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playing by ear


archie84
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hi everyone. just wondering if there is anyone elles out there that has no idea of what there playing??

i always wanted to play the bass so i bought one years ago and some tutorial books to get me started. i was verry eager and couldent wait to get started as i was playing trombone in a soul band and this sparked something in me.
howeaver... when i started to learn with the books everything was in a diferent key obviously so i found myself getting confused and thought to myself... sod this i just want to play the damm thing lol..

so 5 years later im playing in my third band, were a 4 piece cover band curently with a set of 28 songs, but i have no idea to some degre what im playing really in tearms of keys and all that. i understand music through playing the trombone and did my theorys with that instrument.

i just listen to the band and play along with them.

anyone elles doing this???

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[quote name='archie84' timestamp='1477167742' post='3160357']

i just listen to the band and play along with them.

anyone elles doing this???
[/quote]

I suspect most of us do this to one extant or another.

I've never really understood the 'count in'. I just start when I'm supposed to start. No conscious effort to count the beats at all.

As to 'this is in F# minor' - it may well be, but beyond knowing where F# (or is it G Flat?) is on the fretboard I just play stuff that fits with what everybody else is playing.

As long as it's not noticeably discordant with what the others are doing I reckon I'm winning.

Edited by Cato
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[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1477180575' post='3160421']
As to 'this is in F# minor' - it may well be, but beyond knowing where F# (or is it G Flat?) is on the fretboard I just play stuff that fits with what everybody else is playing.
[/quote]

I always figure that pessimists will go for G flat as it`s a step down, but optimists will go for F# as it`s a step up.

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If it fits and you enjoy what you are doing then no problem. I have no idea when it comes to reading music but I know the notes on the fretboard and what fits with keys and chords so I dont find it a problem. We have a keys player who cant read music, must be almost unique in my experience, and he is the best keys player I have played with. He is an intuitive player and can pick up any song, his improvisation is very creative and sensitive to the music so he always gets my vote.

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Me too. I know the notes on my fret board but have no idea of music theory.

When our old drummer used to say " there are twelve bars of this then you come in " I would reply "The only bars I count are the one that I drink in" ;) .

Oh how we chuckled :ph34r:

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No doubt it's a major asset to be able to play by ear. However, IMO there is also no doubt that knowing some basic theory.. (you don't have to spend hours every day hunched over a theory book))... enhances your enjoyment of music because you are learning how it works.

I am no theory expert by any means :D , but I have found that simply by knowing how to harmonise the major scale and what chords are in a given scale, has held me in good stead down the years.

A little theory knowledge never harmed anyone...quite the opposite in fact. ;)

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[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1477180575' post='3160421']


I suspect most of us do this to one extant or another.

I've never really understood the 'count in'. I just start when I'm supposed to start. No conscious effort to count the beats at all.

As to 'this is in F# minor' - it may well be, but beyond knowing where F# (or is it G Flat?) is on the fretboard I just play stuff that fits with what everybody else is playing.

As long as it's not noticeably discordant with what the others are doing I reckon I'm winning.
[/quote]

Is that jazz?

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[quote name='archie84' timestamp='1477167742' post='3160357']
i just listen to the band and play along with them.

anyone elles doing this???
[/quote]

Well, to some extent, yes...but "just" playing along with the band is a skill....I think you're underestimating what skills your are using.

Unless you stop the band every half-minute or so and try every fret on your bass to see which one sounds best ! :)

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If the end result is good, you aren't doing too much wrong in that scheme of things. Whether this is sustainable in the next band is another thing.
If you wonder why you don't get gigs then maybe start here, if you you don't then not a lot to worry about.

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[quote name='archie84' timestamp='1477167742' post='3160357']
i understand music through playing the trombone and did my theorys with that instrument.
[/quote]

I'm a bit puzzled by this. :blink: A "C" major minor scale, or chord is the same, no matter what instrument you play.

Edited by Coilte
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[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1477222967' post='3160622']
I'm a bit puzzled by this. :blink: A "C" major minor scale, or chord is the same, no matter what instrument you play.
[/quote]

I think he means that he didn't learn the fretboard, or scales/arpeggios on his bass.

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[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1477223315' post='3160625']
I think he means that he didn't learn the fretboard, or scales/arpeggios on his bass.
[/quote]

Fair enough...but he says he learned [i] theory[/i] on the trombone. My point is that theory is theory, regardless of the instrument, and I would expect that he'd know what key he was playing in.

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[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1477225576' post='3160656']
Fair enough...but he says he learned [i] theory[/i] on the trombone. My point is that theory is theory, regardless of the instrument, and I would expect that he'd know what key he was playing in.
[/quote]

Yep, totally agree. That's what makes me think it's that he doesn't know the notes on the bass. It's all well and good knowing the C major scale, but if you don't know where C is on the bass then, you're kind of stuck :). It kind of baffles me really, guys spend hundreds, maybe thousands on gear, but don't invest a little bit of time on learning the basics of playing. If someone already knows scales, then how long would it take to learn the notes on 20 odd frets ? If you know scales, then learning that the note on fret 1 of the E string is an F, then you'd pretty quickly figure out the next one is going to be F#, etc.

If it's not hampering someone's enjoyment of playing music though, then there's no problem.

I am intrigued though, how do you know what note to play first of all, if you've not played that song before ? Then the next note etc. If the song starts on a Cm, how do you know what note(s) to play, and how would you know the next chord was going to be an F7, quickly enough to play something ?

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[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1477222967' post='3160622']
I'm a bit puzzled by this. :blink: A "C" major minor scale, or chord is the same, no matter what instrument you play.
[/quote]

Well the trombone is pitched to Bb so you're playing a Bb when the sheet music tells you it's a C. I never got why brass instruments did that, used to drive me nuts when I played trumpet.

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[quote name='landwomble' timestamp='1477239630' post='3160777']
Same here. I play by ear, haven't done any music theory since grade 5 trombone when I was a teen-ager and I've forgotten all of that. I just start with the root note of the chords then work from there. Works for me!
[/quote]

Is that 'playing by ear' though, if you know the root note of the chord and play that ?

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One simple way to play by ear is run your finger along the E string of your bass as the song plays. You should find a fret that sounds stronger than the rest, this is likely the root note.

It's easy to learn music theory as an abstract concept. What you have to work on is incorporating the concept with your playing, so you can find the right note when you recognise the pattern.

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[quote name='GarethFlatlands' timestamp='1477240385' post='3160788']


Well the trombone is pitched to Bb so you're playing a Bb when the sheet music tells you it's a C. I never got why brass instruments did that, used to drive me nuts when I played trumpet.
[/quote]

I thought you only transposed the Trombone when written in treble clef (tone up), like British Brass Bands do?
Otherwise it's all Bass clef and not transposed?
Or have I got that wrong?
:)

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