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57 year old wanna B

#21
I started at 50 (two years ago). I first wanted to learn when I was 13 and bought my first Deep Purple album and saw a pic of Roger Glover with a Rickenbacker bass. The high school kid across the street has been playing bass for a while, so I asked him for lessons. Teens will do just about anything for gas money these days (except lawn mowing). I told him I had no musical education at all, so after some work with scales and chord progressions, he started me with some early 60's Beatles, Pink Floyd, Doors, Cream, Queen, you name it. He has great taste in music. We had a one hour long lesson each week for about a year and a half. He moved away to college last fall, so I've been on my own, but it is a blast. I'm also a tinkerer at heart, so trying different pickups, building cabs, messing around with amps and stuff also scratches an itch.

I have found practicing each day really helps the brain develop the neural pathways and for the muscles to obtain good muscle memory. It can be hard to practice each day, as I am a small business owner, husband, and have two kids in high school. If I miss a few days, I can really tell. So on the weekends I try to catch up and play for a couple hours. Not the same, but it's the best I can do.
 
#25
hey guys thanks for all of the support,i didn't realize so many of you would chime in.This really gives me the confidence i need to pursue playing bass guitar.I love the feel and the sound of a bass,it just goes all in your bones.I just want continue and get real good at producing that heavy bottom that a bass guitar can make...again thanks guys it make me feel like you are family
 
#26
Stick with it and CONGRATS for giving your family the time!
My Dad got me a bass when I was 10(1965) and bands followed until 1989(sell gear, move to Texas, have a family, no bands). In 2006 I got an email that changed the no band thing(children were almost finished High School). Do it!

Geez!!
Hope I'm still doing this at 70.
 
#28
Hello Onthe1, I purchased a good bass instruction book and cd about 15 yrs ago called Bass Guitar Primer For Beginners by Bert Casey. I firmly believe that this instuctional book and cd will get you up and running faster than anything I've seen. I believe they are still available in most music stores today. I think I got it for about 15.00 USD. give it a try, I don't think you will be disappointed.
PS I'm not affiliated with Bert Casey or the company,just trying to help a fellow player get a jump start.
Good Luck Onthe1...I wish you all the best.
 
#31
My hat's off to you. It's never too late. Hey, just learn some tunes and find some buds to jam with. It'll be the most fun you ever had. You'll do fine because you have a good attitude about it all. Learn some basic theory, and you will advance ten times faster.
 
#32
Recently retired 66 year old who played guitar (not very well) w/o being able to read music. Injured left thumb in a MC accident, so unable to play bar chords. Son left me a Fender jazz knockoff, and said I could have fun w/o the bar chords. Eager to get started - but don't know where. YouTube lessons, CD's, etc etc? Since I'm working my way down the other side of the mountain, and would like to jumpstart playing, suggestions greatly appreciated.

And the attitude in here is FANTASTIC! Thank you in advance.
 
#33
jonathanersr said:
Recently retired 66 year old who played guitar (not very well) w/o being able to read music. Injured left thumb in a MC accident, so unable to play bar chords. Son left me a Fender jazz knockoff, and said I could have fun w/o the bar chords. Eager to get started - but don't know where. YouTube lessons, CD's, etc etc? Since I'm working my way down the other side of the mountain, and would like to jumpstart playing, suggestions greatly appreciated.

And the attitude in here is FANTASTIC! Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

Kudos to you, too, pal. Just get 'er tuned and listen to some CDs. One of the best ways to train your ear is to pick out what you hear. Also, don't forget to play with the bass like a toy. It takes the pressure off in your mind, and you'll be surprised how much you can come up with on your own. Find a lick and play it like a loop until the cows come home. Somewhere along the trail you will discover the feel of a groove. That's when it starts to get good and you get that hunger for more of that feeling. Otherwise, for study purposes, learn some very basic theory, especially what chord shapes look like on the fretboard. If it all goes slow, pay no attention to that. Have fun, and don't worry. That's what it's all about.

Sorry about your thumb. I'm a rider and have my scars and ailments, too, so I understand. You can kinda hold a bass in the cleft between your thumb and index finger and do a lot.

Good luck and happy times.:bassist:
 
#34
I applaud all of you who started "late". It's really never too late to start anything, much less an instrument as exciting and fulfilling as bass guitar. If it gives you one more hour of joy in your life that you may not have had otherwise, it was worth it.

I played guitar on and off for many years. Then a buddy asked me to play bass in his band. I was 38 at the time. Now I'm 42 and get asked to play a lot in some serious projects, to the point that I have to say no sometimes. I can't sit here and tell you everything I did to get decent, but one thing I highly recommend you buy is a metronome. This little device will develop your ability to keep time like nothing else. If you learn to keep time well, many musicians will ask you to play for them. I'm sure most on this forum will agree.
 
#35
I played a ton in my teens and 20's, then started a family and pretty much gave up all my hobbies for many years. Then took it up again about 6 years ago (late 40's for me) and have dived right back in. Luckily it pretty much all came back except I don't have the manual dexterity I had back then, so I choose my genres and styles carefully. Wish I still had the bass I had when I started....in 1968..
I echo all the others, it's never too late, enjoy it, music is a great leveller - of age, background and just about everything else.
 
#36
Lichtaffen said:
I applaud all of you who started "late". It's really never too late to start anything, much less an instrument as exciting and fulfilling as bass guitar. If it gives you one more hour of joy in your life that you may not have had otherwise, it was worth it.

I played guitar on and off for many years. Then a buddy asked me to play bass in his band. I was 38 at the time. Now I'm 42 and get asked to play a lot in some serious projects, to the point that I have to say no sometimes. I can't sit here and tell you everything I did to get decent, but one thing I highly recommend you buy is a metronome. This little device will develop your ability to keep time like nothing else. If you learn to keep time well, many musicians will ask you to play for them. I'm sure most on this forum will agree.
Click to expand...

Age 38 is when I switched to full-time electric bass player from guitar, too. I had played some electric bass in high school in a band, but I was really the guitar player. But then I studied upright in college and did the symphony for six years That's after I played guitar for a living for awhile.

Anyway, the metronome is good. To make it more interesting I use my little electric keyboard. It has drum rhythms on it. I just choose a style and pick a tempo and have at it, playing bass along with it. That way, I can listen to the different drum pieces while I play, snare, hi-hat, bass drum, etc., just like at a gig. That thing is precise just like a metronome. The keyboard only cost $200. Everyone should have one, lol.
 
#37
One of us should start a late-blooming geezer club!

I started at 50 - three years ago.

Just started with a teacher to break some of the bad habits I developed during independent study and work toward "the next level".

Just having fun. No real goal except to keep having fun and be good enough to play in church if there is ever a need and jam with buddies without holding them back too much.

Geezers rock!
 

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