HOW DID YOU LEARN?

[oboylebass]

I started off playing sax in 5th grade, at age 10, learning how to read treble clef.

Two years later at age 12, I wanted to play bass because friends were playing guitar and drums respectively.

I took bass lessons from a guy in his 70s or 80s and learned how to read bass clef, all the while learning as much Rush and Van Halen basslines as I could. I would practice for hours daily.

I also kept playing sax all the way through school (although bass was my main instrument), so I kept my reading chops up...there's no "cheating" (tabs) in saxophone music.

[1stnamebassist]

Started when i was 14 or 15. I liked the sound of the bass and really took notice when I heard Mel Schacher with Grand Funk Railroad. My brother had a blackjack violin bass laying around and my parents figured I would get into less trouble if I took lessons, so they signed me up. First learned to read in a very traditional manner with Mel Bay lessons, then I studied with several different teachers over a 3 year period. Last teacher was teaching theory and walking from chord to chord jazz style. I started to learn about scales and arpeggios then joined a band with some high school buddies. Played dances, weddings, all kinds of different things. That was the 70's. Gave up playing until 1990 when my best friend from childhood asked me to join his band. I'm not very good at picking lines off from songs, but I can figure the chord changes and listen to the drums and make up my own thing. I'm pretty good with chord charts at the last minute. Kind of a jam band kind of thing. Unfortunately I don't read anymore. no problem finding notes but the syncopation is long forgotten. Don't seem to really need it now, but I could relearn it if necessary. Now there are so many different resources to learn from, I think traditional lessons and reading are becoming a thing of the past. Nobody seems to have the patience to learn old school. But thats what we had! Mel Bay and picking up the needle from the record and playing the same lines over and over again!

[CJAtheBassman]

For me, it's a combination of "self-taught" and a little bit of "natural ability". I started playing just right before I turned 18 (so it has been close to a year since I took it up). I had decided after about a year (at that point) of playing bass on Rock Band that I wanted to play it for real.
I had no bass at the time, but I wanted to start practicing right away, so I borrowed my sister's guitar and just used the E, A, D and G strings for practicing and I learned a few songs on that (pretty quickly, might I add).
About a month later on my birthday, my parents got me a Squier Jazz Bass (and some necessary accessories) and I've been playing that since then and I love it. About 8 months after that, I bought an Ibanez AEB5E Acoustic-Electric Bass and I love playing that as well.

I learn most songs by listening to my iPod. If a song has a bassline that is pretty much the same throughout, I can learn it pretty quickly, but if it's a relatively complex song, I either take a few days to learn it in bits or I learn it on and off until I have it all down.
On some occasions, I'll just fool around with my bass without having a goal and I'll learn part of a bassline by accident and then finish learning it after that.
Sometimes, I'll listen to my iPod while playing my bass (not learning) and when a song (to which I don't know the bassline) plays, I'll just wing it and make my own bassline. It's not always the correct bassline, but it's one that works.

[SquierJazz72]

LEARN SONGS BY EAR AND LEARN MUSIC THEORY

I have to agree with that. In relearning, that's just where I've been going.
Stripping away everything and really learning the fundamentals of being a solid bass player and getting my ears and senses back before worrying about complexity.

Trying to make tabs something I use only when all else fails. I'd rather have the ear training and musical knowledge. That's the sort of stuff I missed a lot of the first time.

[stratovani]

For me it all started back in 1972 when I got my first guitar for my 18th birthday (which I still play). An uncle of mine taught me a few chords, I got myself some early Beatles records and songbooks, and learned to play guitar by playing along to them. Fast forward to 2007, when a friend of my wife and I told me they needed a bass player for the church folk group, so I volunteered. I picked up a Squier Affinity P-Bass on eBay for $50, and I was off to the races. Like all guitarists who convert to bass I had that dreaded disease of Toomanynotesitis, but I got over that in time and my playing got better.

I've always had a natural ability to make music, and I've never had a formal lesson in my life. That's not to say I haven't had teachers, I've had some good ones named McCartney, Entwistle, Geddy, JPJ, and others, and of course the TB community. I love playing bass, and to get me to stop they'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands!

[msaone]

I played trumpet in school bands. Not sure exactly how I got the bass bug but I remember learning bass on and old guitar my dad had


A friend showed me the note names on the neck an away I went.

[tmdazed]

started off playing trumpet in school band then on to guitar, play ok , but they asked me to sit in on bass in a jazz combo in hs . I played guitar for a few more years and found a Hoyer SG knockoff bass at a garage sale for 10 bucks , picked it up and really surprised myself (and my ex wife who initially thought i had wasted the 10 bucks) by how quickly I could pick up the bass line and groove off of songs. after a hiatus of about 10 years , I got together with my old drummer from a highschool metal band I played guitar with and a guy I worked with , I picked up a mexi J bass SUPER CHEAP and a tko 100 amp and started where I had left off, been going strong ever since

[D.M.N.]

