Advice for someone starting over after 30 years

[BassicJazzy]

@Aussie Player above has a really good point, leave your bass out. If you get a passive bass you can leave it plugged in, strapped up, ready to go on a stand. Even if you just pick it up for 10 minutes at a time, making it visible and accessible will increase the mount of time you spend playing it.

Regarding floating thumb, do whatever is most natural for you. If you played with anchored thumb before and liked it just do that. Just maintain good posture, avoid injuries.

 

[bherman]

My advice is skip the video lessons (at least initally) and go back to bass method book. My favorite is Ed Friedlands Bass Method ($20 bucks on eBay), work through it methodically 1 page at a time, you'll relearn your way around the instrument and build stamina as you go. Its what I did after a 20 yr layoff. Link below:

Bass Method Book

 

[Tim Skaggs]

I didn’t start on 5 string, so I had to adjust my previously learned skills on 4 string to fit a 5. You won’t be adjusting skills that don’t fit a 5, you’ll be learning the proper skills to play a 5 string from the beginning. You’ll have no habits to avoid slipping back into or trying to see if will work on a 5.

Is it more difficult to learn of 5? Maybe a little, but you won’t know the difference.

Is I’ve told the parents of kids who wanted to get their left-handed child an instrument; just get a right handed instrument & they’ll learn just as well and have a real selection of instruments in their future. Some of the very best musicians I’ve had the privilege to play music with have been left-handed playing guitar right handed.

Play the 5 and tell everyone you don’t even know how to play a 4 string and they won’t care…

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, always glad to hear that someone is getting back to playing their bass. I've never had that much time off, only a year or two.
No advice on video lessons, but I do have a couple of books by Ed Friedland. There's a lot to unpack in each of them and they will certainly get your hands limbered up and muscle memory reconnected.
I've always play 4-string so also no advice on 5 or 4. Make sure whatever bass you choose has a good setup as this will be more inviting to practice. I bought a Glarry to leave at our rehearsal spot. I've got a number of nice basses, so I'd never play a gig with it.

OP- Have your music interests changed, and do you eventually want to start playing out?

 

[PatHead]

Congrats on picking it back up again. Hopefully you'll have a lot of fun with it.

I ended up with a 5 string as my first bass when I was gifted one as a birthday present. In time, Bass Acquisition Syndrome kicked in and I picked up a cheap short scale 4 string too.

If I'm playing something new, especially if it's tricky at all, or requires some reach; it's usually easier to play it on the shorty.

It's nice to have both with me a jam session, especially if I'm going to be standing. My 5 string is heavy, and my old shoulder complains. Having something much lighter that I can switch to for a little bit really helps.

 

[retslock]

I played bass as a teenager and decided I was going to start playing again so I went out and bought a MIM Fender 5 String Jazz bass. I had a kid and never got around to playing it and roughly 20 years later decided it was time to put that bass to use. Any technique I had is long gone and I find my hands getting uncomfortable after a shot amount of playing Decided to look at online courses as I have a very up in the air schedule and taking in person lessons doesn't fit. I decided most likely to sign up for the bassbuzz course. In one of his youtube videos discussing starting he pretty strongly recommends against a 5 string to start. I bought a 5 string mostly because I played a lot of metal as a teenager and always wanted a 5 string but am starting to think I should have just got a 4 string to get back into it. I haven't signed up for the course yet but feel it would help a good bit looking at reviews from people who have signed up. I guess I'm just looking for advise between 3 paths forward. Trade in the 5 string Jazz bass and get a decent 4 string. Just deal with how bad I sound playing on the 5 string until I build the muscles back up in my hands. Or plan C buy a cheap Glarry 4 string p-bass knock-off and use it while relearning and transition to the 5 string later. I'll only ever be playing along with music by myself so I'm not overly concerned with the low quality on the glarry as I can setup/adjust it myself so long as nothing is too bad out of the box.

