Jay J. Posted July 10, 2002 Share Posted July 10, 2002 I have been studying up on my theory for some time now. I now know all my scales and modes forwards and backwards. I can read music pretty good, not a great site reader takes me a few minutes to work out the peace in my head. I am woundering where to go next, could anyone recomend a good book to get. I took lessons for a while but can't afford them for a while now. I have a book called "the complete book of bass essentials by Bunny Brunell" I am woundering what I should look into next. I am not doing this for a purpose I just want to be a good musicians some day. any suggestions would be great thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlembicKoa Posted July 10, 2002 Share Posted July 10, 2002 J Funk...every time you drop an album on the turntable, slip a CD into the player, or a cassette into the player, you have a teacher at your fingertips. Get busy, bro... Regards... Steve https://sites.google.com/site/sjs54music/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenLoy Posted July 10, 2002 Share Posted July 10, 2002 Amen. Which bassists rock your world? Start learning their lines if you haven't already. If you've got your scales and modes backwards and forwards it should only be a matter of technique. Study RHYTHM. In many ways it's WAY more important to a bassist than knowing theory and harmony backwards and forwards. Get Louis Bellson's "Modern Reading Text in 4/4", and read along with the rhythmic examples with a metronome clicking along. Just play the same note over and over as you read the rhythms. Listen to polyrhythmic drummers soloing (like Tony Williams or Bill Bruford) and try to tap your foot to the beat as they try their hardest to make you lose the "1". A bassist who has a strong sense of time will work way more often than the bassist who has more technique and theory knowledge but is lacking in the rhythm department. You'll also make the drummer smile which has the greatest influence on whether you get a gig or not... Also...now that you've got the scales and modes under your belt...forget them for awhile and start working on arpeggios. Start with triads, 7th chords, 9th chords, 13ths, etc. Play them diatonically up and down within a scale...in all 12 keys. As far as etude books...Rufus Reid's book is great. So is Chuck Rainey's series of books. They both cover stuff like what I've been talking about here. Get a real book and play the changes...play the bassline, comp the chords with three or four-note chord voicings like jazz guitar. Get your sightreading of chord symbols together...you'll probably see it more often than notation, although you should know both (I'm definately stronger with one more than the other...guess which one it is... ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebrownbass Posted July 10, 2002 Share Posted July 10, 2002 Amen and Amen. BenLoy: you are the first guy I've seen to recommend the Belson book: I actually use that as a classroom text. Simply the most phenomenal book on reading time I've ever seen. In fact, the biggest problem with sight reading, J Funk, is reading the rhythms. This book will teach you how. Do what it says (although instructions are sparse) Get a metronome, read and master the first 10 pages of quarters and eights in straight and swing feel. Thats a good starting point. Play it in increments from very slow (so slow that it requires concentration) to fast (as fast as you can cleanly play. I also have my students "count" rhythms before the play them...you know: "1..te3. 4." or "1..&3.4." That will give you your parameters, establish your comfort zone that you can then expand. Then explore the 16th note rhythms. This can get pretty hairy. Remember: "Modern Reading in 4/4 time." Don't get "Modern Reading in odd time signatures" even if that's the only one they have. It will cause your brain to bubble and leak out your ears. In addition: the "learn by ear" harmony that Steve espouses is absolutely essential. Know, don't guess, what chords those guys are using, and how they fit, or don't fit, within the key signature. For a good resource, get the Band In A Box software, load it into your computer and put some charts in. Jam along, or let the software develop it's own lines...always ask yourself the question: "Why the hell did he do THAT?" Also, get some of the Aebersold packets. (If you've never heard of the, they are a book/CD playalong system, and you can turn the bass off and jam with a pianist and drummer.) At about $20 they are the best value in methods simply because of the amount of information provided. The first three volumes are good, especially volume 3. There are about 100 volumes. Remember, these are jazz inspired but will help you get to the next level. Sorry about the long post...I tend to be long-winded in lessons also. Dave "Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread. Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted July 10, 2002 Share Posted July 10, 2002 In keeping with advice of esteemed master of the Keep It Simple method of teaching and learning, AlembicKoa: One good thing about putting in some time in cover bands with other players who may not share your tastes: you end up learning some songs whose bassists may not have been the ones you yourself would obviously pick as interesting ones to cop from. If you spend time with those recordings you can put yourself in a different musical mindset as you delve into their lines. Then it in turn becomes apparent what good choices these players have made and you gain by being able to think from other angles than the ones you have previosuly gravitated toward. Getting wider and deeper: that's the theory of the groove. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koolkid Posted July 10, 2002 Share Posted July 10, 2002 come to ny/nj!!seriously, you can actually study with rufus reid who teaches in nj as well as most of the bass players youve heard over the years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenLoy Posted July 10, 2002 Share Posted July 10, 2002 While I'm not discounting the immense benefits of one studying with Rufus Reid...I think that's a very expensive proposition to move to NYC... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay J. Posted July 11, 2002 Author Share Posted July 11, 2002 thanks for the responses, while I don't think that I will be moving to New yor or jersey any time soon, I have a good idea of what to check out now. I'm going to looking into the belson book and that "band in a box" sounds cool too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koolkid Posted July 11, 2002 Share Posted July 11, 2002 Originally posted by BenLoy: While I'm not discounting the immense benefits of one studying with Rufus Reid...I think that's a very expensive proposition to move to NYC...and it just seems to get more expensive every day : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlembicKoa Posted July 11, 2002 Share Posted July 11, 2002 OK...I didn't want to do this...AGAIN ... Get these books and tapes... Standing In The Shadows Of Motown (book plus cd/tape) Serious Electric Bass by Joel DiBartolo (book) Funk and R&B Bass by Jerry Barnes (video) Need help with the search engine, brother??? Regards... Steve https://sites.google.com/site/sjs54music/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockwoodB Posted July 14, 2002 Share Posted July 14, 2002 This is kind of along the same lines as what Greenboy said but I'd suggest playing with people who are better than you. Sometimes what people need to get better is a swift kick in the ass! "Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine." --Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted July 14, 2002 Share Posted July 14, 2002 I agree. A day in a band is worth a hundred in your basement. And it will definitely show you where you need to work most, & that can give you direction in your study of theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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