Bass players and ear training

If you are a bass player you might be wondering: do I need ear training? I mean, come on, I play a simple bass line in a band, what good will ear training do me?

It's often said that a bass player, besides the drummer, keeps the rhythm and the support for the entire band. I mean, when the bass player plays in sync with what's going on in the song it's wonderful. But when the bass player doesn't, it's awful. Ask me how I know, I've been there.

The difference usually boils down to whether or not the bass player has a good ear, that is, is ear trained in both perfect pitch and relative pitch.

It's way worth the effort for any bass player to acquire these skills for it will take his or her playing to a new level and enhance the experience of the entire band.

I highly recommend the following resources which have helped me when I played bass in a band:

Perfect Pitch Ear Training

Relative Pitch Ear Training

The following are helpful resources as well:

Music Theory Course

Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

I hope they help you as well and please let me know how and in what way these courses are helping you!

Vasili-

Do you really need ear training?

Ear training has been a lost skill that many musicians do not do or try to do on a systematic basis. They may think it unimportant or irrelevant to what they want to accomplish.

So, do you need it! The answer is: YES!!

Why? Because music is a HEARING art and your skill in music is directly linked to how well you can hear it when others are playing or you are playing your own music.

Being aware of the need for ear training is at the very core of the message I try to get across to every musician and student I teach.

If you want to progress to your maximum potential as a musician then you MUST involve yourself with some form of ear training.

I highly recommend the following resources which have helped me personally:

Perfect Pitch Ear Training

Relative Pitch Ear Training

The following are helpful resources as well:

Music Theory Course

Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

I hope they help you as well and please let me know how and in what way these courses are helping you!

Vasili-

How long does it take to learn a song?

When you sit down to learn a piece of music, how long does it take to learn it?

For some, it takes a couple of months whereas others a couple of days or even hours.

It all depends on 2 things:

1. The complexity of the piece of music you are learning.

2. The skill level and experience of the musician learning the piece of music.

The first thing you can't really change unless you chose a piece which would be easier. The second thing you can by increasing your skill level as a musician.

How can you do this? One way is by developing your ear and awareness when  you listen to music. Perfect pitch and Relative pitch are vital in this regard. Another step is to increase your musical knowledge and technique. The following highly recommended courses will help with this:

Perfect Pitch Ear Training

Relative Pitch Ear Training

Want to learn music theory? Click Here!

Click here for Virtual Sheet Music - Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

Absolute pitch - absolutely necessary?

Does it help a musician to have absolute pitch? Some argue that it does whereas others say you don't need it.

What is absolute pitch? Simply put, it is the ability to recognize a pitch, like C or C# without any relation to any other pitch.

Some say you need to be born with such a skill. I wasn't and I have developed it fairly well. In my opinion, it's not absolutely necessary but it does add a layer of hearing perception and enjoyment to the music I listen to and play.

I would highly recommend developing this skill. How do you do it? I will be talking about this in a future blog. Stay tuned!!

Along with absolute pitch or "perfect pitch" you do need to understand the fundamentals of music and basic theory. A great course which I highly recommend is found here:

Click here for course!

Hope you enjoy it!!

How to increase your enjoyment of music

Many people love listening to music. In fact, most listen to it every day. It's like food to them. But like food, it can only be enjoyed if the sense which is used is sensitive and responsive. For example, if your taste buds ceased to work, you would not be able to enjoy the rich variety of foods you like.

The same thing can happen in a musical sense. Some musicians and non musicians have not trained or sensitized the organ which processes sounds, their ear. Thus their enjoyment of music in all its rich variety is stunted.

How do you overcome this dilemma? The only way is to train your ear to be more sensitive and hear the depth and breadth and length of the richness of sound in the music you listen to each day. 2 skill sets are essential in this regard - perfect pitch and relative pitch.

In future articles I will explain this in more detail. Stay tuned!!!

Want to learn music theory? Click Here!

Click here for Virtual Sheet Music - Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads

Understanding music

To understand music, what does this mean? It means to understand it as a whole, the sum and all its parts.

For anyone who has studied an instrument perhaps you were taught how to play and even how to read music. But rarely will a student be taught how to understand it. Many teachers do not teach this but it is an essential skill for any aspiring musical student, regardless of the instrument or genre of music performed.

What is a key to understanding music? Stay tuned and I will be writing about this in another post.

Want to learn music theory? Click Here!

Click here for Virtual Sheet Music - Virtual Sheet Music - Sheet Music Downloads