Where do I go from here?

[Charling]

^^^ agreed, much good advice in this thread.

also, if you really dont want to learn the hows and whys of theory you can just remember a couple of things that allow you to use little bits of it without worrying about the bigger picture.

for example, for (a note) major you will get far playing that note, the one one string up and one fret back, and the one one string up two frets foreward

for example D major

----------------
-------4---7------
----5------------
----------------

or the minor version of D

--------------------
---------------7----
--------5---8-------
--------------------

now, the next time a guitarist says im playing G minor or whatever, you just find G on the neck and play the minor pattern and you will have the three most important notes for that chord.

if it doesnt bother you, you dont need to know why this is, just learn the basic notes for each chord. add others random notes too, just use your ear to tell you whether they sound good or not.

 

[beggar98]

No one answered my question yet. I'd like it explained a bit more.

To me, this is a rut busting exercise and also a fret board knowledge exercise. It opens up new ways of looking at old scales as well as seeing how scale patterns relate over the entire neck.

For your current problem, I suggest diving in to some ear training. Just start playing along to your CDs. Once you have the parts down, try writing them out (in standard notation, NOT TAB!). Once the parts are on paper, take them apart and analyze them. See what your favorite players are doing from a theory point of view. That might help make some of what you're getting from your teacher and from your books and DVDs more interesting.

 

[AlphaMale]

Listen to Niccolo Paganini,
Everything you thought about music will be changed.

Also try listening to Death metal or neo-classical metal.

 

[Otso]

Listen to Niccolo Paganini,
Everything you thought about music will be changed.

As a composer, IMO Paganini wasn't anything that special. What he is remembered for is the impact he had on violin playing.

 

[Kristopher]

If you're not into books or general learning for learning's sake, you can still learn a great deal just by listening to and playing along with your favorite songs. It's really all you need to do to be a decent rock bassist.

If you don't like doing this either, I'd have to ask what about bass do you like?

 

[Pilgrim]

No one answered my question yet. I'd like it explained a bit more.

Go back and read DocBop's posts #4 and #15. They contain the reasons to learn more, whether they sound like blahblah to you or not. Admit it.

Having said that, my advice is to find a way to play the music you LIKE. enjoy it. Let it motivate you. Just don't forget that you don't know it all, and there's more to learn.

And every now and then, come back to posts like #4 and re-read them. Maybe you're not ready to go that route now, but in another 5 years you may be.

I took up bass again in 1998 after a 25-year layoff. I play mainly surf, and I don't need a lot of theory to do that - but I really appreciate DocBop's posts and I'm learning from them. You have PLENTY of time to learn finer points - IMO the challenge is to stay motivated. To do that, play what you like.

 

[aarono]

No one really explained how that exercise transistions to other keys yet though.

I enjoy bass because when I play live/practice with the band I can play well. It's not that I'm being technical but it seems I can easily play something that flows with the music. I enjoy the basses boom and thump.