somewhat of a newb looking for advice

gordabega · #1 06-11-2011, 02:07 AM

hey all,

i'm a guitarist who's making the move from a 6 string to a 5. i have had an off again on again relationship with bass since 5th grade, when i played upright in orchestra for a year.

well, now i own a bass and have been piecing together a rig with the help of friends who also play bass.

i got into a cover band with some friends and i am picking up some of the bass lines easy, but some of them just go over my head right away. some tabs i've found online have been almost worthless after looking them over and listening to the music at the same time...

my 2 biggest issues are: actually hearing the bass part (after so many years to listening mainly to vocals and guitars, i just kinda put bass out of my mind for the most part) on the mp3s, and trying to play the songs at tempo with my fingers. i use a pick, but i can use my fingers depending on what it is. if it's a tune like No Matter What by Badfinger, i can use my fingers. if it's like Been Caught Stealing by Jane's Addiction or Santeria by Sublime, i can't get my right hand to respond quick enough.

any suggestions to help with the hearing thing? maybe boost a certain freq when listening? the right hand thing is just gonna need to be more practice. maybe slowing the tune down in protools to get it right and learn to, and speed it up as i get better.

and i think i saw a thread about slapping. i'll have to check it out. i'm sure i'll need to learn a chili peppers song eventually.

thanks everyone!

M.Wrenn · #2 06-11-2011, 02:30 AM

Hearing the bass just comes from extensive experience in listening for it. iTunes has a "Bass Booster" setting that will help in the beginning. Other than that you just gotta learn to listen for it, it'll come in time.

Good luck.

alec · #3 06-11-2011, 04:00 AM

Someone posted a link to a handy site recently - Free Guitar Backing Tracks @ GuitarBackingTrack.com

Some songs are just midi backing tracks but some are the original recordings with the guitar mixed out. Its a great way to learn songs (though like tabs, not all the midi tracks are right) and also helps to know what to listen for when you're trying to hear the bass in a full mix.

BassInUrFace · #4 06-11-2011, 04:11 AM

You need to consciously listen for the bass part and really concentrate. With practise it becomes easier and you don't even need to think about it. As said playing faster will come with time, however instead of slowing the track down to learn it I would recommend playing to a metronome at a slower tempo as this will help your time as well.

kegbass · #5 06-11-2011, 04:12 AM

I'm in the same boat as you - used to play ages ago and getting back into it. I still have an ear for the lower frequencies, but found this program called Coda that helps slow down mp3s while maintaining the pitch. I have it on my iPhone but I believe there are other versions for a computer and probably Android.

I set it to play the song at half-speed, then 3/4 speed and build up to full speed as my fingers regain dexterity, strength and my ear is refined. Hope that helps - Good luck!

TOOL460002 · #6 06-11-2011, 06:38 AM

First of all, if you're not using headphones or have nice speakers, then do that. Nice big headphones are great for this. If you have a way to record, just drag the mp3 into your program, and add a track for bass just to hear it, and play along. Depending on your software it may be easy to slow down the mp3. You could definitely eq the mp3 with precision.

Otherwise, you'll get used to it with time. Oh, and if you're having trouble hearing yourself from your amp, step back a couple feet.

**TRichardsbass** · #7 06-11-2011, 07:19 AM

This is the problem with iTunes and all new iPod docks, even my new Bose. You cannot tailor the treb or bass. You need a good stereo, old school. Turn the treble to zero. You can hear the lines fine. Funny, you can screw with EQ in your car but not on most new "stereos". Tascam makes a bass learning item where it slows down the songs and keeps pitch and also will pull the bass out for you to practice. Pleeeeeeeeezzzzeeeee let4s bring back vinyl and real stereos!

**Old Joe** · #8 06-11-2011, 07:35 AM

MP3s and other digital files tend to make songs sound "hollow". I suggest using the original CD if you have it.

What I do when trying to figure out a bass line I can't hear clearly is to find out the chord changes for the song first. Play a simple line with that chord chart and then try to figure out the actual bass line.

john grey · #9 06-11-2011, 09:21 AM

I going to make what superficially seems like an odd suggestion but I'll make my reasoning clear.

Go to the music store and buy some VERY light gauge strings. 90-35 at least. There are custom strings of lighter gauge online, but the lightest possible. You play w/ a pick, the transition may work very well especially on the bottom end! Learn drum timing elements & use a METRONOME.

Your orientation is via a guitar: the more you bring yourself to that physical level, the more comfort you may feel. The recording / separation-oriented ideas you've received are excellent IMO. You should most certainly take advantage of those. However from what you speak to directly - the more you can find a physical familiarity, the greater your chances of making those suggestions applicable.

gordabega · #10 06-12-2011, 10:28 PM

i can play with my fingers some of the time, like slower paced tunes. when it comes to stuff like what i've been trying to play recently, i can't keep up with the tempo. i have some strength but not a whole lot of speed at the moment.

as far as a computer program, i'm running protools 8 and elastic audio has been my friend so far. it'll slow the mp3s down, and i have a nice pair of AKG headphones. necessary for apartment musicianship. i am finding that some of the tunes we're doing have the bass fudged out of the mix in some cases, and sometimes i just need to pay more attention to the bass line.

thanks for the help!

Fela · #11 06-18-2011, 10:42 AM

1) if you can get an mp3 player in which you can set the Eq.. the left-most bar is your bass...the others are mid and treble...let the bass go all up, put the other bars at zero or below..you may be able to hear the bass lines.
2) this is more of a tip..i see the others have mentioned a few computer programs..well i use Frooty Loops ..you can compose/ edit music and make sountracks and stuff..so i would run the song in the software, and compose my own bass track while listening to the song at various speeds..or sometimes i make a simple drum track for the song and compose the bass lines using "soundfonts" in "piano roll" ummm (get the software to understand the terms)...its really easy..you dont have to know how to read music..its alll done visually and clicking with the mouse...after you've created the track..playing it on the guitar would'nt be that hard.
3) Playing more efficiently with fingers will come from more practice.