How to get to "that level"

Kamrin

Kamrin

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Jun 4, 2014
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Ohio
#1
I want to take my bass playing to the next level, I feel pretty good about my technique, I've mostly spent my time getting that how I like it. But Now I'd like to get to the point where I can be completely comfortable on the neck and not just play in "scale boxes", where I can know exactly what notes to hit to get what I'm hearing in my head out of my bass.

I've been studying some theory on my keyboard, I've started learning all the names of the notes on the fretboard, I know an alright amount about intervals, chord structure ect. That has helped me a lot at picking up on things quicker, and a little better at improv, but I still kinda feel like I'm just "wanking around" when I try to improvise or come up with stuff.

What would be the best exercises or things to study ect. To get to this level I want to achieve the fastest?
 
#2
Learn not for not what the players you idolize play and analyze using your theory knowledge (especially relating to what chord is being played)

Also, sing into a recorder (on your phone works) a baseline that's in your head. Then, learn that line on bass.
 
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#4
I've found it a lot easier to wank around, as you put it, on bass than guitar. Besides the much bigger movements your hands must make, the fact that every string is in 4ths without the dodgy jump from the G to B on a guitar somehow helps keep me in place easier.

Other than getting a teacher I can't recommend anything more than practice - but rather than wanking around you should focus on phrasing and make it fit into a song structure to keep your noodling under some control.
 
#6
AshInAmsterdam said:
I've found it a lot easier to wank around, as you put it, on bass than guitar. Besides the much bigger movements your hands must make, the fact that every string is in 4ths without the dodgy jump from the G to B on a guitar somehow helps keep me in place easier.

Other than getting a teacher I can't recommend anything more than practice - but rather than wanking around you should focus on phrasing and make it fit into a song structure to keep your noodling under some control.
Click to expand...

Definitely this, I ALWAYS wank around.

And then I can actually sit and play bass, and keep my focus :)
 
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#7
Don't just play in scale boxes.....if the chord is D, let's say, play the riff at all D-points on the neck...try playing as much of everything you can on a single string....

The more you instinctively know where everything is the neck the easier it is to get there and play it.

That's one of the reasons I often practise off the Circle of Fifths (Or Fourths)......moving around all over the neck....until I know where to go inside out.
 
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#8
Scales are for reference. They are not to be used to play, unless of course you want to sound like you're running scales. The reason why you don't want to use them is because if you force yourself to stick to them, you lose the usage of the other notes that aren't in the scale, and these notes are often really good choices that add color to your playing. Also, it totally sounds like scales when you use them in your playing, and to me and most people it sounds stiff and boring. Knowing the scales is a necessity in order to understand chord theory, intervals, etc. I am not saying to ignore them or don't learn them. I am say that when it comes to playing, it'll sound way more natural and soulful if you don't base your playing entirely on them.
 
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#9
Oddly enough, learning a simple jazz song on piano or guitar will help your bass playing awareness more than most things. Why? Learning extended chords will give you better familiarity with your scales. And the better you understand your scales the more your bass neck will look like a plathura of musical options.
 
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#11
Practice.

If that ain't working, find something new out of left field and then go practice that. Preferably something you don't like.
You can't break down barriers from the safety of your comfort zone.

One time I picked up a banjo and a Mel Bay instructional book. And that turned my bass playing upside down and I went to a new level.
I started using my fingernails instead of fingertips and developed a lighter more efficient technique and my speed skyrocketed.

Doesn't have to be banjo though. It could be about anything. Tuvan throat singing, rhythmic card shuffling, tap dancing, Mimmicing
Whale sounds with a volume knob or pedal. I'm serious. Creativity comes from weird places. Go be weird until your brain
makes a connection to whatever you are doing and what it means to music in general, the possible movements of your fingers,
some epiphany you never understood about music theory.... Who knows what you'll discover?

Works for me.
...sometimes.
 
#12
Nev375 said:
Practice.

If that ain't working, find something new out of left field and then go practice that. Preferably something you don't like.
You can't break down barriers from the safety of your comfort zone.

One time I picked up a banjo and a Mel Bay instructional book. And that turned my bass playing upside down and I went to a new level.
I started using my fingernails instead of fingertips and developed a lighter more efficient technique and my speed skyrocketed.

Doesn't have to be banjo though. It could be about anything. Tuvan throat singing, rhythmic card shuffling, tap dancing, Mimmicing
Whale sounds with a volume knob or pedal. I'm serious. Creativity comes from weird places. Go be weird until your brain
makes a connection to whatever you are doing and what it means to music in general, the possible movements of your fingers,
some epiphany you never understood about music theory.

Works for me.
...sometimes.
Click to expand...

That's kinda why I'm asking this question, I've picked up keys lately, and my understanding of theory has skyrocketed, but I'm having trouble translating these to bass due to the fretboard being arranged differently than a piano.
 
#13
Kamrin said:
That's kinda why I'm asking this question, I've picked up keys lately, and my understanding of theory has skyrocketed, but I'm having trouble translating these to bass due to the fretboard being arranged differently than a piano.
Click to expand...


Sometimes it just takes a while for things to click mentally. Keep messing with it and absorbing what you can.
Go back and forth playing things on bass, then on keys. I'm very visual oriented so it all manifested in my mind
in colors and shapes and patterns. Not everyone is that way though. A lot of musicians just connect sounds with
finger movements and theres probably half a dozen other ways for the concepts to imprint mentally.

Think of how you learned other things in life and if theres a way to integrate that sort of thing into your practice.
 
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#14
tshapiro said:
Oddly enough, learning a simple jazz song on piano or guitar will help your bass playing awareness more than most things. Why? Learning extended chords will give you better familiarity with your scales. And the better you understand your scales the more your bass neck will look like a plathura of musical options.
Click to expand...

Since moving to 6 string and working diligently with a teacher (a working pro who has recorded with my favorite artist!) I've been learning a lot more through exploring chords. I can "see" the general shape of the chord scale and now am starting to understand a bit more about the choices I'm making.
 
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#15
Nev375 said:
Practice.

If that ain't working, find something new out of left field and then go practice that. Preferably something you don't like.
You can't break down barriers from the safety of your comfort zone.

One time I picked up a banjo and a Mel Bay instructional book. And that turned my bass playing upside down and I went to a new level.
I started using my fingernails instead of fingertips and developed a lighter more efficient technique and my speed skyrocketed.

Doesn't have to be banjo though. It could be about anything. Tuvan throat singing, rhythmic card shuffling, tap dancing, Mimmicing
Whale sounds with a volume knob or pedal. I'm serious. Creativity comes from weird places. Go be weird until your brain
makes a connection to whatever you are doing and what it means to music in general, the possible movements of your fingers,
some epiphany you never understood about music theory.... Who knows what you'll discover?

Works for me.
...sometimes.
Click to expand...
Same thing kind of happened to me when I decided to learn a little bit of guitar. I've always only played bass so I went out and bought and acoustic guitar to learn the chords and basic rhythm guitar. I rarely used pick on bass until I started learning the guitar. All the sudden I found pick playing really easy on bass.
 
#16
I'm kinda of the opinion that there are already enough notes and such being played at every level. For me the idea of getting to the next level is more about mastering feel and tone. IMO the bass masters out there are the ones who are always 10% more musical than the rest of the herd.
 
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