Advice for new bass players -

[allan grossman]

If you were to give one piece of advice to someone just starting out what would it be?

[bassaussie]

Listen to anything and everything, as you never know where your next bit of inspiration is going to come from.

Oh .... and be good to your mother! ;)

Oh, another one (serious)!!

Don't get caught up in the whole "real bassplayers don't use picks" or "slapping sucks" routines.

"Real" bassplayers use any technique available to them to get the job done. If you want to be a complete bassist, try and learn every possible technique you can. It doesn't mean you have to use them all the time, but it means that you'll be better prepared to give the best possible performance for any given situation.

[trashbassism]

Originally posted by bassaussie
Oh, another one (serious)!!

Don't get caught up in the whole "real bassplayers don't use picks" or "slapping sucks" routines.

"Real" bassplayers use any technique available to them to get the job done. If you want to be a complete bassist, try and learn every possible technique you can. It doesn't mean you have to use them all the time, but it means that you'll be better prepared to give the best possible performance for any given situation.

Right on. I used to say:"Playing with a pick is raping your bass". Thank god I´m nowadays more grown-up. I´d like to use a pick sometimes but my wrist starts to ache when i´m wanking with a pick.

My advice to beginners: Remember to have fun.

[SteveyDevey]

my advice would be to play for the right reasons, whatever they may be for an individual. Don't force yourself to play; you wont get jack shit out of the experience that way.

[FingerThePick]

treat your gear with respect and it will last forever and still sound good

[jefkay]

Keep your eyes and ears open, 'cause you'll be surprised what you can learn by listening to other players (yes, even guitarists...)
Talk to lots of drummers, and, more important, try to play with as many drummers as you can !!! A tight rythm-section is the power and drive behind every band!

[Low Tone]

Learn theory and scales.
I wish I had.

[Jazz Ad]

Get in a band as soon as possible, even if you cant play.
Bass is very easy to start, but difficult to master.
A band will boost your progression.

Try to take at least a handful of lessons, to get the basics.

[narcolepticbass]

Don't get caught up in gear snobbery. Sure a Sadowsky, Warwick, Lakland, MIA Fenfer, or Ric may be better than an Essex, Squier, or Epiphone, but those can be pretty good basses as well, and not to mention very forgiving to the wallet.

[T. Alan Smith]

Please, please, please learn to play with real soul!

[driver8]

Find a really good drummer...
hook in with his bass foot
and play.

[Low Tone]

Originally posted by T. Alan Smith
Please, please, please learn to play with real soul!

I'd give that a +1
Enjoy the music you are playing and feel it inside you.

[Banta]

Practice makes perfect. Practice, practice, practice. Then practice more. Don't spend too much time talking about bass and not playing it.

[mrcrow]

try to keep your fret hand thumb behind the neck where it belongs.
adopt a finger per fret exercise and start with it and use it till it works
use the middle finger for note one in an arpeggio

try to get your plucking hand thumb on the bottom (top) string and slip it up only to play the E string.

dont practice too long with the hard stuff and keep a little tune you made up yourself to finish on and craft to get it better.

dont look up too much at what the big boys are doing. just be calm and confident you will get there...after you are good at the intermediate stages

one note at the right time is worth many not in time

practice triplets and synchopation.

:cool:

[MrJoshua]

Get up offa that thing
And make the bass feel better. :)

[acebass]

Don't let the palm of either hand make contact with the bass - Keep both thumbs perpendicular to the bass.

[JimmyQBalls]

Well, do what i did, i played for a bit by myself, and learned some songs by ear, then went in the proper direction, before my bad habits became worse, and got LESSONS. bang bam boom, i got better much faster. my teacher learned from gary willis for over a year, and he showed me about all the technique stuff he learned from gary.

Also, buy exercise books. I bought a bass fitness book, site reading book, and a slap exercise book (whoever says slapping sucks, can't do it), and just from those i have gotten so much better.

Last thing, think about bass ALL DAY LONG, remember what notes sound like, and try to think of songs, and where they are played on the neck. always try to listen to songs, and learn their basslines, learn as many styles and rythyms as possible. Lately, i've been playing my usual self made harmony songs, in a different light, sometimes try to slap them, or throw in muted notes (muted notes OWN!)... I also just got a schecter elite 5, so i've been playing about 3 hours a day!

PLAY PLAY PLAY!


however, after reading the comment above me... i do use my palm to control sound levels, and muting... not my whole palm, more like the side of my hand on the pinky side, it's somewhat tricky to play with your fingers sideways, but you can do some cool stuff with the muting. versatility is the key...

Last thing i just thought of : be able to BS! sometimes, if im playing, i might miss a note, not sound wise, but totally rythmically miss it and not play it at all, and here is when you need to show people, i meant to do that... it makes you look like you know what your doing, but inside, you feel like a shithead. you can change the rest of the measure, to accomodate for the mistake!

[Oneders00]

HAVE AS MUCH FUN AS YOU CAN FUCKING CAN!!

[5stringer]

Jam with as many different people as you can. I have learned more from jam sessions than anything else.

[Jazz Ad]

Even if it's the crappiest music ever, never turn down a good paying gig.
It'll still be better than selling hamburgers.

