Getting Theory or Chord Tones

I hate to ask for this but I am obsessed with learning more about songs. There’s more frustration to get for it.

I completed B2B 2 months ago and am currently studying my Simple Sight Reading from TalkingBass. While working I use my Ear Training Course at the same time. I’m thinking about finishing Ear Training first and getting another one while studying sight reading. Which course is beneficial to improve my transcribing or covering a song? Theory or Chord Tones?

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Both would help you to become a better player and better at transcribing. I’d go with Chord Tones to change the pace a bit.

That said if you want to be a better transcriber the fastest way to do that is to start transcribing songs. Avoid giving into looking up songs on YouTube and just go at it. The more you do the better you get, there’s no shortcut. You can finish all of the Theory courses and still have to do this.

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Chord Tones Essentials will teach you to recognize song harmony, i.e., chord tones in arpeggios and melodies. It will work in conjunction with your ear training.

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Thanks again @MikeC and @Al1885 that advice is very helpful to me in reaching my goal. Also, I’m not completely sure if the Cyborg Bassist Volume 1 can be useful for my ear training too.

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At the end of the day your ability to listen and play is the essential part of playing bass. There’s no skipping this part. :joy:

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@Al1885 I’m trying to not rely on songs (tabs) from Youtube. I’ve just worked out my ear to recognize in belongs notes of songs that I want to learn. however my understanding about theory is what on B2B included and yet I’m in the middle of my journey on Ear Training Course from Talking Bass. probably before I proceed to get studying song I should collect more understanding about Theory. so my time does not waste to learn many songs. Is there anything else you cann add for? Thank you

I have all the Cyborg Bassist books. They are technique oriented, not theory. They are collections of etudes specifically designed to be practice pieces for playing up and down the neck, in all keys. The etudes are not songs. They are scale studies that span two and even three octaves (assuming the use of a 24-fret bass).

I’m not sure if you’ve finished B2B yet, but that should be your first step. Your Ear Training course is a great complement for whatever you choose to play going forward.

Chord Tones Essentials is a really powerful course in that you would learn how chords and harmony work to make music. It is a deep course of study, though, and will require much practice on your own to absorb the theory presented in each lesson. It is really valuable stuff, but also a lot of work. It has enough material to keep you occupied for months.

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Well just keep moving forward I guess. We all have different preferences I’ve been too academic when I was younger now that’s the last thing I want to prioritize.

Definitely Chord Tones. I’m currently in Vol.2 (almost done with level 4) of Sight Reading and I’m also pretty far along in Chord Tones. They go together really well, and I’ve been able to transcribe a few bass lines and the combination of these courses have really been key. They both involve so much repetition and when you add in the theory you get with Chord Tones, that makes it much easier to figure out how to transcribe a song, in my opinion. I’m also doing Technique Builder, and that’s really just building good technique as others have stated.

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I’d recommend the book Music Theory for the Bass Player by Ariane Cap. It’s got all the basics you need and includes transcription for 4, 5, and 6 string. I love mine, and a book is far easier to reference while practicing than a YouTube video. You can just keep it in your bass case. :slightly_smiling_face:

Talking Bass Chord Tones first.

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@Samantha.Cooper If you can afford it, the Theory course is excellent. I had zero music theory knowledge when I started B2B, but Josh introduced enough that it made me hungry for more music theory understanding. While taking Sight Reading, I did the first volume of Theory from TalkingBass, prior to starting Chord Tones. Chord Tones repeats some of the content, but I found it to be an excellent preparation for Chord tones and honestly I really benefit from a lot of repetition and reinforcing of content that’s new to me. So, if you’ve got the $ and the time, I’d grab both Theory and Chord Tones, and once you hit the Chord Tones section in the Theory course, you can run them in parallel. I don’t, however, recommend Theory instead of Chord Tones, only in addition to.

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Excellent suggestion. The Talking Bass Ultimate Music Theory for Bass Guitar Complete is a great course. :+1:

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Thanks both of you @jefflangford67 @MikeC . to be honest I feel bored when it comes to Sight Reading and Ear Training but I just align myself what is their benefits when I got those skills, I just give those things about 30minutes per day. Probably acquiring your suggestion by taking Music Theory from Talking Bass will change my motivation. Do you think to get those materials from Theory/Chord Tones it can be more useful about learning or transcribing many songs?

If the goal is to transcribe songs, by ear, onto a music staff, then Sight Reading + Ear training + Chord Tones seem essential, and, unfortunately it will probably take a lot of time and focused practice on all 3 to be able to apply the skill to transcription. The Theory course will give you a deeper understanding of music and chord construction, which would help with transcription, but isn’t a requirement. These courses are really set up in a way that you really only get out what you put into it so more repetition is usually better (to a point obviously). I will say don’t get too discouraged with Sight Reading, once you’re through level 2 and can read natural, sharp and flat notes and basic rhythm, you can pick up almost any sheet music and muddle your way through it. I’ve found a lot of great music online in sheet music format.

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@jefflangford67 it sounded nice. yes that is my main goal to improve transcribing many songs by ear. many of our fellow bass players here. they are always recommend the Chord Tones when it comes transcribing. So I think I’m going to get there as your advise too. Here’s my roadmap that I visualize as you mentioned.

Sight Reading > Ear Training > Chord Tones >

And the last thing Music Theory?

Theory kind of stands alone. You can do the Theory course whenever you have the $ and time to do it. The sooner you do theory the sooner that knowledge can help you. However, I don’t think theory is required for what you’re trying to accomplish. Your plan looks good to me.

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Thank you.

With Sight Reading, Ear Training and Chord Tones under your belt, you will be pretty well equipped to tackle many bass playing tasks. You will know the fretboard, how to play from notation, how to interpret what you hear, and you’ll know how harmony works. That is a lot that many players will either take years to ever know, or might never know.

Transcribing the bass line from a song is essentially melodic and rhythmic dictation.

It requires isolating the bass line from the mix (commonly done with software) and notating what you hear. It is a multilevel exercise that brings together several skills: critical listening, understanding the music you hear, and accurately notating that music as tab or notation.

The courses you list don’t specifically teach transcription, per se. But they do teach music theory and critical listening. Actually putting that knowledge to transcribing songs is up to you to apply. With time and practice, always practice, you can do it if you try.

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