What should a newb be practicing ?

[Mike 257]

Ok so its my second day with a bass, I have played with all the knobs on the amp and bass. I have tried some stuff that I saw on utube vids and soon I will look for a teacher so I can take lessons.

In the meantime while sitting here what what should I practice ? I would like to know something before I take lessons. Should I learn cords or is there any exercises to get my fingers moving .

[Supertanker]

Start learning your favorite songs.
Have some fun.
There will be plenty of time for the other stuff later...

If you want get your fingers moving try "Bass Fitness".

[charlie monroe]

Seek out some tutorials on proper technique. We don't want you heading down the tendinitis or CTS highway.

[5StringFool]

Online Bass Lessons at StudyBass.com

Best beginner bass website around imo, and it's free.

[aaronhutson]

Originally Posted by Supertanker

Start learning your favorite songs.
Have some fun.
There will be plenty of time for the other stuff later...
.

Thats the answer. Starting off boring yourself with hours of technique will just make the whole experience suck. I still hate practicing technique, but by now its just a matter of being lazy. Ha.

Have fun! Write some riffs or jam with a friend. Get yourself even more interested.

[Definitely]

I taught myself bass for the first year and bought a few books, looked at many websites, and my bass teacher was impressed at the first lesson when I knew pretty much everything I needed to for a starter. now I had quite a few years with guitar trumpet and drums but most important is to learn:
-reading music
-major and minor chord positions
-study the fretboard and memorize all notes from fret 1-12 on E and A and you know most notes (octaves)
-do a lot of finger exercises and work on strength
-major and minor chords and the notes in them

now that's not all necessary before the first lesson but it's really great to know, and if have spare time learn your favorite songs! but I warn you to be aware of tabs, 80% are wrong and do not encourage fundamentals, if you really want to learn accurately I suggest listening carefully then watching many covers and seeing what occurs often and if it matches what you heard. I extremely recommend picking up bass guitar for dummies by patrick pfeiffer it is spectacular for learning everything, I still read it occasionally after three years. hope I helped and hope you love bass!

[jp58]

Welcome - Free Bass Guitar Lessons

I used to go there and to studybass. They really helped to get the ball rolling.

[hachi kid]

Originally Posted by charlie monroe

Seek out some tutorials on proper technique. We don't want you heading down the tendinitis or CTS highway.

THIS!!!!!!!

after you have some good technique down to prevent injury, start learning as much James Jamerson lines as you can! amazing player.

[Aussie Player]

Originally Posted by Mike 257

Ok so its my second day with a bass, I have played with all the knobs on the amp and bass. I have tried some stuff that I saw on utube vids and soon I will look for a teacher so I can take lessons.

In the meantime while sitting here what what should I practice ? I would like to know something before I take lessons. Should I learn cords or is there any exercises to get my fingers moving .

Old 3 chord (note) 12 bar blues. You need to lean to feel your bass so it become comfortable and feels normal in your hands. Learn to groove first.

After than you will know 10,000 songs with the same pattern from early Zep to Cream and beyond.

[Admpres]

Try learning "Intravascular coagul" By Viraemia.
That'll put some hair on your chest!

Sorry for being a smart @**

[Buxtehude]

Oh for the happy days when playing with my knobs was all the fun I could stand. Tee hee

[Mike 257]

Well Im now 23 days in and things are sounding a lot better .I love my bass .

[NoiseNinja]

The notes, the chromatic scale is a good place to start, some easy basslines from song you know well, you can play along with to recordings, and the basic power chord.

Edit: I didn't noticed your post date and your post about moving on at first place, congratulation! I guess you have all ready been through my suggestions then.

[Semisweet]

Originally Posted by Mike 257

Well Im now 23 days in and things are sounding a lot better .I love my bass .

Excellent! Did you find an instructor?

I have one, we've only had two lessons and I'm just three weeks in, but I'm surprised at the progress made when I practice the boring stuff too. She's about to go out of town for a couple of weeks, so she recommended working exercises out of the Hal Leonard Bass Method book while she's gone. I ordered it on Amazon last night.

There's also several resources online if you do a Google search for "Bass Guitar Sheet Music Beginner" (or similar word arrangement). I printed off a bunch of stuff - simple, recognizable tunes - and learned to read tabs that way.

[Papa Dangerous]

Dexterity and Accuracy.

Imagine your fingers (pointed, middle, ring and pink) number as 1-2-3-4 respectively.
Start on the E string, play one fret per finger.
- Finger 1 - Fret 1, Finger 2 - Fret 2, Finger 3 - Fret 3, Finger 4 - Fret 4
- Drop down to the A string and repeat
- Repeat for D and G.
Go backwards - Finger 4 - Fret 4, Finger 3 - Fret 3, Finger 2 - Fret 2, Finger 1 - Fret 1
- Repeat for D A and E
Try and do it as smooth as possible, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, make sure you do it properly (play the note so that you hear it, and not muffle it) over speed. Speed builds up in time. So for now, just land it.

