What should I learn next?

[Belgian Spice]

Sorry if I'm annoying but I just want a few opinions from experienced bass players...I started playing a few months ago and I went through Mel Bay's Electric Bass Method 1 and 2 with my teacher and now he wants me to do Slap It! and the Evolving Bassist but he's too expensive so I'm cutting him...any advice on what I can do what I can practice just to become an all around better player...I've improved greatly but my ultimate goal is to understand music and be able to improvise and play by ear...anything would be greatly appreciated ..thanks

[mikezimmerman]

I'd start by looking in the General Instruction forum of Talkbass.

Mike

[James Hart]

Originally Posted by mikezimmerman

I'd start by looking in the General Instruction forum of Talkbass.

Mike

and follow up with an actual thread title

[JazzyJames]

Try watching instructional videos on Youtube. Also, google will give you anything you need.

[quale213]

To become a better all around musician start immersing yourself in music and transcribing. Start tabbing simple songs by ear, something you mentioned as being important to you, and progress to more difficult as you gain more skill at it.

[BigOldHarry]

Originally Posted by quale213

To become a better all around musician start immersing yourself in music and transcribing. Start tabbing simple songs by ear, something you mentioned as being important to you, and progress to more difficult as you gain more skill at it.

Excellent suggestion. I would hold off on slapping and flashy techniques and focus on the fundamentals. Transcription and charting are a big part of being a working bassist.

Another thing to work on would be TIMING. You can never have too much groove, and groove comes from knowing your timing. When you read through your books, do you use a metronome? Do you vary the tempo? You should. Get other books around that level and just work on your reading. A bassist who can read can work, ask anyone.