What should I learn?

[Lordhasta]

Hi everyone.
I'm fairly new to playing the bass guitar, I have been playing it for half a year now.

Since I will probably be starting a band with a friend of mine, I wanted to get a bit more serious in terms of learning bass. Our band will probably be geared towards Blues/Funk/Jazz, something around that.

My problem is: I really don't know what to learn... What do you guys recommend for my level of playing? I can slap, I know some scales, but not a lot, I am starting to get a bit decent at blues.

LH

[Einherjar]

Probably not the answer you're looking for, but find a good teacher in your area who is proficient in the styles you want to learn. That way you can actually sit down with someone who can critique your abilities and show you what exactly is needed to reach your goals.

[john m]

Learn to play your instument---- then learn songs.

Reading music will make you a better musician and make it easier to explain the "how it works" part of music.

[Lordhasta]

Originally Posted by john m

Learn to play your instument---- then learn songs.

Reading music will make you a better musician and make it easier to explain the "how it works" part of music.

Music and its theory in general is not really a problem for me, besides bass, I've also been playing classical piano for about 13 years now.

[Lordhasta]

Originally Posted by Einherjar

Probably not the answer you're looking for, but find a good teacher in your area who is proficient in the styles you want to learn. That way you can actually sit down with someone who can critique your abilities and show you what exactly is needed to reach your goals.

I've considered that, but that costs money..

[3234718]

Learn the notes on the fretboard till it becomes second nature. Learn to read music. Find a bass teacher (not a guitar player who also teaches bass). Practice playing standing up. Always, always play with a metronome or drum machine. All in my humble opinion.

[msb]

Originally Posted by Lordhasta

Music and its theory in general is not really a problem for me, besides bass, I've also been playing classical piano for about 13 years now.

You have some un-learning to do . Remember that three chord songs are always with everything major and you should be off to the races . Try to make the change just after the guitar player , always blame the drummer . Remember to speed up during solos ...

Have fun !

[lfmn16]

Originally Posted by Lordhasta

I've considered that, but that costs money..

One on one with a good teacher is best, but there are plenty of free lessons on the Internet. If you want to learn bad enough, you'll find the money.

[Einherjar]

Originally Posted by Lordhasta

I've considered that, but that costs money..

Yeah, usually not too much though. I recently tracked down my bass teacher I had when I first started playing when I was 14 (12 years ago), haven't done lessons for about ten years, decided I had matured enough to take some more advanced lessons and really learn from them. $25 per half hour and he's the kind of teacher to send you home with a week's worth of "homework" each time. I think it's worth it. Studybass.com is a good free resource with lots of exercises.

[Lordhasta]

Originally Posted by Einherjar

Yeah, usually not too much though. I recently tracked down my bass teacher I had when I first started playing when I was 14 (12 years ago), haven't done lessons for about ten years, decided I had matured enough to take some more advanced lessons and really learn from them. $25 per half hour and he's the kind of teacher to send you home with a week's worth of "homework" each time. I think it's worth it. Studybass.com is a good free resource with lots of exercises.

$25 per half hour is a bit too much for me, I'm currently just 17 and don't have a decent job yet or anything, I have yet to finish high school... But thank for the site! I will definitely check it out.

[phillybass101]

Originally Posted by Einherjar

Probably not the answer you're looking for, but find a good teacher in your area who is proficient in the styles you want to learn. That way you can actually sit down with someone who can critique your abilities and show you what exactly is needed to reach your goals.

+1. As you grow you'll find you'll need three resouces. A real Blues player, a real Funk player, and a real Jazz player to get the real deal in terms of finding a teacher. In my experiences finding one teacher equally adept at all three styles is very hard. Many players can play all three equally as poor :-) But to get the very best, get taught by the very best in your locale for each style. If you want to learn blues, take lessons from the cat that plays in a blues band. For funk, find a cat that plays funk specifically. And for jazz find your self a real jazz bassist. All three will give you very specific approaches to the bass and bass playing for the genre of music.

Learn your instrument as much as you want to without it becoming work. There are many of us out here who are too serious about what we do and take ourselves too seriously. Music should be fun, and you should be having fun while you play. If you want to grow and get more serious about it, then by all means, take the plunge but still maintain the ability to enjoy what you do and don't become arrogant, or a snob or a know it all.

[audiomitch]

Bass is easy to fake but hard to master. Just remember you're really playing with the drummer, especially in Blues/Funk/Jazz. The guitarist may have an instrument that looks similar to yours, but your closest relationship in the music is with the drummer. That's the hardest lesson for a lot of new bassists or guitar-turned-bass to learn. Once you lock in as a rhythm section, a big part of the battle is won. After that it's on to points for style!

[Lordhasta]

Originally Posted by phillybass101

+1. As you grow you'll find you'll need three resouces. A real Blues player, a real Funk player, and a real Jazz player to get the real deal in terms of finding a teacher. In my experiences finding one teacher equally adept at all three styles is very hard. Many players can play all three equally as poor :-) But to get the very best, get taught by the very best in your locale for each style. If you want to learn blues, take lessons from the cat that plays in a blues band. For funk, find a cat that plays funk specifically. And for jazz find your self a real jazz bassist. All three will give you very specific approaches to the bass and bass playing for the genre of music.

Learn your instrument as much as you want to without it becoming work. There are many of us out here who are too serious about what we do and take ourselves too seriously. Music should be fun, and you should be having fun while you play. If you want to grow and get more serious about it, then by all means, take the plunge but still maintain the ability to enjoy what you do and don't become arrogant, or a snob or a know it all.

Thank you! I will try and find someone suitable.

[Mushroo]

Learn lots and lots of songs, by ear. This is the method by which every great player in the genres you mention has become great.

Good luck!