Is my friend Stupid?

Florida17 · #1 05-05-2008, 12:50 AM

My friend thinks that if he just doodles around on his bass every day he will get good. When i say doodle i mean he just plays what he wants without chords and scales just messes around you know He just plays for fun and thinks he will become good.I keep telling him to try to actually learn chords or take lessons but he thinks he can become good by himself is this possible?I play Guitar but i know you cant just learn any instrument by not actually practicing chords or scales.

SoLongJake · #2 05-05-2008, 12:58 AM

Music comes from the soul, not from books.

Florida17 · #3 05-05-2008, 01:09 AM

So what does that mean? are you saying its possible for him to be a good bass player without books or learning even one chord?

satchelbsamia · #4 05-05-2008, 01:11 AM

yes it is very possible

southshoreconor · #5 05-05-2008, 01:12 AM

i never took lessons or read music and i'm great. if your friend is serious about playing bass he'll get good one way or another just let him figure it out.

A.CLAYTON · #6 05-05-2008, 01:14 AM

I don't practice scales either,and iv'e never taken lessons.I would like to have learnt all that stuff as it would of made things easier for me now.I don't think it's something you have to do but it would definately help.

Deacon_Blues · #7 05-05-2008, 01:14 AM

Sure it is possible, but it's a big risk that he:

...learns bad technique that might be hazardous and hard to get rid of
...won't learn anything that helps him communicate with other musicians (the names of the keys, chords, note names, scales, modes etc.)
...learn things 100 times slower than he would with a teacher, and run into walls regularly
...won't practice with a metronome and build up a good timing

I learned bass by myself when I was around 23 (2001). I had been playing guitar for 6-7 years, including a couple of years with lessons with a jazz guitarist, so I had a quite good understanding in theory (I also studied music when I was in my early teens, so I got my share of classical music theory). In 2005, I had my first four (and so far only) bass lessons, and they were extremely helpful to me. My playing improved almost overnight...

I only regret I didn't take those lessons earlier.

Florida17 · #8 05-05-2008, 01:15 AM

Yea i guess he could but i mean he doesnt want to learn anything but im sure he can get good with just doodling around.

Lon86 · #9 05-05-2008, 01:15 AM

I taught myself just by learning songs and jamming with a drummer...

ysand · #10 05-05-2008, 01:16 AM

Absolutely no way.
I have a friend that does the same with guitar....
...over the last 5 years....

Linkert · #11 05-05-2008, 02:02 AM

I have become a complite ****** becose of scales..

lowendgenerator · #12 05-05-2008, 02:15 AM

I don't think he's stupid. There are tons of self taught musicians out there absolutely killing it with technique and style. I want to be familiar with my instrument, but I don't want to become that guy that just plays scales.

Example: When I got serious about learning the finer points of scales and chords on guitar, my creative juices evaporated. Instead of writing songs, I would pick the guitar up and play scales. The more I focused on getting the rudiments down, the less fun I had as a musician.

This is just my story, YMMV of course.

bassdoubler · #13 05-05-2008, 02:34 AM

I've been taking classical double bass lessons for almost 10 years and I majored in it in college. I have been playing electric bass for almost 9 years, without a single lesson, and I am just as good on both if not better on electric. However, I also have extensive training in theory, ear training, counterpoint, and sight reading, and I know what good technique is, as I have been taught on the upright. I left college after I had completed all of my requirements minus several meaningless courses, and I realized that I could be focusing all of my time to both upright and electric bass instead of wasting it on things I don't care about. As long as you have a solid foundation of theory, tone, technique, taste, and a GREAT ear, you can't go wrong. No teacher or book can make that happen for you. Just my two cents....

Peaved · #14 05-05-2008, 02:57 AM

There's no "one size fits all" method of learning an instrument, IMHO. My mother, a retired piano teacher, turned out some fine pianists with her London College of Music hardcore methods, but that approach failed on me.

For predominant left-brainers, I suppose the technical path holds more appeal. The rest of us want to have fun whilst progressing.

phektus · #15 05-05-2008, 03:02 AM

Oh yes he can, and he will. If he really enjoys he's doodling, that is. It will get him far beyond what any music theory system can offer. Plus, there's just 12 notes to fiddle with and all the time in the world to invent his technique to make the sound on his bass. Might take him a while though LOL

mutedeity · #16 05-05-2008, 03:10 AM

It's not really a matter of being self taught. Being self taught doesn't mean aimless doodling or lack of theory though.

I think what your friend is doing is probably wasting him a lot of time because eventually he might want to go and play in a band or with other people. Unless he learns some context of theory, even if that means just learning songs and getting ideas from them in that sense, he will find out fast that he has no idea how to play with other people or how to understand or communicate ideas with them.

The things that make you good in a technical sense come from etudal exercises that are based on scales and arpeggios and so on.

I don't know about creativity evaporating by learning scales and theory, I think that is a myth personally. What happens is that people generally learn that they weren't really doing anything special in the first place more than anything.

To me the old "I'll just play by feel and be great" is code for people thinking that they are going to be great musicians despite the fact that they really aren't interested in music enough to put any real effort into it. What they really want is the glory without the work that goes into being a real musician.

perogato02 · #17 05-05-2008, 03:23 AM

Think about Jimmy Hendrickx if talking about musicians without any formal training ...

Peaved · #18 05-05-2008, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perogato02

Think about Jimmy Hendrickx if talking about musicians without any formal training ...

Also Jimmy Page, Dave Matthews, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Santana, BB King, etc, etc.

Of course Jimi Hendrix practiced incessantly, even carrying his guitar into the bathroom.

middlebit · #19 05-05-2008, 03:42 AM

There's no shame in knowing what you're doing. That's all theory is - not a rule book, but a reference work. Knowing theory doesn't exclude you from playing what you hear, it can tell you what to listen for. It'll be so much harder for your friend to 'get good' without knowing anything about what he's doing. But it's his own choice...if he's got an extra 10 years of waiting to spare - be my guest.

Joe Nerve · #20 05-05-2008, 05:32 AM

If a guy who noodles (what I think you meant to say

), and loves it, and plays the bass 5 hours a day because he's having so much fun and does it for a year - gets compared to a guy who's up to Mel Bays book 2, practiced scales and chords, and put an hour into it a day cuz it wasn't much fun... who do you think would be the better player at the end of the year.