Beginner advice, please

[Tamaguy]

Hi all!
I've been looking around a bit, and this is my first post, so just a little about me before the questions.

I've played the drums for about 25 years now, and at the age of 41, I've decided that I'd like to learn bass. I do read music-note values anyway...I learned treble and bass clef back when I was in school symphonic band, but I'm a little rusty on pitch notation. I still have a pretty decent ear when it comes to tuning, but no experience at all on stringed instruments. I've played drumset all along (and ALWAYS tried to lock in with the bass parts!)

My problem is that I live in a very small/rural area with no one around to take lessons from. Do you guys think I could get a decent start on bass from books and videos? I've heard it said that it helps to learn guitar first...I wouldn't mind that so much, but I'm much more interested in bass.

Sooo...any advice, ideas? Thanks in advance!

-Mike

[Bob331]

Contact me via email and I'll give you my thoughts.

Bob

[basscheez]

You can learn a great deal woodshedding on your own. Starting out, you'll need to build dexterity and finger strength, so that's just solo repetition - no teacher needed. What genre do you favor? There's a lot of material (video, books, web) for rock and jazz. Slovenian polkas, not so much.
Good luck and don't hesitate to post questions here. TB is a great resource.

[MalcolmAmos]

Originally Posted by Tamaguy

My problem is that I live in a very small/rural area with no one around to take lessons from. Do you guys think I could get a decent start on bass from books and videos? I've heard it said that it helps to learn guitar first...I wouldn't mind that so much, but I'm much more interested in bass. Sooo...any advice, ideas? Thanks in advance! -Mike

Yes you can teach yourself. Yes knowing 6 string guitar would help, however, I suggest you jump right in with the bass.

Lessons - Helps to have a buddy that does play bass - you can ask questions here, but if you can sit knee to knee with your bass playing buddy it will come quicker.

IMHO here is one of the better free how to play bass lessons out there.
http://www.studybass.com/

Start at the beginning and take it one section at a time. A few how to books with Cd's or DVD will be helpful. I bet the public library will have one or two. What you need is the CD or DVD that comes with the book it will speed up getting your bass riffs into muscle memory. I listened to perhaps 50 licks on one of my CD's and settled on 6 that I will use. For what it is worth they are:

R nothing.
R-5
R-3-5-3
R-3-5-7
R-4-5
R-R-3-3-5-5-6-5 -- will I be adding more? Sure. Studybass.com will help with what all those numbers are and how you will use them.

Probably should mention those riffs (R-3-5-3) are generic. You use the same riff just change the root - as the chord progression moves between chords you play the R-3-5-3 over the C chord then when the song moves to a F chord you play the same riff - you just start it on the F note. And when the song moves to the G7 chord, yep you use the same riff and start it on a G note. It's not rocket science. Listening for and changing when the chords change will take some time, but it will come.

Then pull up some video backing tracks and play along with them - so you make a mistake or can not keep up - just keep trying.

I'm 74 and took up bass 4 months ago - don't worry about that old dog thing. I also play rhythm guitar, keyboard, and clarinet they helped me with the bass - So, your other instruments are going to help you with the bass also, it'll all fall into place.

Go to http://www.studybass.com/ for how to. Pay attention to where the 5th is found on your fretboard, where is the 3rd, the 6th, etc. IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE ROOT. Place the root and all those other notes will be waiting - in the same spot - http://www.studybass.com/lessons/bas...e-major-scale/. This is kinda important..

Go here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUK5p...eature=related for some jamming practice. Notice all the jam tracks on the right hand side of the screen.

Have fun and ask specific questions the guys/gals here are always willing to lend a hand.

[Tamaguy]

Thanks all!...and not one drummer joke so far!

To answer one or two of the questions...I'm mainly wanting to learn "just to do it". If if ever move to bigger city and get a chance to join a band again (either on drums or bass) that would be great, but I just want to see if I can learn something new, and I've always loved a good bass line.

As for music/bassists I like...well, I grew up in the late '70s & early 80's and it shows in my musical preferences, though I do try to keep an open mind for modern stuff as well. John Gustafson (Roxy Music), John Taylor (Duran Duran), John Giblin (Simple Minds) would probably head the list of those I'd like to emulate. The song "Stay with Me Tonight" by Jeffrey Osborne just came on...I wanna play that too!

Thanks again for the advice and words of wisdom and welcome...seems like a great bunch here! I'm sure I'll be back with more questions/

thanks,-Mike

[Jimmy Bones]

Of course no drummer jokes - all us rhythm guys stick together pretty tightly.

Now, if you were a guitard...

Most people are gonna hate me for saying this guy's name, but you might find use in Alex Sampson's system. Not gonna plug his website or anything, since you can easily find it on google, and he doesn't have the best reputation around here - primarily because of his advertising and writing styles. If you get his stuff, ignore the extraneous crap and focus on what he's teaching, it's actually quite helpful.

You might also consider picking up a copy of the Bass Grimoire. It has all scales and modes you could ever hope to run across.

And my personal advice is, don't listen to or watch Manring, Wooten, Flea, Jaco, or any of the super 'gods' of bass until you have a nice firm grip on the basics of the instrument. They're inspiring at first, but then you can end up feeling all depressed and discouraged because of how awesome they are and you aren't (yet).

And don't be afraid to take a break. Your fingers need to callus, not tear, but they'll blister first, which, while leading to callus, can also lead to tears and such if you don't take a rest.

Those're my two cents.

[Tamaguy]

Yeah, when I started playing drums, I managed to develop good hands pretty quickly and was pretty good at the so-called "legit" stuff-ie rudimental drumming, marching/symphonic music. My drumset playing took a lot longer to develop, and I was frustrated for a few years trying to be Neil Peart or Phil Collins. So no, I'm not gonna go gunning to be Jaco or Flea right off. As a drummer I like to keep things simple, but I do like to hear something besides straight 8th notes out of the bass player-though of course there's a time and place for that too. Drummers are used to having callouses along the palmar area of the hand and on the side of the index fingers...my finger tips are in for a rude surprise after I get going, I bet.
Thanks again,
-Mike