noob- i gust got a rouge for $60 and a fender fretless j bass for $150 how do i....

bassmelon · #1 11-07-2005, 02:56 PM

play them

and am i posting this in the right forum

bassmelon · #2 11-07-2005, 02:58 PM

misspeld it

ikickuintheballs · #3 11-07-2005, 02:59 PM

If these are your first basses, the fretless may be out of your league for now. I recommend getting a teacher or a video for the basics. Good luck.

bassmelon · #4 11-07-2005, 03:00 PM

i would get lessons but being 15 and having no job dosent help at all do you know a site that can help me?

reasonbass · #5 11-07-2005, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmelon

i would get lessons but being 15 and having no job dosent help at all do you know a site that can help me?

You are already on it. Search the forums, look for lessons. There are many awesome players here, that can help you out.

truckin88 · #6 11-07-2005, 03:04 PM

Well reading here will def. help, also play along with music, get tabs at places like mxtabs.net, but like they said check amazon out for a good basic beginners book or your local music store, should be able to fetch one for less then 10 bucks.

bassmelon · #7 11-07-2005, 03:04 PM

spc · #8 11-07-2005, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmelon

misspeld it

misspelled or misspelt, but you knew that, right?

bassmelon · #9 11-07-2005, 03:12 PM

and les claypool is like my idle, so i was wondering how to slap or whatevery yall call it

camman · #10 11-07-2005, 03:36 PM

since we are on a spelling kick..... its Idol, not idle.

Good luck learning to play!

Pennydreadful · #11 11-07-2005, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmelon

and les claypool is like my idle, so i was wondering how to slap or whatevery yall call it

Man, even I knew what slap was before I started playing. Sorry, don't mean to rag on you...

Actually, I've been playing for around five years, and I'd say I'm fairly good, but I can't slap worth a damn.

Marcus · #12 11-07-2005, 04:01 PM

If you're serious... practice.

Actually... train.

Have fun

Aj* · #13 11-07-2005, 04:04 PM

Slapping won't take you too long to learn, took me about a month to get a good E and A slap. Just be careful to learn everything right, unlearning is much harder than learning.

bbourgon · #14 11-07-2005, 04:23 PM

If you are interested in slap, for $20 the Ed Friedland slap video is the ultimate bargain. Incredibly in depth on the simplest of techniques on up. You shouldn't use it as your only source as a beginning player altogether, but it would be a great supplement to develop as a slapper at the same time you are learning to play. Good luck, and take care.

freshmeat1989 · #15 11-07-2005, 04:50 PM

Slapping is SO frustrating at first but keeping on trying man!

Higher ground by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a good start slap song.

SundanceChile · #16 11-07-2005, 05:52 PM

actually, if you really want to get hardcore into bass playing, work with the fretless first to help out your ear and inotation. and be sure to pick up Mastering The Bass Book 1, that should get you started.

brane · #17 11-08-2005, 07:42 AM

If you are new to the instrument, I wouldn't worry about slapping right now. It's a cool technique, but I would say the vast majority of bass players, at all skill levels, get by without ever using it. (I'm not one, I love slapping, but I know that the technique is uncalled for in most music).

Start with the basics (slapping is certainly not part of the basics). Work on left and right hand strengthening (sp?) and technique first. Get the two hands talking to each other... it's harder than it seems if you are new to playing an instrument. Do a search for some chromatic (or pseudo-chromatic) strength exercises. But follow it just like any other workout session... don't do it too much! Straining muscles and ligaments will make your progess slower.

You are 15, so this could be a tough one... but one of the most important parts of incorporating any new information is SLEEP! :P If you are having difficulty with a line or riff, try it really slow a few times, until you think you at least have the pattern memorized, then give up on it until the next day. After a good night's sleep, you'll find you can play it better! During sleep is when the brain assimilates information stored in short-term memory. College students are told to sleep with their books under their pillow after studying for an exam. It's not the book that does the trick... it's the sleep.

On a theoretical note, learn a few rudiments. Learn what note each of the 4 open strings are, and then use them to figure out the rest. Learn the holy triumvirate of Root, Fifth, and Octave, and the various patterns you can go from one to the other. Just that alone will get you through many decades worth of rock music. :P Expand that into the pentatonic scale eventually, and you are on your way.

Get a tuner! Always play in tune. Playing out of tune is an amazing way of destroying your own internal sense of intonation. Additionally, I would say stay away from the fretless for now. You have to know what a note is supposed to sound like before you can exercise your intonation (having to stare at a tuner the entire time you are playing is simply adding more difficulty to something that is gonna be tough for a long time already).

Anyway, these are just a few things that I've passed on to others, because I've felt they've been instrumental in my development. (And to be honest, none of this I've come up with myself... it's all from reading books and sites).

Other than that, welcome to the bass!

adouglas · #18 11-08-2005, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmelon

i would get lessons but being 15 and having no job dosent help at all do you know a site that can help me?

Talkbass is great as a community, but there are many sites that have a lot more instructional content.

http://www.cyberfretbass.com
http://www.cyberfret.com
http://www.harmony-central.com (check the bass page for lots of links)

Learn your scales.

Play some tunes, sure...but devote at least a little bit of time every practice to fundamentals...technique, scales, all the boring stuff. It'll pay off in the end, trust me.