As a self taught beginner bass player, where shoul di start?

#41
red_rhino said:
Self-taught player of 50+ years here. We didn't have no fancy, schmancy, online resources. Learned by playing with records, over and over and over and over. </old man rant over> ;)


This x1000.
I joined a band early on. You grow fast, but you eventually plateau somewhat. Working with an instructor helps to keep you growing. Looking back at it, the thing I would have done differently is work an instructor more regularly. Ultimately, I ended up taking instruction for 3 brief periods of over the years. It was always productive, and I still recommend it. I would have learned a lot more, a lot faster.


A good player doesn't necessarily make a good teacher. A good teacher must be a good communicator. If they're not focused on helping you become a better player, they're not a good teacher.


Hey, some of us have built entire careers on being not terrible. :laugh: Seriously though, it sounds like you're developing a good foundation. There's nothing you can't do; there's just stuff you don't know... yet. There's also nothing that says you have to take years of instruction. You can always focus your studies on a specific topic or technique for a few weeks or months or however long it keeps you engaged and then go back to self-learning until you're ready for something else.

Welcome to Talkbass. :thumbsup:
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Hey! Thanks a lot for the reply, I think you are right, and for the most part, i have been doing just the same. watching a lot of live concerts and trying to decypher certain grooves, licks, solo's and phraising that i really enjoy and speak to me. Doing just that has helped me a lot. I will for sure look into a good instructor and when the times comes, maybe a band.
 
#42
Sean150 said:
When you say you are using SBL are you talking about the YouTube videos or the actual paid courses, because I just checked and there is a three part beginners learning path if you have a membership. Some of the YouTube videos are good but they are really promotional content and you get what you pay for (free).

Personally, I taught myself with Ed Friedlands’ Hal Leonard Bass Method books before moving to SBL and other sources. The thing with teaching yourself is that you can use any resource and go in any direction so you really need to set down your goals and work towards those specifically (I’m bad at this personally).
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i have been using the paid version, i find that a lot of courses contain valuble information, although it is repeated often and the titles can be misleading.
 
#43
fourfinger said:
Train your ear. Tune by ear first, then check with the tuner. Learn challenging songs you like by ear; not just notes, but phrasing and dynamics. Make a list of songs to learn and learn them thoroughly.

Learn the cycle of fifths forward and backward. Learn to hear/sing intervals, and how those intervals appear on your fretboard. Every new song you learn, find a bit of theory in it and add it to your ear’s musical toolbox.

If you’re ready to play with other musicians, definitely do. Consider joining a band. It will teach you techniques you might not have learned when you were learning your favorite songs.

Even though you’re not ready to work with a teacher now, remain open to the idea of it. Someday you might find lessons are necessary to keep improving.

Good luck and have fun!
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Noted, Thanks! valuable info.
 
#44
jTrolt said:
Was lucky enough to have one on one for a short term with a very accomplished jazz/bop style guitarist. Best concepts I learned from him: Learn to play and SING the melody. Before learning the bass part.
"If you don't know the melody, you cannot play a proper bass line to support the song, which is your job as the bassist." (Yes, this was in the context of bop/jazz, walking lines over chord charts, not a written bass line. Plus, I was eventually expected to solo, so again, it's not musical if you aren't honoring the melody in the process!)

Don't know your age, but if you're still in school, see if there's a place for you in the band. That and / or seek opportunities to play in the orchestra for a local school/community theater. Many will welcome a newbie just to fill a seat and get the show on. Lower pressure way to hone your skills while sitting somewhat anonymously in the orchestra pit when everyone is focused on the actors on stage!

Play the music you love, which naturally I expect you'd like to do, but I mean, find things that blow your mind. Like impossible! For me, two of those were Portrait of Tracy (Jaco Pastorius) and Cruise Missile by Steve Morse (Jerry Peek on bass). Then, break it down, phrase by phrase. Day by day, week by week. You'll get it. Or at least remarkably well, eventually. Everything else will become much easier when you accomplish that, mainly because of the chops, but also, plain and simply, your confidence will grow immensely, which is a huge key to playing well with others. (Always check egos at the door....)