[mitica]

Not exactly one thing, but a top ten would look like (apologies for repeating what others said):

1. Persistence, persistence, persistence.

2. Timekeeping, timekeeping, timekeeping.
2a. Your metronome is your best friend.
2b. Learn to keep time while playing through your mistakes, always listening to find your place and never stopping until the tune is done. (If the bass ever stops, your group is headed for a trainwreck, most of the time.)
2c. Know and feel where beat one is, without exception, all the time.

3. Play along with your fave CDs/whatever inspires you, and play what feels good and *right*.

4. I forget who said it, but notes are clever ways for getting from one silence to the next. Hear and appreciate the silences.

5. Listen to the masters in your fave style(s). Steal their ideas shamelessly, rework them over different rhythms and harmonic foundations.

6. Take the time to master one thing at a time. You'll never consider yourself good enough, so forget thinking "I want to be good in a year or two" -- there are no endpoints -- and just enjoy the journey and fun of discovery. Practice daily, even if all you have is ten minutes.

7. Keep your ears open to all kinds of music, and your mind (and fingers) will follow.

8. Listen to constructive criticism to improve your playing/musicianship, but don't ever let your sense of self-worth depend on someone else's opinion.

9. Get out and play with others, preferably with people better than you are. Music made strictly at home is fun, but limited--art is meant to change lives, to communicate ideas and feelings to others, and bass, more than any other instrument (IMO), best comes alive in an ensemble.

10. Keep a sense of perspective. You are not going to endanger your life by playing any given clam at any given point in time. Take deep breaths, relax, get out of your own way, and open yourself up to feeling, instinct, and having fun.

[voivode]

Learn what it means when somebody says "We just need a walking blues line in A, it's a I-IV-V with a turnaround from E to stick it on the A."
Learn your major scale, and what it means to be in the key of <insert key here>. If you know where you're going and what you can do in between, you can fake your way into any gig, anywhere, anytime.

[Knuuckles]

Although I'm also a beginner..through experience with other instruments and video games and stuff:

DO NOT sell your current instrument to get a bass. Earn the extra cash and keep all. Only sell when it is necessary to survive, when rents due, or when you HATE the instrument. And not just "very bored with it" I mean HATE it.

Not :o ...only when its :mad: :mad: :mad:

..

:D

[mcrelly]

try to learn songs by ear first, then use charts or sheet music as needed, you'll remember the song better too!

don't be afraid to protect your ears, you WILL regret it if you don't!!!! :( :( :(

[SpongeBobSquareBass]

Be HUMBLE. You'll get a lot more respect and more bands will want you for this reason. You're a beginner, remember, so play within your skill level, but play it with heart, and your band mates will love you for it.

[HemiMG]

I'm also a beginner. The thing is to play music that you like. I know that sounds simple, but really liking the music is what makes you play well. I'll give you an example or two. I have the emedia bass tutor. Most of the songs on there suck. Not the songs themselves mind you, but a middle aged white hippie singing old negro spirituals doesn't exactly move the soul like it should. I mess up alot on those., and it seems like work. When I got to the one that he does a decent job singing on (Swing low sweet chariot) I played it near perfect the first time and must have played it seven or eight times just to be doing it. Similarly with the house of the rising sun. He wants you to play a slowed down version first. I messed up alot on the slowed down version because it sounds like crap slow. When I finally got through the slow version with few mistakes I nervously went to the fast version and to my surprise played it near perfect the first time, because the fast version sounds much better.
Another even more subtle example comes from when I played Elvis' Hound Dog on the keyboard. At first it was very boring sounding and boring to play. Just changing the tone on the keyboard from piano to electric guitar made the song sound like it should however and I found it very fun to play.
It is of course very good to practice, but try to practice with songs that you like.

[My bass in your face]

Practising half an hour each day is WAY better than 4 hours in a row once a week.

Join a band

[da_witch]

Get in to as many styles of music as you can...listen to it, try to figure out the bassline and make up your own way of playing...

And about gear: We know Fender is an all known bass, but when you start buying gear try as much basses and amps as you can...wich tone do you like etc? Take your time for it!

[Funkenste1n]

tip 2

Learn your scales outdoor in winter without gloves,
it an old-school reliable method:)

[ezweave]

Don't guess when it comes to technique. Learn it right the first time.

[Jugghaid]

Don't pigeonhole yourself into one or two styles of music. Listen to and learn all styles. It will make you a better player and give you a better all around understanding of music period. I have seen way too many guys that get wrapped up in being able to play stuff from Wooten or Myung or Pattitucci and can't hold down a simple groove like Dunn or Shannon or Bootsy.

[zachoff]

A lot of good suggestions so far... I'll add:

Make sure you're in tune.

Buy used at first. You'll get better gear for the money.

IMO (in band situations), performance is better than technical prowess... If you look like you know what you're doing a great majority of the people won't know you're lost ;)

"Vintage" usually doesn't mean "better"

[Scottr]

Music Theory...->Bass Fundementals...->Genre(s) Technique...->Personal Style

Do it, in that order.

Oh yes....and know every note on the Fretboard.

I know lot's of performers who can't read music, don't know much about theory and can put on one Hell of a Show. But...they are not musicians, they are performers. If you want to be a Musician...you need to learn the Language of Music and how to Speak it with your instrument.