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Beginner Bassist at 47...
- Thread starter Kimberly Munn
- Start date
Thanks so much for your comments!Especially right now!
Welcome to TalkBass, Kimberly. Lots of great people on here. Have fun!
It’s good to hear that you have a good sense of time, and that your instructor is instilling a strong sense of groove. IME, good time is the one thing that can’t really be taught; people seem to have it, or they don’t. But a sense of groove can be developed. Your instructor is using songs YOU like to illustrate the concepts. I believe you’re on the right track.
That's awesome! My birthday is in November too! I'll be 48 though.I hesitated to jump into this one, just because it's yet another thread I'll get endless notifications from and you've already got what appears to be 8 pages of support, but that hasn't ever stopped me before so why bother now?
I'm also 47 (well, will be this November) and I feel like I've just picked it up too. See, my story is a little different, but puts me in a similar spot as you. I actually started playing bass guitar back in about 1989 when me and my two best friends decided that a band would be a great way to get girls. One was a drummer and one was a guitarist so I figured "How hard can bass be? It's only 4 strings and you only play one at a time, right?" We had some fun for years and made some decent music that a small handful of people seemed to enjoy. Fast forward to about 1995-ish and I had to step away to get sober. I put my equipment away, the bass went in the case and there it sat for about 2 decades, never to be touched, or even looked at until my little brother (who was a much more successful bass player than me) passed away about 8 years ago, prompting me to open the case and reconnect with this thing the two of us had in common. But after not playing for 2 decades or so, I find myself in your shoes feeling like a brand new player at 47. Sure, you never really forget the basics having learned them way back when. But honestly, I feel just like you. I was never formally taught, just bought a bass and a couple books and learned on my own. So don't let your age deter you, you'll be fine. Plenty of people get started at our age. You'll be fine.
Myself, I'm waiting on my Christmas bonus and plan to grab a Scott's Bass Lessons membership and go from there. I'm sure my wife will cringe when she finds out, but that's the plan!
I'm in the mirror. I'm right handed. Club 47 rules! He he!
Thank you so much much for your comments! Made me smile!First up - welcome to TalkBass!
To your question, everything you’re experiencing is perfectly normal whether you’re starting out at 15 or 65. It takes time and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. So try to view what you’re learning as chunks. Posture, fingering technique, muting, stretching while avoiding injury are all important. But they’re also very difficult to think about simultaneously when you’re just starting out.
So as you’re practicing, step through the things you’re working on in a round robin fashion if that’s helpful for you. Play a passage concentrating on your fingering. Then, once you’re fairly satisfied with that repeat the passage but shift more of your attention towards muting, etc. Then rinse and repeat. As you master things you find easiest, you’ll soon find the things you find more challenging will start falling into place.
Look at it this way - you love music and you’ve already had a great jam session. You’re already playing music - not just your bass. That’s at least 75% of the equation right there. The rest is just technical details that will come in time with practice as long as your heart is in the right place.
As far as feeling there’s so much you don’t know, all I can say is congratulations. Realizing how much there is to know is the badge of a real musician. I’ll celebrate my 50th year of playing bass next year. And I’m at the point now where I think of myself as an actual beginner. Everything that went before was getting the details out of the way so I could actually begin to learn what this thing called “bass” really is.
It’s like studying a martial art. When you first get into it you think black belt is the end point. So you diligently plug away through the various belt colors until after some years you are awarded your own black belt. At which point you now know enough to suddenly realize that far from it being the finish line, it’s actually the true beginning of your studies. You’ve gotten all the details taken care of so they’re no longer a distraction. And with all that now being second nature, you’re finally ready to really start learning what the martial art you’re studying all about.
So hang in there. If you keep at it it’ll come together.
In the meantime, welcome to the fold. You’re among friends and allies here. Glad you chose to join us.
Never too late to learn and what you’re describing sounds like a normal part of learning an instrument.
A family friend picked up bass about the same age as you. He’s 50 next month and gigs regularly.
