Did You Take Lessons Before You Joined A Band???

[El_Charro]

Hi Everybody,

I feel like my poll question is pretty self explanatory, but I will add a bit of clarification just in case…

For those of you currently in a band (especially if it’s just a band for fun/non-professional band)- Prior to joining a band - Did you take any lessons or are you self taught???

I’m trying to figure out if I will need lessons prior to playing with others in a non-professional/laid back band…

I took two or three lessons last fall to learn the fretboard and some instrument orientation basics, <—- (Bassics??? ;-) ), but otherwise I’ve been using tabs and playing along to song for about 6 hours a week for the last year…I am also consistent with practice so it’s not like some weeks are 3 hours-I usually set a timer to make sure I really play and I have missed only a handful of practice days…

While I definitely don’t feel ready or competent enough to play with other people or start a band I’m wondering how I will feel about that in a year or two if I keep making progress on my own…

Just wondering if I’m going to have to shell out for lessons at some point in the process…

Please note: The question really isn’t to debate the merits of lessons vs no lessons and which is “superior”-I’m more curious if you were able to competently play with others just from learning on your own…

I personally found lessons to suck a lot of the fun and curiosity out the whole process and made playing feel like more of a chore than something that I “wanted” to do…Of course, I might’ve just needed to find a better instructor (or maybe only go once a month to save money???)…

If you didn’t take lessons-About how long did you practice on your own before you played with others???

No right or wrong answers here and I realize that everyone’s journey and musical background are different, but I’d be curious to know how far off I am before being good enough to play with other people for fun on the side as a hobby…

Thanks! \m/

 

[EagleMoon]

Yes, for several years, but that’s just how it turned out.

 

[bholder]

no

 

[bradd]

I played my first gig roughly one month after acquiring a bass. Received 6 months worth of lessons for Christmas a few months later, but otherwise it's always been by ear.

 

[Johnny Fingers]

Piano lessons and guitar lessons starting in elementary school.

 

[joelns]

Go play with others. It's fun. And you'll learn a ton.

 

[75Ric]

When I first stated out, I took lessons. The teacher put me into a band right away. (I went to him for guitar lessons, but he told me that if I wanted to play only four strings -- and he had a nice new shinny green Gretch to sell me -- I could join a band immediately. Never looked back.

I took a long hiatus from playing, but returned a couple of years ago. I started on-line lessons via Zoom which have been unbelievably good. I have an outstanding, music-school-trained teacher who plays only bass (both electric and double) and is involved in a couple of very good bands. I've learned so much and so quickly. Since most of what I play is 1960s-70s classic rock and Motown, we work on material in those genres, some of which I have later brought to the band to play. We've also been going deep into a lot of Jamerson's work. The band I play with now has noticed all the improvements in my playing. I can't be happier about taking lessons. I expect to continue taking lessons well into the future. For me, it wouldn't make sense to stop.

 

[sleddogn]

no, but i played guitar for a few years before i first picked up a bass, made it easier i'm thinking than no guitar experience.

 

[Bassamatic]

Studied guitar for a while, including classical. When I said I wanted to play in a band, my teacher told me to learn to play bass, and gave me one, all-inclusive lesson! After about 3-4 months of my practice, he got me a gig in a working band and I was a professional!

 

[Jazzkuma]

Yes but I did not take lessons with the purpose of joining a band. It just happens that some classmates from the same art school needed a bassist so they hit me up. And I had already taken several lessons by then so it just worked out that way.

My advice if you are thinking about it. Take lessons if you have the time and $, it can only help.

 

[bass12]

Yes, I took lessons before joining a band, but I don’t think they made enough of a difference for it to matter all that much. My first teacher was a great player but not such a great teacher. I also probably wasn’t such a great student.

Having said that, playing is likely to be much more fun if you have a solid idea of what you are doing. The shackles of ignorance will limit your freedom on the instrument and will quickly lead to frustration. If you found that lessons sucked the fun out of playing then you probably had the wrong teacher.

 

[2cooltoolz]

I started playing in our 13 year old neighborhood band from day one. We might not have been good, but we were loud!! Poor neighbors...

I've taken lessons on and off, but I'm a book learner, in all things. I'd rather read it than see it. I've worked through a lot of Hal Leonard books, notably Ed Friedland's, but also other authors and publishers. I've worked through my daughter's piano theory workbooks. Super helpful! I've also bought TAB and notation books, usually band collections, and I work things out by ear, and transcribe them.

I've gigged a lot in my teens and early twenties, then got distracted by life. I never quit playing. Back into the band thing in my mid 50s and was going strong until back problems, coinciding with Covid, shut me down. Recovering from back surgery now, and checking the "bassist wanted" ads.

Lessons are undoubtedly a great idea, IF you can find a good teacher. Regardless, learn aggressively.

 

[QweziRider]

If you didn’t take lessons-About how long did you practice on your own before you played with others???

