I can't seem to get the hang of bass playing...?

[kevteop]

Six months is nothing. Stick at it, and try to find stuff to play that you enjoy to keep your spirits up while you try to get your head around the hows and whys of chord tones and scales.

[Chief2112]

I have been playing for a little over a year. All self taught using many of the resources you have already been pointed to. I'm older so time for me is a problem sometimes (kids, work, etc) but here's my suggestion....

Pick up your bass and play it every single day!! Even if it's only for 15 minutes. It doesn't matter. There have been many days where I could only pick it up and run some scales, triads or jam to a song or two for just 10-15 minutes at a time. Some days I might pick it up and play it for 10 minutes but I'll do that every chance I get. So maybe I play it a total of 40 minutes that day on four different occasions.

Then there are some days when I have more time and I'll play it for 1-3 hours total that day. I just make sure to try and have it in my hands every day. Every little bit counts. Just make it as productive as you can.

I found in the year I've played that I may go a month or so and feel like I'm making no progress at all and then something will click one day and I will feel I've jumped a hurdle and progressed. It will come with time but it does take dedication.

Oh and playing with other musicians will make you improve even more, especially if you can find any more experienced musicians that have the patience to let you learn as you go a bit. In the end though....JUST HAVE FUN!

[INTP]

There is a lot to learn about playing the bass, and there's a period at the beginning where it feels awkward physically, and it seems mentally overwhelming. While it feels chaotic at first, if you are patient, things will start to 'click', and you'll be able to look back later and see that the effort was worth it.

I learned bass in orchestra in the 5th grade. It started with learning basic mechanics of holding the instrument, fingering, etc. The music itself was VERY basic, e.g. Tomahawk and Mary Had a Little Lamb (the kids version, not the blues version ) It progressed slowly but surely from there. It was almost 100% about the mechanics and reading music, and things like theory were added much later.

Based on the OP, it seems like the instructor is pushing too early for things like improvising. You seem overwhelmed, and you should ask the instructor for help bridging the gap.

Aside from that, you said you like blues. I would recommend the book/CD "Blues Bass" by Ed Friedland. It starts of very basic and explores a variety of blues styles and provides specific bass lines to illustrate those styles. And most of the songs are "standards" so you'll have fun playing along with tunes that you've probably been listening to anyway. This will allow you to work on your technique and get a feel for the changes which your instructor is already getting you to work on.

I suspect that if you spend some time with blues bass lines, you'll start to see the patterns which will lead to a better understanding of the theory that you're feeling overwhelmed by at the moment. There's more than one way to get there, but based on your love of the blues and wanting to improve, I hope you find this useful in moving you beyond the plateau that you feel you're on.

Best Wishes...

[C.Linton]

Originally Posted by psp742

Get Ubisoft Rocksmith and the bass DLC... It's both fun and easy to grasp since the game adjust to player skill. The better you follow the notes and chords, you learn actual set of each song... The games are pretty fun too, helps you get used to position in fret, chords, etc.

Agreed. That, and what you get from your teacher should get you going off to a good start.

[configdotsys]

Same boat as the OP here.

I have been playing since June using Teach Me Bass Guitar and at this point I can play pretty well using tabs but have no idea what key I am playing in or any foundational knowledge at all. It's not for lack of trying.

I've watched the lessons, recorded them on audio and listen to them away from the bass but my mind is just not absorbing the material. I can play some major scales because I know the finger pattern to use but if you said "Quick: what's the 5th note on the 2nd string?" I'd have to go through this whole "Okay, the 2nd string is D, so the first fret is D# and so on until I'd figure it out. It's very frustrating.

I've tried Fret Tester app for iPad that you have to press the note of the marked fret and despite a lot of time, I cannot do them without having to think about it. I know I haven't been playing long and am waiting for that moment when it all clicks but it just doesn't feel like it's going to happen any time soon.

I would warn against using Rocksmith if you have a teacher and a structured lesson thing going on. I finally got to the point in TMBG that I could get my fingers to relax a bit on the fretboard but then I got Rocksmith to mix it up and found that my technique went flying out the window. I was flailing about just trying to keep up and hit the right notes. I put it aside for now because hitting the right notes is nice and all but if I'm using the wrong fingers and just winging it, I'm afraid that will stunt my learning or make me develop bad habits.

