2.5 month progress

[Topkat13]

Practice is great but if you can find some other cat’s to play with your progress should take off. Practice time May yield better or worse results…it all depends on the player i.e., natural ability, timing etc. Remember we “play” our instruments so above all have fun!

 

[juggahnaught]

So my question is, am I doing ok for 2.5 months so far with lessons?[/QUOTE}

Absolutely.

Keep going.

 

[mb94952]

Hey everyone,

First post here after visiting the site quite a few times over the past couple of months

I’m 27, started playing bass near the end of April this year, so been playing coming up 3 months. I don’t really have a lot of previous musical experience, although I do love it, I’ve had guitars/keyboards etc and never got passed learning basic chords or 1 or 2 very easy songs over the years and never took lessons, always had a lot of trouble sticking with it and making any progress when it became challenging. I’ve never really learned any music theory either up until now.

I’ve been taking lessons for bass and I’ve done about 8 so far and I’m still feeling pretty motivated, I’ve been playing at least 1 hour every day, sometimes many hours a day and I’m just wondering what you think of my progress so far and what I could move onto and what exactly to practice

I can confidently name all of the notes on a bass staff, I can read the note rhythms too - I’m very slow when playing from sight reading though. I have an app where it shows me a note on the staff and I choose the correct note, I do 200 notes on it per day.

Can name all the notes on the fretboard confidently until the 5th fret and after that I have to take a second to think, but improving still

I can play major and minor scales and usually play them through in order A > G and then G > A major and minor for a warm up but I don't know so much in depth about scales, I can play these 2 but I couldn't name the notes in them or anything unless I slowly work them out etc

I can play the following songs: (in the order I learned them)

Shadow of the Day - Linkin Park
Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
What I’ve Done - Linkin Park
Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
American Idiot - Green Day
Stand by Me - Ben E. King
All The Small Things - Blink 182
Yellow - Coldplay
Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters
Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash
Otherside - Red Hot Chili Peppers
I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE - Måneskin
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Money - Pink Floyd (almost, still practicing to play along with actual track)
Hysteria - Muse (I can play the main riff at about half speed lol)
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers (teacher made me a quite 'simplified' (one page) version of it - but currently am learning the (way harder) original)

So my question is, am I doing ok for 2.5 months so far with lessons? I’m moving back to the UK soon from my Erasmus semester so I’ll be without a teacher for some weeks, so would like to know if there’s any advice for what to work on and practice

Also, I began by using the Hal Leonard Bass Method books, but I really have to force myself to pick it up now, I think its a great way to learn the theory and sight reading but its a lot less fun struggling my way through playing a very simple note pattern from the book when I can play a full song by reading tabs so much faster. I know its worth it in the end but it feels so
Am I at the stage to join a band/play with others? My friends don't play instruments so any good advice on how to find other beginners?

Thanks for reading my massive ramble

Are you having FUN ?

It's NOT a contest. We don't care how many songs you know. That will come in time.
Are you grooving, moving your body to the groove, making a stank face ?
Keep doing what you're doing. It takes years, and enjoy the journey.

Don't be in such a hurry...

If you're not a part of the groove, then you're part of the problem.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hey everyone,

First post here after visiting the site quite a few times over the past couple of months

I’m 27, started playing bass near the end of April this year, so been playing coming up 3 months. I don’t really have a lot of previous musical experience, although I do love it, I’ve had guitars/keyboards etc and never got passed learning basic chords or 1 or 2 very easy songs over the years and never took lessons, always had a lot of trouble sticking with it and making any progress when it became challenging. I’ve never really learned any music theory either up until now.

I’ve been taking lessons for bass and I’ve done about 8 so far and I’m still feeling pretty motivated, I’ve been playing at least 1 hour every day, sometimes many hours a day and I’m just wondering what you think of my progress so far and what I could move onto and what exactly to practice

I can confidently name all of the notes on a bass staff, I can read the note rhythms too - I’m very slow when playing from sight reading though. I have an app where it shows me a note on the staff and I choose the correct note, I do 200 notes on it per day.

Can name all the notes on the fretboard confidently until the 5th fret and after that I have to take a second to think, but improving still

I can play major and minor scales and usually play them through in order A > G and then G > A major and minor for a warm up but I don't know so much in depth about scales, I can play these 2 but I couldn't name the notes in them or anything unless I slowly work them out etc

I can play the following songs: (in the order I learned them)

Shadow of the Day - Linkin Park
Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
What I’ve Done - Linkin Park
Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
American Idiot - Green Day
Stand by Me - Ben E. King
All The Small Things - Blink 182
Yellow - Coldplay
Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters
Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash
Otherside - Red Hot Chili Peppers
I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE - Måneskin
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Money - Pink Floyd (almost, still practicing to play along with actual track)
Hysteria - Muse (I can play the main riff at about half speed lol)
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers (teacher made me a quite 'simplified' (one page) version of it - but currently am learning the (way harder) original)

So my question is, am I doing ok for 2.5 months so far with lessons? I’m moving back to the UK soon from my Erasmus semester so I’ll be without a teacher for some weeks, so would like to know if there’s any advice for what to work on and practice

Also, I began by using the Hal Leonard Bass Method books, but I really have to force myself to pick it up now, I think its a great way to learn the theory and sight reading but its a lot less fun struggling my way through playing a very simple note pattern from the book when I can play a full song by reading tabs so much faster. I know its worth it in the end but it feels so tedious

Am I at the stage to join a band/play with others? My friends don't play instruments so any good advice on how to find other beginners?

Thanks for reading my massive ramble

Glad you are doing well.

I will agree that Hal Leonard method books are as dry as the sands of the Sahara, but suggest that learning Standard Notation will increase your marketability as a bassist significantly. Nothing wrong with tabs, but there is zero reason not to learn both.

Just keep in mind, if you are planning to play in a band with horns, they don’t have tabs, and the larger the ensemble, more than likely you are going to be working off of SN charts. JMO.

Congrats on the progress. Now go back and practice!

 

[mike buzzetti]

If you can play in time and tune your doing fine, play to a drum track or click like from this APP , it is also a tuner .

Soundcorset

 

[pbass74]

Sounds to me like you're moving right along, perhaps faster than many. Keep up with the lessons, and as has already been mentioned, make sure it's fun for you as well. Along with the drills and practice, go ahead and learn some songs for fun that you just enjoy playing. Get them in your memory banks and set the music aside and/or learn them by ear. Coupled with your hard work, you'll be surprised how well you do. There are times when you might "plateau", but then suddenly you'll find one day that you can play something you thought you would never master.