When did you begin to memorize bass lines?

[FullumMusic]

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?

Nine weeks in the grand scheme of learning to play bass and then becoming a musician is practically nothing. Don't sweat it if it feels like it's a lot to learn and things are hard to memorize. Just keep going for another 9 weeks, and then months, and then years and years and keep practicing and learning and you'll continually be getting better. Music & Bass is definitely not a thing that provides instant-gratification. (And 9 weeks isn't even long enough to be called "instant" in musical terms.)

At some point you'll want to move away from tab and really learn the way music works with a little bit of theory. Tab is a handy quick-reference tool, but it's also just a long string of numbers to memorize, and that's not music. Not saying don't use tab. It's great shorthand. But if you're worried about learning songs by heart, there's better ways to store that info in your brain.

It's way easier to memorize a song when you break it down into parts. First learn the structure. Then learn the chords for each section in the structure. Then learn what the bass is doing over each of those chords. It's very compartmentalized, systematic, and easier for your brain to track. Also, the more you learn, the more you'll recognize patterns that are used over and over and you won't have to memorize long strings of notes.

So, don't worry about how many weeks or months it takes. Just worry about getting the music down, and before you realize it, you'll have a few songs stored in your head.

Another thing that really helps memorize songs is writing them down, either transcribing or charting it out yourself. Part of it is the understanding that comes with figuring it out on your own. The other part is your brain will store information better when you physically write it down yourself, not just reading it. When i was in HS i used to cheat by getting a copy of the test ahead of time, and then physically writing out the questions and correct answers over and over. Then i could throw out the cheat sheets i wrote because they stuck in my brain from writing them over and over a few times. Don't go back in time and tell my teachers.

 

[Matt O]

Join a band. Preferably with at least one member that is “better” than you.

There are stages to memorizing parts, IME. The first stage is something like an actor learning their lines. The next stage is delivering the lines without too much thought while the camera is rolling. Sounds like you are already doing stage one. Join a band and leave the tabs at home. It’ll click. Enjoy the ride!

 

[Sam versus]

I never worked off tabs because they were not around back in 1968. I started by memorizing from day 1

Tab is older than standard notation, it was around.

 

[Killing Floor]

First day someone handed me a bass to try. 1978. Also the last day I broke a bass string.

If you’re struggling to memorize the part try listening to the song and following it in your head instead of playing it. I had the advantage or disadvantage of many years of orchestra before bass guitar. Listen to the music and focus on that first.

 

[5stringedfrenzy]

It's ok to use visual aids! I have an issue affecting my memory so I use an app (BandHelper) to put whatever I need on a tablet or phone screen attached to mic stand. I can put all my notes there and view documents like sheet music PDF's within the setlist, bluetooth page turner loads the next song. The audience has never noticed and my band mates don't mind at all. I still try to memorize but having something to look at between songs or right at the moment I get lost helps immensely.

 

[brianrost]

I started memorizing bass lines from listening to recordings I loved. I also used to memorize guitar solos.

One of the first LPs I owned was Disraeli Gears by Cream. When you only have a half dozen records to listen to, you end up getting very, very familiar with them. I used to be able to sing most of the solos from that LP, not sure how many I still remember. The bass lines I knew the basics of but not the flashy parts.

I don't memorize notation, I memorize by ear. If I have only the notation but no recording to learn from I wean myself off the reading as soon as I can.

As someone mentioned, when you start playing in a band, you will start memorizing really quickly

 

[Bob_Ross]

I'm nine weeks in to learning bass. Realistically, at what point did you begin to memorize bass lines?

Sometimes I feel like I still haven't memorized any bass lines...and I've been playing for [does some quick math] 2,600 weeks!

 

[Andy Marshman]

1965. Beforee TAB was heard of. I had some years off, not playing. When I resumed in '95 I was playing lead guitar in a band that played 4 full sets per gig - all memorized. I didn't get an iPad until 2016, playing bass. If a song stays on our set list for any period of time, I'll have it memorized and the iPad becomes just a set list

 

[Jay2U]

I almost immediately started memorizing basslines. My brain transforms them to sequential fretboard patterns. I mostly learn by ear. My motto is: if it sounds OK, it is OK.

 

[Wood and Wire]

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?

Honestly, before I even picked up an instrument.

I think the reason I needed to become a bass player, was because I had all these bass lines stuck in my head.

That definitely made learning easier, and quicker - to the point that I found tab was slowing my progress (instead of learning the one thing - how to play the bass; I was instead having to learn two things - how to understand tab, and how to play bass).

Nothing against tab, or formal training - I just naturally learned by ear, and that meant memorizing music.


Unless you're playing in an orchestra, or musical theatre, I honestly can't imagine any other way (nobody wants to see bands of any genre playing directly from the book on stage, and on the rare occasions where there has already been a part committed to sheet music, in the studio, there's always been time to read through, and discus it - I've personally never shown up unprepared, and then been expected to cold read with tape rolling, though that can happen, and my poor level of reading would render such a situation a disaster).

