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Beginner Bassist at 47...
- Thread starter Kimberly Munn
- Start date
I'm too old to look through all these postings, but look up the hanging thumb technique. Seriously useful stuff. Everyone is very nice around here.
If you watch a lot of pro players they don't always stretch their fingers much. Some have awful technique too, but big stretches aren't a requirement. Look at Simandl which I tend to use a version of now, unlike the strict Chuck Rainey method of my youth.
Thank you for your comments. I feel like at 5 months that I should be concert ready... which is sooo unrealistic I know. But I still feel like I'm failing by not catching on faster.
You're probably already better than Sid Vicious
Welcome to TB!
And great that you're giving bass a go.
In my experience, that 6-month dip is fairly common. You're now enough of a bassist that you really listen to the bassline in a song, but you're in that rubbish point where you hear it and notice it - and know that you can't do it.
...yet!
You will be able to eventually. Keep practicing. And for the love of all that's holy, don't forget to warm up your fingers every time you play!
I would ignore advice about swapping to a short-scale instrument. Never EVER think that gear can make you a better player. It can make you sound better, yes, and occasionally - very rarely - it will make it easier to apply what you've already learned, but it won't make you a better player. My Laklands are beautifully easy to play, and setup just how I want them. I recently played in a church with a cheap Chinese bass from the bad old days when China only made rubbish. Goodness knows how old the strings were, the height off the fretboard was mad - but all that made me work harder, that's all. It didn't make me a 'worse' player; my note choice was identical to what I would have played on the Laklands.
Concentrate on technique: then you'll be able to play anything. And once your technique is good, when you reward yourself with a nicer bass than the one you currently have, you'll know what feels right in your hand and what works for you. At the minute you don't know what your hands want.
I've been playing for 17 years, the first thing I always do is still run through G major, one octave - the very first scale I learnt. I then go through B major, 2 octaves. Moves me all around the fretboard. I then play some simple, fun stuff. 12-bar blues, in different positions. I then play the opening to 'If' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. High on the fretboard, good for checking intonation. Really difficult on a fretless! But gets my ear in tune, if that makes sense.
Point is, there's no stage where you get to stop doing this stuff: Victor Wooten is probably the best living bassist, he still does his scales and arpeggios every morning like a good little boy.
But it should be fun, so here are some pretty simple tunes I recommend. Don't look up tabs or chord charts, see if you can do them by ear. One of the secrets of basslines is that they are very repetitive, so you get loads of opportunities per song to hear what the bassist is doing!
Some fun stuff to play to:
U2 - With or Without You (the very first thing I learnt on bass)
The Shadows - Shadoogie (12-bar blues)
Queen - Under Pressure
Queen - A Kind of Magic
Chic - Good Times
Thin Lizzy - Dancing in the Moonlight
And harder ones, that are incredibly satisfying once you nail them:
Boston - More Than A Feeling
Kansas - Carry on my Wayward Son
Jools Holland - Free
Red Hot Chili Peppers - If
Enjoy!
Peace,
SoundSupport
And great that you're giving bass a go.
In my experience, that 6-month dip is fairly common. You're now enough of a bassist that you really listen to the bassline in a song, but you're in that rubbish point where you hear it and notice it - and know that you can't do it.
...yet!
You will be able to eventually. Keep practicing. And for the love of all that's holy, don't forget to warm up your fingers every time you play!
I would ignore advice about swapping to a short-scale instrument. Never EVER think that gear can make you a better player. It can make you sound better, yes, and occasionally - very rarely - it will make it easier to apply what you've already learned, but it won't make you a better player. My Laklands are beautifully easy to play, and setup just how I want them. I recently played in a church with a cheap Chinese bass from the bad old days when China only made rubbish. Goodness knows how old the strings were, the height off the fretboard was mad - but all that made me work harder, that's all. It didn't make me a 'worse' player; my note choice was identical to what I would have played on the Laklands.
Concentrate on technique: then you'll be able to play anything. And once your technique is good, when you reward yourself with a nicer bass than the one you currently have, you'll know what feels right in your hand and what works for you. At the minute you don't know what your hands want.