Finally, I highly recommend getting a copy of Victor Wooten's "The Music Lesson" or find it on YT, etc. Not a bass lesson, but a fresh perspective on honing your musical mind, regardless what instrument you're playing, and again, working with others. It's a fun audio track to listen to and learn from, regardless your experience.

Welcome to the club! Being a bassist is a real treat, IMHO.
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Thank you!
 
#46
I agree with other posts that you should go to an instructor. Even if it is only for a few months. You need a good foundation that an instructor can give you while helping you prevent and correct bad habits before they start. Good luck. ;)
 
#47
download.jpg
mite wanna goback two skool an werc on ur riting skills 2 bettor komunikate with othurs before persooing base lesons. Just saying.
 
#49
I'm a more advanced player, but I still put time into studying the bass every day. My advice for you is 1) Hal Leonard method, I believe that you already have this, start at the beginning and spend 15 minutes or so every day. Go through it methodically, it will teach you the rudiments and set you down the path of my second recommendation, which is 2) learn to read music. This opens up an endless range of resources that you cannot get from TAB. 3) Be deliberate and focused. As you've already observed, the internet is one big rabbit hole. Of course there's some great resources there but its easy to just wander. 4) keep the fun part in the mix - play along with tunes, learns songs that you like.

In my case by way of example, I try not to have more than 2 or 3 things on my music stand at any given time. Right now for example, I have "The Latin Bass Book", because I just started a trio project (guitar, percussion, bass) that's heavily in the latin vein and I need to get my chops together; Jazz Bowing Techniques, because I suck at bowing and want to use it more, and Bach Shapes for Bass. I spend about 15-30 minutes on each every practice session. Will likely keep me busy for months. Oh, and I have a warmup exercise that I start with - 2 octave major and minor scales.

This would not be a program that would work for you, but I point it out to show how I keep myself focused and moving forward on acquiring the skills that I want to develop further.

If you can find a good teacher that you can afford, that would be great. I'm considering that myself, even though I havent taken lessons for 40 years, when I did so rigorously for a few years. But I point out the above as you will get the most out of a teacher if you develop the deiscipline on your own (in my opinion).
 
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#50
Have you been figuring out bass lines by ear from your favorite songs?

This can be awesome or daunting, depending on what your favorite songs are.

But I would start to cop bass lines from the greats on recorded songs. It will help you understand how diatonic theory gets applied.
 
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#51
I highly recommend seeing a live teacher, (live or virtually ), or even a generous local TBer in your area if only for a few sessions to get you going. Online lessons are great, but there is nothing like a live teacher showing you the foundations of instrument and correct technique. They could have you make adjustments on the spot so you don't develop bad habits right out of the gate.
 
#52
attilaLONDI said:
hello everyone, i've been teaching myself bass through online resources, SBL being one of them and although it is not great. because there is no sense of direction as a beginner and they assume that you would know where to start, although i did find a lot of the courses helpful and the workbooks are great. my issue with learning from online resources is that i don't really know where to start, and what to focus on the most as a starting bass player, also as far as practice goes, what is too much practice and is it better to focus on one thing for long periods of time or alternate between subjects and music theory to absorb the most out of the resources? so far i haven't really gotten lost, my playing has improved. I am sort of winging it. So long story short, as a beginner what should my practice routine look like? where should i start and and what should i focus on, and what would be the next step after that? if anything i'm asking for guidance or a sort of curriculum that will help me and other of self taught bass players to guide themselvles through this beautiful journey with the instrument. Without wasting time! would be much appreciated to get some advice from other fellow players.
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Get an in-person instructor, if SBL didn't work for you. Listen ACTIVELY to music you'd like to play (what's the bass doing in it), and practice your ass off.

Even after you're finished with lessons, the last two are things you should never stop doing.
 