 

[J Wilson]

While some songs have big bass riffs or obvious parts, generally I just learn the tune, the changes tell me what to play.

For me it would be backwards to learn the part without really learning the whole tune and where I fit in with what THEY'RE playing.

 

[wysiwyg248]

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?

I started memorizing lines as soon as I was playing them, at the same time I'd learn lines I was curious or insterested.

 

[bherman]

At the risk of repeating some good (and some not so good, imo) advice here already:

1) Memorizing bass lines for me is a tool to be used when I need to, for example playing a song in a band that relies on a specific bass line that the song is dependent on. Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, for example. The bass line makes the whole song.
2) Don't spend time on tab, learn how to read notation - it opens up many more opportunities
3) When I started out, it was lessons and learning to play along with records or the radio, to songs and styles of music that I liked
4) Some styles of music really don't require memorized bass lines, but do require a knowledge of song forms and typical chord progressions. Blues, for example.

So my overall pitch to you - don't worry about it for now, you really don't need to memorize specific lines until you need to. Some of it will happen as you play along with songs repeatedly that you like. In the band that I'm in, sometimes I learn songs by reading the bass line in notation (example - "Something" by the Beatles, Paul McCartney's beautiful bass line). After I played it live a few dozen times, I no longer needed to read it, but I can always go back to the music notation if I haven't played it for a while and I forget some of it. But at your stage of bass playing, I'd focus more on the fundamentals, and playing along (however badly) with songs that you love.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

I began to memorize songs when I knew I was going to be paid to play them.

 

[micguy]

I auditioned for my first band 6 days after buying a bass. Actually, I'd been learning songs by ear in those first 6 days. Form 1977 (when I bought my first bass) I ws learning everything by ear. Only started using charts a few years ago, and those are only a tool to help learn/memorize new tunes - I play everything from memory.

I have never used tab. It has never come up in all those years.

 

[micguy]

Becoming accustom to tab or charts to play songs can be limiting your own personal touch in playing a song.

Tab, I have no idea about, but charts....I have to disagree with your statement. Charts give you the chord structure - you are free to interpret them as you see fit - charts leave gobs of room for "personal touch". I work with charts to memorize new songs, and I never really play the same part that is on the "original" recording.

 

[Fender_Bender]

Keep at it every single day (take no days off) and it will come to you. It’s generally accepted to take thousands of hours to get to the elite level on an instrument. It won’t take anywhere near that long to be able to jam with friends, which will also improve you rapidly. Especially if at least one of them has musical knowledge that they can share with you. Before you know it you’ll have 10 years under your belt and those thousands of hours.

 

[TOOL460002]

I've forgotten almost everything I've ever played at this point. It's a quick refresher with some things (like I can probably put on any STP album and hit it while listening). That said, if you don't keep it up you don't remember. Ask me to do organic chemistry today. Ain't happening. Had I graduated and become a chemist? Ya. Probably still be fluent. You don't need to remember everything.

 

[Winton]

In my case, before college, I learned to read standard notation first on piano, then on tuba, then on bass guitar. I later worked as a choral singer in the SF Bay Area where we were basically paid to sight read (depended on the church).

So, going from that to not looking at any sheet music (not even chord charts) was a HUGE challenge for me when I began practicing bass 8 years ago when I was 36yo. To train my memory, I first used YouTube by doing bass covers with no editing so that I can train my focus and memory of the song, bass line, and structure of the song I was filming. Your recording device is brutally honest but it works! From there, I began playing with people much better than me. It’s kinda embarrassing to remember this, but I would have the chord charts on the floor during a gig and half of the time my head would be staring at the floor because I couldn’t memorize a 2, 3 chord song because of the structure.

Fast forward 8 years, although I’m not playing much anymore because getting married and having a kid, I’m playing with a couple groups. I can easily memorize 3-5 songs in a week, I’m semi-leading one of the bands, and I’m always prepared owning my part. I’m still making YouTube videos whenever I have the time. Recently, I uploaded Erykah Badu’s “Penitentiary Philosophy” and Elevation Worship’s “Praise”.

As the old cliche goes, you can do anything you put your mind to. That anything may not be what you expect. It may not happen when you want it but something will happen as a result of your efforts.

 

[bassdude51]

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?

Man! You are talking to a "dinosaur". I started learning and memorizing bass lines way back in the mid/late 60s. Well, bass was a lot easier back then, than now. But, I learned bass lines by ear. Droping the needle unto places on an Lp, over and over again. matching bass note to Lp note. Ha! Back then, could take me hours to learn a 2 minute song.

After a while of learning songs, bass patterns started to repeat and repeat and that's when I started memorizing bass lines.

At age 33 (1983), I took honest to god bass lessons from a jazz instructor (even though I played R & R). Best thing for bass that I ever did!!!!!

My instructor taught me 2 very important things about music.

One.... there are only 12 notes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Two.... about 70% of all songs are in the 1-4-5 chord pattern.

These 2 facts really simplified music for me! Now, I can usually figure out a song by ear in less than 20 mins.

(Most bass lines are out of either the major scale, minor scale or the blues scale. LEARN THESE SCALES!)