The Hal Leonard Bass Method thread

#121
Thanks Ed for writing this great instruction course.

I am on page 23 and it has been 4 days since I began the book.

2 years ago I got a bass and tried learning from books Bass for Dummies and Visually teach yourself bass but I ended up getting discouraged at some point and quit.

But your method and teaching style has sustained my interest and I am very happy to be able to actually play along with the CDs and I feel like a REAL musician playing with a band. That really motivates me and makes me continue with the course.

I also bought the book Easy Pop Songs and learned how to play Imagine by John Lennon. I felt happy to be able to play a real song in less than a week.

Keep up the great work, you are an asset to the Bass community and a wise and skillful teacher.

I tell you though that what has slowed my progress is the musical notation and especially those pesky flats and sharps.

At one point I was tempted to just write the fret numbers on the top and justify this "cheating" by thinking "Well I want to play mostly rock music and only tabs is available for 90% of these songs so let me just write in the tabs and dispense with the notation".

Imagine to learn how to be a plumber from a Japanese speaking plumber who gives instructions in Japanese and then you must translate them with a dictionary to English before you can execute the instructions. For me that is what its like to play music in notation rather than Tabs.

But I am doing it proper! Cheaters never win
 
#122
fc321 said:
Thanks Ed for writing this great instruction course.

I am on page 23 and it has been 4 days since I began the book.

2 years ago I got a bass and tried learning from books Bass for Dummies and Visually teach yourself bass but I ended up getting discouraged at some point and quit.

But your method and teaching style has sustained my interest and I am very happy to be able to actually play along with the CDs and I feel like a REAL musician playing with a band. That really motivates me and makes me continue with the course.

I also bought the book Easy Pop Songs and learned how to play Imagine by John Lennon. I felt happy to be able to play a real song in less than a week.

Keep up the great work, you are an asset to the Bass community and a wise and skillful teacher.

I tell you though that what has slowed my progress is the musical notation and especially those pesky flats and sharps.

At one point I was tempted to just write the fret numbers on the top and justify this "cheating" by thinking "Well I want to play mostly rock music and only tabs is available for 90% of these songs so let me just write in the tabs and dispense with the notation".

Imagine to learn how to be a plumber from a Japanese speaking plumber who gives instructions in Japanese and then you must translate them with a dictionary to English before you can execute the instructions. For me that is what its like to play music in notation rather than Tabs.

But I am doing it proper! Cheaters never win
Click to expand...

So after a week of giving this an hour or so a day I've gotten to the 8th note section. I'm still finding each exercise really tough the first time round (especially the 3/4 ones!) but if I go back to any of the previous exercises I can pick them up again fairly quick even though I've already forgotten the tune... so that's progress at least!

I'm finding the sharps and flats much easier now and I feel like I know the notes on my fretboard up to the 5th fret a lot better. Sometimes it takes some serious willpower to push myself to finish an exercise that I'm really struggling with but each time I do it feels great.

I discovered early on that the way for me to get the most out of each exercise is
1) Work out the rhythm, tune without a metronome or having listened to the track​
2) Get the metronome and work up to playing at around 80bpm​
3) Listen to the track and see if I got it all right! Then play along with the track until I play it note for note twice in a row​

The good thing about this approach is it stops me just working things out by ear and forces me to really concentrate on the written music.

As someone who's been playing for a few years but never learned any theory I'm really looking forward to the point where the book catches up with my playing ability.

How are you getting on now?
 
#124
martyin3d said:
I discovered early on that the way for me to get the most out of each exercise is
1) Work out the rhythm, tune without a metronome or having listened to the track​
2) Get the metronome and work up to playing at around 80bpm​
3) Listen to the track and see if I got it all right! Then play along with the track until I play it note for note twice in a row​

The good thing about this approach is it stops me just working things out by ear and forces me to really concentrate on the written music.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I have been doing, and it does seem to work, as I am starting to recognise the notes more quickly. Strangely, the main difficulty I am having is with the fingering/positioning aspect, in terms of reading the music and getting positioning right at the same time; this is making each exercise take quite a long time to get right :meh:
 
#125
LordDog said:
That's exactly what I have been doing, and it does seem to work, as I am starting to recognise the notes more quickly. Strangely, the main difficulty I am having is with the fingering/positioning aspect, in terms of reading the music and getting positioning right at the same time; this is making each exercise take quite a long time to get right :meh:
Click to expand...

