The Major's Bass Boot Camp (Session 1)

[Major-Minor]

The Major's Bass Boot Camp - Session 1

The reading of music and the understanding of music theory are closely bound together, and although there are many genres of music where reading is unnecessary, if you want a long term and varied career as a bass player, you really need to be a fully proficient reader. All sorts of work areas will open up to you including Theatre / Concerts / Film, TV and Radio Sessions and college-level teaching. So I am devising some articles to help get you going.

Major Scale Triads / Compound Rhythms

This is the first in what I intend to be an occasional series of articles aimed at the aspiring bass player (both BG and DB), bringing together technique pointers alongside related music theory and reading.

These "sessions" will not be graded; I intend to dip in and out at various levels of difficulty.

Firstly, download and print out the pdf:
[attachment=38961:MBBC1.pdf]
Now listen to the mp3 file while following the printed part.
[attachment=38962:MBBC1.mp3]

(SEE ALSO SESSION 1a IN NEXT POST BELOW)


If you are an advanced player, you may just want to add the examples to your warm up routine. Teachers - please feel free to use these sessions with your pupils if they tie in with your own methods.

However, if you are new to music reading and theory, please read the following:

For this 1st session, I am assuming you have at least some basic music knowledge. (I will also be doing some further sessions for complete beginners). But please ask me questions about anything you don't fully understand. This will also help me to decide on the content of future sessions.

All the examples on this 1st page are in the key of F major. This fits in nicely with playing in the first position (half position on DB).
I have pinpointed the key signature, which is 1 flat (Bb). The little flat sign is written around the 2nd line up, where you would write the note B, thus converting that note to a Bb. You will see that I have used a "guide accidental" on the Bbs in this first example. That is just to remind you that Bs are flattened in this key. Normally you would just have to read the key signature before starting to play.

The key signature applies to all the music that follows it. In some music genres, the key signature can change often during a piece. So it might start in C major for, say, 32 bars and then change to Db for a further period and move finally into Ab for the Coda section.
Having said that, the vast majority of "popular" songs are written in just one or maybe 2 keys. A future session will tackle multiple key signature changes within a piece. Notice that I say "key signature changes". Many songs actually change key within the song, for instance moving (modulating) to an unrelated key in the bridge section. Usually the key signature stays the same throughout the written bass part, using accidentals to create the new key if and when required.

Because this session is about Major Scale Triads ( 3 note chords), I have chosen to write the first three examples in the "compound" time signature of 12/8 ie 4 sets of 3 quavers (8ths) in each bar. You can see how the notes are grouped in threes with a bar across the top of the stems.

There are 2 types of time signature: simple and compound.
Simple: This means that each main beat (foot-tap) is divisible by 2 (or 4 or 8). Say out loud: "one and two and three and four and." You get the idea ?
Compound: This is where each beat is divisible by 3 (or 5 or 7, but we will discuss this in a later session). Say out loud: "one and a two and a three and a four and a."

Variation 3 and the sight-reading exercise are in 4/4 (simple time) - the notes are semiquavers (16ths) ie 4 notes to each foot-tap in Var 3, and a mixture of note lengths in the sight reading.

You will notice that each example is at a slightly differing speed. Its important to realise that the time signature does not indicate tempo or speed, but just the way in which the notes are grouped and organised to make reading easier.

Don't worry if the sight reading exercise seems too hard. Have a go at playing along with the mp3. Try to figure out the different rhythms I have written. As you can see, I've based the bassline on the triads as they appear in the earlier examples but this time one per bar (one bar equals 4 foot-taps).
On the mp3, the kit plays an upbeat into each new section ie he plays the last 3 quavers (8ths) of the preceding bar in the 12/8 examples and the last 4 semiquavers (16ths) before the 4/4 examples.

