If you'd only known then what you know now ...

[Spinner]

What pearls of wisdom have you acquired over your years of bass playing that you'd like to share with one who is just starting along the path (preferably bass related)? Any gems that you wish you'd known when you first started out? Anything that you definitely should avoid?

I just figure its less painful to learn from the mistakes and experience of others than to make all the mistakes myself. The wisdom of your experience, if you're prepared to share, would be much appreciated by a newb.

Spinner

[Sean S]

Rock doesn't need to be LOUD...or wear earplugs....either way, save your ears

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

1. Work on your physical endurance (aimed to your playing, of course).

2. Train yourself on not looking at the fingerboard all the time when playing. A very important asset when sight reading.

[DistortedBass]

BREATHE!! When stressed in pratice or playing a tough part I would stop breathing. all it does is tense you up and make it harder.

A little simple meditation helps or just being observant of your breathing.

Almost every one of my students has done it.

[steamthief]

Learn songs by ear. It only helps with familiarity with your fretboard, plus many tabs are not even close to what's actually been recorded.

[ryco]

Hang out at shows more

[daffy]

I started playing bass only two years ago but came from 20 years as a guitard (I saw the light, and switched!) but my top tip relates to both instruments. Funny enough I was just talking about it to someone today!

I desperately wish that my teacher way back then had got me to pay more attention to the way my hands and fingers work and had spent time correcting bad habits. This was probably the main reason I gave up music altogether, as I hit a wall created by my bad style habits - these are the hardest aspects to get right and the hardest to correct once they are ingrained, and I had to unlearn everything before I could start learning the right way. When I started playing again, on bass, the first thing I did was found a great teacher and got some style/technique lessons - best money I ever spent.

So my tip would be to constantly watch and correct:
- how little you need to push down on the strings
- where you fret the note
- relaxing while playing, especially as you speed up
- minimal finger movement
- fingers staying close to the strings, and not standing to attention, especially first and fourth. This is the absolute top of my list, and you should slow ***right down*** till your muscles remember this.
- thumb position behind the neck
- keeping both wrists as straight as possible

and my last one that is not directly related to posture
- always focus on damping and removing any excess noise.

As an example of the benefit of watching your style, I played my first fretless the other day and the owner was very surprised at how good my intonation was - I think it was mostly because my fingers are used to playing just behind the fret.

[Jazzdogg]

Originally Posted by Spinner

What pearls of wisdom have you acquired over your years of bass playing that you'd like to share with one who is just starting along the path (preferably bass related)? Any gems that you wish you'd known when you first started out? Anything that you definitely should avoid?

I just figure its less painful to learn from the mistakes and experience of others than to make all the mistakes myself. The wisdom of your experience, if you're prepared to share, would be much appreciated by a newb.

Spinner

* I'd be twice as valuable to bands if I also sang;
* I'd get more gigs if I played more than "just" the bass;
* Credibility is easy to destroy and difficult to cultivate: Always keep your promises;
* Work hard to earn a reputation as a good listener;
* If you have to choose between being right and being nice, remember the Golden Rule;
* Always be on-time or early;
* Managing the expectations of others is a life-long pursuit that pays huge dividends;
* Do more than others ask of you - or expect;
* Utter "sweet" words whenever possible - you never know when you may have to eat your words;
* A simple, understated, groove is always appropriate: when in doubt, under-play;
* God only gives you one pair of ears: protect them!

[JimmyM]

I woud never have spent over $500 on a bass in my life.

[fountain boy]

IF YOU CANNOT GROOVE ON BASS, IT'S MORE THAN 100% LIKELY THAT YOU SIMPLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT PART OF THE DRUMKUIT TO LISTEN FOR. (KICK ON THE 1 & 3, THE SNARE ON THE 2 & 4 AND HOW TO PLAY SUBDIVSIONS AND NOT HAVE TO PLAY WHEN THE KICK PLAYS)

Sorry, for yelling. I'm was so tired of getting outplayed by lesser bassists. I was so busy in worrying about notes when it should be about rhythms firstly, for us anyways.