I've been playing for 17 years, the first thing I always do is still run through G major, one octave - the very first scale I learnt. I then go through B major, 2 octaves. Moves me all around the fretboard. I then play some simple, fun stuff. 12-bar blues, in different positions. I then play the opening to 'If' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. High on the fretboard, good for checking intonation. Really difficult on a fretless! But gets my ear in tune, if that makes sense.
Point is, there's no stage where you get to stop doing this stuff: Victor Wooten is probably the best living bassist, he still does his scales and arpeggios every morning like a good little boy.
But it should be fun, so here are some pretty simple tunes I recommend. Don't look up tabs or chord charts, see if you can do them by ear. One of the secrets of basslines is that they are very repetitive, so you get loads of opportunities per song to hear what the bassist is doing!
Some fun stuff to play to:
U2 - With or Without You (the very first thing I learnt on bass)
The Shadows - Shadoogie (12-bar blues)
Queen - Under Pressure
Queen - A Kind of Magic
Chic - Good Times
Thin Lizzy - Dancing in the Moonlight
And harder ones, that are incredibly satisfying once you nail them:
Boston - More Than A Feeling
Kansas - Carry on my Wayward Son
Jools Holland - Free
Red Hot Chili Peppers - If
Enjoy!
Peace,
SoundSupport
So much fun to play - pay special attention to the walking line in the outro! Easy enough but so cool once you've got it.
I started at 59.....
Still little to no talent at 62....
Lovin' it anyway....
Still little to no talent at 62....
Lovin' it anyway....
This is awesome. That fact the [OP] “loves her bass” sounds very encouraging to fight GAS at least for now. I’m a beginner myself and love my bass, but in any hobby it is so easy to start chasing that next thing. Much better to do everything you can to wait until you discover you can’t live without that next thing for whatever reason.
PS / Edit: Good advice I was given a long time ago (another hobby) was that it won’t make you (better / faster / etc), but it may make you happier. If you have the means, there is something to that every now and again. But a little work will make you even happier when you know what you really want.
I started in my mid-30s, had never played an instrument before (not counting a few months of piano lessons when I was a kid). A guitarist I knew taught me some songs to get started, then I ended up taking lessons for two years while starting a garage band with friends. Eighteen years later, I have a bunch of great gear. I'm not nearly as good as I'd like to be, but if I spent as much time practicing as I have on TB over the years, I'd be a hell of a lot better. Anyway, I have some gigs under my belt and I've gotten to the point where I'm not completely self-conscious about being on stage. It's a blast, honestly.
You're never too old. Welcome to the party.
You're never too old. Welcome to the party.
You'll find a lot of players here who started late in life. I started messing around almost 20 years ago but had no time to really learn to play so that's all I did (mess around ... and accumulate gear I wasn't really using that much ) for a long time. I was about 47 or so when I finally had some time and started taking lessons, by 50 I started playing in occasional jam session, and about a year and a half ago I started playing in a regular weekly jam session. I'm 55 and about 3 months ago I joined a gigging band and have finally started playing out.
If you don't think it's too late, then it's NOT too late. Just play!
EDIT: I've posted this a few times recently but it applies here, too. My dad played violin in my grandfathers's bands up until he was 22 then completely stopped playing. At 84, he finally took his violin out of the case again, thinking that it might help relieve some of the stiffness from arthritis. He was soon considering joining a band but was nervous so he took lessons for a few months. At that point his teacher told him he didn't need her and to just play. He turns 92 in two days and is STILL gigging!
So, yeah, you're never too old!
) for a long time. I was about 47 or so when I finally had some time and started taking lessons, by 50 I started playing in occasional jam session, and about a year and a half ago I started playing in a regular weekly jam session. I'm 55 and about 3 months ago I joined a gigging band and have finally started playing out.If you don't think it's too late, then it's NOT too late. Just play!
EDIT: I've posted this a few times recently but it applies here, too. My dad played violin in my grandfathers's bands up until he was 22 then completely stopped playing. At 84, he finally took his violin out of the case again, thinking that it might help relieve some of the stiffness from arthritis. He was soon considering joining a band but was nervous so he took lessons for a few months. At that point his teacher told him he didn't need her and to just play. He turns 92 in two days and is STILL gigging!
So, yeah, you're never too old!
