 from just listening to it before I even got the bass. To me it's always been easier than memorizing the vocals.

 

[Ggaa]

Years before I started playing(literally 3 or 4 years old), way before I was able to play them. Other parts of songs stuck too, bass was most interesting though. Later played basslines on my sister's 6 string.

 

[Lee Moses]

From the beginning. I will say that learning basslines by ear tends to internalization and memorization better than reading off a page.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Start off with a song you've known VERY well and try to memorize the bassline. Wild Thing by the Troggs is pretty simple and a very popular song, so most people have the music in their head to begin with.

How you memorize varies from person to person. Play a small section of it over and over until you have it done good, then learn the next section, all the while learning to play the parts without tabs/sheet music as you go. YMMV, there's likely tons of instructional videos/material on how to memorize parts out there.

 

[SteveAG]

I'm nine weeks in to learning bass. Realistically, at what point did you begin to memorize bass lines? I don't have anything memorized and still work off of tab as well as beginning to learn music notation sight-reading. First week doing that. But memorization. When did ya'll start?

My problem IS memorizing them. If I think I know the song - once I get it under my fingers (from reading standard notation) I stop looking at the notation. Trouble is that I may forget how many times a section is repeated before the next section, or I miss the timing on some of the 1/8 - 1/16th note nuances. When I play from memory - my fingers just know where to go - and I’m not thinking in terms of notes E, G, A etc. I’ve been playing about two years. Took lessons for about a year and a half and my instructor frequently told me to look at the music while I was playing.

Maybe memorizing, until able to play it through, and then playing while looking at the notation - would keep me more in-touch with which notes I’m playing (letter-name).

 

[Lobster11]

My problem IS memorizing them. If I think I know the song - once I get it under my fingers (from reading standard notation) I stop looking at the notation. Trouble is that I may forget how many times a section is repeated before the next section, or I miss the timing on some of the 1/8 - 1/16th note nuances. When I play from memory - my fingers just know where to go - and I’m not thinking in terms of notes E, G, A etc. I’ve been playing about two years. Took lessons for about a year and a half and my instructor frequently told me to look at the music while I was playing.

Maybe memorizing, until able to play it through, and then playing while looking at the notation - would keep me more in-touch with which notes I’m playing (letter-name).

Personally, I wouldn't worry it for now. If you're only a couple of months in you have plenty of other, more important things to focus on. Once you've played something enough times it will memorize itself.

In the interim, though, you might just write a set of notes for yourself about a song you're working on, or get a copy of the chords and lyrics, to help you keep track of arrangements.

 

[Sam versus]

You should be able to do this from pretty early on. Get Rocksmith and leave on the feature that fades out the blocks as you play well. You'll be able to see how well you memorize songs while actually playing, it'll be a confidence boost if that's what you're looking for. Plus Rocksmith has other practice stuff that will make you a better player in early stages.

 

[Nuisance]

It'll definitely happen when you join your first band.

 

[fhm555]

Don’t read music but I’ve got the fretboard memorized and always had a good ear so just about everything I play is something I’ve got memorized. If I need to learn a new song, what helps me most is lyrics written out with the song key at the top and the chord changes noted above the word where they occur. That gets me in the ballpark which usually works for a cover band. If there is a signature lick or passage I’ll work with a recording to nail those. I’ve learned a few songs note for note, but only if necessary. That said, I’ve only had one BL who insisted we render an exact copy of the covers we did. We mostly did original compositions, but the singer was also the songwriter and he learned the cover tunes note for note on guitar and vocals and insisted we do the same. Oddly enough he was much more liberal with his original materiel. We learned the chord progression he wanted for his songs but he encouraged us to “explore within that framework”.

 

[FugaziBomb]

You do that? I pretty much re-invent the wheel every time I play a song. I figured out a while back that no one in the audience cares so long as it looks like we're having fun on stage.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I'm nine weeks in to learning bass. Realistically, at what point did you begin to memorize bass lines? I don't have anything memorized and still work off of tab as well as beginning to learn music notation sight-reading. First week doing that. But memorization. When did ya'll start?

