How to get started?

[Buck_BassMan94]

I’m not a super talented “musician” by any means. I struggle to hear what’s coming next musically so practice is key for me. But, I play in a cover band and can hold my own in terms of keeping the low end held down. Our guitarists are amazing musicians and know a ton of theory. My job is to hold down the groove and make them sound good (ie not messing up! Lol). These things helped me a TON when starting out.
1.) focusing on the kick drum: if you play with others staying tight with the kick, even with simple progressions will sound awesome.
2.) learning the “number system”: i tend to forget which notes were playing, but numbers make the neck geometric so it’s much easier to play accurately without much thought.
3.) jamming with guitar players who are better than you: learning to use your scales or “patterns” with a group will let you experiment and learn what works in certain settings. Playing with people more skilled than you (if they’re not jerks who want to kill your passion) will elevate your playing at a quicker pace.

Again, im no expert. I consider myself an intermediate bass player. i can’t read music, I play off chord charts and use numbers. But, using these ideas I’ve been able to hold my own in a band with much more talented people.

 

[Buck_BassMan94]

I’m not a super talented “musician” by any means. I struggle to hear what’s coming next musically so practice is key for me. But, I play in a cover band and can hold my own in terms of keeping the low end held down. Our guitarists are amazing musicians and know a ton of theory. My job is to hold down the groove and make them sound good (ie not messing up! Lol). These things helped me a TON when starting out.
1.) focusing on the kick drum: if you play with others staying tight with the kick, even with simple progressions will sound awesome.
2.) learning the “number system”: i tend to forget which notes were playing, but numbers make the neck geometric so it’s much easier to play accurately without much thought.
3.) jamming with guitar players who are better than you: learning to use your scales or “patterns” with a group will let you experiment and learn what works in certain settings. Playing with people more skilled than you (if they’re not jerks who want to kill your passion) will elevate your playing at a quicker pace.

Again, im no expert. I consider myself an intermediate bass player. i can’t read music, I play off chord charts and use numbers. But, using these ideas I’ve been able to hold my own in a band with much more talented people.

I’d also like to add one KEY things:

LEARN WHEN NOT TO PLAY.

There is a time to show off your new technique or line, and there are times to hold down the root groove and stay out of the way. As a bass player, in most situations you are there to help highlight/emphasize the other band members. I liken it to the offensive line in football, you’re essential, you’re important, but the audience typically won’t notice you…unless you mess up! Lol

 

[Fred Pucci]

Hi Everyone,
I'm Toby, and I'm about as new to this forum as I am to learning bass guitar! I picked up a bass for the first time a few days ago (its a friends 4-string, and his amp that I'm borrowing). So far, just to keep me occupied, I've tried learning the bass lines to a few songs (so far I've done Smells like Teen spirit, Rock me like a Hurricane, Seven Nation Army, Kryptonite (3 Doors Down)). However, I wanted to know what the most sensible approach to actually learning to play this instrument is. Should I just keep learning and improving bass covers, or should I divert from those and do exercises and scales and so on?

Any tips and pointers to help me get started on this new instrument are greatly appreciated!

Also, sorry if there already are threads like this. I did a quick search in the forums, but found only threads either about beginner gear or beginner theory. So, I'm sorry if I missed any threads...

And, about myself: right now, to start off I'm playing easy rock songs. My own musical tastes are mostly in metal. Mostly Heavy, as well as some Melodic Death and Folk Metal. So these are probably also the genres I would want to start to head towards playing in the future.

I was very excited to see that a wonderful bass teacher, Ariane Cap, is offering an ongoing live practice group class targeted specifically for those just starting out on the bass. She is the author of a terrific book on music theory - which is very important to get under your belt if you want to actually learn how to play and not just copy others and just use TAB. I've taken one of her previous practice group classes and it was awesome! Good luck!

 

[Bluest Blue]

Former pro back on TB with a new name. First paid gig over 50 years ago. Lots of good advice on this thread. If i could do it all over again, i would do the following:

1 learn to practice "perfectly" from the beginning in a focused manner to make every practice effective.

2 ear train early

3 read sheet music at the beginning. Avoid tab. Focus on rhythm and musicality as well technique.

4 Learn to play fluently up and down the neck (i learned this from upright).
5 Enroll in music college (jazz performance at night school) and learn the real deal.
6 Playing jazz taught me how to use scales as a ingrained tool in my walking lines and soloing. It took over a year for it to come together despite 20 previous years of performing. I use the analysis skills in all music forms. If nothing else, it helps me memorize songs.

Pure Gold!

 

[Bluest Blue]

That's cool to hear another person out there start down a similar journey. I found a Bass Guitar sitting next to a dumpster a few days ago and I have been working on the notes and scales, but I'm pretty impressed that you are playing songs. I have kinda started a song(if I can Dare to call it that) of my own.
Oh if anyone one list a Bass in the St.Pete area hmu.

When you get to be an A-list player, that will make for a cool story!

 

[MikeBassPT]

I bought my first bass (and only - Yamaha RBX374) in second hand (maybe in 2007 or '08) and "start" discovery the instrument by myself. I made the mistake of installing Guitar Pro (or Tux Guitar - on Linux) and follow tabs... Huge mistake!! After few months I really can play few songs but I stucked in terms of instrument knowledge. Since 2009 to now, I've never touch on bass (ok ok I touched to clean the dust ). I blamed myself for a long time for the mistake I made, but I set a clear goal, to learn (one day) the right way without skipping steps.

Now, finally bought a new amp ("mine" was borrowed) and started from scratch! I go start lessons (next week - new year, new "life") with a teacher and learn in the right way.

I'm 35 and I started to feel a little """old""", but you're never too old to learn something new. My advice to new at bass, if you like to play, go ahead! It's better to have the feeling of a dream come true when you know how to play (even just a little bit) than to feel bad because you missed opportunities.

 

[Enrique M]

I am a self-taught (home studio) drummer who has occasionally plunked on a bass I have had laying around for 20 years. Recently our circle of musicians has seen a major depletion of bass players and an increase in drummers, so I have decided to up my bass game to increase my opportunities of playing music. I can root note jam, but I want to actually learn how to play this instrument. I am on a waiting list for in-person Bass lessons, so in the mean time, I have been working my way through Steve K's online bass lessons (https://www.youtube.com/@stevekonbass) in an effort to actually learn my fretboard and some theory.

I just wanted to tell the moderators how useful this thread is and everyone who contributed how much I appreciate all the resources for getting (re)started on this. I am 53 and have not been this excited about something in a long time.

Cheers,