If you're starting out from near scratch then the 5 strings are no real problem. Muscle memory will have to be developed no matter how many strings you have. I don't understand why people think starting from scratch on 4 strings is any better than 5. You're learning all over again either way. I started on guitar with 6 strings. I learned. You will too.

 

[dmt]

If your musical tastes and goals are the same as (or quite similar to) when you first started out 20 years ago, if the bass you see in your head when you think of bass and/or yourself playing bass is a 5 string, then I agree with the others to just go with the 5 you already have. First part of every journey is the first step — just break it out and begin.

However, if your tastes and/or goals have changed over the years and you now more see yourself playing the kind of songs that were done on a 4, getting a 4 could be a good way to go, and would have the additional benefits that the video you saw pointed out. And if it’s possible to also keep the 5 (instead of selling it to raise funds for the 4), you’d still have the 5 around to experiment with and slowly adopt or not as you prefer.

Main thing besides just getting started is motivation. What inspires you? That includes that you don’t have start right out with your dream instrument (very, very few do), but you want to get an instrument that you are attracted to somehow, that you want to pick up and play. Like clothes — it might be a favorite t-shirt that you keep wearing cuz you like it, and it might not have been particularly expensive or "high quality" at all. Meanwhile, you might have much "better" clothes at the bottom of your drawer or back of the closet that you never wear because, yeah, no, "not really me". Others might not fit or might be damaged, so they sit unused. Same goes with basses, and just like you don’t have to be a clothes expert or fashionista to pick a t-shirt you want out of a rack, you don’t have to be an expert bassist to see something in your price range to think "Hmm, this one looks kinda cool. I want that one."

That might be why/how you originally picked out your 5-stringer, and you may very well feel the same way today, in which case you’re already set. Go for it. On the other hand, if you now look back and laugh or cringe or whatever at what your tastes were back then, then get something that suits you now. Whatever you’ll be happy to pick up and learn to play on will be good (assuming it is mechanically sound and set up appropriately).

Welcome back to bass

 

[dmt]

Sorry, 30 years ago, not 20 like I wrote above.

I was mainly just thinking that by 30 years from when I’d bought my first electric guitar, it looked kinda weird to me (something I wouldn’t play today) when I’d see it in old pictures. Of course I’m still the same person, so I can see what had attracted me about it, but it was more cool in a rad teenager’s way than something I’d want as an adult. I could still pick it up and start learning a few things on it of course if I needed to relearn with it, but it would soon enough start feeling a bit silly.

I didn’t get my first bass until a couple of years later though. My tastes had changed by then to be within the range of what they’ve been through my adult life, and I’d still play that bass now, for sure. In fact, my buddy I eventually sold it to still owns and uses it, and I do still get to play it, my first ever bass, every now and then

 

[BassicJazzy]

If you're starting out from near scratch then the 5 strings are no real problem. Muscle memory will have to be developed no matter how many strings you have. I don't understand why people think starting from scratch on 4 strings is any better than 5. You're learning all over again either way. I started on guitar with 6 strings. I learned. You will too.

I totally agree. I know from experience that whatever he had before is gone now, so if OP wants to play a fiver, might as well learn (again) on a fiver.

 

[No such thing]

Take your Calcium and fish oil, sleep with Merino wool fingerless gloves on.

 

[No such thing]

If you're starting out from near scratch then the 5 strings are no real problem. Muscle memory will have to be developed no matter how many strings you have. I don't understand why people think starting from scratch on 4 strings is any better than 5. You're learning all over again either way. I started on guitar with 6 strings. I learned. You will too.

A five is actually easier.

 

[BassicJazzy]

A five is actually easier.

Depending on how old OP is, and what his mobility is with his wrist, arm, and fingers, you might be right. There are a few TB members, more than a few, who play fivers and sixes so they can avoid having to reach to the extents of the board, and can access multiple octaves without having to make shifts.

 

[scamp2112]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Going to just go for it with the 5 string and take my time to learn to play it right from the beginning.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Going to just go for it with the 5 string and take my time to learn to play it right from the beginning.

