becoming the best bass player

Samelot · #1 06-29-2005, 05:13 PM

hi, id like to become an extremely good bass player, i started to play bass around 12, but i havent always been this serious at bass playing. Are there any real good/ well known bass palyers out there that started after age 16?

Stoned Bass · #2 06-29-2005, 05:43 PM

I heard the bassist from Bouncing souls started when he was 23.
Probably explains the music

Just kidding

Matt Till · #3 06-29-2005, 05:47 PM

Actually your only chance to become the best living bassist is to start killing every bassist ever... I might recommend starting with Fi3lDy!

Samelot · #4 06-29-2005, 06:09 PM

oh boys... no, but im really wondering, has any top player (jaco, victor, marcus) started after age 16??

ddnidd1 · #5 06-29-2005, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samelot

oh boys... no, but im really wondering, has any top player (jaco, victor, marcus) started after age 16??

Personally I don't think the age of 16 has anything to do with it. Its a lot of hard, diligent work and of course gobs of INNATE TALENT. Unfortunately, innate talent isn't learnable.

Stoned Bass · #6 06-29-2005, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddnidd1

Personally I don't think the age of 16 has anything to do with it. Its a lot of hard, diligent work and of course gobs of INNATE TALENT. Unfortunately, innate talent isn't learnable.

True, you also need rhythm, you'll be amazed how many people can't keep a beat.

Ive known people(1 person) who knew all the theory and notes and everything but couldn't pluck a string or keep a beat and only had knowledge of trance/dance music, god it was like someone smacking a bass against a cat.

Samelot · #7 06-29-2005, 07:01 PM

terrible, just terrible. Then i must go on a go on a Hajj to find some talent. See u guys in a few years..

JHL · #8 06-29-2005, 07:25 PM

richard bona started when he was 18 i believe... there are numerous examples. don't worry about your age, if you think you'll have fun learning music, and you think you can do it well, go for it!

Matt Till · #9 06-29-2005, 07:56 PM

Uh 16 is a pretty early age to start bassin', I started when I was like 18 or 19, but luckily, I'm totally awesome.

Wrong Robot · #10 06-29-2005, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Till

Uh 16 is a pretty early age to start bassin', I started when I was like 18 or 19, but luckily, I'm totally awesome.

Totally awesome at not being totally awesome! OH THAT'S GOING TO BURN!!!

Wrong Robot · #11 06-29-2005, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHL

richard bona started when he was 18 i believe... there are numerous examples. don't worry about your age, if you think you'll have fun learning music, and you think you can do it well, go for it!

I'm not so sure about that. Maybe he started the bass at 18, but I think he'd been around music his whole life, as well as coming from a musical family.

Wrong Robot · #12 06-29-2005, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samelot

hi, id like to become an extremely good bass player, i started to play bass around 12, but i havent always been this serious at bass playing. Are there any real good/ well known bass palyers out there that started after age 16?

Basically, 'extremely good' is a futile goal. There are infinite things you can be 'extremely good' at, and even then, what may seem 'extremely good' to some will be 'extremely pointless' to others.

When I was your age, I thought that 'extremely good' meant being able to play all the wicked slap lines of victor wooten and stuff. Or knowing every technique, or being able to play really fast. So, I tinkered around with a lot of those things, I can play really silly slap lines, play fast, and I know a handful of techniques. Does that make me 'extremely good'?

Maybe in the eyes of some, but in the eyes of others all my abilities on the bass amount to diddly if I'm don't play roots and 5ths with an even pulse, on the beat and with some groove.

So, when you say 'extremely good' you're kind of setting yourself up for failure, because such a concept doesn't really exist outside of your own definitions of it, which you don't seem to have defined.

A lot of people say that there are many paths to take in music, I prefer to think of it as an ocean, with no paths at all, just a whole lot of it, all around you, with infinite possibilities.

If you want to be 'extremely good', you should first figure out what that means, and then, think about why you want it, and then think about how you're going to get it. Then you can start working on it.

For the record, I believe jaco started BASS when he was 15 or 16. He had been playing drums up till then, and I think he had tinkered on some other instruments a little bit here and there, but he didn't actually pick up the bass till his late teens if I remember correctly.

Also for the record, I started when I was 12ish, but it took me a while before I really started to realize just how massive this whole music thing is.

jenderfazz · #13 06-29-2005, 10:39 PM

Vic's been playing since he was very young, definitely less that 10 years old at the time he started. Jaco, however, was a drummer until his teens.

Aaron Saunders · #14 06-30-2005, 06:01 AM

Jaco started when he was 15...so pretty close.

IMO, it's less about time and more about work. I started at 14, but I didn't do much in my first year. A couple of good teachers and a lot of practice have made me make huge leaps in my playing since then. Also, a significant portion of the credit goes to TB for being such amazing resource.

ddnidd1 · #15 06-30-2005, 08:54 AM

The longer you play and the more you learn the more you realize how much you don't know.

Futurebass · #16 06-30-2005, 09:05 AM

You can learn any instrument at any age. This is a subject that's not even worth thinking about. Just play!

By the way (I can feel the flames) bass is not a particularly difficult instrument compared to many others (violin, oboe, sarod, etc.) Hell even upright bass is much more demanding than bass guitar. Being a good bassist is more about finding good music to play than anything else.

ddnidd1 · #17 06-30-2005, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Futurebass

By the way (I can feel the flames) bass is not a particularly difficult instrument compared to many others (violin, oboe, sarod, etc.) Hell even upright bass is much more demanding than bass guitar. Being a good bassist is more about finding good music to play than anything else.

It's not about the difficulty.

Red Wonder · #18 06-30-2005, 09:56 AM

Age is a moot point....sure Jaco started at 15, but it took him only 3 years to be one of the best players in the world. I'd say around his 7 year mark he was the best player on the planet. It's a matter of being born with the right stuff.

QORC · #19 06-30-2005, 10:21 AM

Geddy Lee - he started as a guitarist and was "kicked to bass" during an early version of Rush

Aaron Saunders · #20 06-30-2005, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Wonder

Age is a moot point....sure Jaco started at 15, but it took him only 3 years to be one of the best players in the world. I'd say around his 7 year mark he was the best player on the planet. It's a matter of being born with the right stuff.

+1

There's no question that Jaco was far more than up to par on his theory and could read well, but these came slowly...because he spent all his time gigging

. Red Wonder makes a good point that time is not all inclusive. It actually was when he was 18 that he first claimed to be the best bass player on the planet!

Get a teacher, and practice. You get out what you put in, so put in everything you've got!