Loving My New Fretless Bass; Another Tip For Learning Tunes by Reading Notes

I received my tortoise shell pickguard and installed it on my Fender bass.  It looks so much better than the white pickguard.  After laying off practicing for a day, playing did indeed seem easier when I resumed the following day.

Today I was playing "Misty" along with the notes when an idea dawned on me.  Before playing the notes to the recording, I just follow the notes with my finger while the recording plays.  This gives me a much better sense of the timing and sound.  Afterwards, it is easier to play the notes correctly with the recording.  Brilliant.

How to Learn Jazz Tunes

I have been struggling for the best way to learn jazz tunes for some time now.  When I first started with a beginner jazz band, I thought I just had to study the notes in the sheet music, playing them over and over, without any music.  Then, I thought, when the band meets I will be able to just sight read the notes and all would be well.  It didn't work.

Then I tried something else.  I would just read the chord symbols and build bass lines around them.  That worked better, but it wasn't perfect.  Some songs, like "Take Five," have specialized note patterns that require reading the notes to learn the song.

Now I have evolved to a third method.  I listen to a recording of the song to get the gist of it.  Then I play through the notes on the page once or twice to gain familiarity with the song.  Finally, I attempt to play along with the recording, by ear.

My final effort is to play the notes along to the recording, putting the sound and the theory together for a complete package.  I inevitably discover parts of the song that I can't read well enough to stay up with the recording.  I then go back to the notes and study just that part of the song, memorizing the note pattern if needed.  Now I play along to the recording again, both by ear and by reading the notes.  I repeat this cycle until I know the song well enough to play it with my live band.

This new method seems to work well!

Now That I Read Notes, a Lot of Practice Manuals Become Useful (#PlayingBass)

Five or so years ago, after I got a carved string bass, I set about trying to learn to play it.  I went on Amazon.com, and bought several books on constructing bass lines and other bass topics.  The books came, and soon went into my bookshelf unread.  The books relied on note reading as a means of teaching, and I didn't read notes.

Now, however, I do read notes.  Suddenly all of these manuals I bought several years ago, become useful.  I chose one and started playing the exercises.

There's no way around it.  If you want to learn bass, you must learn to read notes.  Forget those god-awful charts, they do not compare.

A Daily Bass Practice Routine

My jazz band class ended last night, but resumes again in two weeks for a new semester.
Everything about playing bass gets easier and easier for me.  Playing and practicing regularly is the key, of course.  You don't become a bass player by thinking about it, reading about it, or even writing about it.  You learn bass by doing:  playing, practicing and listening.

I never volunteer to solo with my band, but last night the band leader asked me to do a bass solo for the song "All of Me."  I said okay; I wasn't at all afraid to try it.  The bass solo went quite well and I was glad I did it.  From now on I will practice a bass solo with each new song I learn.

The band leader suggested a daily practice routine for all musicians in my band.  He practices this way, and recommends we all do the same:

1.  Spend 15 minutes of warming up.  This is "noodling." Trying things, experimenting.  Playing snippets of songs, arpeggios, and a blues routine or two.  Get those fingers warmed up.

2.  Spend 15 minutes playing a scale -- one scale per day, but with firsts and thirds and/or first and fifths, forward and backwards.  By playing a scale in firsts and thirds, you play not only the root for each note in the scale, but its third as well.  For example, C scale in firsts and thirds would be C-E, D-F#, E-G#, F-A, G-B, A-C#, B-D#. 

3.  Spend 15 minutes sight reading sheet music or exercises.  The more you practice reading notes, the easier it becomes.  I need to increase my sight reading ability for notes in the high part of the staff, the high E, E and F.  I also need to improve my fingering skill while playing these notes.  I also need practice in reading and playing notes that are sharped or flatted, particularly in eighth notes, to improve my speed and accuracy.

4.  Spend 15 minutes practicing a song.  Use recordings or apps to do this, and use sheet music if possible.  Steps 3 and 4 can be linked, for example, practice sight reading of the song you want to learn, then practice playing the song along to a recording of same.  Note:  I use an iPhone/iPad app called iReal Pro.  This app gives you the chords and plays the song for you to accompany.  You can change the key to any song so that the app's version matches your sheet music.

If you cannot practice daily due to work, school or other commitments, practice 4 or 5 times a week.  The more practice you get in, the faster you will achieve your goal.

Playing Bass and Reading Notes: One Year Later

I began reading notes in bass clef one year ago in June.  This was after I began taking a "big band" class, an adult education class offered locally.  The band reads music, and I was obligated to learn.  So I began reading notes during my private practice sessions.  It was slow and tedious and not much fun.  However, after several weeks the note reading was getting easier.

Last Thursday, in my band class, I noticed that I was sight reading the notes with about 90% accuracy.  I have come a long way in a year.  The secret is PATIENCE.  There are no shortcuts to learning to read notes.

I  am not where I want to be yet, but I am much closer than I was a year ago.  Where will I be in a year from now?  I smile to think of it.

Encouraging Progress on the Double Bass

Last night was the sixth and final session for my "Beginning Big Band" class.  After the class, the band went out together for beer and dinner at the Los Gatos Brewery.  We all enjoyed the beer, snacks and conversation.  Several people complimented me on my bass playing, and that was nice.  The lovely lady band leader gave me a big hug.  The guitar player tried to recruit me for another local big band.  I told him I would gladly consider it.

My biggest challenge in playing upright bass is the arthritis in my right shoulder and shoulder blade.  I must continue exercising with weights to overcome it.  My desire to be a serious bassist is also my greatest incentive to get and stay in shape.

Now that I don't have my weekly class meeting as a practice incentive, I must find new incentives, e.g. a new class, a new band.  I will think on it.

What I take away from this classroom experience:  (1) a much greater ability to read notes (2) an improving knowledge of the bass neck, and better intonation; (3) practical experience in the maintenance and transporting of my large double bass.

Sight Reading Notes - Not As Hard As I Thought

I started my Big Band class last Thursday, and was given sheet music to learn.  I was not at all sharp on my ability to read bass clef, so I penciled in the name of each note on the sheet music.  This helped, but after a couple of days, I no longer needed the pencil notations.  In fact, they became a distraction, so I threw out the sheet music and printed fresh pages from my soft copy.  Now I am just reading the notes.

My ability to sight read is growing quickly.  I am amazed.

Bass Notes Quiz

I found this great little bass notes quiz online.  It helps you learn the notes on lines and spaces by sight.  See it at this link.

Another useful program for learning bass notes can be found here.

Learn To Read Bass Notes: The Bass Clef

Learning to read notes is not as difficult as you may think; it merely takes repetition of exercises. Reading notes is useful when studying bass riffs and exercises.

Here is the bass clef with the bass notes that are playable on a four string bass guitar or upright bass. The first two notes, low C and low D, are not playable on a four string bass, but I put them in just for theory's sake.

NOTE: Read from the bottom of the staff first. The first space note is A, followed by C, E and G (remember "All Cows Eat Grass").  Read the line notes from bottom to top also; the first line on the staff is G, followed by B, D, F and A ("Good Boys Do Fine Always").