Guitarist's said I should learn scales..

[Sarah5string]

...fair enough... but which bloody ones???

[lowhand_mike]

hehe, i've been trying that recently, they all seem the bloody same, does my head in.

[The Funk]

Just ask the guitarist which ones he knows...

[Earbrass]

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='266207' date='Aug 20 2008, 12:25 PM']...fair enough... but which bloody ones???[/quote]

Hi Sarah,

There are a lot to choose from, and all would be good practice, but I would recommend starting with the major scale in all 12 keys - if you can say the note names to yourself as you play them, so much the better. Good for fingering and learning your way round all the notes, and often useful in actual playing. Once you've nailed those, give the melodic and harmonic minors a try. Blues scale(s) are very useful in rock, too. Personally, I think the most important thing for a bass player is to get a grasp of how the keys relate to each other (the "cycle of fifths", knowing which keys are the relative major/minor of others, which are the dominants and subdominants etc.) There's some confusing terminology involved, but the principles are beautifully simple.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

E

[johnnylager]

[quote name='The Funk' post='266212' date='Aug 20 2008, 12:31 PM']Just ask the guitarist which one[s][b]s[/b][/s] he knows...[/quote]
Pentatonic, I'd wager. Ooh listen to me, who's just been to school then? Dunno what it means though. Sorry.

[6stringbassist]

Major and minor are the best to start with.

They're actually quite easy to learn, since all the scales of each type follow the same pattern of construction, and the fingering on the fretboard.

ie.

T, T, S, T, T, T, S - For a major scale

and

T, S, T, T, S, T, T - For a minor scale

T = Tone or 2 frets
S = Semitone or 1 fret

So start on any note, C for example and follow the formula you get C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C or C major.

Make sure to mentally 'say' each note as you play it.

[Alastair]

I know a few scales and theyre very useful but I prefer to just figure what works and what doesnt out by myself!

Edited August 20, 2008 by Alastair

[BigAlonBass]

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='266207' date='Aug 20 2008, 12:25 PM']...fair enough... but which bloody ones???[/quote]
As many as you can comfortably manage. Start with all the major scales, then when you've got these off pat, get fancier as the mood takes you. Running down a major scale (when you've got the space to do it) during a song, sounds pretty good, and impresses most guitards. Mind, it doesn't take much to keep THEM happy.

[Bilbo]

First learn where the notes are on the neck then learn the following scales....

Major (12)
Minor (12 but they are the same as the above only a minor third away)
Melodic Minor (12)
Diminished (2)
Augmented (2)
Chromatic (1)
Pentatonic (12)
Blues scale (12)

It's the modes that start to confuse people each major, minor and melodic minor scale has seven each but the whole thing is a lot simpler than it sounds.

The advantage of the bass is that the fingering pattern you use for one major scale is identical to that of another, you just start on a different fret. So you only have to learn one piece of information. In a nutshell, there are only 8 scales to learn. If I said learning 8 scales is the first and main step to knowing everything you need to know, it doesn''t look nearly as intimidating!

You realise, of course, that you have an additional responsibility to learn this stuff properly so you can cut the blokes out there that think that girls can't play music, especially the heavy stuff?

[6stringbassist]

[quote name='Alastair' post='266228' date='Aug 20 2008, 12:41 PM']I know a few scales and theyre very useful but I prefer to just figure what works and what doesnt out by myself![/quote]

I prefer to know what works.

[Sarah5string]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='266233' date='Aug 20 2008, 12:48 PM']You realise, of course, that you have an additional responsibility to learn this stuff properly so you can cut the blokes out there that think that girls can't play music, especially the heavy stuff? [/quote]
Tell me about it....

[Sean]

[quote name='Alastair' post='266228' date='Aug 20 2008, 12:41 PM']I know a few scales and theyre very useful but I prefer to just figure what works and what doesnt out by myself![/quote]

Knowing scales and the interelationship of them makes the process of figuring out what works much easier and more pleasureable. I've done this from a before and after POV and it makes life so much easier and more creative. It's like trying to write poetry without knowing how to speak the language you're writing in if you don't know the theory.