Step 2
Once you get back up to the E string, shift down one fret (pointer Finger 1 - Fret 2) and repeat the process down, and than back up.
- Do this until your pinky reaches the 12th fret of the G string.

Step 3
- Go all the back up to fret 1 on the E string.

This exercise can take a couple of days or even weeks to get down and up in one shot. It can be painful and you will feel the burn. Imagine the burn as progress because that will get you playing much better. Learn how to accept the burn, release tension in your forearm/wrist, but still be able to play. Try not to over strain yourself though.

The Discipline: Imagine taking a martial arts class, you are required to have some sort of discipline in order to progress. My personal trick to getting this exercise down was simple, but worth noting. Every time I made an error on a string (perhaps I did not make the note sound right - it was muffled or dead) I would repeat that string before moving on. If I missed up twice, I would make myself repeat it TWO times in a row before moving on. If I continuously messed up, I would force myself to work back up to the E string of that hand position, and repeat the whole process. (If I was on the E string, I would force myself to repeat that section (Hand position) twice before moving on.)

Variations: Do the same concept, but only use Finger 1 and Finger 4.
- Or you can do any combination of fingers really. Just try to remain diligent.

This may seem like a bunch of jargon - feel free to ask or PM questions
Good luck on your journey, and may the bass be with you xD

[Papa Dangerous]

Did not realize this post was not fresh lol

I assume you are able to do this type of exercise after 23 days, but it is definitely worth keeping in your book of warm ups.

I believe Flea said that he still does 45 minutes of warm ups before playing, so never underestimate what a little bit of movement to get blood flowing can do for you!

[Semisweet]

Originally Posted by Papa Dangerous

Dexterity and Accuracy.

Imagine your fingers (pointed, middle, ring and pink) number as 1-2-3-4 respectively.
Start on the E string, play one fret per finger.
- Finger 1 - Fret 1, Finger 2 - Fret 2, Finger 3 - Fret 3, Finger 4 - Fret 4
- Drop down to the A string and repeat
- Repeat for D and G.
Go backwards - Finger 4 - Fret 4, Finger 3 - Fret 3, Finger 2 - Fret 2, Finger 1 - Fret 1
- Repeat for D A and E
Try and do it as smooth as possible, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, make sure you do it properly (play the note so that you hear it, and not muffle it) over speed. Speed builds up in time. So for now, just land it.

THIS is kicking my butt. The reach is murder and I sound mechanical and horrible. My instructor (who has smaller hands than me and plays an extra-long five string) says the muscles will start to learn how to do it with time and patience.

[Gord_oh]

TEMPO!
in a band setting, at least in mine, the drummer can sometimes get away from a beat.
he listens to me, even though it should be the other way around, for the tempo.
practice using a metronome. start slow, and gradually get faster. not only does that help you keeping tempo, it will help with endurance and technique. it builds bass muscles.

playing to cover songs is a great way to learn your way around the fretboard too. plus it gives you something to jam on when you go into guitar center.

it sounds weird but, look up videos of some bass players you like on youtube and study their technique. someone told me this and it works: play while looking into a mirror. look how your hand strums the strings, and how your other hand frets. i started doing that and i quickly realized how sloppy my technique was. i started practicing in a mirror and i did notice it get better.

that is my .02 cents to this thread. hope it helped.

stay low,
gord_oh

PS- as in papa's previous post, that is an excellent exercise.

[Papa Dangerous]

True, although kinda misnomered, your muscles retail "memory" (muscles do not really have memory...) from practice of a certain movement. You will become more comfortable with the movements and be able to reach further, and handle more pressure.

I personally used to touch my thumb to my pointer finger, than middle, then ring, than pinky and reverse over and over through out the day when I did not have my bass. It kept my fingers moving, and a constant reminder of the proper flow. (It will not necessarily make you a better player without practicing, but its nice to keep that blood moving!)

I used those hand grip things that had the individual springs/cushion for each finger to practice the same thing.


They help, but I also stopped using them after a little bit. I was told that this type of device can build muscle (which is what happens when you work muscles out!) and that can decrease dexterity due to the extra muscle.


Just remember, take your time, go slow and do it accurately. Make the most tone filled noise you can with each fret. Once you can get through it, add the discipline aspect described.

One day you will just wake up after thinking about it... and just have a new understanding/feel for it. Its weird how it works. I have noticed with myself, that a day or two break is sometimes a good idea to get things accomplished. There just have been times I would not play for a few days, go back to it, and poof - I am able to do what I was struggling on last time. So always practice, but do not over exert yourself. If you truly do love the bass, than it will stick with you for a life time, so there is no need to get it all done at once.

[Gord_oh]

i do have a varigrip as well.
Planet Waves Varigrip Hand Exerciser and more Hand & Finger Exercisers at GuitarCenter.com.
its a very nice tool, although i do admit i dont use it as often as i should. havent in a long time.

Originally Posted by Papa Dangerous

So always practice, but do not over exert yourself. If you truly do love the bass, than it will stick with you for a life time, so there is no need to get it all done at once.

very well said.