So... I'm teaching myself

[Omer]

*Notice, all other threads about Omer, the world's greatest musician ever, will be deleted*

*I'm an idiot and I express myself using bad humour. Please ignore that bad humour*

*You can skip to the third paragraph, if you don't care too much. But there's a bit before that may mean something. Or not. I don't know*

Basic summary of my life - boring, please skip till the bold part:
1989: I was born.
2001: I got my first guitar, after playing for... I don't know, two years? Was a Squier Strat, before that I play my sister's classical guitar (I think it's referred to as "acoustic with nylon strings" in English. I don't know).
2002: After a year of putting real effort into my 6-stringed-broomstick, I quit guitar, with some technique, and theoretical music knowledge.
2007: My cousin plays bass, I ask him about buying a cheap one, because I'm afraid I won't stick to it, as I just play my guitar on-and-off for years. He tells me to take his older brother's Squier P-Bass.
2010: After practicing without an amp, his brother (my other cousin) takes it back. And then I have to buy my own bass, a Squier Jazz, and I buy a Zoom B2 with it so I can practice with earphones, and suddenly I realise that for the last four months I just can't stop playing.

Second part - skip as well if you wish:
So, basically - I've always dreamt of a bass, and then I got one and it was nice, and then I got another one that I can actually hear myself playing, and I can't stop practicing. I'm in love with this thing. I was afraid after I used my cousin's bass that it wasn't as "dreamy" as I thought it would be, but now I find out that it IS. The Jazz is more comfortable for me, and hearing myself without plucking too loud (or playing through a ****** guitar amp) is really fun. I mean, more than fun. I'm 21, my senses tell me that it's too late for me to become a pro, but my other senses tell me "the hell with it, that's what you're all about, what you always dreamt of, and now it's better than you imagined".

Third part - now you can start reading!:
Right now I'm 4 months into practicing "heavily", and I don't feel like stopping anytime soon. Thing is, I'm not just as lazy as people think, but I'm really having difficulties with schedules. I just like to pick up the bass whenever I feel like - which is usually whenever I'm awake - and play it. Since I'm not doing much else, I'm thinking of starting seeing a teacher. But in the meanwhile - what should I do? What do you recommend?

My cousin's been playing bass for years, so every once in a while I see him, and I demonstrate myself playing - so he corrects me, technically speaking - or should I say physically speaking. But the question is - am I really getting somwhere by just practicing? Because I feel that I'm getting better, my friends and family also say so, but I'm afraid that I'm just being in some point where I can be much further ahead, with all the efforts I'm putting into it. I've no job, I've got time till the next semester starts - I just play all day long. And I wonder if I would be better with a teacher.

I guess what I'm asking is - besides theory, and physical/technical aspects, what should I know? I know nothing about scales, let's say. I mean, I know what they are, I think of them while playing, but I'm not sure that I know enough in the context of my bass playing. Can you recommend any online lessons/teachers or books? Or just say how crucial it is to study with a teacher?

And another thing - assuming I'm playing bass for 4 months, and have prior knowledge of it - can you name some songs that I should be able to play proficiently, in your opinion? So I can upload myself playing, and you can give your assesment. Might be embarassing, but I don't care, I just want to progress.

Thanks ahead!

[timbledum]

In terms of songs to learn, thats really up to you. I could recommend some songs but at the end of the day they may not be your style or in the direction you want to go in. If I had to pick, I would say motown and or ratm for starters. Thats what got me going.

Definitely learn your theory and your fingerboard. Its one of those things that only really comes with time but you need to actively work on and think about. The best way to think about it for me is to learn the scales/fingerboard, then when you learn a song or a lick, think about, what key am I in, what chord is this lick playing over, how does it fit (are there any notes not in the key/incidentals). Asking those kinda questions gives you new approaches in applying theory to creating new basslines. Learning a scale won't tell you what notes sound good with what, or what intervals sound nice, but applying scales to licks you like from songs you've listened to will.

Step three, I've been playing since I was 13 and I'm still learning from this guy.
http://playbassnow.com/
He gives little morsels of bass wisdom in the form of a 2 or a 4 bar riff or lick in all difficulties. Just find one that doesn't seem too far out there to learn but still sounds impressive, and learn it until it doesn't impress you any more and you need to learn MOAR!!! I find it takes me 15-30 minutes to learn the notes and everything, and maybe a week to polish it off and get it to speed (sleep does wonders with practice).

[Omer]

Thanks for the comment!
I definitely play RATM a lot. They're one of my favourite bands. Also like, let's say, the Clash, and some of RHCP.

