I've been working my way through "The Tony Grey Bass Academy" book. It's quite thick but really good.
C/S,
Rev J
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When practising scales, etc. what exactly should I be concentrating on?
- Thread starter Robsco
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I've been working my way through "The Tony Grey Bass Academy" book. It's quite thick but really good.
C/S,
Rev J
If you walked into any high school band room in the country and were handed a chart, could you play it? Could you read it and play in time with the drummer?
I don't have time to read this whole thread, so I'll just answer it in the way I would recommend. I think a lot depends on whether you want to be a bass player or a musician.
I agree that knowing the 1-3-5-7 are fundamentally important to being a bass player. Play them up and down the neck in every key... to a metronome... and swing it. Then play 1-b3-5-7, then 1-3-5-b7, then 1-b3-5-b7. But, having an intuitive feel for the fretboard is your ultimate goal. So, playing scales, all of them, is also important for that.
When I play scales, I think intervals and try to remember what they sound like relative to the 1. Relating fret distance of the interval to the scale you're playing is also important. I know a four fret interval is a major third. And if I'm playing a melodic minor scale, I am particularly interested in hearing the minor third and the major seven, because that defines the scale, and I know a b3 is a three fret interval and a major 7 is an 11 fret distance. If I'm playing a phrygian mode/scale, I'm listening for the flat 2, flat 3, flat 6, and flat 7 relative to the 1. Hearing the interval and knowing the fret distance relative to the 1 are, to me, the fastest ways to make your playing intuitive.
Knowing scales and intervals will help in reading notation, too.
I agree that knowing the 1-3-5-7 are fundamentally important to being a bass player. Play them up and down the neck in every key... to a metronome... and swing it. Then play 1-b3-5-7, then 1-3-5-b7, then 1-b3-5-b7. But, having an intuitive feel for the fretboard is your ultimate goal. So, playing scales, all of them, is also important for that.
When I play scales, I think intervals and try to remember what they sound like relative to the 1. Relating fret distance of the interval to the scale you're playing is also important. I know a four fret interval is a major third. And if I'm playing a melodic minor scale, I am particularly interested in hearing the minor third and the major seven, because that defines the scale, and I know a b3 is a three fret interval and a major 7 is an 11 fret distance. If I'm playing a phrygian mode/scale, I'm listening for the flat 2, flat 3, flat 6, and flat 7 relative to the 1. Hearing the interval and knowing the fret distance relative to the 1 are, to me, the fastest ways to make your playing intuitive.
Knowing scales and intervals will help in reading notation, too.
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