Noisy strings aid learning?

[mr.gone]

Relative noobie here -- I've played piano for years and now am teaching myself bass. I'm trying to develop good technique from the get-go so I don't have to break bad habits later.

The stock strings on my bass are fairly noisy and I was thinking of some quieter replacements -- flats, probably -- but then wondered if that's a mistake. Seems that the noisy strings would force me to be smoother with my technique, while the flats would let the lesser technique pass more readily. Another way of saying it -- a player who can play smoothly with noisy strings can certainly do the same with quiet ones, but the reverse isn't necessarily true.

Am I on target or am I being a masochist? The bass is otherwise quite playable.

[Tupac]

I'd imagine so. This kinda reminds me of my thread too.

[mr.gone]

You're right -- it IS the same point. Well, cross the flat wounds off my Hanukkah list.

[elgecko]

How about raise the action a bit?

[fearceol]

If you like the tone of flat wounds, then by all means change to them, but don't use them as a crutch for bad technique. Be patient and work on your technique. It will take a bit of time, but will pay dividends in the long run. One thing that might reduce the noise is if you roll off some treble on your amp.

[XylemBassGuitar]

mr.gone, I think you're on the right track. Noisy strings that make huge scratchy sounds while you're playing with bad technique are a great learning tool. I'd say stick with the noisy ones for now.

You might also consider taking 1 - 5 bass lessons, possibly from different teachers, so they can critique your technique before you start to develop any of those bad habits you mentioned. I would have saved 3 or 4 months in the beginning if I had done that.

[fourfinger]

I agree with your hunch, learning with rounds is best. Gives you easier-to-hear difference between a successful note and a not-quite-successful one.

[mr.gone]

Thanks for the confirmation of my assumptions, guys. The more I thought about what the "noise" was, I realized that most of it came from things that I can control with good technique -- articulation of the note, clear starting and stopping, and muting. The only noise that I think may be inevitable at times is the sliding sound of moving fingers from one spot to another. But I guess that even the sliding sound can be reduced with more time spent training my fingers to walk graciously around the fretboard instead of plopping here and there like a toddler whose momma spiked his milk bottle.

[Buxtehude]

Worth getting a good set-up done to make sure that that the bass is not producing some of the noise. Also try recording yourself direct and listening for artifacts that are caused by poor technique. I changed from piano to bass and it takes a while. Best of luck.

[mr.gone]

Thanks. I've had it set up properly; the fault is all mine. How long is 'a while' to get decent on the bass? Or how long had you been at it before you said to yourself, 'Dang! Starting to sound pretty good here!'

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by mr.gone

Thanks. I've had it set up properly; the fault is all mine. How long is 'a while' to get decent on the bass? Or how long had you been at it before you said to yourself, 'Dang! Starting to sound pretty good here!'

Becoming "decent" on bass is a gradual process, depending on how often you practice, what you practice, whether you have a teacher, etc. There is no particular time frame, as everyone and their circumstances are different. Practice regularly, be patient and enjoy the learning process, and it is almost a guarantee that the "decency" will be there.

Best of luck with it.

[tabdog]

Originally Posted by mr.gone

Thanks. I've had it set up properly; the fault is all mine. How long is 'a while' to get decent on the bass? Or how long had you been at it before you said to yourself, 'Dang! Starting to sound pretty good here!'

I have a couple of questions.

What bass and amp are you using?

Playing with recorded music helps, but
have you played with other players?

When you play with a group, the bass
almost takes on a different flavor. It
is meant to accompany other instruments
and that is it's element.

As your playing progresses, you will learn
to use the nuances of the bass to make
your playing sound better.

Tabdog

[mr.gone]

Thanks for your reply, Tabdog. I've played live on keyboards, not bass, but I can see how that would be a different deal. I just want to make sure I'm developing good technique from the get-go rather than letting other factors cover my accuracy/clarity/tone problems.

I'm just playing an Ibanez Mikro with a Peavy practice amp. I also use a little Vox battery-powered headphone amp and headphones. Unforgiving of my errors, that Vox/headphone combo!

[john grey]

A great many people play with their finger between the frets (rather than nearly against the fret) & of course they hear a "buzz". There are a heck of a lot of people who play an action so low that some people are astounded but their technique allows them to get an extremely clear sound from the amplified instrument.

[mr.gone]

Thanks. I might have overstated the unwanted sounds I'm experiencing. It's not a matter of finger placement; I know to put them just behind the fret. It's not a matter of string height; I understand the buzz factor of action that is too low. I've had enough lessons to get all of that and more.

Mainly, I'm talking about the small harmonics and accidental touching of the wrong string you hear if you're not quite as precise as you should be and aren't fully muting when you need to. Those things are more easily covered with, say, rolling off the treble and maybe switching to flats. I was just asking about the value of pushing through the unwanted noise and fixing it with technique as a relative beginner rather than switching strings. My takeaway is that it's a good thing to be aware of your technique as you're starting, even if it bugs you to hear that string noise.

[basslinejam]

Forget about strings. Raise your action. That's how you get the bug muscles.

[Stumbo]

Try practicing very slowly at first so your fret changes are clean. Speed and dexterity take lots of time.

Here are some links you may want to check out:
Beginners mistakes
"Go slow" practice method
Creating a practice schedule
Find a teacher

More links in the >500 links in my sig. below.

Good luck.

[john grey]

Frankly I agree, so long as you are aware of the problem and work to rid yourself of it. It's very possible that you are working too fast. A simple exercise are open strings scales where you demand your fingers to alternate (if you see that you are using a single finger or digging deeply w/ your plucking therefore touching another string).
Too many people don't work w/ a metronome or drum machine and unconsciously speed up, some folks pluck harder in an attempt to increase volume. If that may be the case, raise the volume so that you are forced to maintain consistency to pluck at an even pressure and tempo. Work to no longer look at the neck: try for consistency in volume, tempo, & consistent pressure - even if it's quite slow at first.

[XylemBassGuitar]

Originally Posted by mr.gone

My takeaway is that it's a good thing to be aware of your technique as you're starting, even if it bugs you to hear that string noise.

I would definitely agree with this statement

[DeivoxCarnal]

When I started buying nicer gear the first thing that I noticed was that my flaws were way more apparent on a kickass bass with a nice amp, and it definitely made me realize how much work I had ahead of me.

Same for when I first played fretless, even with line markers I find it difficult to play in tune.

BTW, Mr. Gone, are you a fan of The Maxx?
Best animated series MTV ever had IMO, and a kickass graphic novel as well.