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I’m 49, and have been playing for 37 of those years and am frustrated still by the same things. Practice is the only cure. You’ll get better the more you do it, but there’s always more to learn, and always room for improvement.
Spend your practice time learning songs and learning the fretboard. Technique comes along for the ride. Then get playing with experienced people as soon as you can. Your learning will really hit the gas at that point.
Hey Kim,
I started about 9 months ago at 45 and have just joined my first band. So no - not too old at all.
Here are pointers from my first year
1 - Buy some XL88 or GHS fast Fret. Do this right now. Best $20 I ever spent on bass.
2 - I wouldn't spend money on lessons at first. Learn the basics from a youtube course or an app. Check out the yousician app. You can use it for 15 mins a day for free or get a subscription for more time. For the same price of a 1 hour lesson your will get 100's of hours of play from a course/app.
3 - Don't let your new status prevent you from trying to find other players. (learn some ACDC and other easy songs - ACDC seems to universally known by everyone.) Also be up front about your ability. I let people know i'm a web designer - not a musician and have been playing for 1 year. I play bass for fun not my career - but do take it seriously - but I don't understand most music theory and still nowhere near having the fretboard memorized. I found 90% of the people I met are cool and alot in the same situation - but there are 'unemployed rockstars' out there with attitudes. You'll want to avoid these types. Best they stay in a basement somewhere.
I started about 9 months ago at 45 and have just joined my first band. So no - not too old at all.
Here are pointers from my first year
1 - Buy some XL88 or GHS fast Fret. Do this right now. Best $20 I ever spent on bass.
2 - I wouldn't spend money on lessons at first. Learn the basics from a youtube course or an app. Check out the yousician app. You can use it for 15 mins a day for free or get a subscription for more time. For the same price of a 1 hour lesson your will get 100's of hours of play from a course/app.
3 - Don't let your new status prevent you from trying to find other players. (learn some ACDC and other easy songs - ACDC seems to universally known by everyone.) Also be up front about your ability. I let people know i'm a web designer - not a musician and have been playing for 1 year. I play bass for fun not my career - but do take it seriously - but I don't understand most music theory and still nowhere near having the fretboard memorized. I found 90% of the people I met are cool and alot in the same situation - but there are 'unemployed rockstars' out there with attitudes. You'll want to avoid these types. Best they stay in a basement somewhere.
Hey, we are all in this mess. It is always like this. The more you learn the more you realise that you are merely a servant to the universe we call music.
You have been playing your instrument for 5 months. Don't expect things to come in so fast, tou need patience and time to progress smoothly. Playing an instrument is all about muscle memory and mental training. Much like playing tennis for example. You don't master that backhand in 5 practice sessions.
As for muting the unused strings issue - don't worry about it at all. I never teach my students to learn to mute the strings as it is one of those technique fields that looks very difficult to pull off but comes in naturally by its own with a lot of practice and becones second nature much like changing gears on a manual gearbox (european here, he he).
Sooner or later when you accomodate your right hand fingers on the strings and will feel straight at home, you will naturally find a way to manage this problem. Focus on getting a good tone out of your fingers instead as it is time much better spent.
The reason for this is that you want to mute strings by extrapolating/developing the technique that you acquired which suits your body geometry best and feels the most comfortable for you, rather than first learning how to mute them from a certain youtube video and then develop your actual technique around it. It almost always ends up in frustration for the player.
I started in the same place 1 year ago - never played an instrument (ignoring the accordion lessons my parents sent me to back when I was about 7 or 8), but I was always intrigued by guitars and basses. I was 54 years old, had plenty of hobbies, but something was missing. I love music, but I wanted more.
Today, I have a serious case of GAS. I started with my Fender MIM (which is still very much my #1 instrument). Shortly thereafter I picked up a used Epiphone Toby for about €80 on eBay, which I use as my travel bass when I'm on business trips (which is almost every week these days). After about 9 months, I decided I *needed* a 5-string, so I signed up to build one from a DIY kit at a workshop. Around the same time, I saw another eBay deal for a used ESP Ltd, so I jumped on that one as well. My stable now has these 4 basses.
