Musician modellers

[whart57]

On 24/06/2022 at 21:33, Pete the Elaner said:

 

If you play music, then surely you're a musician? It doesn't mean you are a pro.

Once I chose to learn the bass, that drew me towards learning the bass stave. It would help if the notes were in the same place on each, but they are a line away from being 2 octaves apart.

I know what you mean about the keyboard be more intuitive. I used to think the natural notes were equidistant & the flats/sharps were squeezed between them, but learning the fretboard has made me realise otherwise: the notes are all equidistant but some are called sharps/flats. When learning a string instrument, you need to know where the sharps/flats are, because they are not marked. The pattern of sharps makes it easy to find the note you want on the keyboard though.

 

I dabble in bass guitar, have done since circumstances drove me to learn to play simple bass lines on the school's double bass or not get into my mate's folk group. (He went on to become a professional classical guitar player, so a bit talented),

 

My advice would be, put reading bass clef onto the backburner, unless you need it because of who you play bass with. Instead, learn how to read tabs. You can find tabs  - or tablature as they are officially called - on sites like https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ and bass tabs for most of the rock and roll and pop standards of the last half century are on sites like that. The quality is iffy, but the best tabs are written by players of at least semi-pro standard so you get not only what the bass line is but also the best way to play it.

 

Oh, and that old guy who headlined at Glastonbury last week? He's worth studying for technique.

[Pete the Elaner]

1 hour ago, whart57 said:

 

I dabble in bass guitar, have done since circumstances drove me to learn to play simple bass lines on the school's double bass or not get into my mate's folk group. (He went on to become a professional classical guitar player, so a bit talented),

 

My advice would be, put reading bass clef onto the backburner, unless you need it because of who you play bass with. Instead, learn how to read tabs. You can find tabs  - or tablature as they are officially called - on sites like https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ and bass tabs for most of the rock and roll and pop standards of the last half century are on sites like that. The quality is iffy, but the best tabs are written by players of at least semi-pro standard so you get not only what the bass line is but also the best way to play it.

 

Oh, and that old guy who headlined at Glastonbury last week? He's worth studying for technique.

 

Understood, but I initially just wanted to learn to read music & felt that it would be worthless without an instrument to apply it on.

Unlike many, I find music theory interesting. I started asking questions like "what is an octave" & what makes fourths & fifths "perfect" intervals. (I found the answers but I find it interesting to know why some things work & others do not).

[whart57]

18 minutes ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

Understood, but I initially just wanted to learn to read music & felt that it would be worthless without an instrument to apply it on.

Unlike many, I find music theory interesting. I started asking questions like "what is an octave" & what makes fourths & fifths "perfect" intervals. (I found the answers but I find it interesting to know why some things work & others do not).

 

If you want to study how things in music "work", then this from a master is worth looking at

 

 

 

Old Johann Sebastien did know what he was doing, and there is a lot in this simple - ha! - piece on harmony, counterpoint, suspensions and just generally making all the parts musical lines. None of Eddie Izzard's third clarinets playing "the notes left over" here.

[57xx]

9 hours ago, whart57 said:

The quality is iffy, but the best tabs are written by players of at least semi-pro standard so you get not only what the bass line is but also the best way to play it.

 

I've found there can be some decidedly ropey tabs out there. You soon know when it's wrong if you have a feel for the song though.

[Barry Ten]

Lifelong guitar student here. Dabbled just before university, but nothing serious until I got an acoustic for a Christmas present around my 28th birthday. Tried teaching myself for about 14 years, then took lessons for another ten. My tutor left the area so I've been learning on my own for a while, but recently I've hooked up with a new tutor doing online lessons. I've learned (or tried learning) classical guitar, but now the focus is more on electric soloing, although I still like to pick up the classical to keep the fingers trained and refresh the brain cells when it comes to reading sheet music. I now own too many guitars, including several acoustics, a Spanish, a Tele, Strat, Epiphone 335-style and a Gretsch electro-acoustic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spikey]

[eldavo]

My mother insisted I have piano lessons from the age of 7 but I hated it!  After the 11 plus (shows my age!) I chose to go to the secondary modern school because they had a brass band.  I played cornet, trumpet and flugel horn mainly in brass bands for something like 35 years.  I was fortunate to play in the top levels of brass bands and at most of the top contests as well as innumerable concerts including radio and TV.  I gave up playing in 2000 when I felt the commitment of time and effort had become too much.  The instruments have only come out of the case on a couple of special occasions since.

 

Cheers 

Dave