Friendly Advice...

anarchy_inside · #1 10-01-2005, 12:47 AM

Hey all, i dont know where to go now, I've been playing bass for approx 7months and iv been teachin myself mainly from tabs and what not, any advice on where 2 go next, what to do, what to learn etc.. all i know is that i am absolutely LOVIN playin my bass, i am startin to move around the fret board fairly quickly and easily aswell, im currently in a band, and the prefered style of music is rock/heavy metal, although i would like to have the ability to play some of the other genres.... any help advice and technique tips would be very very much appreciated! Thanx

DaftCat · #2 10-01-2005, 01:24 AM

If you stop using tabs and focus on ear training, that WILL occupy you for awhile.

Turn on the radio and play along with whatever comes on. I do that occasionally... I did it this afternoon actually. Don't worry if you nail a tune on the fly but be content that you can adlib.

My .02 worth,

DCat

anarchy_inside · #3 10-01-2005, 02:18 AM

Thanx im gonna try it, but not so much wit the radio, more with my cds... (the radio sux atm)

RichValentine · #4 10-01-2005, 02:30 AM

+1 to ear training but also,

GET LESSONS.

I seriously can't recommend this enough. I taught myself for the first year as well. Turns out although my technique was "ok" it wasn't as good as it could have been. Also, start learning theory, everything became a lot easier when I understood why things sounded good, instead of messing around until I came up with something. Also, try listening to music from other genres, you can get good ideas from areas you would least expect it. It doesn't help to only listen to one kind of music.

JimmyM · #5 10-01-2005, 02:42 AM

Rich is right. If you don't know what to do next, a teacher certainly will. A teacher can get you learning to read music and theory, and you will soon realize just how much more you've got to learn.

bad_andy · #6 10-06-2005, 02:33 PM

Playing along with tunes is great, and so is transcribing them. Get a piece of software like the Amazing Slowdowner link and put in a tune (CD or MP3 for example) that you're trying to learn. You can take sections of the song and loop them over and over at slow speed until you can play along. If you haven't learned how to read/write music you can still learn a lot about the neck by naming the notes as you do this.