PeteFromCorby

My bass has 88 notes and I know them all. It, just a simple map. Why would anybody not want a map.

[quote name='XB26354' timestamp='1398876390' post='2438581'] To the OP: Fourths across the fingerboard will give you four notes. What happens to your method when you run out of strings? What we are all talking about is the same thing: the theory of notes and their relationships, and in turn where each of those notes appear on our instrument. You can't really have one without the other, unless you don't learn to read music for what the notes are and do everything by shapes. At some point however, someone is going to ask you to play a particular note, and you will need to know where it is. Find all the G's on your bass and write them down. Lots of places, not many different notes. This is essence of the difficulty in learning a stringed instrument. You should see both the shape on the fingerboard AND it's corresponding notated shape and (most importantly) know exactly what it sounds like (eg a C min7 arpeggio from C to Bb should look like THIS, HERE on the fingerboard, and look like THIS notated and you know it sounds like THIS).Understand these relationships and there is no need for a system or an "easy way" to learn anything. [/quote]

Thanks for the feedback guys

I've recently read a book called Basic Bass by Billy Sheehan. He says he likes to use the Major scale to improvise and gives 3 different fingerings. One of the fingerings involves stretching two adjacent fingers over 3 frets. I can't personally do this it,s too much for my small hands. I also like to improvise using the major/minor scale but I use 5 fingerings which cover the whole neck without the need for stretching 2 fingers over 3 frets. If anybody else is interested let me know and I'll tell you more.

I've recently read a book called Basic Bass by Billy Sheehan. He says he likes to use the Major scale to improvise and gives 3 different fingerings. One of the fingerings involves stretching two adjacent fingers over 3 frets. I can't personally do this it,s too much for my small hands. I also like to improvise using the major/minor scale but I use 5 fingerings which cover the whole neck without the need for stretching 2 fingers over 3 frets. If anybody else is interested let me know and I'll tell you more.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1397646782' post='2425957'] Yes, if someone says C#, then I need to know where they all are without spending time working it out. [/quote] Is it not useful to know that every C# is between a G# and a F#

The purpose of this post is to encourage other people who are reluctant to learn to read music. if I can encourage just one person to do so then my effort will have been worthwhile. It takes very little effort but the rewards are great. It is much easier than learning to speak English, never mind French or German. There are only 12 notes to learn. They go Chromatically up and down the strings. Across the strings they are in the order of the circle of fifths.

O K I can see your not convinced about the usefulness of this. O k the notes up and down each string is the chromatic scale and this is easy for anybody to learn. The notes going across strings are not so easy because the have an apparent hap-hazard order. I am just pointing out that they do have an order and that is the circle of fifths. The circle of fifths is a very useful tool for all musicians except drummers. It has all the key signatures and the order of sharps and flats. Now if you don't have a circle of fifths handy all you have to do is look at your own bass

The open strings E A D G are also part of the circle of fiths anti-clockwise If you play them G D A E this is the circle of fiths clockwise The 6th fret Bb Eb Ab Db this is the first four notes of order of flats The 11 th fret in clockwise order starting on the G string F# C# G# D# the first four notes of the order of sharps.

B E A D G C F Bb Eb Ab Db F# These are the notes of the notes of the Circle of Fifths in anti-clockwise order . The B is at 5 o' clock. The C is at 12 o' clock. The F# is at 6 o'clock. I find it easy to remember this way round. So it doesn,t matter wether you have 4, 5, or 6 string bass as long as its in standard tuning. This circle revolves around the neck across the strings. So the 1st fret on 4 string is F Bb Eb Ab The 2nd fret is F# B E A The 3rd fret is G C F Bb The 4th fret is Ab Db F# B The 5th fret is A D G C The 6th fret is Bb Eb Ab Db The 7th fret is B E A D The 8th fret is C F Bb Eb The 9th fret is Db F# B E The 10th fret is D G C F The 11th fret is Eb Ab Db F# The 12 th fret is E A D G

if you read the circle of fifths anti-clockwise it is in fourths as per the bass!

In standard tuning every fret on the bass is part of the circle of fiths! eg the 7th fret is B E A D!