Arpeggio Practice

[wishface]

What are the best exercises to practice arpeggios? There are so many combinations and ways to play them. Up till now I just run through the scale from the major up through the modes up the neck by way of triads within (so, go up 1, 3, 5, come down 6, 4, 2, up 3, 5, 7, etc). But this might be too scale based. Thanks.

[Coilte]

I find the best way to practice arpeggios is to work on their inversions. For example:

1357 - Root Inversion

3571- 1st "

5713- 2nd "

7135 - 3rd "


The link below does inversions on a chord progression (Dm7 G7 Cmaj7).


[url="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:x5YSj-DaVEsJ:s63821.gridserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/davemarkswalking05.pdf+dave+marks+chord+inversions&hl=en&gl=ie&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgqFNM_AKtAQT0XzGJ3Ig5TMl7opNvXtxV_ZqFcsLjU9H89qD4ilT4b__9X9RBREGXifu8YML3l2QrbJKeVc1jQrJjfQa37HBYqqEx2mZLqhuDH-J6NX_WcnEDicEgehBioHQ85&sig=AHIEtbQPWyLGL5x0VPXg6y6cwNCXaWAo2A"]https://docs.google....g6y6cwNCXaWAo2A[/url]

Edited July 27, 2012 by Coilte

[Hector]

UH OH HERE WE GO: [url="http://scottsbasslessons.com/technique/practice-bass-arpeggios.html"]http://scottsbasslessons.com/technique/practice-bass-arpeggios.html[/url]

Also I humbly offer up this: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174853-new-exercise-i-invented-see-what-you-think/page__p__1633118#entry1633118"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174853-new-exercise-i-invented-see-what-you-think/page__p__1633118#entry1633118[/url]

[Coilte]

[quote name='Hector' timestamp='1343384627' post='1749825']


Also I humbly offer up this: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174853-new-exercise-i-invented-see-what-you-think/page__p__1633118#entry1633118"]http://basschat.co.u...18#entry1633118[/url]
[/quote]

Good thread Hector, as is the Scott Devine link.

[Hector]

Cheers Coilte!

There's a good thread in this subforum* with a Jeff Berlin lesson about learning chord tones and using approach notes to them, and the video series is worth watching. It encouraged me to go back to working on this book: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chord-Studies-Electric-Bass-Technique/dp/0634016466"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chord-Studies-Electric-Bass-Technique/dp/0634016466[/url]

(Best way to use it is to take each chapter and play all the exercises in it in all 12 keys (e.g. do C major in all 12, then C minor in all 12. It's disgusting medicine and takes some effort, but the resulting fretboard knowledge is golden!)

*[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/179688-jeff-berlin-bass-lessons-series/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/179688-jeff-berlin-bass-lessons-series/[/url]

[paul_5]

Why not just find tunes that have arpeggios in the baselines and learn those? - two birds, one stone.

For example - Night in Tunisia by Charlie Parker or I Feel Good by James Brown. There are loads of others too.

[Coilte]

[quote name='Hector' timestamp='1343392787' post='1750052']
Cheers Coilte!

There's a good thread in this subforum* with a Jeff Berlin lesson about learning chord tones and using approach notes to them, and the video series is worth watching. It encouraged me to go back to working on this book: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chord-Studies-Electric-Bass-Technique/dp/0634016466"]http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/0634016466[/url]
[/quote]

Yeah, I saw the Jeff Berlin video clips....excellent. Here is another link to chord tones from Jeff Berlin, which the OP and others should find interesting.

[url="http://www.scribd.com/doc/387695/Jeff-Berlin-A-Comprehensive-Chord-Tone-System-for-Mastering-the-Bass-1987"]http://www.scribd.com/doc/387695/Jeff-Berlin-A-Comprehensive-Chord-Tone-System-for-Mastering-the-Bass-1987[/url]

[wishface]

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1343376222' post='1749629'] I find the best way to practice arpeggios is to work on their inversions. For example: 1357 - Root Inversion 3571- 1st " 5713- 2nd " 7135 - 3rd " The link below does inversions on a chord progression (Dm7 G7 Cmaj7). [url="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:x5YSj-DaVEsJ:s63821.gridserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/davemarkswalking05.pdf+dave+marks+chord+inversions&hl=en&gl=ie&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgqFNM_AKtAQT0XzGJ3Ig5TMl7opNvXtxV_ZqFcsLjU9H89qD4ilT4b__9X9RBREGXifu8YML3l2QrbJKeVc1jQrJjfQa37HBYqqEx2mZLqhuDH-J6NX_WcnEDicEgehBioHQ85&sig=AHIEtbQPWyLGL5x0VPXg6y6cwNCXaWAo2A"]https://docs.google....g6y6cwNCXaWAo2A[/url] [/quote]
Ok, working with this exercise, how do you come back down the strings (something I like to do in my exercises)?

For instance: if you ascend:

F, A, C, E, A, C, E, F, C, E, F, A, E, F, A, C... do you descend: C, A, F, E, A, F, E, C, F, E, C, A, E, C, A, F?

or do you descend: E, F, A, C, C, E, F, A, A, C, E, F, F, A, C, E

(if you can follow all that; imagine starting low F on the E string up to the C on the G)

[Coilte]

[quote name='wishface' timestamp='1343494959' post='1751460']
Ok, working with this exercise, how do you come back down the strings (something I like to do in my exercises)?

For instance: if you ascend:

F, A, C, E, A, C, E, F, C, E, F, A, E, F, A, C... do you descend: C, A, F, E, A, F, E, C, F, E, C, A, E, C, A, F?

or do you descend: E, F, A, C, C, E, F, A, A, C, E, F, F, A, C, E

(if you can follow all that; imagine starting low F on the E string up to the C on the G)
[/quote]


The exercise is to get your fingers used to playing, and your ears used to hearing the different sounds of the various inversions. Inversions are just mixing up the 1,3,5,&7 notes of a chord, having a different note as the lowest sounding each time. Play each chord individually, as shown in the link.

For example, Dm is DFAC = Root inversion - 1357 (D is the lowest note)

FACD= 1st inversion -3571 (F is the lowest note)

ACDF = 2nd inversion - 5713 ( A is the lowest note)

CDFA = 3rd inversion - 7135 (C is the lowest note)

The above are the different inversions for the Dm chord. Go through each chord as shown on the link. Play each one in the root inversion (1357) first. Then play each chord in it's 2nd inversion (3571), then it's third inversion.

When you have nailed that, play the first chord in the root position, then play the next chord in the 1st inversion, the next chord in the 2nd inversion etc.


Hope this makes sense.

[Faithless]

The problem's with Berlin's stuff is that he doesn't explain how to practice arpeggio's properly position-wise on bass. The way he plays the arpeggio's (all over the instrument) is way too much open to interpretation. Scott's stuff a bit better in that way, but it's not all you can do with arpeggio positionally.
As for arpeggio itself - you're doing tensions at the same time with arpeggios. You should first isolate only chord tones (1,3,5,7) and only after you're comfortable with them, you'd move onto tensions.
If you wanna know more about this stuff, I'm offering Skype lessons, just drop me a PM and we can sort it out.

thanks
L

[Coilte]

Here are the video clips that go with the link I posted in post #2. This particular clip is lesson #3. You could start at the beginning and work your way through ( the better idea IMO), or start on lesson 3 and work your way through. To find the other lessons search You Tube for "Dave Marks Walking bass lessons".


[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-qfo8LnMO4[/media]

Edited July 29, 2012 by Coilte