In the first example, you will see that I have written a triad (3 notes) on each of the notes of the F major scale. Each group of 3 notes creates the chord whose name I have written underneath.
When the chord name is simply written as F or C for example, this means it is a MAJOR triad.
When the chord name has a small m (eg Gm), this means it is a MINOR triad. I personally dislike the method of using a - (dash) to indicate "minor" but as it is often used, particularly in the jazz genre, you should be aware of it. (eg G - or F - )
The penultimate triad is marked as Eo. The "o" means it is a diminished triad. (The "o" should be raised up to the top of the "E", but I don't know how to do this except in music software !).

This all probably means little to you if you are new to music, but, for now, try to get used to the differing sound of each triad. We will go into more detail in another session. What may seem like gobbledegook is in fact the bedrock of musical understanding and you need to get to grips with it in order to progress.
But, for now, notice how each triad (in what we call "root position") is either all in the spaces or all on the lines.
If we were to move the first F (for example) up one octave, it would then be on the line, making it easier to spot as a "first inversion".

A word about my bass guitar fingering system:
Many players (including Jaco P) use a similar system to mine. Having started on DB and 6 string guitar, I worked out that the best method on bass guitar was a combination of these two systems, using DB fingering (1,2 and 4)in the lower reaches and, from 5th position upwards, using guitar fingering (1 finger per fret). There was little in the way of tutor books when I started on BG in the '60s (and those that existed were often written - rather badly IMO - by guitar players), and there was certainly no consensus as to the best way to play, so we all had to develop our own methods. Luckily for me, my methods are commonly used by many of today's professionals.

Now I don't expect everybody to use my system, especially if you have outsize hands (mine are average), but I will endeavour to justify my method.
For instance, in the exercises in this first session, I would be very surprised if many players could use guitar fingering without serious injury to hand muscles, especially if they are played round and round in a loop fashion.

You will see I have written "repeat" signs on each exercise. Normally this would mean playing the exercise twice.(To use less file space, I've recorded each line just once). But I suggest repeating many times, until the hand tires. (Sometimes on written parts you will see "repeat r+r" or just "r+r". This means "repeat round and round", usually till a cue to move on, or maybe "till fade" if its a recording session.)

As I've used a lot of open strings in these examples, you will need to ensure that you damp the strings as you go. For instance, the first open D is followed by an open A.
A little flick of the left hand fingers will damp that D before the A is plucked, or you will get 2 notes sounding at the same time and this will sound muddy and wrong.



So, let me know what you think of this. Sensible and intelligent comments only please !
And ask as many questions as you like.

Session 2 follows straight on from this one and is geared more to the advanced players.

Edited January 18, 2010 by Major-Minor

[Major-Minor]

The Major's Bass Boot Camp (Session 1a)

Major Scale Triads and their Relative Minor Triads

[attachment=39243:MBBC1a.pdf]
[attachment=39244:MBBC1a.mp3]

Session 1 introduced you to the triads based on each note of the Major scale, and this included both Major and Minor triads.
Now we have a closer look at the what are called the Relative Minor Keys.

Each Major key has a related Minor key ie they have the same key signature.
Relative Minor keys are always a minor 3rd lower than the Major ie their tonic note (the note that gives the key it's name) is 3 semitones lower (the interval of a minor 3rd).

So in this exercise, the first triad is C major for one bar (4 beats or foot-taps) followed by A minor (abbreviated to Am). This is then repeated (but with a slight variation in the note order - just to keep you on your toes !), and then we move on to another key, this time F and it's relative Minor key which is D minor.

The 1st 16 bars are all in the 1st position. The 4th finger plays notes on the 3rd fret in MY system.
At bar 17, we move up to the 2nd position, such that the first finger is now rooted on the 2nd fret and so the C# is played by the 4th finger.
In bar 33, we move back to 1st position for the rest of the piece.

I have fingered just a few notes here and there to help those new to music reading, but you need to train your brain to recognize the notes as you go through the piece.

