Bass cover - I need your feedback!

[Aleksandra]

Well done. One take, sweet. Not a critique, it sounds good.

Technique is something you can work on or not, you do you. Right hand picking excercise, two fingers alternate, then swap which finger you start with. Left hand excercise, one finger per fret, but it's only an excercise. Don't do it if you start cramping. Like what was said earlier, using your pinky is a good strengthening excercise. As is changing down from 4th finger (pinky) to third, which you did so well. I would have used the slack method of using 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers. Less bird flippin action. lol

As a side, it seems like a good song, with fairly even bass notes, that you could try singing and playing your bass without the backing, and even use a metronome, to keep you in time.

Thank You for your advice!
Fingers of my left hand just don't want to cooperate with me sometimes haha. But I will definitely work on it.

 

[Aleksandra]

The notes are right but I would suggest to pay attention to where the notes end as well as where they start. Notes cut short can at times give the part a jerky sort of feel. Not all notes are meant to be long of course but where they end is as important as where they start to enhance the rhythm.
It feels a little stiff so attention to the groove is also important.
It seems like you're pretty new to bass playing but you're doing well. Keep it up. You will get better.

Thank You for advice!

 

[GTHintz]

Thank You for your advice! Recently I try to play more together with my sister - she play drums.

Getting plenty of time with her would really help. Also different drummers will bring out different things in your playing so finding people to jam with is such a great way to branch out. Also I would listen to different styles of music and play along with as much variety as you can. I watched some videos on your YouTube and you are making great progress. It seems like you have a good bass and you’re doing well with it. I would recommend learning about setting it up and then you can keep it playing effortlessly all the time if you haven’t already learned. Too many bass players and guitar players don’t learn anything about their instruments other than what notes they can make from them. Also it’ll save you money not paying someone to adjust a couple set screws and slap strings on your bass. You can get your basses playing exactly how you want better than most techs once you learn how it’s done.

 

[Aleksandra]

Drien Dobry, Alexsandra

You sound like a good student and you obviously learn your parts to their fullest. Very good. At lot of advice here seems to be directed at you making the part "swing". I agree, this is good advice. Looking at the video, I thought you might have been a bit tense due to the fact that you're on camera. I understand. You didn't want to make a mistake for all of us to see. On the off chance that you are a bit naturally not relaxed, you might try this. It worked for me. A question for you.

Can you dance? I saw you bobbing your head so I'm assuming you have some groove going on. By yourself, try playing along standing up and physically moving to the music. This should help loosen you up and help you "feel" (or swing to) the song better. Not just this one, but other songs also. Think about it. As stated previously, it worked for me.

This is more psychological advice for you. Whatever you do, keep on playing. It's always good for the soul. Take care.

Thank You for your advice!
I am very nervous when I am on camera. When I just practice I am much more relaxed. That's why I post my videos because I hope it will help me to be more relaxed in front of camera.
And I don't know if I can dance.. but I don't really like it. But I always had quite good sense of rhythm, I guess.

 

[Aleksandra]

Kudos! You choose a great tune for a walking bass....It's great for study purposes to not move the left hand from the scale structure, and that's what you did. Buuut, as you will find out, musicians usually moves the left hand in stranges ways to put (let's say) some feeling on the song...Mccartney for sure did that when he recorded it....keep on the good work!! I also did a cover of this song, it's a fantastic bass line:

Thank You for advice!
I watched your cover - it's great!!

 

[Dbassmon]

I don't listen to the Beatles music that much.

Listening is the most important thing you learn to do. Beatles music, is music. As music is a language, you must become literate in the language. How do you do that? Listen, lots of listening. The more you listen, the more you will hear the essence of the bass part, and more importantly, what is the essence of the song you are playing. As you become better, you will hear all the things people have pointed out about your performance and what you must work on to improve. The key thing is that, regardless of style, artist, or genre, listening skills are what will lead to better ears, and if you work hard, better execution.
BTW, very courageous for you to put yourself out there like this. I applaud your heart and grit. Also, a teacher can be very helpful in pointing out what you are not hearing, which will cut your learning curve exponentially.

 

[pabassbeat]

Thank You for advice!
I watched your cover - it's great!!

Thanks for watching!!

 

[Aleksandra]

Listening is the most important thing you learn to do. Beatles music, is music. As music is a language, you must become literate in the language. How do you do that? Listen, lots of listening. The more you listen, the more you will hear the essence of the bass part, and more importantly, what is the essence of the song you are playing. As you become better, you will hear all the things people have pointed out about your performance and what you must work on to improve. The key thing is that, regardless of style, artist, or genre, listening skills are what will lead to better ears, and if you work hard, better execution.
BTW, very courageous for you to put yourself out there like this. I applaud your heart and grit. Also, a teacher can be very helpful in pointing out what you are not hearing, which will cut your learning curve exponentially.

Thank You for your advice!
I had few lessons with a teacher during my first year of playing. But now it's just not an option. So, since then I try to learn by myself. That's why all comments here are important for me because I can learn a lot.

 

[pepj]

If you want to work on something..work on the flow of the notes.
Currently, notes are chopped and grabby but once you get more flow, it will be great.

 

[Aleksandra]

If you want to work on something..work on the flow of the notes.
Currently, notes are chopped and grabby but once you get more flow, it will be great.

Thank You for your advice!

 

[Kaa]

You are a boatload better than me.