Where should my abilities be by now?

[loops84]

I have owned a bass guitar for about 3 years and played roughly 2 and a half. I have practiced off and on and have the Major scale and it's modes memorized to the point where if I play them on the bass I can do it pretty good at 120 bpms. I still have problems with my actual technique on both hands. I twang when fretting or miss a fret all together, or I hit strings both below and above when finger playing. I am getting better and have learned to slow down, like way down. I really don't know what to play when I jam with my band, I have to ask what the progression is so I can make a bass line. I also don't know which scale to use for which chords. I figured it was if there playing a II-V-I progression I play dorian, mixo, and Ionian. What could I do to improve my playing ability all together. And for what I described, Am I getting anywhere or waisting time? Would music theory explain the whole scale to chord thing? Shoot me some advice, help, or anything. Please be honest as possible.

[derelicte]

i'll be honest.. i think if u've been playing for 2and a half, u should be much better.. but it could also be because you're not learning the right things. in my learning progression, i've realized there are 2 main aspects of bass to develop: 1.) proper techniques and scale/arpeggios and 2.) ear training.

for (1.) try spending some time playing with metronomes and drum machines, pick up some techniques for left and right hand techniques like double stops, octave jumps in scales, etc. there is a plethora of useful tutorials and information here for techniques.. take advantage of it!! you can even learn a bunch of stuff thru youtube or learning songs and basslines thru tabs. i can't begin to tell u how many times i made basslines from existing basslines of other songs.

This will lend itself to helping on (2.) ear training is entirely possible! cyberfret.com has some good resources on it. generally, identifying root notes will give u a foundation for which chord progressions to use. start simple, play whole notes on time, and add fills later and then slam a nice line to it. a lot of learning was made from improving on metronomes/drum machines/mp3s etc.

hope this helps some.. good luck!

[mutedeity]

I think it comes down to this.

Are you happy with where you are? If not maybe you need to invest in some lessons for a start. Secondly you might consider that practising "off and on" isn't going to make you the next Victor Wooten or Jaco Pastorius, or whichever other bass player you aspire to be.

Being a good musician, let alone a great one, takes dedication and consistency with practice. There is no such thing as a naturally "talented" musician. If you are thinking that by coasting along learning tidbits of theory here and there as you go, that you are going to have a proficient working knowledge of music theory and well developed technique in a short time, you are bound to be disappointed.

There are few if any musicians that develop either technique or theory in a short space of time with self directed learning. Those few that do don't practice "off and on". They practice every day and they read up as much as they can on theory.

It's not really for anyone to say whether you are where you should be as a musician after x amount of time, though, in my opinion. If you are happy with where you are then where you are at is fine. On the other hand if you have high expectations for yourself as a musician, then you have to face reality and bite the bullet. Lessons and (at the very least) solid practice are the only thing that will get you there.

[Fruce]

It's a good thing to learn the scales and/or modes) in all of the 12 keys.
This isn't going to be fun and progression will be slow, but you will learn to play in any given key (which is really great, and your technique will also benefit from this!).
If you play dor-mixo-ion on a II-V-I, you must be aware that it are all the notes (coming from the 1st ionian mode). So, you can play all those notes on a IIm7-V7-Imaj7.
Learn arpeggio's (like on the IIm7: play d-f-a-c, f-a-c-d, a-c-d-f or c-d-f-a). and turn them the other way around. Do the same for the V and I (be shure to play the right ones, doh ...) These are just basic arpeggio's, but you can play a strong, melodic line using just these notes....

What styles do you play?
Keep it up, don't get frustrated, patience is the key!

Fruce

[lonestarwings]

Originally Posted by loops84

I have owned a bass guitar for about 3 years and played roughly 2 and a half. I have practiced off and on and have the Major scale and it's modes memorized to the point where if I play them on the bass I can do it pretty good at 120 bpms. I still have problems with my actual technique on both hands. I twang when fretting or miss a fret all together, or I hit strings both below and above when finger playing. I am getting better and have learned to slow down, like way down. I really don't know what to play when I jam with my band, I have to ask what the progression is so I can make a bass line. I also don't know which scale to use for which chords. I figured it was if there playing a II-V-I progression I play dorian, mixo, and Ionian. What could I do to improve my playing ability all together. And for what I described, Am I getting anywhere or waisting time? Would music theory explain the whole scale to chord thing? Shoot me some advice, help, or anything. Please be honest as possible.

Keep your chin up, I say, I've been playing about 5 months but I have the same issue with the band, I usually have to ask about the chord progression....although I can usually figure it out on my own give a dozen or so measures to feel it out. I don't see the harm in asking what the guitar is playing, you're gong to have to listen at least once anyway, unless you're pyschic.

