drudgery

mrchief128 · #1 09-05-2007, 02:14 PM

ok...i'm stuck...stuck bad...i've been playing bass for bout a year and a half now, and i'm right in the position of beginner ready to become intermediate, and now i feel stuck...i got most of the basics down....i can do some basic jamming, and yeah...what do i do next? i mean, obivously i keep practising, but one thing i'm looking for is developing speed...but what are some good tabs i can learn to do that....(tried the pot by tool, while i can almost do it, the rythm is so off beat that it drive me nuts) so...yeah...any tips or techniques to learn? or how about some complexer bass lines? i just need a challange!!! but yeah, at this point some good bass lines would probably be the most useful....

Phalex · #2 09-05-2007, 02:20 PM

Are you playing with a band?

If not, do so. You get so much more out of interacting with other musicians than you do trying to learn solo.

Double Agent · #3 09-05-2007, 02:20 PM

Are you playing with a group or alone? If you are jamming solo, thats cool. But, the best advice I can give you would be to get with a drummer as soon as possible. Speed is good, but there are lots of guys out there who can play fast but don't groove worth crap. If you already play with a drummer, get together and practice locking in with him on a variety of rhythms.

If you are just trying to get more endurance, the entire Master of Puppets album or anything by Iron Maiden would be quite useful. Lots of speed, but still very musical in both cases.

mrchief128 · #4 09-05-2007, 02:37 PM

no, i don't play with a drummer, but i occasionally jam with another guitarist

mrchief128 · #5 09-05-2007, 02:45 PM

nice tip on the master of puppets album...i was just trying out the tab for the song master of puppets, and it jsut what i'm looking for...fast, easy to hear, and on beat....while i love offbeat rythms, that doen'st change that fact that they are freaking hard to get...

Band Dad · #6 09-05-2007, 02:52 PM

Get a good bass teacher whose teaching philosophy includes discipline and improvement. Having someone there for constant feedback, correction and push can really help.

Double Agent · #7 09-05-2007, 02:52 PM

No problem, it still gets my forearm burning all these years later.

That will give you something to work on while looking for a drummer to play with.

mrchief128 · #8 09-06-2007, 10:55 AM

bluestarbass · #9 09-06-2007, 11:03 AM

Play everything with a metronome. I find that alot of players early on really focus on speed, then when you ask them to play fast with a drummer they cant. Work on your timing. A friend gave me a good suggestion years ago. It was the point that I was starting to do a fair amount of studio work. He told me to get a bunch of typical BPM click tracks and just listen to it in my car all the time. That will help your timing.

**embellisher** · #10 09-08-2007, 09:20 PM

Work on playing with a metronome, as bluestarbass said. And practice at slow tempos, starting at 50 bpm and working up from there.

If you are not tight at 50 bpm, you will be very sloppy at 200 bpm.

The only way to improve is to practice.

grovest · #11 09-08-2007, 09:40 PM

You might try learning staff notation in bass clef if you don't know it already. Then a whole slew of new practice resources will open up for you.

One Drop · #12 09-09-2007, 11:01 AM

Lessons are great, so is practicing, but getting together with a drummer will blow away the cobwebs and open your ears to what the bass can do in a band /bottom holding situation. It's where you find out what to do with those tools you've been sharpening.

Get a band together or join one and start making music!!