Keep at it!
A family friend picked up bass about the same age as you. He’s 50 next month and gigs regularly.
Keep at it!
Thanks so much! Ooooo the dream will be realized when I have my first gig!
As Oddball said in Kelly's Heroes: "Enough with the negative waves!"
Just carry on, with joy. That's what the Bass provides.
Excellent! That is a great song to grove with. Classic, simple, but tasty line. Try learning The New Year from Transatlanticism while you’re at it. Love Deathcab.I am finding killer bass riffs in everything lately. Today Death Cab for Cutie's, I will possess your heart came on and I'm now working on that riff. It's killer. And the other day I was listening to Grease, The one that I want... OMG!!!!! It's brilliant! It's on my wish list of things to learn!
Find some open mic jams in your town. It’s a good way to get started playing with new people and possibly meet potential future band members. You said you know a couple 12 bar blues, so that’s a good starting point for an open mic jam. Other than that, I’d say focus most of your attention on learning simple songs that you like. Arpeggios, scales, and exercises are all good, but the FUN is in making actual music - that’s what will keep you motivated. I can’t tell you how many beginners I’ve seen lose interest quickly from all the exercises their teacher was handing them, and ultimately they bailed on the whole thing. Playing the major scale in every key will not be the thing that keeps you wanting to do more. It is something you’ll want to learn eventually if you take this seriously, but again, focus on playing MUSIC first and foremost at this point.
The finger technique will come with time, but at this stage no one cares about that except you and your bass teacher. The people you jam with and the people listening to a jam just want to hear music, and your technique is the last thing on their minds as long as you can keep a groove. Most (unused) string muting can be done with the left hand (and it has a lot to do with your left hand shape). If you combine that with rest strokes from your right hand, as opposed to free strokes (look those techniques up or ask your teacher if you aren’t familiar with the difference), most of your muting problems will be gone.
Also, for you to be frustrated at yourself for not being gig ready at 5 months is pretty unrealistic. Playing bass isn’t that easy, especially if you have a family life and a day job. But every song you learn is a step closer to becoming a competent player... and don’t just learn the main riffs - Learn the entire songs so you can get more familiar with common arrangements (verse/chorus/bridge order) and also the underlying chords. Many many songs have the same chord progressions. Look up the “money chords”, that’ll cover the basic chord patterns for about 80-90% of rock/pop songs right there.
The finger technique will come with time, but at this stage no one cares about that except you and your bass teacher. The people you jam with and the people listening to a jam just want to hear music, and your technique is the last thing on their minds as long as you can keep a groove. Most (unused) string muting can be done with the left hand (and it has a lot to do with your left hand shape). If you combine that with rest strokes from your right hand, as opposed to free strokes (look those techniques up or ask your teacher if you aren’t familiar with the difference), most of your muting problems will be gone.
Also, for you to be frustrated at yourself for not being gig ready at 5 months is pretty unrealistic. Playing bass isn’t that easy, especially if you have a family life and a day job. But every song you learn is a step closer to becoming a competent player... and don’t just learn the main riffs - Learn the entire songs so you can get more familiar with common arrangements (verse/chorus/bridge order) and also the underlying chords. Many many songs have the same chord progressions. Look up the “money chords”, that’ll cover the basic chord patterns for about 80-90% of rock/pop songs right there.
Amazing information and thanks for the encouragement!!!
That is so awesome that you are just keeping on task! I definitely want to learn to read music. It's one of the many goals. I appreciate the reminder to relax. I need it!
Excellent news from rehearsal last evening...I suddenly got back the use of my right hand ring finger during a song. It just started acting in it's previous role as a mute for lower strings without me even thinking about it. I was surprised that I felt it and the string it was muting. While I have been able to move it for quite a while using it in a musical role was impractical. It may seem like a little thing but to me it's huge.
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That is amazing!!! And it is huge!!!! I’m so happy for you! Thank you for sharing!
