Tips for new acousitic bass player

[SodaChris]

Hello all,

I recently dusted off my old acoustic bass a Dean EAB. I never really messed with it when I got it back in the day, however I have fell in love with it now but am at a loss. I am not new to playing I was in punk rock/metal bands throughout highschool and have recently started playing again.

The acoustic is a new animal for me. So far I've just been learning some if the cool covers I see on YouTube. Guys like davie504. I'm not nearly as good as him however so it takes me forever to learn those.

I want to get the most out of this acoustic though and was looking for good resources that would assist me in practice. Tips on writing acoustic bass lines, maybe some songs to learn that aren't quite as difficult as the YouTube guys so I can lear more of them at a faster rate. My family is starting to hate hearing the same covers haha.

I guess I'm asking for any shred of advice to kick off this acoustic bass journey. I didn't learn to play in any conventional way so I struggle with just sitting down with my bass and coming up with new stuff.

Thanks!

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

I have a cheaper ABG, a “Denver.” I decided to work on a well-known cello piece, Bach’s prelude to the first suite for solo cello, in G major. It seems to fit the acoustic vibe, and it’s a nice challenge for me.

 

[dannylectro]

My path to having fun with the AEB was learning folk/country songs. Just get good and solid at the basics; then spread out as the notes come to you.

 

[SodaChris]

Thanks to both of you! I will check that song out Reg. Do you have any suggestions for country/folk songs for me to start messing with dannylectro?

 

[dannylectro]

Sure.
Freight Train
I’ll Fly Away
Ooh La La
Knocking On Heaven’s Door

People?

Edit: sp error

 

[White Beard]

Acoustic bass guitar will help you and your playing in a lot of ways. Things that you might normally leave to knob turning are now going to be controlled by your hands and how you actually play the guitar, and not where your settings are. The action tends to be much higher on an acoustic bass guitar than an electric bass guitar, and the necks tend to be bigger as well, so you're going to have to get physically used to playing larger instrument. You're going to focus more on your sound coming from you, than the sound coming from your gear. And that's a very good thing.

Acoustic bass guitar also put me in a different head space. I learned to do a lot of T,1,2 finger-pickin' with four strings, which led to using an economy of notes (with less strings on a more physically demanding instrument than a guitar, you have to decide which notes are the most important in a given chord).

 

[Paula Warren]

When I played acoustic bass just sold it...need another one. Anyways played some of the bosa novas that music was always fun. These pieces weren’t complicated made a computer cd with songs I liked.

 

[Supadope]

Anything by the Violent Femmes.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

The action tends to be much higher on an acoustic bass guitar than an electric bass guitar, and the necks tend to be bigger as well, so you're going to have to get physically used to playing larger instrument. You're going to focus more on your sound coming from you, than the sound coming from your gear. And that's a very good thing.

This has absolutely been my experience. It's not as nimble in a certain respect as an instrument that has electronics to help out. My ABG has a pickup and I can plug it in, but a lot of the pleasure is playing pure acoustically.

I also find it less forgiving of careless stopping or plucking. If I'm not precise in certain areas up the neck, or if I over-pluck, I get hideous jangling. That could be the inexpensive instrument, but then again, it doesn't hurt me any to learn to play with a more precise touch.

Acoustic bass guitar also put me in a different head space. I learned to do a lot of T,1,2 finger-pickin' with four strings

I took my ABG into the local shop, and the StaffMemberOfManyDecadesOfExperience advised me right away to stop with the two-finger technique and get my thumb involved. I am not going to say that I am playing "better," but I will say that it feels like I'm interacting with the music more carefully now.

I don't have a lot of good words for this. I don't think it matters from a performance perspective at this point, but any time I am more engaged with the playing, it feels like more of my brain is engaged with the music itself, and I like that.

 

[White Beard]

Finger pickin' is an absolutely impractical technique that you aren't going to book gigs with, but it will indirectly improve your playing by increasing your knowledge of music theory, and make you think about things like how to construct a chord or I can change the entire tonal palette by moving one note down a full step.

 

[40Hz]

I’d suggest always playing with a strap, even if you’re sitting down, as these basses tend to slip off a lap fairly easily in my experience.