There is a new game coming in early 2012 called BandFuse that I am looking forward to. That game is tab based and the interface looks less busy than RS. If that game has adjustable difficulty levels, I think that will be a great learning tool.

Hang in there, OP. I'm in the same spot you are. I will say that I remember when I first got TMBG and heard a couple of the songs from Lessons 3 and 4 and thinking "Yeah, right, like I'll ever be able to play those." Well, I can play them now and play them well but it didn't happen in a flash. The improvement is so incremental that you don't have a Yeah right moment followed immediately by having the ability to play the piece. When you finally can, you just can. And it feels great.


Edited to add: Rocksmith is truly a great game. But I think someone that's brand new to bass (like myself) is better off with a more structured way of learning than being in a position to have to keep up. I was able to keep up with some of the songs and it was a great feeling but it was unfortunately at the expense of good technique. I look forward to getting better at playing so I can fire up the game again and play it correctly.

[MalcolmAmos]

I came to bass from rhythm guitar. I think that helped as I understood, from playing in several bands, what the bass was to do, i.e. lay down the beat, play the chord tones and call attention to the chord change. While not steeping on the other guys toes.

josa, if you are still checking in. I think you need to think about the big picture - what is the bass' role in a band and how do you go about providing that.

So after I knew where the notes were - and I had my major scale box pattern working - I played from fake chord sheet music. Key point - the same fake chord sheet music the rest of the band used. No I did not go the tab route, or transcribing the notes being played by the original artist. I relied upon fake chord sheet music, or lead sheet music, to guide me. The same sheet music the rest of the band was using.

See a chord coming up in the song - play as many of the chord tones as the music will let you use. Root on 1 first, if there is room add the 5, still have room the 8 is always good, still have room then the correct 3 & 7 come into the mix. You can play a lot of bass with roots, fives, eights and the correct 3 & 7.

Major Scale Box. 

G|---2---|-------|---3---|---4---| 1st string
D|---6---|-------|---7---|---8---|
A|---3---|---4---|-------|---5---|
E|-------|---R---|-------|---2---|4th string

That and some fake chord sheet music on what I want to play seem to get it done for me. You mentioned your instructor had you improvising, so did my instructor - my improv sounded very bad because I had no idea how to solo melody, and I could not play the song's tune by ear. But you have to start somewhere. Ask your instructor to explain your role in all this. Understanding how you fit and your role in playing the song I think will clear away all the fog.

Good luck.

[Misterwogan]

Originally Posted by josa115

I think what I need to do is set down some goals about what I want to be able to do, and have a set practice regiment every day, like something really specific, but I don't know what I should do. Can anyone help with that?

If you don't get the very basics right - you have a very poor foundation on which to build. Ok, scales are boring, I'll move on to songs. Oops, this song is boring or difficult - I'll find a better one. You will just end up drifting from one thing to another and another and never mastering anything. Confidence slips and hope vanishes.

Here's an objective for you:
To play the G major scale flawlessly at 120BPM. You must also be able to name each note and it's interval (1st, 3rd, 5th etc) as you go.

Start at 50BPM and slowly increase speed. Allow two weeks to achieve objective.

If you achieve the objective, not only will you have built a solid foundation - but more importantly, you will now that you are capable of achieving things. From there it is onwards and upwards.

[puddin tame]

Originally Posted by carlthegroover

Six months? You're kidding, right? I've been playing for over two years and I've hit a brick wall, I still feel like a beginner. It takes a long time, I realize, to become any good in any instrument.

So just hang on to it, hang on to your lessons (or change teacher if your current one no longer inspires you), or try another instrument for a while (many a times you can just rent one and give it a shot).

Two years? You're kidding, right? I've been playing for 12 years and still feel like an idiot!!

Really though six months is like being a new born infant. Two years, you're a toddler starting to take your first steps and learn to walk. It's a long journey here people! Just keep practicing and don't accept your own ignorance and you will, eventually, go far.

Just don't stop at learning rock tabs or you'll end up like these 40, 50, 60 year old guys that have been playing since before I was born and are really still quite bad! But that is a matter of mindset

[matey]

Originally Posted by puddin tame

Just don't stop at learning rock tabs or you'll end up like these 40, 50, 60 year old guys that have been playing since before I was born and are really still quite bad! But that is a matter of mindset

brilliant

[jmclearnon]

lol @puddin

another piece of advice is to go get a grade 1 theory book and start learning about theory.