My pedal board started with a home-built A/B/Y switch, followed by a new Boss TU-3 tuner and a used RC-2 looper (another eBay find). A friend suggested that I get myself a chorus pedal, so I signed up to build one at a workshop as well. The BYOC Analog Bass Chorus was built last weekend, but had some problems that the workshop organizer has now fixed (I had placed one resistor in the wrong place, so we had to remove it again, which kindof toasted the board at that spot), so the chorus will be added to my pedal board in the coming days. Finally, I decided I needed a compressor as well, so I've just ordered a kit for a "Pumpernickel" compressor that should also be arriving next week (something to keep me busy next weekend!).
So be warned - Gear Acquisition Syndrome is very addictive and can be expensive.
Today, I have a serious case of GAS. I started with my Fender MIM (which is still very much my #1 instrument). Shortly thereafter I picked up a used Epiphone Toby for about €80 on eBay, which I use as my travel bass when I'm on business trips (which is almost every week these days). After about 9 months, I decided I *needed* a 5-string, so I signed up to build one from a DIY kit at a workshop. Around the same time, I saw another eBay deal for a used ESP Ltd, so I jumped on that one as well. My stable now has these 4 basses.
My pedal board started with a home-built A/B/Y switch, followed by a new Boss TU-3 tuner and a used RC-2 looper (another eBay find). A friend suggested that I get myself a chorus pedal, so I signed up to build one at a workshop as well. The BYOC Analog Bass Chorus was built last weekend, but had some problems that the workshop organizer has now fixed (I had placed one resistor in the wrong place, so we had to remove it again, which kindof toasted the board at that spot), so the chorus will be added to my pedal board in the coming days. Finally, I decided I needed a compressor as well, so I've just ordered a kit for a "Pumpernickel" compressor that should also be arriving next week (something to keep me busy next weekend!).
So be warned - Gear Acquisition Syndrome is very addictive and can be expensive.
Thank you so much for your comments! Playing with others seems to be key! I am so jealous that you've been playing since you were 12!
I'm right there with you.
At 48 I decided it was time to learn something new and decided music was it. After studying some music theory, it became obvious to me that there were many concepts that were difficult without actually playing an instrument. After thought, introspection, and listening to music I enjoy, I decided that bass was for me. I bought myself a bass and an amp and found a teacher.
I went through what you describe. At the beginning, you don't know what you don't know. Then as you start to get into things, you start to see that it isn't as easy as it looks. Just like everything else, pros make it look easy. And there is a point of frustration when you wonder if you will ever "get it".
What works for me:
- I found a great teacher. He has been a professional musician for more than 40 years and has been teaching nearly as long. And has the patience of a saint for putting up with beginners.
- I am working through a course (Hal Leonard Bass Method) with my teacher. It gives structure - learn one thing at a time and build upon what has been learned.
- Think through (and be ruthlessly honest with yourself) what your problem areas are and develop a plan with the teacher to address those problems.
- Don't try to fix every problem at the same time. Pick them off one at a time. By way of example, I worked on muting using floating thumb. Then I worked on plucking with 2 fingers. Then I worked on shifting. Then I worked on left hand muting. You can't fix everything at once. Pick one at a time and fix it.
- The metronome is your best friend and your worst enemy. For learning new techniques, I find that I have to learn the geography of things before worrying about timing. Only after working that out, do I move onto the metronome. Working religiously with a metronome has let me develop a great sense of timing.
I play for my own enjoyment. I have no plan or expectation to get into a gigging band. But I do get together with others to make some noise once in a while. I like to add some structure to that as well - I try to plan what songs we plan to work through so that everyone can learn their parts before getting together. Makes for a more enjoyable experience.
Hi Kim.
I started earlier this year at age 59. Woke up from heart surgery and suddenly had the need to give it a try.
I feel your joy and your frustrations.
My only advice is to give yourself time and not to pressure yourself. If you're not having fun go do something else for a few hours and come back later. Your bass will be waiting.
Oh... and too much TalkBass cuts into valuable practice time. That's a fact.
I started earlier this year at age 59. Woke up from heart surgery and suddenly had the need to give it a try.
I feel your joy and your frustrations.
My only advice is to give yourself time and not to pressure yourself. If you're not having fun go do something else for a few hours and come back later. Your bass will be waiting.
Oh... and too much TalkBass cuts into valuable practice time. That's a fact.