[joe_bass]

I'd say start with major & minor pentatonics.

[Sarah5string]

Ok... I've printed off a few... (recommended by guitarist)
A natural minor
E minor pentatonic
A major
E minor blues..

those any good? lol
Am I right in thinking that the Root is just the position of the fretboard.. so if I played the 'a major' starting on the E it would then become an E major scale?

Edited August 20, 2008 by Sarah5string

[Alastair]

[quote name='Sean' post='266244' date='Aug 20 2008, 12:55 PM']Knowing scales and the interelationship of them makes the process of figuring out what works much easier and more pleasureable. I've done this from a before and after POV and it makes life so much easier and more creative. It's like trying to write poetry without knowing how to speak the language you're writing in if you don't know the theory.[/quote]
Maybe for some and not for others.

Edited August 20, 2008 by Alastair

[Bilbo]

I would say start with C major (no sharps or flats):

CDEFGABC

A minor (no sharps or flats)

ABCDEFGA

Then F Major

FGABbCDEF

Then D Minor

DEFGABbCD

Can you see a pattern developing yet?

[Galilee]

That sounds about right.

I'd ask the guitarist if he/she shouldn't just p*ss off and worry about learning a few chords. Bet you a pound to a pinch of salt he/she only plays the first two or three notes of each one.

Edited August 20, 2008 by Galilee

[6stringbassist]

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='266259' date='Aug 20 2008, 01:08 PM']Ok... I've printed off a few... (recommended by guitarist)
A natural minor
E minor pentatonic
A major
E minor blues..

those any good? lol
Am I right in thinking that the Root is just the position of the fretboard.. so if I played the 'a major' starting on the E it would then become an E major scale?[/quote]

That's right.

Those are good to start with, once you learn the pattern for one then it's a simple matter of changing the root note.

[Sarah5string]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='266262' date='Aug 20 2008, 01:13 PM']I would say start with C major (no sharps or flats):

CDEFGABC

A minor (no sharps or flats)

ABCDEFGA

Then F Major

FGABbCDEF

Then D Minor

DEFGABbCD

Can you see a pattern developing yet?[/quote]
uh.... the B occasionally likes to be awkward and flat?

hang on.. how do I do a Bb when I haven't got a Bb on my fretboard???

[Galilee]

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='266270' date='Aug 20 2008, 01:16 PM']hang on.. how do I do a Bb when I haven't got a Bb on my fretboard???[/quote]



Try A#

[Earbrass]

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='266270' date='Aug 20 2008, 01:16 PM']uh.... the B occasionally likes to be awkward and flat?

hang on.. how do I do a Bb when I haven't got a Bb on my fretboard???[/quote]

It's very tricky.... you have to play a B while simultaneously detuning your string by exactly a semitone

[Sarah5string]

[quote name='Galilee' post='266272' date='Aug 20 2008, 01:21 PM']

Try A#[/quote]
Yea yea I know. I'm feeling pretty thick right now. But then again I've never done any music theory..

[Bilbo]

Bb is first fret of A string, B the second. Look at a piano keyboard. C major and A minor are made up of all the white notes. The black ones are sharps and flats. F major is all white notes except one flat, Bb.

F and C are the only notes that can't be flattened.

E and B are the only notes that can't be sharpened.



Note for all pedants:

I know!!!

[Merton]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='266280' date='Aug 20 2008, 01:36 PM']F and C are the only notes that can't be flattened.

E and B are the only notes that can't be sharpened.



Note for all pedants:

I know!!![/quote]

[ironside1966]

Scales can be confusing but you have some good replays here.

This is worth a look Dave Marks walking bass lessons on you tube, walking bass is a great way to understand how cords a built and learn your way round the neck.
It may make more sense to you if you have no formal training

[url="http://www.youtube.com/user/davemarks"]http://www.youtube.com/user/davemarks[/url]