were do you get your theory and refference fromm

[PETE_COMBS]

Tell me were you get your knowlegde from on the web.the best bass sites to find good tab from bassist ive posted about.

[BenLoy]

I didn't get it from the web. I took lessons, took classes, and played with people better than me.

 

Try it.

[PETE_COMBS]

THanks but your help is no good because were I live you started out at the bottom of the ladder and then I wass at the top and none of the sourounding players did'nt get any better or progress any and when I try to find other players to play with it's pure impoosible. CAnt get nobody to pick it up and play, I live in the drug capital of the world nobodys cares about music down here except people like me who that have been playing since day one and did'nt put it down.Thats why the internet is a important source to find resources already played with every body better than I got better and noww there's nothing to learn from these player' and trust me I know a lot of these people , talk to them every now and a then and there's no progress.

[jeremy c]

Where did I get my information?

 

Degree in music.

A stack of music books well over 5 feet tall.

Years of music lessons as a child.

Almost 40 years of professional playing.

5-6 hours of practice every day between the ages of 20 and 30.

30 years of teaching.

Private lessons with studio legend Carol Kaye.

A huge record, tape and cd collection that I know backwards and forwards.

 

Not necessarily in that order.

[jeremy c]

Pete, you need to move to a big city.

[PETE_COMBS]

Well, to tell you the truth I will be going to college for a degree in music very shortly in another city but it's not a moster or good size,but IM going study music,I was going to study for business and recording tech and open up my own studio but the music more important,I have pretty much a recording studio on my laptop as well as other programs and I can also create my own cd's. Me and my friends have talked bout moving since the oppertunity dropped.

[jeremy c]

Good luck, Pete, it sounds like you are going in the right direction.

 

Traditionally, and I think it still holds true today, musicians move to the big cities to "make it". Various cities have music scenes which attract various kinds of musicians. That is why you will find jazz musicians in New York, studio musicians in LA, grunge musicians in Seattle, country musicians in Nashville, alt-country musicians in Austin, Afro-pop musicians in Paris. (Just a generalization, folks, I know you can find other kinds of musicians as well and there are a few other cities on the planet).

 

If you study music history you will see that the Chicago blues scene developed there as Southern musicians, many from the Mississippi River Delta area, moved up north for opportunity. Kansas City was a major hub for jazz players at one time.

 

Nowadays, with the rise of professional sounding home recording, you theoretically could be anywhere. But you really need daily contact with other good musicians if you want to reach the highest level of music you are capable of.

 

I moved to the San Francisco area in 1969 specifically because of the music scene there. My musical taste changed, but so did the music scene in this area and it turned out to be a good match.

 

One more thing, Pete. If you are going to college you are going to have to improve your writing and typing skills or else you will flunk out in the first quarter.

 

You also might get better answers from your questions around here if your posts were more readable.

 

By the way, tab does not exist in any college music program, unless you are studying Baroque lute music.

 

Best wishes.

[ClarkW]

www.wholenote.com has a number of good lessons in theory, licks, chords, etc.

[davebrownbass]

Pete, my brother is facing the same problem as you.

 

And I know that it can be really hard to live up there without the conveniences the rest of America seems to have.

 

I have spent time in Harlan County every summer for the past 25 years...and I know about that area in a way that most of the people here don't know.

 

The junior colleges that serve you...Hazard and Southeastern Kentucky, only offer a basic "Intro to Music" class.

 

You would find good music programs at either UK or Cumberland College...still a couple of hours away.

 

Of course, I know how you guys like to drive up there. When I go up there we'll head off to Middlesboro to see a movie...45 minute drive from Mom and Dad's house. Here where I live, it's a 4-5 minute drive!

 

You could probably enroll in Cumberland college to take a music theory class and a bass lesson...make a day of it. I know it's a couple of hours away, but it's worth it.

 

I also know your Hazard schools have pretty good band directors. Talk one of them into giving you private lessons. That'd be fun...especially if they are not bass players.

 

There are some church colleges up there that may be closer, and may offer some music education.

 

You definitely need some music stimulation...and I personally don't think web-based advice will get you there. From my experience of Eastern Kentucky I know that you have a very limited exposure to things that the rest of us take for granted...in my summers there (before cable) we could only watch TV if the wire to the top of Pine Mountain was intact, and then had to disconnect it during a thunderstorm. And then, we could only get 2 channels.

 

What you really need (as I keep telling my brother) is to get good and away one day a week...see what it's like. My grandparents left Harlan County in 1918 for college at Eastern Kentucky, but then returned to teach there for many years. (My great-great donated the land for the Pine Mountain Settlement School...so you can see teaching goes way back in my roots.)

 

I'll be up there sometime next month...maybe we could meet somewhere.

