Did you start out with lessons?

[dinghy]

Did you?

[JimmyM]

I played 3 years without lessons, and 5 on guitar. Made all the difference in the world when I started. However, I had years of drum lessons and music in school before I started playing guitar and bass, so that helped.

[SuperSnake2012]

No... I started guitar on my own when I was 14. I had no music lessons, just a few tabs and some drive. I started bass when I was 16 after listening to Rush. I knew then that I wanted to play bass

[fullrangebass]

I am self taught all these years (apart from a 10min "lesson" on slap in early summer)

[poisonoakie]

If you are serious about learning the instrument, you MUST find a teacher whom you respect and trust COMPLETELY. Once you have found that, just do what they say, and you will be fine.
Teaching yourself is just less efficient. You allready have whatever talent and indeviduality you are going to have. There is no need to worry about sounding "conventional" because you may be learning the instrument in a way that many people have allready learned it. Once you have MASTERED the inrument, your indeviduality will come through effortlessly.

by the way, I was self taught for the first 8 or 9 years that I played, (gigging and not having any complaints) and I have doubled my abilities on the bass in the past year of instruction.

[Lorenzini]

I taught myself, but knew theory already. I went to a teacher and he showed me some stuff regarding technique and recommended my technique was fine, I just needed to shed a lot and get it under my fingers. So I've been doing that.

I highly recommend someone going to a teacher for basic technique lessons regarding learning how to use the instrument. Also utilize your teacher by having him teach you theory. If he can't, you don't have a proper teacher, and must find one that does!

Learn the theory and learn the technique, then leave it alone and play music, and shed everyday.

[Ramstien]

I noodled with a bass before I started lessons, but I basically started with them.

[WeeMann]

I taught myself then, about 3 or 4 years later, won a part time course at Basstech in West London. That gave me some focus so I went off and built on that.

[brianrost]

I already knew how to read music from playing clarinet in elementary school and organ in high school.

I started with the Carol Kaye books (the only thing besides the Mel Bay books available in the early 70s) on my own in 1973, after 4 years started taking lessons and continued to take them off and on up to about 4 years ago.

Actually, I need to find another teacher.

[rdmjazz]

Self taught.

[BillySid]

Nope, started out picking things out by ear. It wasn't until my college years that I took lessons and music theory.

[Asa Samuel]

nay, but i got some lessons eventually.

[hunta]

I had lessons off and on when I was starting out. I repeatedly ignored virtually everything my teachers had to say. I still learned things but I could have learned a lot more. In college I was a much better student

[professor_bills]

I started out just hitting the notes the guitar player told me to play.. then started working things out by ear. I had piano lessons when i was a wee tot. I also took lessons when I bought my first bass but that guy was so stuck on finger exercises I got bored and quit. I sometimes think of taking lessons to learn new tecniques and my scales. My neighbor tells me I would be much better if I learned my scales.

[iriegnome]

I have been playing for 28 years now. I have never had a Lesson. I have given myself lessons. Picked up books, gotten advise, stole a move here and there and stuff like that, but never sat down in a lesson room. I think lesson's would have made me a better player quicker, but the lessons I have learned on the road and in life are far more valuable to me as a player. It does come out in my playing.

[Gawd]

I self taught myself for a couple years. using books and the internet, always doing my research to make sure I didn't set up any traps for myself.

I tried finding teachers a couple times, but all of them didn't seem to be able to offer me anything that I couldn't learn on my own.

plus thinking back now, if I had gotten a teacher, it might have made me feel differently about bass, like it was an obligation, I might not love it as much as I do.

with all the resources for information on the internet, I don't know if teachers are really necessary, unless someone needs extra help, or hands on examples.

[KJung]

I had many, many years of classical piano lessons as a child and young adult (through Freshman year of high school). When I switched to bass around that time, I took lessons from a good player at the University to primarily make sure I was approaching the physical technique correctly (since I could read already). MUCH later, and continuing today, I take 'on and off' lessons with players/teachers I respected to improve my understanding of theory, etc. I also took a number of music theory classes as electives when I was an undergraduate.

[pointbass]

I started playing bass (DB) in 3rd grade, and and continued to have structured lessons all through school and college. I play multiple instruments (some not so well ) and had formal lessons on all of them. But most of my practical experience came from playing gigs ..... lessons are great, but real life can serve you quite well ....

[Nedmundo]

I've never taken a lesson on bass, but I've had other formal instruction that's helped:

piano lessons, ages 6-9;
cello lessons, ages 10-12;
guitar lessons, ages 13-15 (or so); and
semester of music theory in college.

I started bass at age 15, probably shortly after my last guitar lesson. I think the semester of music theory and playing cello in the elementary school orchestra were more helpful for bass playing than the vast majority of my guitar lessons.

[chicagodoubler]

No, but like Cher says, "If I could turn back time..."

One of the suck things about the bass is that don't have a standardized pedagogy, and how many guys do you know who's first teacher was a guitar player?


Also, drummers and horn players get a good start in school band programs, but we get left in this nebulous wasteland.

Much respect to Ed Friedland and others for making instructional material to fill the gap.