Of course, a triad means 3 notes and, as I have chosen to write this in 4/4, this results in one note being repeated each bar. Or in some cases, I have used a different octave, so for instance in bar 14, the G (root note or tonic) appears in 2 different octaves.

Notice also that in bar 29, I have used the 3rd of the chord D major, which is F#, as the first note of the bar. I'ts not always the case that the root note has to appear first. It certainly helps to define the harmony at that point if the root note is played first, but you can get some lovely effects by using other notes from the chord.

Hopefully, you will realize while playing this, that the root and 3rd of each Major triad are also the 3rd and 5th of each Minor triad. This is another reason why we call them Relative Minor keys.

This exercise drones on a bit I'm afraid - sorry about that ! But it's good sight reading practice. If you are already a reasonable sight reader, take the tempo up a bit and just use it as a warm up.

The Major

[FuNkShUi]

In respect of all these threads, just wanted to say cheers for putting the time in. Theyve all helped me a load and im sure others are in the same boat! Thanks again

[Marvin]

I was going to seek out a new text on theory and the like but I think I will work through your very kindly constructed threads.

With regard to fingerstyle, I've been trying one finger per fret on the lower reaches and failing miserably. Hence if 1,2,4 is good for Jaco on the lower frets I think it's time I modified my fretting to something that is more comfortable and hence probably will result in better playing. I read your paragraph on fingerstyle and breathed a big sigh of relieve.

Thank you for providing this resource, I think I might be using it a lot in the next few weeks and months.

Cheers

Rich

Edited January 4, 2010 by Marvin

[leftybassman392]

Aha! You got them to pin it for you. Excellent stuff and no more than it deserves.

[Rich]

You can thank young Mr. tenfloors for that, it was his idea to pin them.

[Major-Minor]

[quote name='leftybassman392' post='709218' date='Jan 11 2010, 07:20 PM']Aha! You got them to pin it for you. Excellent stuff and no more than it deserves. [/quote]
Actually I hadn't got round to asking about pinning. But many thanks to whoever did it.
I'm planning to continue with this series for some time yet, so it occurs to me that I will be taking up rather a lot of space on the Theory and Technique page.
Sorry if it appears i am hogging the limelight !

At the same time, I'm keen that as many people as possible will spot, and benefit from, this continuing series, especially as it is taking up quite a lot of my spare time !

So perhaps somebody in authority can let me know how to proceed. Should I continue to post these sessions in the usual place, with somebody pinning them later ?
I do also intend to add to the existing Bass Camp threads with more exercises and examples.

The Major

[velvetkevorkian]

Maybe it would be better to have one "master thread" which can be pinned, which would contain links to all the others?

[Rich]

Excellent idea, I've just done it. There is now a Master Index, which will be updated as & when new sessions appear.

[Major-Minor]

Rich - many thanks for doing this.

The Major

[xilddx]

Fantastic, fantastic, FANTASTIC!!

I am on my first serious embarkation on the journey to reading and understanding theory. These are SO useful, I can't thank you enough Major.

Best wishes,
Nigel

[Ross]

Just wanted to say a big thankyou, just started these lessons and they are proving incredibly useful.
Didn't realise how lacking my knowledge in theory was.

Edited July 21, 2011 by Ross

[kbuschmann]

I'd like to view these lessons, but can't open the .ipb file extension. Any suggestions?
Thanks

[Tandro]

If I remember correctly they are just pdf files. Open them with a pdf reader of some sort or change the extension to .pdf and open it. HTH.

[Guest bassman7755]

Any chance of creating duplicate links with the files renamed to .pdf, or failing that putting them all into a single zip download. Its very tedious to have to download and rename then individually.

[Geek99]

[quote name='kbuschmann' timestamp='1343566363' post='1752103']
I'd like to view these lessons, but can't open the .ipb file extension. Any suggestions?
Thanks
[/quote]
yes, adobe acrobat reader will open it quite happily