I deeply believe that this is an inherent part of the learning method in that, the more we get used to the fingering method and the patterns on the fret board, the more quickly we will be able to come up with using the "correct" fingering method.

This has slowed me down too, which is why I mention it. I've found that at times, it's taken me more time to decide which is the best finger pattern as opposed to actually learning how to play the piece. It's been a GREAT exercise in patience, too!!!
 
#126
fc321 said:
Thanks Ed for writing this great instruction course.

I tell you though that what has slowed my progress is the musical notation and especially those pesky flats and sharps.

At one point I was tempted to just write the fret numbers on the top and justify this "cheating" by thinking "Well I want to play mostly rock music and only tabs is available for 90% of these songs so let me just write in the tabs and dispense with the notation".
Click to expand...

I've been going through Ed's Method V1-3 for the past 2 years. I play a little something from it everyday, but I still haven't mastered all of the tracks and gleaned all the useful information out of the lessons that I can ... there's so much in there for newbies!

The little cheating method I found helpful with the sharps and flats in various keys was to just pencil a slash above the notes that are to be sharped or flatted. OR just write the note name above it instead of the fret number (tab), that way you at least have to think about the fingering of the actual note rather than use the full on cheat of tab :smug:.

I've gotten to the point where I know what most of the songs are supposed to sound like interval wise, and I can concentrate on the patterns of the chords and movements.

I also have a few other of Ed's books including his 'Walking Basslines Book', which has no tab in it. I took the first several lessons and first learned them in the first 5 frets, then went through them again playing higher up the neck starting near fret 5 ... That little exercise really helped me learn the fretboard farther up the neck.

Ed is the bomb :hyper: And I enjoy hearing about everyone's progress here, so I'm subscribed! Stay Low :bassist:
 
#127
catcauphonic said:
The little cheating method I found helpful with the sharps and flats in various keys was to just pencil a slash above the notes that are to be sharped or flatted. OR just write the note name above it instead of the fret number (tab), that way you at least have to think about the fingering of the actual note rather than use the full on cheat of tab
Click to expand...

I find that when students write note names above their standard notation, they progress much more slowly.

I encourage everyone learning to read music to avoid this. Use the symbols that are there. If you come across a Bb, say in your head "flatten the B" and make it happen, without cheater notes. Learn to make the connection in your head between the dot on the staff, the letter name, and the note on your instrument.

IME, it's the only way to become a good sight reader. Otherwise, you're always relying on the crutch.
 
#128
I started the lesson on Syncopation a few nights ago (page 73 or so) and so far it has been very challenging. My sense of rhythm was pretty bad when I picked up my first bass one year ago, but I put quite a bit of effort into trying to improve and actually surprised myself at how far I have come.

But when I sat down to work on this lesson for the first time, it felt like I was starting all over again. After a few nights of this, I am still not hearing/feeling the "upbeat". I think I am going to be working on syncopation for quite a while. I am curious how others have done when they came to this section for the first time, and what they did that helped them get through it.
 
#129
SbassmanSpiff said:
I started the lesson on Syncopation a few nights ago (page 73 or so) and so far it has been very challenging. My sense of rhythm was pretty bad when I picked up my first bass one year ago, but I put quite a bit of effort into trying to improve and actually surprised myself at how far I have come.

But when I sat down to work on this lesson for the first time, it felt like I was starting all over again. After a few nights of this, I am still not hearing/feeling the "upbeat". I think I am going to be working on syncopation for quite a while. I am curious how others have done when they came to this section for the first time, and what they did that helped them get through it.
Click to expand...

