60yr old new to the bass

[Kgveteran]

Hello all, im a 60yr old, 7 month in, new bass player, i take lessons once a week for 30 minutes.

This is hard, its like learning a new language. I started playing out of jeolousy, my two highschool friends are accomplished musicians and i was tired of being left out of “music” conversations with them Lol i also wanted to jam with them. We played once together and WOW is it a big change from playing along with a backing track Lol

I started lessons and my first task was some scales Cmaj ect. Then 12bar blues with the help of backing tracks on YouTube, it was like real hard for me, concentration is not my strongest virtue.

Just wanted to join a community where i can get tips, vent (haha), and talk the talk Lol

Cheers

 

[Wannabass]

Welcome! This is the right place! So many good people and great info here

 

[Fernando Costa]

Welcome man. I can give you a hint: 30 minutes a week is not enough. You need to practice at least an hour a day, you will easily notice your evolution this way. The best stimulus to learn anything is to realize that every day we evolve a little and get better. Good luck in this new endeavor. Music is life!

 

[Killing Floor]

Welcome! That’s awesome. Don’t get discouraged, you got this. Have a blast.

 

[Kgveteran]

Welcome man. I can give you a hint: 30 minutes a week is not enough. You need to practice at least an hour a day, you will easily notice your evolution this way. The best stimulus to learn anything is to realize that every day we evolve a little and get better. Good luck in this new endeavor. Music is life!

Gotcha, yeah my “lesson” is 30minutes, i try to pick up my bass everyday for different amounts of time. Today the opening to back in black really has me Lol

 

[31HZ]

That's a killer AV room, my friend. (There are some closet audiophiles in here among us bass players.)

And yes, it really is like learning a new language. You're learning to express yourself, but you're also learning to listen in this new language. It's gonna take time, and you'll get out what you put in, but it'll all be worth it.

Welcome, and dig through the forums -- there are tons of nuggets in here from the past 20 years.

 

[bholder]

Welcome! This is the right place! And nice bass, that'll do just fine for starters!

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Just keep doin what you're doing.
Lessons, practice, jam with friends.
Perfect plan.

 

[Kgveteran]

That's a killer AV room, my friend. (There are some closet audiophiles in here among us bass players.)

And yes, it really is like learning a new language. You're learning to express yourself, but you're also learning to listen in this new language. It's gonna take time, and you'll get out what you put in, but it'll all be worth it.

Welcome, and dig through the forums -- there are tons of nuggets in here from the past 20 years.

Thanx for the props, yeah this room was a labor of love. It was 3yrs in the making and learning control room design was a great influence. I couldn’t do everything they do, but little tid bits here and there yielded amazing results. The 600lb rolling acoustically sealed door was the Opus! Closing off the room from the rest of the house was paramount. Its a 7.1.4 Atmos system m, utilizing (4) QSC1450 bridged mono into 4 sealed 15” subs rounds out the bottom end, i love this room

The MartinLogans are 30yrs old and they are really amazing, im mostly a modern folk listener, the vocals are their strong point

 

[Kgveteran]

Just keep doin what you're doing.
Lessons, practice, jam with friends.
Perfect plan.

Thanx man, my buddies are very gracious with this “noob” playing with them the first time was amazing.

 

[RichardW]

Good on you! I picked up the bass at age 45 and now am in a band and gig regularly (at age 64). It's never too late to start!

As others have mentioned, try to play your bass every day, even if it's just for 10 minutes. Ten minutes a day is better than an hour once a week.

Stick around on Talk Bass. You'll learn a lot and we bassists are a pretty chill group.

 

[JRA]

Just wanted to join a community where i can get tips, vent (haha), and talk the talk Lol

you can get tips. on that "talk the talk" thing: if you give us an example = i'm sure we can find a translator!

welcome to talkbass!

 

[WrapRough]

welcome brother! Love that room, man. Only another 20 years and my kids will be gone and I can have one, too!

Get comfortable and enjoy the ride, it's a long one

 

[Deleted member 394181]

I'm 60 as well. I'm not necessarily naturally talented. I have to work really hard just to sort of stay at the level I'm at. It is hard, but fun. I don't really like "challenges" but with bass I'm cool with it. It is the best hobby you can have. Your off to a good start. Info is everywhere now. 12 bar blues will move you along fast. I'm happy to know your story

 

[fearceol]

As others have mentioned, try to play your bass every day, even if it's just for 10 minutes. Ten minutes a day is better than an hour once a week.

+1 to this. Little and often is the way to go. Don't fall into the trap of over doing it. Some people new to bass, in their enthusiasm, play for too long at one time.

Also, don't forget to practice safe technique before bad habits develop. I posted some useful safe technique clips in post #5 in the link below. The entire thread is worth a browse.

Best of luck.

How to get started?

 

[Krakmann]

Salud!

Hello, welcome and congratulations for your effort on learning a new, fantastic skill!

You're going to love it and you'll see how soon it stops being a pain and starts delivering unlimited fun.

My advise, look for people to play with as soon as possible. Not only making music with other people is lots more fun, but you'll get better much faster.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Thanx man, my buddies are very gracious with this “noob” playing with them the first time was amazing.

It really is a blast man I hope you get to keep it up.

 

[Chrisenbacker69]

Welcome! Keep plugging away and take heart in the fact that your development and understanding will accelerate as you progress. I'm no virtuoso and I never will be. And that's perfectly okay. But this community has been an invaluable aid in helping me to improve. This is an accepting group with an astonishing pool of knowledge and experience and everyone is willing to share what they have. Keep it fun, don't get intimidated, and good things await you.

 

[Williethump]

Welcome, I'm another elderly student of 72 learning bass for five years. With arthritis and tinnitus from an old war and no music experience or expertise or ability to read music I'm a highly unlikely bassist. And not only like another language but bass-ackwards to boot, so when you play 'down' the neck you head for the headstock; and when you play the next string 'down' your fingers move towards the ceiling. Progressive Bass has been my textbook, emphasizing the 12-bar blues, naturally in the key of 'C' (no sharps or flats) for noobs. I'm strictly a bedroom bass player so I'm really playing melodies an octave lower cause I ain't got to band to play with me. I love the blues scale and the pentatonic major and minor and primitive simple 12-bar I-IV-V blues is really all I can or want to do. More than music, bass playing is my best therapy (of many I must practice as an eldster!) And I miss it too much when I can't play. Like now since I got another round of tendonitis (tennis elbow) and can't play long without pain. Physical therapy will bring me back to playing soon but listen to your fingers, hands, shoulders and back. Us musical late bloomers may not ever play like Sir Paul but the things jaded longterm bass players find old hat are beautiful magic for us elderly students.
Blue basses rule!

 

[Steve Slate]

Congratulations on picking the best instrument to play!! I've always said it was the key to happiness haHa!!
I started playing bass in my early teens and I'm still discovering it at 68!! It's a live long pursuit. Don't get discouraged!! You get out of it what you put in it so stay at it!!! Oh, Bass is a language all it's own!!