Second suggestion: invest in a soundhole cover if you’re going to be playing out. You won’t always need it. But if you start getting feedback due to the room or band you’re playing with, and you can’t EQ it out, you’ll be glad to have one in your gig bag.

 

[FugaziBomb]

Hello all,

I recently dusted off my old acoustic bass a Dean EAB.

Nice. I have the fretless version of that. It's not by any means a high end instrument, but I found a good one, so I know they exist.

I was in punk rock/metal bands throughout highschool...

Me too

The acoustic is a new animal for me. So far I've just been learning some if the cool covers I see on YouTube. Guys like davie504. I'm not nearly as good as him however so it takes me forever to learn those.

Don't sweat it, it's no different than electric bass. I've used my Dean in the studio in a pinch when I didn't have access to a fretless and needed one. After listening to the mixes, you wouldn't have guessed it was an acoustic fretless.

I want to get the most out of this acoustic though and was looking for good resources that would assist me in practice.

Just approach it like bass guitar. Do chromatic fingering exercises (google for examples), major scale runs up and down and then back through the scale playing all the triads, playing each mode of a scale up and down the fretboard, then repeating with each scale. The really important thing is set a metronome to a speed where you can execute all of those exercises flawlessly - even if it seems embarrassingly slow. I once had to do a session with this bass line that had these stupid fast complicated runs. I sat down one night for a few hours watching tv with a metronome in my ear just playing the runs hyper slow over and over and over and over and over. Come studio day, I did it no problem.

Tips on writing acoustic bass lines...

Learn scales - especially pentatonic, learn theory (if you can count to 7, you can learn theory - it isn't as daunting as it seems), learn to improvise, and learn how to get away from the root notes if you haven't already.

...maybe some songs to learn that aren't quite as difficult as the YouTube guys so I can lear more of them at a faster rate. My family is starting to hate hearing the same covers haha.

Maybe you should take a break from covers all together . Find a simple drum loop on youtube that has a nice bounce and is fun to jam to and improvise over that. I do this all the time with my Akai beat pad. I just tap out a simple funky loop then lose myself for 20 minutes in a funky jam in Dm.

I guess I'm asking for any shred of advice to kick off this acoustic bass journey. I didn't learn to play in any conventional way so I struggle with just sitting down with my bass and coming up with new stuff.

Thanks!

Again, you really gotta know your scales, modes, and theory like the back of your hand if you want to improve writing. The internet has made resources for learning these more accessible than ever. Good luck!

 

[SodaChris]

All great advice. This website is awesome.

 

[SodaChris]

This has absolutely been my experience. It's not as nimble in a certain respect as an instrument that has electronics to help out. My ABG has a pickup and I can plug it in, but a lot of the pleasure is playing pure acoustically.

I also find it less forgiving of careless stopping or plucking. If I'm not precise in certain areas up the neck, or if I over-pluck, I get hideous jangling. That could be the inexpensive instrument, but then again, it doesn't hurt me any to learn to play with a more precise touch.



I took my ABG into the local shop, and the StaffMemberOfManyDecadesOfExperience advised me right away to stop with the two-finger technique and get my thumb involved. I am not going to say that I am playing "better," but I will say that it feels like I'm interacting with the music more carefully now.

I don't have a lot of good words for this. I don't think it matters from a performance perspective at this point, but any time I am more engaged with the playing, it feels like more of my brain is engaged with the music itself, and I like that.

I completely relate to this.

 

[SodaChris]

I have a cheaper ABG, a “Denver.” I decided to work on a well-known cello piece, Bach’s prelude to the first suite for solo cello, in G major. It seems to fit the acoustic vibe, and it’s a nice challenge for me.

Been working on this and it feels like my left hand is gonna fall off.... Haha thanks I already feel like learning this song is benefiting my overall playing

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Right at first. Back to basic bass lines, i.e. roots and fives, perhaps an eight R-5-8-5. The other guys will get the melody your ole acoustic is for the harmony and rhythm. Leave the melody for the solo instruments right now.

Pull up a song and follow the chords using roots and fives. Later throw in the 8, perhaps a 3. Three and six go together. Experiment, but, keep to the beat - dare I say groove...