Syncopation is not hard! You've heard it your entire life in songs you know very well. So, relax. Then do this - Tap your foot in a slow steady tempo. When you foot hits the floor, that's the downbeat. When it's up in the air, that's the "and" or upbeat. Tap your foot, and say "and" on the upbeat. Get the feel for this before you read the exercises. When reading, you can say "ch" or some other sound on the downbeat rests to act as a place holder. Also, don't worry about the tempo yet, just count, place hold the rests, and play one note after the other until you understand how the pieces fit together. Just remember... You HAVE heard this before, once you recognize the sound, it will be much easier. Good luck!
 
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#130
edfriedland said:
Syncopation is not hard! You've heard it your entire life in songs you know very well. So, relax. Then do this - Tap your foot in a slow steady tempo. When you foot hits the floor, that's the downbeat. When it's up in the air, that's the "and" or upbeat. Tap your foot, and say "and" on the upbeat. Get the feel for this before you read the exercises. When reading, you can say "ch" or some other sound on the downbeat rests to act as a place holder. Also, don't worry about the tempo yet, just count, place hold the rests, and play one note after the other until you understand how the pieces fit together. Just remember... You HAVE heard this before, once you recognize the sound, it will be much easier. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. I will give them a try tonight.

I have been working on being able to nail downbeat for so long now, it's become like a black-hole in space, where everything gets pulled into it. If I count without a metronome, and concentrate, I can get through the exercises. But when I turn that metronome on, I find myself being pulled back to that downbeat after just a few measures. I am guessing that this must be the point where a beginning bassist gives up and decides to play a six string guitar instead LOL.
 
#131
SbassmanSpiff said:
Thanks for the tips. I will give them a try tonight.

I have been working on being able to nail downbeat for so long now, it's become like a black-hole in space, where everything gets pulled into it. If I count without a metronome, and concentrate, I can get through the exercises. But when I turn that metronome on, I find myself being pulled back to that downbeat after just a few measures. I am guessing that this must be the point where a beginning bassist gives up and decides to play a six string guitar instead LOL.
Click to expand...


Guitar? Don't do it! You have so much to live for! ;)
 
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#135
I'm just getting towards the end of book 1. I was plodding along quite happily and then the "shift-crazy blues" exercise absolutely killed me. Took me about an hour and a half to play it through with the cd on the faster speed. I was hoping to finish the first book tonight but I can't even look at it right now :p Anyone else struggle with that one?
 
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#136
martyin3d said:
I'm just getting towards the end of book 1. I was plodding along quite happily and then the "shift-crazy blues" exercise absolutely killed me. Took me about an hour and a half to play it through with the cd on the faster speed. I was hoping to finish the first book tonight but I can't even look at it right now :p Anyone else struggle with that one?
Click to expand...

Yes. Tricky one. Ed tends to throw in a toughie and then follow it up with a confidence-builder.
 
#138
edfriedland said:
I've seen Shift Crazy give a lot of people trouble! Even though its just quarter notes, it's not repetitive melodically, and it jumps around a lot. Also, the drums aren't giving you the heavy backbeat so some people find it harder to keep their place. Still, an hour and a half isn't bad!
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the encouragement, it's great to see you on here :D I think you're right that it's mostly down to the lack of repetition and moving around quite a bit, I just kept losing my way, it was always near the end too which is even more frustrating!

I seem to struggle a bit more with the "jazzier" ones just because it's a style I'm not really used to. But that one was on another level.

Really looking forward to getting started on book 2! :bassist:
 
#139
with my instructor...Each week roughly 3 songs are nailed down for home work which takes daily practice...and each class I'm tested.
This Thursday I graduate ( my instructor sings the commencement theme) book 2. Book 3 is next.

These books are tattered and pretty beat up when completed but get this - I've just reached the threshold where I can hear the song and beat in my head when reading, before the first note is actually played. . Right now the plan is to move into Eds building walking bass lines book once #3 is completed at my instructors recommendation.
 
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