I’ve got an issue: Thanks to my 4-year piano and my 2-year accordion experience years before starting electric bass playing, I literally “see” the piano keys in front of my eyes when I play electric bass on one side and I see the harmonies and the circle of fifths like bass knobs from my accordion on the other side.
However, this is an electric bass, neither a piano nor an accordion. It feels as if my Electric Bass is telling me: “Darling, look, I am an electric bass, not a piano . I am unique and incomparable to any other instrument; so don’t compare me to a damn piano, you little xxxxxxxxxx . How dare you do that to me?!”
Is there anyone with the same experience of piano playing switching to bass or from other instruments? Is it necessary to get rid of this visualization of these piano keys? Or is it perhaps a benefit? How did you learn electric bass with experience with other instruments? Do you visualize much when playing bass at all or is it more the feels on your fingers or the sound in your ears?
I am confused. My gut says it’ll be weird to think of a piano while playing bass. To my Electric Bass: “Darling, please forgive me.”
Ariane Cap, in her books actually uses piano keys to help a bass player visualize the notes in music. It is a very common teaching tactic. I have seen other lessons that do the same thing.
Phew, thank you, Eddie! Glad that there are bass teachers who even take piano for this. Josh is doing that, too, in a way.
Alright, that’ll be a valid excuse from me for my Bass then
When I was in college-level music schools, all non-piano majors were required to take two years of a course called Class Piano, or otherwise prove they could pass a piano qualifier jury.
The school’s rationale was straightforward: having a student learn the piano keyboard layout is the best way to teach note intervals, chord tone harmony, hand independence, and myriad other music theory and performance essentials.
I was a music theory and composition major, and we cut our teeth on classics from Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Being able to read piano scores, even at a rudimentary level, was essential to analyzing and visualizing what the masters wrote, and why.
Wow, that’s incredible; THANK YOU, Mike! Your reply got me the final relief.
Ok I am so glad not to be alone with these piano/accordion visuals. Thank you. Congratulations to your major in music comp and theory .
This is more or less exactly what I was going to say modulo the classical music education that Mike was luckier than I to have.
Visualizing the bass intervals on piano is not a problem. It’s an optimal situation
The piano is just a much better tool to visualize note intervals and music theory. I feel very lucky to have been a keyboard player prior to learning bass - it made so much easier for me. Stringed instruments are just not good for learning the basics of music and music theory, IMO. It’s much more visually intuitive on a keyboard.
So, in short @DLiqacy - you are very lucky to have this background. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.