#53
Plenty of great online learning sources as noted, as an elderly noob I tried lots of them, loved becomeabassist dot com.
Start recording and posting to tiktok if you're good with them. You'll get feedback, tips, likes, someone will 'duet' you. Don't get addicted.
I use Progressive Bass, Turner & White, as a textbook, blues based, plenty of TABs, good sounding student exercises and drum/lead CDs or website access to play along, though I never do, got my own drum tracks.
I'm too old and disabled and cantankerous to worry about anything except hitting that note I hear in my head above my severe almost disabling war induced tinnitus.
So bass playing and piccolo bass playing is my only escape from maddening cacophony other than listening to music, sleep, and camping next to a waterfall.
Bass and music are more therapy than art for me, and I do constant PT so I can continue to kick out the jams, I need it that much.
So I can't read music, never played with others, missing (missing meaning replaced by buzzing, like having bees living in your head, but there it is) two hearing frequencies from US Army heavy artillery, total TAB slave, arthritis means I need to play near the fretboard and in A or B a lot, don't know the fretboard, don't take lessons...
But I love that blues scale, and the divine pentatonics, that astonishingly simple lovely sad minor scale. The minor/blues root to 3rd interval is haunting. Walking bass lines rule also, so much fun to play. I got stuck on the I-IV-V 12-bar blues planet and I don't want to get off. Don't let it happen to you.
Never take advise from the worst bass student in the world...me. Except this one time.
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#54
You can conceptualize playing bass as "playing the lowest note in the band, and moving it up or down." So, first you want to identify the root notes in your song, and then explore ways of getting from one to the next musically - pretty soon you got a real bass line. The best way to learn these musical ways of constructing bass lines is to learn a bunch of pre-existing bass lines from recordings. In addition to your headphone time figuring out bass lines, live lessons are good, video lessons are good, books are good, theory is good, listening to more and different types of music is good, formal music school is good - add whatever you want on top of the core skill of picking out bass lines from recordings. It's all a part of your lifelong journey.
 
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#56
I signed up for TalkingBass and so far so good. Mark has a ton of free content, but the courses seem well organized and help develop discipline. If you were to go all in with his lessons it can get a little pricey.
 
#57
attilaLONDI said:
...I don't really know where to start and what to focus on...what is too much practice, and is it better to focus on one thing for long periods of time or alternate between subjects...
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It is best to pick a topic or resource and work through it beginning to end, no jumping around. At least 1/2 hour and up to an hour a day would be great. Better yet in 15 minute sessions spaced throughout the day.

The "Hal Leonard Electric Bass Method" is great. There are 3 song books that accompany the method: "Easy Pop Basslines".
 
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#58
Williethump said:
Plenty of great online learning sources as noted, as an elderly noob I tried lots of them, loved becomeabassist dot com.
Start recording and posting to tiktok if you're good with them. You'll get feedback, tips, likes, someone will 'duet' you. Don't get addicted.
I use Progressive Bass, Turner & White, as a textbook, blues based, plenty of TABs, good sounding student exercises and drum/lead CDs or website access to play along, though I never do, got my own drum tracks.
I'm too old and disabled and cantankerous to worry about anything except hitting that note I hear in my head above my severe almost disabling war induced tinnitus.
So bass playing and piccolo bass playing is my only escape from maddening cacophony other than listening to music, sleep, and camping next to a waterfall.
Bass and music are more therapy than art for me, and I do constant PT so I can continue to kick out the jams, I need it that much.
So I can't read music, never played with others, missing (missing meaning replaced by buzzing, like having bees living in your head, but there it is) two hearing frequencies from US Army heavy artillery, total TAB slave, arthritis means I need to play near the fretboard and in A or B a lot, don't know the fretboard, don't take lessons...
But I love that blues scale, and the divine pentatonics, that astonishingly simple lovely sad minor scale. The minor/blues root to 3rd interval is haunting. Walking bass lines rule also, so much fun to play. I got stuck on the I-IV-V 12-bar blues planet and I don't want to get off. Don't let it happen to you.
Never take advise from the worst bass student in the world...me. Except this one time.
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I have the first edition of that in front of me. It is a good one.
 
#60
Practicing (working on technique) is usually boring, let's say it takes a year to learn a very difficult bass line, after 1 year you can play it, but you can only play that song, whereas if you had focused on technique you could have played maybe 10 songs.
 
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