[gearjammer]

Pete I've know a few sites that might help

www.aic.se/basslob/

www.cyberfretbass.com

www.warwickbass.com/basssurvival101

www.basslessons.com

www.carolkaye.com

www.bassprotips.com

This should keep you busy for a while.

[dohhhhh6]

No need for hating guys. People type on the internet funky because... well I dunno but lay off the man! He's asking a simple question (well not SO simple) and he doesn't need to be flamed about typing. And yes you should take the time to type good

[gearjammer]

I wasn't flaming him, I just gave him a few lesson sites that I use also.

[PETE_COMBS]

I appreciate all the help that all of you posted on this topic and the other who have posted, thanks and keep helping me and the others that need it, thats what we're here for and general bass disscusion, but dont down somebody because of lack of resouces.

[Timothy Lyons]

Originally posted by ClarkW:

www.wholenote.com has a number of good lessons in theory, licks, chords, etc.

Or it's bass sister site... www.activebass.com

[Dan South]

I started with a book aimed at teaching harmonic theory on the piano. It was full of complicated "figured bass" notation - don't even ask - and I spent two greuling years working my way through it (early teen years). As I learned about chords and intervals, I spent some time teaching myself ear training (relative pitch). I sharpened the ear training chops with LOTS of transcription (sometimes to paper, sometimes direct to bass). Back in those days (70's), some of the music mags had theory columns (by Dick Grove, et al.). I picked up a bit from those resources.

 

I had one semester in college before I decided to make the switch to a computer major. That's where I learned solfeggio, i.e. singing melodies with the "do" "re" "mi" set of syllables. I had always thought in numbers to that point (still do). I started studying jazz with a bass teacher a few years ago. That got me to polish up my thinking in real time.

 

Basically, wherever you are, whatever resources you have at your disposal, you have what you need to get started and to move forward. It may not seem that way, but it's true. If you have a voice and a cheap radio or CD player, you can start learning theory right there, right now. Only your lack of determination can hold you back.

[...]

I got mine out of a Crack Jack box.

[earljam]

jeremy c has enough theory here on this website to keep you busy for a long time. Take a look at Middle Tennessee State's music program. Good Luck.

[Jode]

And definitely get out of Hazard. My dad had a job once as a sales rep in Kentucky. He said Hazard, Kentucky was the only place in the US he'd ever been where the McDonald's had bars on the windows.

[davebrownbass]

And definitely get out of Hazard.

To all those who are unfamiliar with this area of the world:

 

My family settled that area 180 years ago!

 

Actually, and I think Pete would agree, the coal mines, and the enormous hardship brought on by absentee owners absolute power and abuse over their working poor, did much to change this area from beautiful farmland and decent, hard-working people, to the violence that is around there. Loretta Lynn is from there; so is Patty Loveless. Listen to some of their music, with it's hope and sorrow. I especially like "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" from Patty Loveless "Mountain Soul" CD. Gives you a bit of a picture about the place.

 

But I know from personal experience that Southeastern Kentucky is still full of wonderful, good people struggling to make a living. And, it's still full of working class poor and a few really rich guys that take advantage of them.

 

Still, I feel safer there than in some areas of Ft. Worth or Dallas.

 

My Grandmother and Grandfather were born there, went off to Eastern Kentucky University to become teachers, married and MOVED BACK THERE! They could'a taught elsewhere, but they believed that bringing education into the hills was the best way of raising the standard of living of people up there.

 

As you can surmise from reading my posts, my grandparents are the only people that treat education as mission work.

 

Knowledge is power; not the only kind. Some people gain their power financially; others politically.

 

But the power that comes from knowledge can be gained without opportunity, from just hard work.

 

People abuse their power all the time. If someone can gain power from knowledge, that can in some sense counteract the abuse of power. And if it can't someone with knowledge can, at the very least, take joy in it's acquisition.

 

Pete comes to us from an area of knowlegde vacuum...and realizes he needs to acquire knowledge. He is making his efforts in the only way he knows. He wants to acquire knowledge.

 

Pete, the guys on this board, from what I gather, are tremendous support as you begin to learn. Open your mind, listen, seek, work, spend time on it. Never settle for an "almost" answer...work out the truth "in fear and trembling."

 

We will help, young padawan.

[doc taz]

We're here for ya, Pete!

 

Anyhow as for my experience, I studied theory in high school. It's also how I learned to read music. I don't consider myself much of a sight reader (at least these days, blame it on my computer science study ), though, but it's helpful to be able to go through a piece of sheet music, and see how a particular piece works.

 

I do have a book called Practical Theory . It shows different rudiments of music, like scales, rhythms, and how to read music. You can also pick up theory from books that

teach styles of music, like DK's How to Play series. I don't know if they do anything for bass guitar, but I have the How to Play one for Rock. It features everything I said before, but also includes sections on instruments, gear and anecdotes from other players.