How long did you practice before joining your first band.

[pica]

Hi everyone,

I was curious how long you had to practice before feeling confident enough to join your first band.

[eyeballkid]

i had a bass... and i knew it had 2 less strings than the other guy in the band.

[crustychef]

6 months

[slaps76]

For me it was about 3 years, however the first 1-2 years I wasn't really learning much other than some songs off tabs & playing in my bedroom...I had no clue about time signatures, how to follow the drummer when playing live, ect. I was lucky enough to have some friends that let me jam with their cover band a couple times and teach me some key things...after that I was hooked and determined to get in a band.

[PopaWoody]

I learned with a employer sponsored house band....all employees of the same company. The owner played a twangy ass telecaster, he went out and bought me a bass, head, and twin 15" ampeg cabinet for around $250 back in the late 80's.

The bass was a knock off gibson SG copy. I don't remember the name or much about tone or how that axe played. I smashed that bass when I bought a squire five string about a year later.

I remember playing living after midnight, breaking the law, and crazy train about 600 times in the back of the plant's warehouse. I was an Ian hill beast....living in F# most of the time.

Good times indeed.

[Deluge Of Sound]

I started playing bass so that I could play music with other people.

So, uh, two days?

[touji]

I was dragged into a band before I knew how to play

[Phalex]

Years. I never wanted to be in a band, I kinda got sucked into it somehow.

[CerealKiller]

Almost two years. Not that I consider myself good enough to be in a band, but I have learned a ton since doing so.

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

I started playing bass so that I could play music with other people.

So, uh, two days?

Glad I did not have to pay to see that band

[kuys]

I've played guitar for a long time 10+ years. And I do a mediocre job at it, I try I swear I do but I'm not going to melt your face of with any kind of blistering solo any time soon. My growth stopped so I started to get discouraged till I found my wife's bass from a high school band in a closet of her parents house. Started messing around with it and found that the bass was a natural fit for me. It just felt right, after about 6 months of getting comfortable with that POS Purple Lyon 4-string, my buddies asked me to play bass for them. Now it's going on 1.5 years and I'm loving every minute of it. I'm actually starting to learn a little theory hear and there. A scales relative minor type stuff and the circle of fifths.

[bertbassplayer]

I was in my first band before I even had my first bass.... so I guess negative 1 day.

[mambo4]

jammed with friends almost immediately
about 3 years before I played in public at an open mic
maybe 5 years before joining a gigging band

[Munjibunga]

LOL. I bought my first bass in 1977 from a classmate in college. I had never even picked up a bass before that. The next weekend I was playing a gig. Did I suck? Royally. I suck less now.

[subject42]

Originally Posted by bertbassplayer

I was in my first band before I even had my first bass.... so I guess negative 1 day.

Same thing here. A bunch of my co-workers needed a bassist for their jam sessions and I wasn't doing anything over lunch that day.

After that I was hooked.

[giacomini]

Hmm, 2 weeks!

I played keyboard for 9 years before touching a bass. Then someday a friend calls to say that their bass player quit and I was friends with everyone in the band so he said I was the only one that could fit and he could think at the moment.

It happens that I was telling him some days before that call that I was thinking about learning bass. After he asked me to play, I bought a Squier P bass and had 2 weeks to learn about 40 songs...

First gig? SUCKED big time. But like Munjibunga said, I suck a little less now!

[notdavey]

I started playing with a band about a week after I started playing. I only started playing bass (originally, some 25 years ago since the band needed a bass player and my brother played bass). It came to me naturally and I think playing with other people and having to learn covers made me learn faster. I didn't play my first gig for about 3 years or so and had gone from metal to funk / jazz by then....

I think if you are talking about playing with people that are close to your level (meaning beginners) and you know the basics you should at least jam with whomever you can, especially drummers. You can learn how to lock in with a drummer by practicing scales in your room. My two cents.

[pica]

Originally Posted by PopaWoody

I learned with a employer sponsored house band....all employees of the same company. The owner played a twangy ass telecaster, he went out and bought me a bass, head, and twin 15" ampeg cabinet for around $250 back in the late 80's.

The bass was a knock off gibson SG copy. I don't remember the name or much about tone or how that axe played. I smashed that bass when I bought a squire five string about a year later.

I remember playing living after midnight, breaking the law, and crazy train about 600 times in the back of the plant's warehouse. I was an Ian hill beast....living in F# most of the time.

Good times indeed.

O'h man, that does sound like good times.

[geeza]

The first time I picked up a bass was on a stage when I was about 13. I bought a bass after that to play with two other people I knew (both guitarists). We played for a couple months or so until one of the guitarists and I formed a band, got a drummer and started gigging.

[countrybass007]

Took lessons for three months, then started a band with some friends in Jr. High school. We all three played guitar, so we tossed a coin and I lost so I had to play bass. That was 47 years ago, so it all worked out.