The only issue I foresee is that most of the online teachers do their lessons on a four, or if playing a fiver they just use the top four strings. Really, this should not be much of an issue because the relationship between the strings is the same, no matter how many strings you have. The only differences will be in how you mute and how/when you shift.

Looking forward to seeing your progress, have fun!

 

[No such thing]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Going to just go for it with the 5 string and take my time to learn to play it right from the beginning.

 

[Slevage]

I played bass as a teenager and decided I was going to start playing again so I went out and bought a MIM Fender 5 String Jazz bass. I had a kid and never got around to playing it and roughly 20 years later decided it was time to put that bass to use. Any technique I had is long gone and I find my hands getting uncomfortable after a shot amount of playing Decided to look at online courses as I have a very up in the air schedule and taking in person lessons doesn't fit. I decided most likely to sign up for the bassbuzz course. In one of his youtube videos discussing starting he pretty strongly recommends against a 5 string to start. I bought a 5 string mostly because I played a lot of metal as a teenager and always wanted a 5 string but am starting to think I should have just got a 4 string to get back into it. I haven't signed up for the course yet but feel it would help a good bit looking at reviews from people who have signed up. I guess I'm just looking for advise between 3 paths forward. Trade in the 5 string Jazz bass and get a decent 4 string. Just deal with how bad I sound playing on the 5 string until I build the muscles back up in my hands. Or plan C buy a cheap Glarry 4 string p-bass knock-off and use it while relearning and transition to the 5 string later. I'll only ever be playing along with music by myself so I'm not overly concerned with the low quality on the glarry as I can setup/adjust it myself so long as nothing is too bad out of the box.

If you haven’t played for a while or just starting out, just play a 5. You will adjust as you learn. A 5 is more than a few extra notes. As a side note, my first teacher played 5’s only,including his DB’s-all with a high C. He even had Fender’s Bass V. Have learned on a four string and run the gamut of 4,5,6, I currently play all 5er’s with a high C, to avoid shifting positions. It is very easy for me to pickup a 4 string and play it. I would have a 5 with a low B if I needed it for the music I play, but I don’t need it. My 2 cents-get a 5 and practice. Learn the finger board ACROSS the neck, not just up and down the neck.
While you’re at it, learn to read standard notation-this will force you to look at somewhere other than than your left hand.

 

[JohnBrown13]

I played bass as a teenager and decided I was going to start playing again so I went out and bought a MIM Fender 5 String Jazz bass. I had a kid and never got around to playing it and roughly 20 years later decided it was time to put that bass to use. Any technique I had is long gone and I find my hands getting uncomfortable after a shot amount of playing Decided to look at online courses as I have a very up in the air schedule and taking in person lessons doesn't fit. I decided most likely to sign up for the bassbuzz course. In one of his youtube videos discussing starting he pretty strongly recommends against a 5 string to start. I bought a 5 string mostly because I played a lot of metal as a teenager and always wanted a 5 string but am starting to think I should have just got a 4 string to get back into it. I haven't signed up for the course yet but feel it would help a good bit looking at reviews from people who have signed up. I guess I'm just looking for advise between 3 paths forward. Trade in the 5 string Jazz bass and get a decent 4 string. Just deal with how bad I sound playing on the 5 string until I build the muscles back up in my hands. Or plan C buy a cheap Glarry 4 string p-bass knock-off and use it while relearning and transition to the 5 string later. I'll only ever be playing along with music by myself so I'm not overly concerned with the low quality on the glarry as I can setup/adjust it myself so long as nothing is too bad out of the box.

Και μετά από πρόβα, λίγη χαλάρωση με πουρα από την Punin Wine δεν βλάπτει.

I wouldn’t rush to swap the 5-string. Yeah, it’s a bit harder at first, but if that’s what you actually wanted, you’ll grow into it. In the meantime, you can just ignore the low B and treat it like a 4-string while you rebuild your basics.
Buying a cheap 4-string is an option, but not really necessary unless you just want something lighter/easier to mess around with.