Practice
 

Hi guys, I'm new to the Talkbass forums, and I was hoping maybe I could find a little help here.

First off, let me explain myself. I've been playing bass for about 4 years, before that I played guitar sporatically and wasnt really good. However, when i picked up bass I really enjoyed it and practiced anywhere from 1-4 hours a day. I'm also in a band, playing shows regularly. However, I never actually learned the proper way to play, in other words i just found songs that I liked and looked up the tabs and practiced them. The type of music that I've liked these past four years (hardcore, ect) wasnt too harsh on my playing because for the most part it was breakdowns which in most cases requires your right hand to be stronger, and when it was technical parts I just had tabs.

Now that I'm more interested in different genres of music, and the fact that I want to write parts other than drop tuned power chords and breakdowns for my band makes me want to go back to fundamentals i should have learned years ago.

I guess what I'm asking is if you guys have a good place to start.. I have a 4 string schecter and a 6 string ibanez.. Id really like to get good with my 6 string because its my favorite but I also understand it'd probably be easier to learn on 4 strings. Do you guys have any websites, books, magazines, ect that could help me out?

Thanks so much, I'm really excited to be part of this site!

****should also mention I'm pretty familiar with theory, Ive taken classes on it a while ago.

Thanks again!!

Have a look here:
www.tonygreybassacademy.com

I was taking bass guitar lessons but wanted to learn more in depth than my half hour a week could cover. I found this website on these forums:
http://www.teachmebassguitar.com/
I spent my Christmas money on it and boy is it ever worth it! Roy Vogt's dvds are extremely easy to follow, and no matter what level you're at, they will benefit you (there's 10 discs in all). He has a "looping library" that allows you to practice what you learn as many times as you want, and there's always a fretboard on the bottom of the screen showing you notes and fingering. I can't say enough about it! (and no, I don't work for Roy's company. Just a happy customer/student).

Hi,
another great website you can check out is www.studybass.com