No one in the Rhythm Section had any idea of what we were playing until we started to record the cue. Sometimes we would get one run-through to check parts, but a lot of times we recorded to see if we'd get lucky and wound up with first takes. The only way that this would work out at all is if all of the musicians involved are excellent sight-readers.

Not too long after, I did a live date with the same producer and about half his book was written bass parts. All of this is taking place in Nashville, Tennessee where the jokes about "I don't read well enough to hurt my playing" abound.

Clearly, any time that you have a skill that other musicians don't, you can work in situations where they can't. If you sight-read well, you can do Pit Orchestra work in Musicals (even some High Schools and Colleges hire "ringers" to flesh out their Orchestras), Big Band jobs, Church Musicals, Live Shows (I've backed up every one from Billy Crystal to Engelbert Humperdinck in this fashion), and of course jingles, film cues and TV/DVD cues.

So, now that we've decided this is a good thing to work on, how do we go about it? The P word rears it's ugly head! The only way to develop a good skill level at sight reading is to practice sight reading. Here are some secrets I've come across to help expedite things:

1. Don't limit yourself to just bass books. Often these will have TAB as well as notation (I've never seen TAB on a reading date in over 30 years of doing them). I've found that J S Bach is great for reading notes on the page. There aren't too many complicated rhythms but reading the notes helps you learn all the notes in one position (if possible). The main advantage of being able to stay in one or two places on the neck as you read is that you can keep your eye on the chart and conductor. I've also found that trombone books cover the same range as the four string bass, so any trombone books from Jazz Studies to Etudes and Classical pieces (try the 6 Cello Suites by Bach in the Trombone edition) work very well for electric bass.

2. Realize that if you work on a piece of Music for a while you will memorize it without thinking. While this may seem counter-productive to reading, it's actually a good thing. Each pattern you see and memorize will occur again and again, so you're really adding to your vocabulary of patterns you can recognize at sight. Just as you're not phonetically sounding out each word in this column because you've accumulated a reading/written vocabulary (50,000 words by the time the average person graduates High School) you will over time get a music reading vocabulary. You'll know when a series of notes is a chord (line-line-line or space-space-space) and when it's scalar (alternating lines and spaces), for example.

3. There are some very good resources available for bassists as well. Check out the excellent series of reading materials from Studio Icon Carol Kaye and the Berklee book Sightreading Electric Bass Rhythms by Rich Appleman for starters. Then, check out Anthony Vitti or the book Standing in the Shadows of Motown and read the transcribed lines.

4. Develop the habit of reading ahead one or two bars so you can anticipate any tricky rhythms or register shifts. Use the foot-tap system (see the Beginning Bass Lessons 6 and 7 for this) to figure out any syncopations. Try to stay in one or two positions if possible when you're reading.

Sight reading is not an instant skill. You can expect to invest some time to be able to do this well. Since so few bassists do this, it makes your skill all the more rare and valuable in the marketplace. Try it and see!

Peace and Low Notes,
Roy C. Vogt
Nashville Bassist
Bass Instructor, Belmont University, Nashville, TN

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