never gotten good never gotten bad just compeltely horrible

[behindgreyeyes]

To be completely honest, I have been playing bass for four years, wait no, let me reprhase that: I have owned a bass for four years now and have attempted learning how to play many many many times. I suck at best, completely horrible, you couldn't even call my slaughering of songs music. I bet a person that has never seen a bass gutar could play better than me!! The sad thing is I really want to learn how to play. An even sadder thing is that I'm in a band and am completely frustrated because I only know how to play what the gutarist tells me to play (by pointing at the frets and strings, kinda emberassing). I have trouble remembering what he tells me to play because I have a horrible memory (that and I really dont know how to play AT ALL). Sure, I've got three bass related books: Bass Fretboard Basics, Funk Bass, and The Bass Grimoire(which is completely greek to me). Yeah, I've been practicing with these books (minus the Grimoire) but it's booring as hell (can I say hell here?). Not only that but it's really frustrating whenever I try learning tabs because I am just that bad. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME ADVICE!!! Could you reccomend some easy tabs to start out with or anything really desperation is the key word here, I really dont want to let my band down!

PS: I just finished a practice session (lone practice session) where I seemed to regress through the entire two hours I "played" so half of that previous paragraph was me blowing off steam while the other half was a genuine plea for some advice.

I'm stuck behind a when all I have really wanted to do is but all I seem to get is

[Chad Michael]

First of all, welcome to TB and I hope you find something useful and / or entertaining here .

Second, is a question for you:

Are you playing bass because you really want to, or because you feel like you should ?

[teprodic]

Originally Posted by bimplizkit

First of all, welcome to TB and I hope you find something useful and / or entertaining here .

Second, is a question for you:

Are you playing bass because you really want to, or because you feel like you should ?

+1


That's a great question bimplizkit asked because before you go any further you must decide wether you're having fun playing bass or if you see it as sort of a job you must fulfill. But I'd suggest to keep on playing. I bet you aren't half as bad as you claim to be. Just jam by yourself at home. Make up bass lines to just learn tabs. Tabs are very easy to read because all you have to do is go to the fret that the number is telling you to.

Try to learn some tabs by Greenday or Blink 182. Most of the stuff is very easy and you will learn it. I'd recommend "Carousel" by Blink 182 and probably any Greenday song. The thing that works for me when learning a song is listen to the song on earphones or headphones and look at the tabs. Try to hear the bass and the changes it makes and make sure you're looking at the tabs as well. Once you get the song then play each bar a certain amount of times until you get it perfect. Then keep on playing the next part of the song until eventually you have the whole thing.

Don't get so frustated because like anything, it takes work and dedication to be good at something and LOTS and LOTS of practice. So don't go all crazy if you're having trouble. Everyone here has had trouble here with a song before and the only way you will get through it is by practicing. As for your band well try to pay attention to what your guitarist is telling you to play so that you won't forget. Eventually you will catch on with the song and you will be writing your own lines. Just be aware that everything takes time. Some people are faster learners than others. When I first started I really sucked and I wanted to give up but I decided not to because I have a ton of fun playing and I guess you can say I'm an okay player now for someone that has two years of experience. So just practice and don't give up!

[Alexander]

Don't sweat it - being "good" or "bad" is all relative and you will continually learn for as long as you keep playing. It shouldn't limit your enjoyment of the instrument or music in general.

I would highly (and I do mean HIGHLY) recommend getting a quality instructor for 1:1 lessons. A good instructor can help you make steady forward progress in a way you can see and feel good about. If you struggle in an area, they can help you work through it at your pace. They should be able to craft a learning plan for you based on your desires and (more importantly) their experience because frankly a lot of times "you don't know what you don't know".

Second, as mentioned by teprodic, practice as much as you can and focus most of that time on the stuff that gives you the biggest headache. You will tend to gravitate toward practicing what you already know - but if you practice the tough stuff, the rest will be a piece of cake.

[behindgreyeyes]

Thanks for all the advice guys, and I don't think I'm going to give up. I have always admired bass players and loved the way songs sound when there is a great bass line. I really should get a one on one lesson. I'm definately going to keep practicing, everyday if I can. Hopefully I'll get better eventually. Thanks guys

[RicPlaya]

Get an instructor

Try some punk, Greenday is great.

[lemur821]

You need a little more optimism. I realize that part of that first post was just the off-blowing of steam, but really, if you think and talk about how awful you are, and say you have a bad memory, then you sure as hell will. Not only do you need to practice; you need to practice without thinking about all the times you've screwed up in the past (we all have), and how many times you'll screw up in the future (we all will).