Hi All,
I’m heading now on Volume 2 of my Sight Reading Course on Talking Bass, while doing that I’m running in the middle of the Volume 1 of Music Theory. I feel bored sometimes but I’m still looking forward to the results.
I spend them 1 hour each per day. I’m thinking about to improve my bass playing. I’m not completely sure if those courses are really efficient to proceed to my goal as to play a jazz or blues in the future. Is there someone can give me an advice or suggestion to reach my goal? I don’t have enough money to find a mentor or personal teacher, also don’t have enough knowledge what roadmap should I go to step by step.
I’m 34 years old, I feel old to pursue my dream to play jazz or blues music. By choosing learn sight reading first, I think there’s a lot of information will put in to my journey, however seeing Music Theory By Talking Bass. not also really sure it can be applied a lot especially on my playing style.
Well, I’m not really into the jazz thing but for blues, the music theory needed is not all that overwhelming. If you know major, minor and dominant chords, you’re all set
There are a few interesting YT channels for blues. I really like this one:
There are also a few videos by Josh on the subject.
I’m still working on the B2BadButt course but once I get…better, as I’m into the jazz thing, I plan to do some purchasing over at Mr Ron Carter’s website…
For learning Jazz, there are usually great group courses for Jazz Improv at local colleges.
I took the Jazz Improv course at my local Junior College when I was starting school there.
The only thing you needed to join the course was the ability to play the major scale in all 12 keys.
Everything else was taught in the class, and by the end, every student knew how to play several jazz classics, and understood the way that a basic jazz jam or jazz song works.
That’s my first recommendation, if you can find one!
If you’re trying to learn jazz and blues and you can’t find a class (which is, by far, the best way to do it), I’d recommend this list:
Listen to the music you like all the time.
Find simple tutorials to get you started. Blues is the perfect first step to lead you into jazz and more complex songs, so focus on the blues - particularly more jazz-influenced blues.
Once you have the basic concepts in these videos down, write down a list of all your favorite blues songs.
Try and learn them.
Find YouTube videos on them. Take private lessons and have these songs as your goals.
Once you feel like you understand and can play the blues songs you love, you can check out some Jazz Blues tunes, and start on walking bass.
At every step there will be possible courses (as mentioned by other folks here) and other videos, and other things to do.
Nothing will be as good as finding a jam session or a band or a class that has some structure, some accountability, and some real-world music making.
But it will all work!
How much of Jazz and Blues music are you listening right now? That’s over half the battle, familiarity. If you know the music intimately the notes would just flow out of you.
I agree that’s the case with the blues, @Al1885. But it’s not so much with jazz, unfortunately. Jazz is much more diverse in styles and more intricate in theory, structures, rhythms and techniques.
Blues and jazz are my chosen genres, with blues being the root of all things popular American music. Listening to, knowing and feeling 12-bar blues is the absolutely essential first step towards eventually starting the journey to jazz.
Ryan Madora produces a beginner-friendly series of short, sweet and informative videos on blues riffs and lines that teach the structure and technique of essential classic tunes. Her Patreon membership is only $5.00 per month, and it entitles you to view/download tabs of her lessons. I can recommend it as a good deal for anyone interested in learning blues as well as simpler Jamerson and other classic lines (Motown) and techniques.
But learning blues should definitely start with listening. A lot. And consistently.
@Samantha.Cooper, being able to hear the basic blues structure, to recognize the simple chord changes, to find the roots and patterns of the chord tones, etc. — these are the key ingredients of playing the blues. And, again, it all starts with listening to and absorbing the classics and how different blues legends interpret them. The very best blues and jazz are about nuance and improvisation, things that require hearing and recognizing subtlety and phrasing.
The way to get better at playing Jazz and Blues… is to play jazz and blues.
Music theory and learning how to sight read are very valuable tools that you should pursue, but they are things to work on WHILE learning to play jazz and blues, not steps that must be completed before you start.
Listen to lots of jazz and blues. Immerse yourself in it. Find songs and artists that are relatively simple and start playing along. Follow existing lines. Begin improvising around those lines. Start creating your own lines. I can make suggestions of songs I like to play along with.
You don’t need to start young to play any style of music. Probably difficult to make a career out of it. But you don’t need to be a professional to do it. I learned to skateboard in my 30’s. Not getting to the X-Games, but I’m still skateboarding.
For mentors - you don’t need to pay for that. Find people who know the genres better than you to play with. They don’t need to be bass players. There’s a thread about someone diving in and meeting a jazz pianist who is excited to teach them jazz.
