New bassist here...

[jeffreybar]

(hope I have the right forum for this question! apologies if not)

So I swapped my old strat that I never play today for a friend's p-bass: I'm a keyboardist/wind player from way back, but I struggled to wrap my mind around guitar and it always felt like a chore to practice (a lot like the disciplined agony of playing trumpet compared to the fun of baritone horn), so I didn't know how I was going to do with bass. But holy crap, I must have played for 6 or 7 hours today (I can't remember ever playing guitar anywhere near that long in a day), and I'm having a hard time calming down to sleep -- it's actually really fun, even right off the bat, in a way that guitar never was for me.

So obviously I'm at absolute novice-level ability here, and I think I know enough now to be able to go through all my albums and find some stuff that'll be easy to start with. I had planned on starting with a couple of old Zombies tracks since I've been listening to that album a lot lately and I like the bass work, but even though they're marked "Novice", they're still pretty difficult for me. I think I've just about got Creep down (ha!), and my question is: could someone hook me up with a few recommendations for really easy, absolute entry-level songs to play while I'm sorting through my albums to find easy stuff to play?

Thanks in advance.

[becker4567]

First off, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! And welcome to TB! You will find alot of good info here, so don't be afraid to ask for advise. Once you get a couple of bass lines down, you will be even more excited. Try 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen, or 'Sunshine of Your Love' by Cream. Easy and fun. Go to bassmasta.net for a good selection of bass tabs. And try 'ExpertVillage' videos on youtube for some good, short lessons. And don't forget the pentatonic scales (rock or blues). Good luck and have fun!

[gus1894]

Welcome! Yea, played a guitar first b/c I h ad access to it, but the bass is what drew me in too! Best advice? Pick the songs that you like, you'll know what's too advanced for you and what's not. Don't let common opinion define your concept of novice or expert, try to play what you like and you'll be aware of wha's easy to pick up and what's the challenge you have to work towards in no time.

And I know it sounds silly, but I picked up "Bass Guitar For Dummies" almost as a point of amusement a few months back and was very surprised to find that I learned a great deal from it, and while I don't consider myself an expert I've been playing for almost 20 years. Inspiration comes from all over, just be open to it.
And I am done yappin' along!
Go play yer bass...

[ShirazBop]

Congratulations and Welcome from here as well. Good advise in the above two posts. Tonnes of great information on this forum.

[aikakone]

Welcome to bass, Jeffrey. My own experience with guitar was similar. I played through my teenage years, though I can't say I was ever good at it. When I started playing bass in my 30s, it all clicked. Absolute love.

There are a few simple songbooks out there published by Hal Leonard if you want to go the route of printed music. (I have one of the FastTrack Bass songbooks, but I think there may be a total of 4 of them.) With your brass and keys background you may be more open to it. I know I find actual notation much easier than tab, which drives me batty.

[Stumbo]

Learn the blues!

Check out my sig. for some cool links to lots of info that may help you out along the way.

Good luck.

[jeffreybar]

Thanks for the welcomes and the suggestions everybody. My fingers hurt like hell after yesterday, but I'm looking forward to going back again today, if they can stand it. Very exciting.

[Chris K]

That's what I would like to warn you about. (but: Welcome. Yes!).
Take care not to play too much in the beginning
Find a teacher to avoid wrong & damaging techniques.
And have fun for the rest of your long and doubtlessly happy lifetime.