As for learning the fingerboard - I try to think about it a lot, actually. When I try to play a song by ear (before I check for tabs in the web to see if I'm correct...), I'm trying to think of what note I'm playing, and the "space" between the different notes (don't know hot to put the "space" issue in English). Sometimes at night I'm thinking of songs that I play, and compare specific notes, to make sure I can identify the pitch
I also pay a lot of attention to same notes being played be pressing different frets. Let's say F# in the 2nd octave - either 4th on the D string, or 9th on the A string, or 16th on the E string. And I think of the octave differences in terms of two strings down - two frets more. If we take the F# note again, than it's 2nd on the E string, and 4th on the D string, in different octaves, that's what I mean. So I use that kind of thinking to find the notes more easily, or to find the most comfortable method of playing.

I just have problems with the scales - since I don't pay attention to them, I just don't notice them when I play... I guess that's wrong. Can you give me examples of songs played in specific scales? Especially of that bands I mentioned, and especially as I see you recommend RATM as well, so I guess you might also be a fan... Thing is, sometimes I tried looking for scales that fit the songs - And just couldn't. Let's say Know Your Enemy - I didn't find any scale that fits the notes of the verse.

I try to pay attention to keys, though - sometimes I play a song by ear using the wrong key, but the "spaces" are okay (again, don't know the term in English, only in Hebrew...). But when I think about it, now - I SHOULD pay attention to the scales, something which I don't normally do...

Thanks again for the comment, and for the link as well. I'll check it out.

[caeman]

I would recommend that as part of your practice, you sit down with a book on music theory. You don't have to get deep with it, but start out reading about scales, what notes is in each one and why. Getting a basic understanding of this in your self-teaching will make the rest of a bit less stressful.

Trust me on this one. I had been a drummer only since age 10 and didn't know a lick of theory. My self-learning on bass went easier once I did know something about theory.

As for not finding a scale that fit the verse, there is no rule that says a song must only use the notes a specific scale. A song verse can make use of all 12 notes if it wishes if it so chooses.

[kreider204]

IMPROVISING ROCK BASS by David Gross will give you a nice introduction to theory, and how to apply it in practice. (I'm not sure if it's in print anymore, but I bet old used copies are floating around on Amazon.) Highly recommended.

[taphappy]

21 is NOT too late, by any means. Most touring bands I run into that are just starting out are around 25 or older. And the better you get, the less that any future age gap matters.

If you got the bug, and you practice steadily, start playing with people - you can get real good, real quick. It'll feel slow at first, but if you're practicing this much? It's coming.

And, you're screwed. Welcome to the club :)

I would heartily suggest a bass teacher, once a week. If you can find a good one in your area. There are some serious gems out there who can cut your learning time in half...if you find the right guy that inspires you, and knows what he's doing. He should be well rounded. Musical. Able to comp jazz fluidly, solo pretty (not necessarily flashy - pretty), and groove like a mofo. It may not be your style of music, but it'll knock your musicianship to its highest level, were you can play anything you imagine, at any time, rather than being locked into what you've learned from bassists in a specific genre by practicing only what you want to practice.

The best way to go about finding a teacher, personally, is to get out to gigs and find good local bassists. Then ask him who blows his socks off, locally, and get ahold of the guy. Or ask around here, maybe we have some floating around out there. But, a caveat - just because you're a great bassist does not make you a great teacher.

Full band open mics can be great, as they may be run by someone who's been around the musical block a million times, and his friends show up. These are obvious. They'll have a "house" band of pros running it that has very nice equipment. Hit as many of these as you can, and look, listen. Don't even get a drink. If it's crap, go to the next place on your list. Talk to the good players you run into, find out about other jams, learn names of players in town, keep track. There's usually be one or two that stands out above the rest. Find one that teaches, try 'em out.

While there's tons of stuff online to assist with bringing you up to speed, there's nothing like having a pro next to you who can visually catch your mistakes, and dial your playing back on track, and expose you to new music that will improve your playing that you would have otherwise ignored. You will get out of it what you put into it. If you can't afford $25-$30/week, quit smoking. Or drink six less beers at the bar in a week. Eat in, eat cheap. Suck it up. It'll be worth it.

And, if you really work on it, they'll probably drag you out to public jams and cut your teeth on the real stuff. Make connections. And the industry's all about connections.

Yes, there are a ton of us who are self-taught. I am. But it isn't a badge of honor. That's simply ignorance. My theory's pretty much crap, my reading's useless after years of atrophy. I aim to find a teacher, go back to basics, and fix that. Which is much different as a strong, established player at 38 than just beginning at 21.

Which is gonna be freaking humiliating :)

Every lesson I've gone to so far, I've shown the teacher more than they showed me. Hence the search suggestions. So, I'm changing my modus operandi.

Anyhoo. That's my $.04. This got a little away from me, heh.