Any Music Majors here??

reeltrouble1

Looking for help. I have a need to discuss/explore modal theory with regard to bass line development with an initial focus on the blues scale. The typical modal diatonic rules do not seem to work the same for the blues scale.

Best I can tell blues musicians like to utilize the MixoLydian scale imposed over a pentatonic blues to create a sort of hybrid. I am trying to understand how to use the blues modes to remain with the traditional bass guitar box. In some way the unrelsolved seventh comes into play.

Anybody doing work with this.

RT1

BlueMDPicker

I play be ear and haven't played bass in decades. This looks like a lot of info for a little coin though:

http://www.get-it-all.net/products/BassScales/bass_scales.htm

concealer404

I jumped into this thinking i could help.... but i dropped out almost 4 years ago, and seems not much has stuck. I've kindof gone back to roots of doing everything by ear, so the advanced music theory knowledge seems to have atrophied.

Sorry man.

Demiurge

I too never did much with musical theory, so I can't help you either. Depending on your learning style, it may be a good idea to find a teacher in your area rather than rely on the internet.

Good luck.

Ricardo

reeltrouble1 wrote: »

Looking for help. I have a need to discuss/explore modal theory with regard to bass line development with an initial focus on the blues scale. The typical modal diatonic rules do not seem to work the same for the blues scale.

Best I can tell blues musicians like to utilize the MixoLydian scale imposed over a pentatonic blues to create a sort of hybrid. I am trying to understand how to use the blues modes to remain with the traditional bass guitar box. In some way the unrelsolved seventh comes into play.

Anybody doing work with this.

RT1

Hey Ted....do you REALLY know what all that means??? Wow man, I am impressed.....and feel ignorant.

Demiurge

For the most part it's just scales. MixoLydian = Diatonic.

zombie boy 2000

I played the sandpaper blocks in kindergarten. Didn't work out so well.

etwigs34

Ya man i came in here thinking i could help too, but i haven't messed with theory since i took my break from school a year ago.....i will see if i still have my theory book at home and see if anything rings a bell!

reeltrouble1

Demiurge wrote: »

For the most part it's just scales. MixoLydian = Diatonic.

Yes, Demi, Mixo is the fifth scale of the diatonic modal progression, however, the blues is not diatonic so the modal theory is somehow applied differently there are still modes but they do not apply the same. Most major blues are 12 bar progressions and yes pretty easy to move around the fret board by ear but there should be a way to stay in the "box" (bass term) and not have to move around so much, after blues then jazz would be the logical next step and where I am headed.

Ricardo you bustin my chops man:D, I always said it was about the music for me and I guess now you know, I play by ear and read music but just like the audio gear I want to know exactly how and why it works.

Oh well, thanks guys I knew it was a shot in the dark but you never know. I will figure it out and am working with someone local.

Anyway I bought a fat Fender Roscoe Beck V string bass, the think is awesome, I just sit and pluck the low B string, listen to the tone through a Fender Bandmaster 68 tube amp I have and get wood, lot of wood in the Shed these days.

RT1

Joe08867

Are you looking for something like this.



Or there is more on Octaves and Unisons here. http://www.thecipher.com/bass-octave-pattern_1.html

Joe08867

This site explains the blues scale pretty well. It may have what you want.

Blues Scales explained

unc2701

The first rule of blues is there are no rules!

Anyhow, try this:
Do a mixolydian on the root of the chord that you're following. So in G I-IV-V type of progression you'll have g mixo, c mixo, d mixo. On the I, You''l have an F instead of the F#, which is that Seventh that you're looking for plus it gets resolved by... the third in the next chord? Damn this is hard to do without a bass. I'm trying to run scales on the palm of my left hand... Anyhow, give that a whirl.

I think you'll get something pretty damn close by putting a major scale on top of a pentatonic with the same root, but that'll sound a little off on some of the chords.

Regardless, with blues, it's the things that don't fit any rules that really knock your socks off.

reeltrouble1

That is a part of it Joe and I am familiar with the positions and fret board, of course all the bass diagrams are for four string bass not five, but its just something to deal with, so maybe there is enough collective knowledge here.

Lets say we are told we are playing a blues tune in G a 12 bar blue with a quick four. We just walked in the studio and Stevie Ray is pissed because we are late, he says lets go and lets go now. He also says we will be fired later unless we play like nobody he has ever heard.

So we have G C G G C C G G D C G D all as seventh cords.

So we could begin by playing the blues G scale at the 3rd fret, now after the first bar we go to the C, but the change is so quick we cant move to the eighth fret, I think we play G MixoLydian scale which is C then we move to the D but instead of playing G Lydian (D parent scale) As I understand it you somehow use the Dorian second scale mode which in our case G Dorian is F and I do not see how this might relate to the D scale we need. OK I am confused and also fired.

Edit--hold on I gotta contemplate UNC's post. It seems headed in the right direction. damm only 10 minutes to edit....

Unc--can you see how the Dorian would fit, yes the Mixo on the root makes perfect sense as you have GABCDEFG with the seventh being F as far as putting scales on top of others my text says you put the mixo on top of the root blues scale.


RT1

reeltrouble1

hmmmm......maybe my confusion is that you would not use the Dorian with the G parent key progression but you would if you were playing in C you could use G-Dorian to cover the IV F cord??

RT1