intro and a few questions

[IAmTheDood]

Howdy doo...

New member here ...

A little about myself ...

31 years old .. always been a fan of the bass. I grew up in music .. piano from 5 - 12, trombone, baritone, bass trombone, and tuba all through middle school and high school.

I tinkered around with a bass some in college, my roommates .. caught on pretty well just learning a few songs but never learned the strings and notes ...

Decided last year that I'd get one and learn .. for now just got a cheap wal-mart $100 bass ...

Was going to teach myself back then, never got around to it .. I pulled it out last week and decided to start learning ..

I caught on pretty quick again, got it all tuned up .. teaching myself scales, cords .. all major scales for right now .. I can play a few songs - Sweet Home Alabama, and Cream - Sunshine of your Love.

I learned bass tabs .. and still can read regular music real well.

Anyways ... that's about me ..

I've already started to not like this particular bass .. the volume control and output is very poor .. it doesn't have much tone either.

I'm learning now with a felt pick that I picked up .. any objections against that? I know a lot about music is personal preference .. what I like .. and how do I like to do it .. felt pic just has a better tone than a plastic one .. and I'm not that good yet with playing with fingers ..

My question is .. when should I start worrying about getting a new bass first of all? I'm not playing with a band .. just at home learning .. I want to keep it up and get in with a band at some point ..

What's the best way to start learning? Am I doing it right? Learning notes, scales, cords first? Playing some of the arpeggios in the scales... etc? I feel like I've caught on pretty good .. I've only been playing / practicing for about 10 - 15 hours total and know most all the major scales, cords, apreggios... etc.

I'm also having trouble muting the previous string when doing these scales .. any tips on that?

What are some good songs to start learning? I'd like to for now get into a cover song band sometime .. that would play in small clubs on the weekends type deal..

Thanks everybody

Any and all help and info would be appreciated!

[Bass]

Originally Posted by IAmTheDood

I'm learning now with a felt pick that I picked up .. any objections against that? I know a lot about music is personal preference .. what I like .. and how do I like to do it .. felt pic just has a better tone than a plastic one .. and I'm not that good yet with playing with fingers ..

If you like a felt pick, then by all means use it. I prefer a 1.0 mm Dunlop Tortex. If you're not that good with your fingers, that's a good reason to focus on practising with them. I think it's valuable to be comfortable with both picks and fingers.

Originally Posted by IAmTheDood

My question is .. when should I start worrying about getting a new bass first of all?

As soon as you can afford it. A comfortable bass will be less frustrating and keep you interested.

www.rondomusic.net

Originally Posted by IAmTheDood

What's the best way to start learning? Am I doing it right? Learning notes, scales, cords first?

Yeah, it sounds like you're on the right track. Start slow and use a metronome. Really concentrate on finger strength, technique, not flying your fingers off the strings, concentrate on muting the previous string. Slowly first.

Originally Posted by IAmTheDood

What are some good songs to start learning?

Songs you like.

[dlloyd]

Originally Posted by IAmTheDood

Was going to teach myself back then, never got around to it .. I pulled it out last week and decided to start learning ..

[snip]

What's the best way to start learning? Am I doing it right? Learning notes, scales, cords first? Playing some of the arpeggios in the scales... etc? I feel like I've caught on pretty good .. I've only been playing / practicing for about 10 - 15 hours total and know most all the major scales, cords, apreggios... etc.

Get a teacher.

Otherwise you'll most likely burn out within a few weeks, lose momentum and motivation and put the bass away for another year.

[IAmTheDood]

www.rondomusic.net

wow, those are some very attractive prices.

Good quality instruments?

I've got my eye on this one .. $159.



link

[Bass]

Do a search for Essex on this site. You will find more information on these basses than you will ever need to know.

Good quality? In a nutshell, many Talkbassers think these SX basses from Rondo are a good beginner bass. Most would agree that you'd be better off with an SX than a Walmart bass.

Anyways, do a search for Essex.

Best of luck with learning the bass anyways! Stick with it and you'll be jamming & gigging in no time.

[TheButler]

I do agree with what has been said above too. Lessons are a really good idea as was previously said you may loose motivation, if you have some sort of tuition it will probably provide you with more drive and insentive to do bass. Also, buying a new bass will maybe ''invest'' your interest a bit more, aswell as making learning generally a bit easier. Hope that has been some help, these forums are a great resource for just about anything, i am still a 'newbie' and have expanded my knowledge and playing ability ALOT since joining