My parents tried to get me to play violin when I was about 6 or so, but that didn't really work out, I didn't enjoy it. When I was about 8 or 9 I wanted to learn guitar, having listened to a LOT of Elvis and Chuck Berry and Beach Boys and Beatles. I liked it, but I always found my fingers to be rather clumsy on a guitar, so I sort of gave up after a while. A number of years later, a friend of my father's left a bass over at our house (he was practicing to fill in for a local band), and, interested, plugged it into the little 15w guitar amp I'd had from a few years earlier. That was pretty much that. Eventually my dad bought me this really ratty knock off jazz, gnarly action and fat, bridge cable flatwounds, and I would sit around all day (at least as soon as I got home from school) and sit and listen and try to learn Beatles and Zeppelin. I remember the Bassmasta tab site well from those days. This was when I was probably 14-15, about 6 months later I was in my first band (kid aged), and after about a year I was in a bar band gigging in our town (yeah, so it was technically illegal). Self-taught almost entirely, except about 5 lessons on Upright to get me up to speed for the High School jazz band.

[LeoSash]

I started around 6th grade playing flute, and then i switched to oboe the next year, liked it, but not enough to really do anything big with it. got my first bass around 16 or so. I read treble clef as an oboist and can read bass clef as a bassist. I read big band charts in high school, but i never had a lesson until around...18 or so. So now i can read pretty well, (still have trouble sightreading but it will come in time.) and i know my theory pretty well. Just need to work on my soloing and walking lines and i'll be pretty good.

[Kwesi]

I said I wanted a bass. Dad was feeling nice and hooked me up. I did a lot on my own then I got a little help from Youtube. Playing in my high school jazz band helped a bunch as well.

[EagleMoon]

I'm from a musical family, so playing an instrument was pretty natural. I started piano lessons when I was 12, played saxophone, French horn, baritone and then trumpet in school band. When I was 15, my friends and I decided we wanted to form a band. We were really into The Who and John Entwistle just blew me away with his playing, so I decided I wanted to get a bass. A local music store where I hung out had a Fender Precision and a Gibson Ripper. I got the P bass and took lessons from the guitarist that owned the store for about 6 months. I remember having Carol Kaye's bass books. And those dang felt picks.

[agent77]

Practice, youtube, books, and instructional DVD's. I took a lesson from a local musician, but he turned out to be horrible teacher and a pretentious snob, so I never went back. I've come a long way since I started 4 years ago, but still have much to learn. There is another teacher in my area, but unfortunately our schedules do not mesh. Since I feel that I've reached a plateau with my playing I've begun teaching myself to slap on a newly acquired Jazz bass.

[Arthur Strand]

I started music with our local brass band junior section on B flat cornet in 1957 aged 9; one was lent to me by the Band Master. A few years passed by and I had learnt a few tunes and began playing 3rd cornet parts when school work took priority. I then started writing lyrics in the early 60s. Some people started to form a band and there was no bass man: I plumped for that. I bought a cheapo but the band did not really last long. At the music shop in the next county I encountered another band and joined them since they earnt regular money. I learnt by picking up ideas from records and by following the chord sequences of the guitarists but returned to reading parts later in life. The band developed as a club band and after a number of personnel changes became a very busy full-time job. I turned to guitar to write songs but kept up the bass and in my more senior years everything is still in place! Music is very absorbing but I still find time for sport. Got a press reporting spot in football and all sports in local papers!!! Learning never stops.

[tat2jim]

I learned by ear. Ruined my vinyl collection in the early '70's.

[39-Bassist]

I bought the MEL BAY book...(flashback)....and used it to learn the basic notes on the frets....then listened to alot of songs and just started to teach myself how to play...of course I did meet a few very good musicians that I took notes and ideas from for new and different techniques.

[ChessTiger]

39-Bassist; I'm taking lessons right now. A friend of mine, who plays bass, gave me the Mel-Bay book yesterday (Sunday 11NOV12). I really like the book and it is helping with my bass clef reading a ton!! I told my son (11 YO) to use the book also, so he could learn to read bass clef. I didn't want him to just depend on tabs for his playing.

[39-Bassist]

Great for you!.....On your son, if he actually reads the book and just applies 75% of it and then wants to learn more...he will do just fine. But at least if your son doesn't get into bass, you really haven't put out alot $ to find that out. Good luck to you both and have FUN!

[Wookieonbass]

For me pretty much the typical story, I started out as a guitar player. Took lessons and got to a point where I learned some theory and could read, not great by any means but adequate. Played folk and rock, playing lead guitar in high school garage bands.

I was in a band at that time that had two guitar players, me and another guy, a drummer and a singer. The other guy wrote the songs and sang backup so he stayed on guitar. We needed a bass player more than a lead player so I gave it a shot. Been playing bass ever since and that was 30+ years ago.

Unfortunately I didn't keep up with my reading and have forgotten everything and never did learn to read bass clef. The stuff I have played over the years is pretty simple and I learn songs mostly by ear off of chord charts, tapes and now youtube so reading was never a priority. A shame.