Are there good exercises to get more into theory?

Theory
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After working through bassbuzz we get a good foundation for theory stuff. But facing the truth: that’s only the beginning. We know what exists but having the theory as a working tool is a different thing.

So, beside the typical reading of books, are there good exercises to get a training approach into theory topics like chords, chord progressions, modes and stuff like that?

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Usually people go into Talkingbass by @markjsmith.

There are tons of courses there… if you want theory and depending on how deep you want to go, you can take a look at the Ultimate Music Theory for Bass.

Vol 1:

Module 1 –  The Musical Foundation

    Introduction
    The Sounds Of Music
    Tuning & Consonance
    Fretboard Theory
    Pitch Notation
    Rhythm and tempo
    Music Reading On Bass
    Rhythms in Application
    Subdivision
    Sixteenth Notes
    Rests and Silence
    The Dotted Note
    Tied Notes
    Triplets and swing
    Other Meters

Module 2 – Scales, Keys and Intervals

    The Major Scale
    Key Signatures
    Scale Degrees
    Interval Basics
    The Circle Of Fifths
    Double Sharps and Flats
    Minor Intervals
    Alternative Fingerings
    Aug and Dim Intervals
    Minor Scales and Keys
    Relative Keys
    Interval Inversion
    Compound Intervals
    The Pentatonic Scale
    The Chromatic Scale

Module 3  – Harmony Essentials

    Tertian Harmony and Triads
    Alternative Fingerings
    Chord Voicing
    Augmented Chords
    Diminished Chords
    Seventh Chords
    The Essential Seventh Chords
    Extensions
    Altered Extensions
    Added Note Chords
    Suspension
    Chordal Inversion
    Slash Chords
    Chord Simplification

Vol 2:

Module 1 – The Key Foundation

    Tonal Gravity
    Triads Of The Major Key
    Chordal Scale Degrees
    Seventh Chords Of The Major Key
    Primary and Secondary Chords
    Tonic and Dominant Chords
    The Subdominant Chord
    Melody and Harmonisation
    The Supertonic Chord
    The Submediant Chord
    Chord iii
    Chord vii
    Cyclic Progression
    Harmonic Analysis

Module 2- Minor Keys and Melodies

    Expanding The Palette
    Secondary Dominant Chords
    Secondary Dominant Analysis
    Chords Of The Minor Key
    Chord Progressions Of The Minor Key
    The Harmonic Minor Scale
    The Melodic Minor Scale
    Modulation
    Turnarounds
    Blues Progressions
    Melodic Devices
    Chromatic Notes
    Melodic Analysis
    Modes Of The Major Scale
    Chord Scales
    Diatonic Extensions
    Secondary Dominant Scales

Module 3 – Jazz Harmony Concepts

    Modes Of The Minor Key
    Harmonic Minor Modes
    The Jazz Melodic Minor
    Modes Of The Melodic Minor
    Minor Key Extensions
    Harmonic Modification
    Altered Chords
    Tritone Substitution
    Diminished Harmony
    Diminished Scales
    Modal Interchange
    The Back Door Cadence
    Augmented Harmony
    Modal Harmony
    Coltrane Changes
    Conclusion

There’s also courses on Chords, scales, ear training, etc. :slight_smile:

Pick your poison!

My next on playlist:

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But… redoing B2B… and still have to finish 2 courses I have been also working on in TalkingBass. :slight_smile:

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This^^^

Talking Bass has all the theory and technique courses any bassist needs to play better. Highly recommended.

Mark’s Ultimate Theory course covers all aspects of music theory and it’s specifically tailored to bass.

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I’ve started the groove trainer course from talking bass. Modul 1 is to 90% theory and the grooves in Modul 2 are build around the things you have learned in Modul one. B2B was a good foundation to understand what Marc is talking about and I start understand the connections between triads, chords, intervals, minor and major chords…
I’ve bought the course for the grooves and didn’t expected to get so much music theory but it’s great.

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:100:

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I’m working through a number of talkingbass courses. The Theory course is incredibly comprehensive. Many of his other courses have theory included, as noted above on Groove Trainer. Chord Tones is another one with a lot of theory and application.

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Yup - Mark Smith is great, but my old brain can’t remember anything, so, I am constantly writing and rewriting and writing and rewriting skills and chords in arpeggios on my iPad or other digital device, So I can easily erase. This starts to bake it in a little bit better. Remember learning them as nothing, baking them into your brain, soul fingers, eyes, ears - That’s when something starts to happen and that takes a lot of time and a lot of rote learning

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If you are really interested in theory I would consider buying an inexpensive keyboard controller and learning it there - it is easier and will make much more sense (especially visually).

After that, translating the theory to bass would be trivial.

If you want to learn purely on bass, I agree rhat Chord Tones on TalkingBass is a good first introduction.

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Work on transcribing songs, improvising over chord progressions and writing simple songs.

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