One week. Granted, it was a Southern gospel quartet (not the most complex music, but still a start,nonetheless), and I had abused the guitar for a few years before that (never got the hang of it, didn't particularly like it). Now, have I spent the subsequent 40 years learning all I could from all manner of sources? Yes.

But no formal lessons ever.

 

[micguy]

I auditioned 6 days after buying my first bass. I had played other instruments. I didn't get the gig at the time, but they called me back about a year later and hired me.

I had lessons on violin when I was a kid, but bass...not a one.

I learned early on by playing along with the radio - that's still a great way to do ear training and build chops - when you get to an audition, and someone plays a tune you've never heard before, being able to jump in fast is a great skill to have.

A lot of people will argue about what the best method is to learn. If something works for you, it works. If something else works for someone else, that also works.

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

I voted “no” but in fact I took three guitar lessons back in 1962. I went back for the third lesson because the the owner of the crappy little music store (in Queens NY ) had a wife working there and she was smoking’ hot. After lesson three I realized that learning the melody to Limbo Rock simply because I wanted to see that amazing looking woman was not fair to my mom who was footing the bill. I learned nothing except beehive hair, tight blouses and deep red lipstick are a joy to behold. I still feel that way so maybe it all worked out just fine.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Hi Everybody,

I feel like my poll question is pretty self explanatory, but I will add a bit of clarification just in case…

For those of you currently in a band (especially if it’s just a band for fun/non-professional band)- Prior to joining a band - Did you take any lessons or are you self taught???

I’m trying to figure out if I will need lessons prior to playing with others in a non-professional/laid back band…

I took two or three lessons last fall to learn the fretboard and some instrument orientation basics, <—- (Bassics??? ;-) ), but otherwise I’ve been using tabs and playing along to song for about 6 hours a week for the last year…I am also consistent with practice so it’s not like some weeks are 3 hours-I usually set a timer to make sure I really play and I have missed only a handful of practice days…

While I definitely don’t feel ready or competent enough to play with other people or start a band I’m wondering how I will feel about that in a year or two if I keep making progress on my own…

Just wondering if I’m going to have to shell out for lessons at some point in the process…

Please note: The question really isn’t to debate the merits of lessons vs no lessons and which is “superior”-I’m more curious if you were able to competently play with others just from learning on your own…

I personally found lessons to suck a lot of the fun and curiosity out the whole process and made playing feel like more of a chore than something that I “wanted” to do…Of course, I might’ve just needed to find a better instructor (or maybe only go once a month to save money???)…

If you didn’t take lessons-About how long did you practice on your own before you played with others???

No right or wrong answers here and I realize that everyone’s journey and musical background are different, but I’d be curious to know how far off I am before being good enough to play with other people for fun on the side as a hobby…

Thanks! \m/

No.

Joined a group and we learned about 5-songs over a month and a half or so. I had a basic understanding of music because of piano lessons as a child and singing in a choir in high-school. We performed once together in 1966 and then I was asked to join another band my friends had going and was given a very favorable deal on a 1965 Jazz Bass, which allowed me to sell my terrible piece o' Japanese bass that I had purchased in 1965 before I had an amp. Mostly learned songs by watching the rhythm guitarist (I also played guitar) to see which chords he was playing and when. Learned various bass lines by ear once I knew what the chords were. So no, I did not take bass lessons before playing in a group.

 

[bherman]

Depends on your goals and what type of music. I’m of the opinion that learning to read music (notation vs tab) is a huge help. Tabs are slow, don’t teach you rhythm, and are notoriously inaccurate. You sound pretty self-disciplined so learning to read is doable on your own. Look at Amazon for good “learn to play electric bass” books and work through it methodically. Ed friedland’s method book is well-regarded. Teachers can certainly be helpful but consistent, focused practice is most important to your growth as a bass player.

 

[LBS-bass]

Yes and no. I learned about basic music theory in grade school playing violin, piano, ukulele, and voice. I did not ever take extensive lessons beyond that. Did not ever take lessons in guitar or bass.

 

[Lobster11]

I think it's important to note the difference between "self-taught" and "untaught" -- a distinction that seems to be made only rarely around here. When I took up bass about 20 years ago (in my early 40s, BTW), I bought a bunch of beginner books and videos and studied them. (Today, of course, you could do the same on the internet.) To this day I'm convinced that this was a great way to "self-teach": It was like having multiple different instructors. For example, if all sources agreed on something, I knew it was important to learn; where sources differed, I knew there was more than one option. This seems to me completely different than just picking up a bass and start pecking out lines via tab (i.e., "untaught").

FWIW, I wound up in a "hobby" band a few months after I started this way. To this day I'm playing with one of those guys....

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Never took any lessons on drums (gigged on drums for 10+ years in my first bands) or guitar or bass.

Did it limit my playing? Maybe

Did I learn with bad habits? Probably

It's just the way it went. No instructors around where I grew up.