[Sni77]

Originally Posted by configdotsys

Same boat as the OP here.

I have been playing since June using Teach Me Bass Guitar and at this point I can play pretty well using tabs but have no idea what key I am playing in or any foundational knowledge at all. It's not for lack of trying.

I've watched the lessons, recorded them on audio and listen to them away from the bass but my mind is just not absorbing the material. I can play some major scales because I know the finger pattern to use but if you said "Quick: what's the 5th note on the 2nd string?" I'd have to go through this whole "Okay, the 2nd string is D, so the first fret is D# and so on until I'd figure it out. It's very frustrating.

I've tried Fret Tester app for iPad that you have to press the note of the marked fret and despite a lot of time, I cannot do them without having to think about it. I know I haven't been playing long and am waiting for that moment when it all clicks but it just doesn't feel like it's going to happen any time soon.

I would warn against using Rocksmith if you have a teacher and a structured lesson thing going on. I finally got to the point in TMBG that I could get my fingers to relax a bit on the fretboard but then I got Rocksmith to mix it up and found that my technique went flying out the window. I was flailing about just trying to keep up and hit the right notes. I put it aside for now because hitting the right notes is nice and all but if I'm using the wrong fingers and just winging it, I'm afraid that will stunt my learning or make me develop bad habits.

There is a new game coming in early 2012 called BandFuse that I am looking forward to. That game is tab based and the interface looks less busy than RS. If that game has adjustable difficulty levels, I think that will be a great learning tool.

Hang in there, OP. I'm in the same spot you are. I will say that I remember when I first got TMBG and heard a couple of the songs from Lessons 3 and 4 and thinking "Yeah, right, like I'll ever be able to play those." Well, I can play them now and play them well but it didn't happen in a flash. The improvement is so incremental that you don't have a Yeah right moment followed immediately by having the ability to play the piece. When you finally can, you just can. And it feels great.


Edited to add: Rocksmith is truly a great game. But I think someone that's brand new to bass (like myself) is better off with a more structured way of learning than being in a position to have to keep up. I was able to keep up with some of the songs and it was a great feeling but it was unfortunately at the expense of good technique. I look forward to getting better at playing so I can fire up the game again and play it correctly.

I tend to have similar problems with Rocksmith. I can wing most songs in the game to unlock the master mode, but when I do that I also notice that it doesn't sound as good as it should.
So lately I've really been trying to make an effort and practice all the parts I have troubles with at a slower speed in the riff repeater (which just works splendidly after the update) until I can nail it at 100%. Cumbersome and slow, but the only way to do it imho. The game provides a lot of great practice opportunities, you just have to seize them.
Not sure if Bandfuse will really offer any improvement over RS.

[davidjackson]

When I get stuck in a rut I take Jaco's advice and learn some melodies. Just think of any tune (TV themes, carols, nursery rhymes etc.) and try to work them out from memory. You will be amazed at how quickly your familiarity with the instrument improves and how much more intuitive your playing becomes. This is also mega helpful when getting into improvising as you are used to hearing something in your head and repeating it on the instrument.

[configdotsys]

The screenshots that I've seen for Bandfuse look way better than Rocksmith. It looks much more like a learning tool than a game.

[bassdude51]

You're getting a lot of excellent advice. So, here is mine.

Do you REALLY want to play bass? If so, there is no instant gratification (like with video games, texting, net surfing, etc). Learning to play bass or any instrument is like learning a 2nd language. It takes a lot of time and effort.

One has to practice, practice, practice. And............ that can be fun!

We've all heard the proverb that says something like, "We have to crawl before we can walk, we have to walk before we can run."

This is true with everything including bass. First learn how to play just the root (chord letter) to a one chord, or 2 chord, or 3 chord song and stay in beat.

Next, progress to root + 5th (the classic tuba line) for 1, 2 and 3 chord songs.

Then, learn the triad bass line, root + 3rd + 5th + 3rd to simple songs.

Then root + 3rd + 4th + 5th bass line.

Your bass teacher will explain this stuff and show you where to go from there.

But............if your heart is not really into playing bass...........forget it!