Comping Styles for Bass

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QWhat's the best way to approach the study of the Comping Styles for Bass Vol. 2 book? Also, I purchased your Jazz and Blues Bass Lines book and would like to know how I should approach this book.
A I would learn one bass line per week. Try to play it at various tempos and be a legato as possible (hold each note as long as possible before going to the next). You can also try playing the bass line in different locations on the fretboard. For instance if the bass line starts with a Low C play it on the A string 3rd fret but also try starting on the Low C on the E string at the 8th fret.

You should also start listening to Jazz bass players. You will find a partial list at

http://www.jazzphotography.us/basses.html
 
QHow do I exploit the Music Theory Workbook to help me become able to play the pieces from the Comping Styles, up to speed, with decent tonality, within an elderly man's lifetime? Or, if all I can aspire to do is play the toughest bass notes from a page, what is there to gain from the study of theory?
A First let me say a few things to give you some perspective. For many people it takes about a year to work through the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume One. Comping Styles for Bass or Guitar Volume Two requires a pretty good knowledge of 16th note rhythms. I would recommend working through Rhythms Volume Two before attempting Comping Styles if you have weak 16th note reading ability. I also recommend Rhythm Primer to those students that really haven't read much music at all. For my ensembles at NYU it takes one year for students to work through the Comping Styles book. They only attempt this book after working through Rhythm Primer and Rhythms Volume Two.

I think the best way to think about music theory is through an analogy. In order to understand a language like English you need some knowledge of how to spell words and how sentences are organized etc... You of course could learn English just by someone teaching you how to say phrases but by using this method you would have a great difficulty forming your own phrases correctly because you don't understand the nuts and bolts of the language. The same holds true of Music Theory. So let's look at how that applies specifically to Comping Styles. If you learn Music Theory you would understand which notes I'm picking for the bass line and how those notes relate to the chords. This knowledge will help you form your own bass lines when you are playing a Funk piece with another group. It is also of course important to know the names of all the notes on the bass and where the chord tones are for every chord type. By learning that information you will find the notes in the Comping Styles examples quicker and you will be able to substitute other possible chord tones for each example because you will know what notes are theoretically possible.

I hope this helps you see the importance of Music Theory in making you a better musician. You will find that sooner or later the music theory information just becomes 2nd nature just like speaking a language is for you now. Keep Practicing. It won't take a lifetime, it just takes application and dedication everyday.
 
QHere's what I own:
Music Theory Volumes 1 and 2
Jazz and Blues Bass Lines
Comping Styles for Bass
Single String Studies for Bass Volumes 1 and 2
Rhythm Primer
Fanatic's Guide
One Note Complete
Big Metronome

What kind of schedule would you recommend for someone who works two jobs and has a wife and three kids? I can give a committed hour everyday in addition to time in my car (delivery job). What would you recommend I do when I have additional time (very sporadic)?
AIn your situation practicing in your head is the best solution. It is common knowledge among classical musicians that you can learn a piece of music or for that matter anything in music by visualizing it in your head. Many classical musicians don't even play a piece on their instrument before performing it live in front of an audience. You can use this technique to help you work on music when driving a car or waiting for a light to change. Of the books you have you could use any of them to practice in your head. For instance you could think through and finger in your mind any scale or arpeggio from the Music Theory Books. You could memorize a bass line from the Jazz and Blues Bass Lines or Comping Style book or you could work on hard rhythms from the Rhythm Primer. You of course can listen to the ear training and sing notes over the Fanatic's Guide CD as you drive. (You might want to get a chromatic pitch instrument to help you check notes.)

http://www.encoremusic.com/vocal/6630002.html

Just remember that mental practicing is exhausting when you first start it. It takes months before you can do it for any length of time. As it develops you will find it to be the most efficient way to learn. I would then spend your hour or instrument practicing playing the things you have mentally practiced or use the time to improvise with the scales you are learning in the Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two.