How much do you practice each week? I think simply upping your practice time would help with your left/right hand issues. If you read music, maybe you could find a book with a lot of technique intensive songs and slowly work your way through it? I really seem to enjoy earning the instrument this way....and it's somewhat rewarding to be able to play a song when you're done versus just another scale or exercise.

[loops84]

I am now 23 years old. Do you guys think that I am way too old?

[thesteve]

What's wrong with asking what the chord progression is? If my guitarist just started playing riffs and never told me what he was playing, the song writing process would take twice as long.

[JMDT]

Originally Posted by loops84

I am now 23 years old. Do you guys think that I am way too old?

My sister is a piano teacher and has had students starting in their 60's. Its never too late to learn music.

[SteveC]

Take some essons. You may have some technique issues.
Maybe practicing "off and on" isn't enough.

[DudeistMonk]

I am now 23 years old. Do you guys think that I am way too old?

So am I and in the past 6 months I went from having technique and reading ability (rusty with both) and little else to being able to write grooves, understand theory and participate in discussions around here, 23 is not 83.

I know a bunch of guys in their 40s who up and started a band MLC (mid life crisis) they play covers and and gig all the time, they aren't too old.

[BruisedOoze]

Originally Posted by loops84

I am now 23 years old. Do you guys think that I am way too old?

Learning is better while you're young but that certainly doesn't mean you can't learn now. Otherwise we would all be very incapable people.

I ahve a friend who started playing bass when he was 30. He's not great but he's happy and he's not bad. And as someone said they ahve students that are much much older than that.

Just be patient and persistent and keep practicing. It will all come to you.

[loops84]

I practice like 2-4 hours a day now. Not in a row, but I spread it around through out the day. like an hour of scales, then rest and stretch my hands and give it another 30 mins of finger exercises, and keep that up. Is this a wrong way to practice? Also another question I may need to ask in else where but her it goes, when playing chord inversions like instead of F A C, I play C F A is F still the root note or is C?

[JimmyM]

F is still the root note. It's an F chord. You're just playing the 5th if you start with a C.

So about your practice, you aren't challenging yourself enough. You've learned a couple concepts, but you don't know what to do with them well enough to apply them. You really need a teacher. You're at a point where you can either break through and start applying what you know and making some real music or forever remain stuck at where you are. I believe fully that for you to move past it and get a true understanding of the many concepts you've already picked up, you need a good teacher. If you're willing to spend 2-4 hours a day with your bass, you should be willing to drop a few shekels on a good teacher who can show you what to practice to get the most out of your long sessions.

[ForestThump]

All good advice. I think you need to play along with your favourite songs and steal, borrow, absorb whatever you want to call it.
That's what all great musicians do anyway at least in the beginning.
Knowing scales and arpeggios is vital but knowing (feeling) what to do with them is what makes music.

[Tapout73]

Originally Posted by loops84

I am now 23 years old. Do you guys think that I am way too old?

Heh, I'm 35 and just started back in December and have been loving life ever since.

[Elsebet]

Originally Posted by loops84

I am now 23 years old. Do you guys think that I am way too old?

I think you need to finish the question. Am I way too old for...what? Define your goal.

99% of the answers will be No.

[stingray56funk]

Heard of Jaco...?!

Naw...just keep up the practice and keep playing with other people (especially if they are better than you and force you to progress).

I echo the thought of getting a teacher to progress you. I never started to really get it as a bassist until I took lessons. My lessons were from a jazz guitar guy who happened to play bass...it was nice to always have a guitar in there to play along with so I could understand the compliments of bass to guitar in a band/song setting.

Keep it up!!!

[stflbn]

There is no guideline for where you should be at.


The question is... what do you need to do??? Are you accomplishing it?


If you're playing with a band, do you play everything that needs to be played? If not playing with a band, then why not????

That should be more of a goal then whether you can play ******* at ***bpm in whatever mode that came out of whatever book.

[chasfr]

Lemme just throw one thing in here--it's not a race. You're not trying to beat anyone else. You're abilities "should" be precisely where they are, because they reflect the effort you've put in to date. There won't be a trophy for "mastering" the instrument--most master musicians will tell you they have lots more to learn. So once you discard the competitive model, what's left?

Just practice. And play. And practice some more.

And have fun doing it

Good luck!
Chas

[stflbn]

Originally Posted by Fruce

This isn't going to be fun and progression will be slow...

See... this is where I drastically vary from alot of other guys on here. Music IS supposed to be fun and rewarding. If it's not fun and rewarding people stop doing it and you see posts on craigslist like "I bought this two years ago and haven't played it in a year and a half. $150".

Decide what you enjoy and what encourages you... then do more of that. ALOT more of that. Soon you'll get adept enough at those things that you'll automatically start branching out.

But if you're not playing with others... start doing it because you're missing out on the biggest parts of being a bass player that causes you to be a "BETTER" bass player.