When I found out I was dyslexic..LOL..Seriously, there really is no difference than singing a song you heard on the radio. It’s the same skill set only using your fingers instead of your voice. For me, it takes repetition both listening and application of what I remember.

The app Chordfy is a tool I use for learning new material. 500,000+ song library that you can play along with, and includes chord chards, easy stop and rewind, and the ability to slow down the playback speed so you can work out the difficult parts. It’s not expensive, and it works.

What I do with this amp, is to jam with a song until I know the song form, then go back I and fill in the details of each section one by one. Then I play the whole song repeatedly until I don’t need to follow the chord chart.

Keep in mind, when I started out 60 years ago, there were few options other than learning by ear. So we got pretty good at it.

That said, mastering standard notation will open a lot of doors for you as working musician. No knock on tabs, but the larger the ensemble, especially if you are playing with horns, it’s almost imperative.

Best wishes. I hope you found this information useful.

 

[red_rhino]

still work off of tab as well as beginning to learn music notation sight-reading. First week doing that.

Those are both great skills to have and you should definitely continue. That said, relying on notation instead of memory can interfere with truly learning a song. In addition to working from notation, find a song you want to learn but don't know and start playing along with it by ear. You absolutely will make mistakes. A lot of them. That's the process. Eventually you will internalize the song. You will also develop your ear (another important skill to have since charts and notation are not always provided in many playing situations).

I'll repeat a story I've told here on TB before: A keyboard player I worked was completely dependent on charts until he dropped them on the floor mid set. There was no way he could reassemble the book and I told him "We've been playing these songs for years. You know them. Take a breath and visualize the music and let's play. He played the rest of the gig without charts. Huge growth moment for him.

Learning to read and memorize are both important skills. I wish I had spent more time on reading early on.

 

[MrLenny1]

From the very beginning. I played in a band for 2 years before I even knew a scale.
My advice is to learn how to read music notation. I'm not a fan of Tablature.
Take some lessons to get started. It will save you countless hours of dubbing around.
Good Luck
Have Fun.

 

[Five or Six]

Immediately....I never have depended much on anything other than memory and, I can read music. Becoming accustom to tab or charts to play songs can be limiting your own personal touch in playing a song. In essence you are learning someone else's interpretation of a song by reading only. What you are doing is fine but, you aren't learning to be creative and make a song yours. Whatever works for you.

 

[Dana R Gregory]

I learned to play while I was in high school back in the mid to late 60s. I already knew the bass line before I even tried to play it. I played strictly by ear as there were no tabs or chord charts and very little sheet music available in those days so one had to memorize the parts from listening to the radio. It worked well for me.

 

[JazznFunk]

Well before I learned how to read anything. I started playing by learning things off the radio and CDs. Badly, at first, but it paid big dividends once I did start to read... and by 'read' I mean standard notation. TAB was never a thing. It's like getting half of the information you need. Relative pitch and recognizing intervals on the fly will save you in so many more situations than having a sheet will.

 

[DaveParker39]

Memorize the parts, then write out the structure (which parts in what order how many times).

Then you will eventually have the structure memorized.

Drummers are really good at that sort of note taking... borrow from them.

Watch how Gregg Bissonette does it. You won't need this much detail, but it's helpful, IMO.

 

[Gaolee]

I learned to play bass by wearing out a record or listening to the radio and then playing what I thought I heard. More than 40 years later, I still don't read music notation worth beans. These days, I use tabs as a shortcut. Mostly, if I'm learning a new song, I listen to it a few times, get an idea of what's going on, then chart it out to make sure the changes are where they should be. Muscle memory is a big part of how I play now. If you ask me what notes I just played, there's a very good chance I can't tell you. I probably can't tell you what string or fret or finger or anything else at times. I can tell you what the chord is in the chart. This is probably all evidence of doing it wrong, but I'm perfectly OK with being wrong.