Difficult basslines for a newbie

[bagnonbass]

I was just wondering if it made sense for a newbie to try to learn basslines like this :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV2skH4JmbA

Will it help my progress or slow me down ? I've been trying to learn the "Sir Duke " bass line and I do fairly well until I get to that bridge . Well I've learned the first bar but I have to slow it way down to where it's a whole lot slower than the main part that I can somewhat play . When I get past that first bar of the bridge I just say f**k it and try another song . To all you experts , should I just stick to the simple basslines or is it ok to challenge myself and try to learn basslines like this :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfVH6_jO2qE

[fenderfunker]

That's fairly ambitious for a noobie, but don't give up. Maybe practise it for 5 or 10 minutes every time you pick up your bass, then move on to some more basic stuff. Pretty soon you'll have it nailed. My song was Stanleys 'School Days', 35 years ago. Most of us have one of those songs we aspire to. Good luck.

[MalcolmAmos]

I agree, nothing wrong with "basic" bass lines for us newbies IMO. Speaking of basic bass lines......

Just received Bass Lines in Minutes - An Easy Method for Creating Bass Lines Hal Leonard / Houston Publishing. I'm a sucker for "how to books", this one was worth every penny I spent on it. Which was only $9.95 plus shipping.

What set this one apart from all the rest - after you looked at the chord and decided to use your ole tried and true R-3-5-3 or what not --- take a peek at the standard notation notes - if the notes are going up scale use R-2-3-5 however if they are going down scale use 8-7-6-5 as your basic riff. Douugah - that was a big WOW for me.

Of course the book goes into a lot more.

[fu22ba55]

I would go for it, but don't get discouraged.

Pick two or three songs you absolutely want to learn, then keep coming back to them every six months or so.

I remember struggling with certain songs, then improving my technique and coming back to the same songs a few months later and they were much easier to play. You can use songs like that as a yardstick for how far you've come.

Quantum leaps for me were when I learned the advantages of plucking near the bridge instead of near the neck... and when someone actually showed me "correct" hand position for my left hand. After three months practicing with better technique, those hard songs were suddenly a lot easier.

[Gunner77]

Originally Posted by fu22ba55

Quantum leaps for me were when I learned the advantages of plucking near the bridge instead of near the neck... and when someone actually showed me "correct" hand position for my left hand. After three months practicing with better technique, those hard songs were suddenly a lot easier.

Can you expand on that and explain what you see as the advantages of plucking near the bridge? Just curious.

Gunner

[fu22ba55]

Originally Posted by Gunner77

Can you expand on that and explain what you see as the advantages of plucking near the bridge?

My first (real) bass was a P-bass, and I play with my fingers (not a pick), so I rested my thumb on the thumbrest or on the P-bass pickup. This meant I was plucking the strings over the P-bass pickup.

Later, I got a Rick 4001, and discovered I could rest my thumb on top of the treble pickup (closer to the bridge).

The strings are more taut near the bridge... they don't flop around as much when you strike them, so you can play a bit faster... with less effort, because the strings stay where they are and your fingers don't have to search for them.

You also (obviously) get a completely different sound when plucking near the bridge. More mids, less bass, more "piano-like."

Downside is that the strings are a bit further apart near the bridge (on a Fender-style bass), and since they are more taut, you REALLY build up your calluses. (It hurts like heck when you first start playing down there.)

Later still, I wound up trading the Ricky for a '73 Jazz Bass (which I still have), and you can just park your thumb on that treble pickup and pluck away.

Another quantum leap playing down there was grazing the strings instead of plucking them dead on. I found I could pick up speed if I approached the strings at more of an angle... plucking them with the SIDES of my fingertips, rather than trying to maintain a 90 degree relationship. It's kind of hard to explain via text like this, but imagine your two fingers making a little "running" motion... running alongside the strings, rather than hammering them straight down like two swimmer's legs kicking. Does that make *any* sense?

[groove pump]

It's gotta be fun or it gets old way too soon, right?

I think that tough lines are good goals for nailing down but as a player, it can be extremely valuable to understand what's going on musically along with just learning where to put your hands to make that funky line. Don't worry if both things don't happen on the same schedule.

I've found that I might be in the trenches with something for a while, but maybe six or eight months later, what used to be a tough nut has been cracked and is now an effortless groove. That classic advice of learning to play the tough stuff slowly is some solid wisdom - give it a little more time and you'll have that Sir Duke line hashed out.

Simple lines can also demand a lot of touch and feel, so don't worry that you're taking an easy way out with those. Play them without looking at your hands for example, so that your feel and your ears have to do the heavy lifting.