I am working my way through the Cyborg Bassist book from Talkingbass.net. I am having a conundrum that I have experienced with other bass instruction books. I am trying to improve my reading skills in the upper register (lots of prior reading in treble clef) but find it hard not to “cheat” with the tabs under the score. That said, sometimes the tab is useful, as it indicates where I should be playing each section of a scale on the neck. I have tried covering up the tab with tape, but then forget where the transitions are. But with the tab uncovered, I tend to focus only on the numbers rather than the notation and feel like I am just memorizing fret numbers rather than reading the notes.
Wondering if anyone else struggles with this, as it is common for bass instruction books to include both notation with tab underneath and how to approach the dilemma.
Well it’s easy for me I still can’t read tab, lol.
Very few Notation/cab combo sheets comes with note value on the number only a really high quality ones but it’s rare because it’s a combo. I definitely can’t read the tab with note value.
I’d just cut strips of paper and tape it over the tab portions and flip it over only when you need help.
Mark recommends strongly that Cyborg Bassist etudes should be learned slowly to create muscle memory. That’s why he included fingerings for position shifts: it’s not just for fretting hand practice, but also for hand/arm shifting practice.
I’m using the etude tabs to remind myself not only where to shift but when to shift, and with which finger to start the new position.
It’s a new way for me to read and play, but it’s paying off. Mark says that with rote, robotic (hence, his cyborg reference) repetition, fluid shifting from the lowest to highest frets will become seamless, automatic muscle memory.
