Gear vs. Music (tips for beginners)

LM Bass · #1 09-03-2011, 10:12 AM

Gear vs. Music:
Here is my bit of advice for talk bass readers who are starting out.

Spend your money on lessons, not gear. Get a cheap, but working bass, a cheap mixer, a cheap electronic keyboard, good method books, a metronome and some headphones. Then get lessons with the best teacher in your area. Spend your time thinking about music, not gear. Don't cheap out and get half hour lessons at your local guitar store, (unless that's where the BEST teacher is). Do a little research, ask around, and aim high!

Most of this website is about gear. EQ and compression and bubinga and stainless vs. nickel strings, and I love that about it (honestly!) But none of this gear knowledge is going to help you play better.

Learn to "hear". Be able to sing the next note before you play it. Learn to identify all your intervals within a major scale, and be able to sing them, with solfa (Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti) syllables and numbers, all on your own without your bass in hand. Learn to recognize major and minor triads, then augmented and diminished, then learn to hear all the 7th chords.

Don't spend too much time on modes. Modes do not equal "theory", even though that's what many beginning players think. Learn the major scale really well in all keys. Be able to play all the diatonic triads and 7th chords in all their inversions. Then do the same with intervals. Be able to play and hear I IV V in every key. Learn how all the chord tones and extensions sound. Play along with your favourite music, by ear, no tab. Better yet, learn to transcribe music while you are sitting in the cafe with your headphones, music paper and a pencil. No bass in sight.

Learn to read. Go really slowly, and learn to find the notes on your bass. Learn to read rhythms by clapping them, or saying 1e+a 2e+a out loud. Learn to play rhythms while keeping a steady pulse and not rushing or dragging. Put sheet music on every wall of your apartment, and try to clap the rhythms. Later on, work on sight-reading. Practise for 10 minutes every day with new material in front of you. Don't fix mistakes, just plow through as though you are in a studio tracking a CD project with an entire orchestra. Read a little every day and you'll become proficient in a year.

Be curious about different musical genres. Don't judge music, just keep an open mind and expand your tastes. Check out traditional Ethiopian music, classical Chinese opera, the new complexity school (Carter, Fenyhough, et al), early jazz, American gospel music, Indian classical music. . .

Don't fuss over technique too much. Practise hard things really slowly and then gradually speed up. Stay relaxed in your body, but focussed in your mind.
The music coming from your fingers doesn't matter at all, what counts is the music between your ears! Many young musicians get drawn to flashy players (I did!) and just want to learn to do that one special trick that they see their hero do. It's okay to do that, just remember to put some time in on the fundamentals as well. Learn to be a simple bass player -it will get you a lot of work, but don't forget to find your own voice and your own music. Too many bass players can only do the simple thing, and they miss out on so much. Learn to solo and learn to play melody. Write your own music, we are all waiting to hear you!

best regards,
Laurence

PDavyduck · #2 09-03-2011, 05:11 PM

Having had the luck of being a student of LM and along with being a 'sales monkey' at a guitar shop, I wholeheartedly agree with all of the above!!!

Slappa da baass !!! Biiiiig tiiime.

stratovani · #3 09-03-2011, 06:53 PM

Excellent post! I would only add that, if possible start young. This is not easy stuff you're posting, and you have a much better chance of learning this if you're young and have the time to learn it all. I'm 57, and for me to learn all of this would be more and more difficult as I grow older and older. I have to cherry pick, so I would say for me learning music theory, a bit of reading, and working on learning songs is probably enough for me. Stuff like transcribing and listening to exotic music really doesn't appeal to me.

All my opinion, of course.

Stumbo · #4 09-04-2011, 03:18 AM

I suggest to also get a small keyboard along the way and learning how to play chords and how they fit into theory/harmony.

fearceol · #5 09-04-2011, 04:17 AM

Excellent post OP. I would just like to add to be patient with yourself. Some people, especially the really younger ones, expect to be the next iconic bassist over night, and sometimes give up in frustration if this does not happen soon enough. The learning process is for life, so take it in small steps and above all enjoy it !!

LM Bass · #6 09-04-2011, 08:28 AM

Thanks all.

-Stratovani, you can learn so much in a year of focussed practising. I don't believe that age can hold you back (and I'm getting old enough to be an authority!)
My bottom line is, you'll never know how great it is to be able to "hear" and to read and do the things a musician does, until you dig in and take it on. It's like being able to fly or having super strength, but you get it by having a good teacher and good practise habits. Go for it!

-Stumbo, absolutely. A little $100 Casio or Yamaha keyboard will help immensely.

jgroh · #7 09-07-2011, 02:51 PM

Im so glad there was no internet or TB back when I started. That, and being a broke teenager helped me focus on technique. It wasnt until I started coming to TB 4 years ago that I learned anything about gear. I could play pretty well but couldnt tell you anything about gear. So, I agree beginners shouldnt focus too much on gear.