[BassChuck]

Originally Posted by Jazzdogg

* I'd be twice as valuable to bands if I also sang;
* I'd get more gigs if I played more than "just" the bass;
* Credibility is easy to destroy and difficult to cultivate: Always keep your promises;
* Work hard to earn a reputation as a good listener;
* If you have to choose between being right and being nice, remember the Golden Rule;
* Always be on-time or early;
* Managing the expectations of others is a life-long pursuit that pays huge dividends;
* Do more than others ask of you - or expect;
* Utter "sweet" words whenever possible - you never know when you may have to eat your words;
* A simple, understated, groove is always appropriate: when in doubt, under-play;
* God only gives you one pair of ears: protect them!

If I was still teaching bass lessons I would have the students recite these 'rules' before each lesson. Just spend a little time in the threads that deal with 'why I left the band' or 'my band just broke up' and see how much pain could have been avoided if all band members took these to heart.

[Dr_Funkdamental]

GET LESSONS!!! Whether its regularly or one with a pro. Of course there are many ways with technology to do that these days, but if I would have invoked the assistance of a teacher, I think I would know so much more about everything concerning bass. To think Ive been playing almost 15 yrs, gigged all around the world, and I just found out last yr what a truss rod is or that you have to "set up" a bass. Thank God for TB lol.

[dlloyd]

Get a teacher, one who teaches to you to read standard notation.

[WillPlay4Food]

Some great advice here. I want to emphasize daffy's technique suggestion above. I've been working mostly on technique for the last few weeks (spider exercises, developing a light touch, etc.) and this is paying off big time as I'm not as stressed while playing, not wasting energy by fretting too hard (I can play faster) and I can now add notes that previously would've required too much effort to play.

The teacher suggestion is great too. I took lessons the first 18 months I played bass and it was the time I experienced the most growth in my playing. I too wish my teacher had been more finicky regarding my technique as I'm unlearning bad habits (it's why I've been focusing so much on technique lately).

Also, read the stickied practice thread in this forum. Noodling around, while helpful and fun, won't improve my skills as much as a solid practice plan that includes theory, technique, chord/scale drills, ear training and sight reading. Sight reading stops me from staring at my fretboard because I'm reading the music.

One last thing, learn the fretboard. I feel I should know what note is under my finger at any time without hesitation. I've been using the free guitar version of fretboard warrior and can name about 33 random notes in a 2 minute period with 1 or 2 wrong guesses and I'm using the program as a benchmark to see how I'm improving (last month I did about 28 notes in 2 minutes).

This doesn't replace learning my fretboard with my bass in my hands (I'll do exercises where I'll randomly finger a note and try to name it as fast as possible), but it does allow me to learn while in places where I can't pick up my bass.

[Richard Lindsey]

Refuse false choices. For instance:

Should you be a reader or play by ear? Refuse to choose: do both.

Should you be a technical player or a minimalist, less-is-more player? Refuse to choose: be capable of doing either, but always play in the manner appropriate for the musical situation. If that means playing one root note per measure, do that; if it means busting out, do that.

Should you rely on feel or on knowledge? Refuse to choose: try to develop both.

[thewanderer24]

I would've taken lessons early on (never had a teacher until the last few years) and developed a better practice routine earlier.

[pointbass]

Some very good suggestions here ....

The ability to read notation and understand theory is massive in the music world. Bassists that can sight read will get more work than those who don't read.

Learn to sing, even if it's just background vocals. A singing bassist will get more work than those who don't sing.

Listen to many different types of music, even if you don't like some of it. Develop an understanding of how various styles are structured and at least be able to play basic grooves in those styles.

If possible, learn to play DB as well as EB. Doubler's will get more work than those who can't play both instruments.

Practice as much as you can ........

[slybass3000]

I wouldn't change a thing execpt for more ear training!
So:
-Follow your instinct!
-Practice hard on technique,harmony and theory,styles and sight-reading
-Play with as many musicians as you can.
-Play with better musicians all the time.
-Be dedicated
-Work on your Time AND Groove
-Have fun


SB

[Lazylion]

Go out and see other bands. Have a business card. Hand it out when you get the chance. And keep the same phone number as long as possible! If you switch phone numbers, you make yourself hard to find.

[yawnsie]

Buy a stage tuner. Use it. Convince any guitarists in your band to do likewise. Any band that doesn't do this should be forced to write this post out a thousand times.