No. I bought a bass and brought it over to my friends’ house and started jamming immediately.
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Did You Take Lessons Before You Joined A Band???
- Thread starter El_Charro
- Start date
I took no lessons before joining band, but since these were high school punk/metal ensembles in late 90's, there was no much need for learn anything than "1st fret - 4th fret and do it four times"
Now I take lessons
Now I take lessons
I've never had a bass lesson, but before playing bass I'd had some lessons on piano, cello, and guitar, so the transition wasn't difficult at all. I already knew the notes and scales, and the EADG sequence from guitar.
In fact, I got a bass specifically to join a band in high school, in which one of my buddies played keys. I just learned the songs on my own and showed up at rehearsal. That band only lasted for a couple of practices, but I almost immediately felt more comfortable on bass than guitar, so I remained on bass for all my other bands in high school, one of which played some fun gigs.
Then, in college I took a music theory course, which has been very helpful.
In fact, I got a bass specifically to join a band in high school, in which one of my buddies played keys. I just learned the songs on my own and showed up at rehearsal. That band only lasted for a couple of practices, but I almost immediately felt more comfortable on bass than guitar, so I remained on bass for all my other bands in high school, one of which played some fun gigs.
Then, in college I took a music theory course, which has been very helpful.
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I started playing guitar and bass at age 14. I started gigging (paid gigs) before my 15th birthday. I had no lessons of any kind until I was in my mid 50s. I'm in my 70s now.
Yes, if lessons from good instructors are available, and you can afford them, you should take them. It's like finding the keys to doors you have always wanted to open and finding treasure inside.
Koog
Yes, if lessons from good instructors are available, and you can afford them, you should take them. It's like finding the keys to doors you have always wanted to open and finding treasure inside.
Koog
This might be my favorite quote in 12ish years on Talkbass!!
Hard to answer the question in a binary manner. I never took bass lessons before I was in a band, but I did take piano lessons, which in a way were more helpful since I could take that knowledge and map it over the bass and guitar with a bit of additional info.
I took guitar lessons for a couple of years starting when I was 10. Got bored of guitar, but took up bass for music class for four years in high school, so I guess that counts a bit. I didn't learn anything about technique there - only music theory and performance. Learned everything else on my own, and playing with other musicians.
My abilities really took off when I started playing with bands. If I had to break it down, playing with others accounts for most of what I know now. The lessons just made it easier by pointing me in the right direction.
Also there's nothing wrong with doing both. Plenty of pros will take lessons - there's always something to learn no matter how experienced you are.
My abilities really took off when I started playing with bands. If I had to break it down, playing with others accounts for most of what I know now. The lessons just made it easier by pointing me in the right direction.
Also there's nothing wrong with doing both. Plenty of pros will take lessons - there's always something to learn no matter how experienced you are.
My high school band teacher had me sit down and learn from Hal Leonard and Mel Bay bass books. That was before the .dawn of time. Before cell phones and the internet.
I don’t know if that counts as lessons or not.
I don’t know if that counts as lessons or not.
Nope . Was asked to play bass for a street party . Built a bass and played gig after 4 months . Not the most demanding music but fell in love with the bass straight away . Never played an instrument until the age of 45 and then worked my way through tinkering with guitar , banjo ,mandolin , fiddle and bass . Never going to be a great player of anything but they sure taught me a lot about music theory . And I have realised that 3 lifetimes is not enough time to learn the fiddle .
Bass is the easiest of “popular” instruments to learn at first. With a few basic root notes and a tiny sense of rhythm you can be in a band in a week. It’s also one of the most difficult instruments upon which to really advance, with a true need to fully understand chords, theory, time, meter and dynamics. There is a reason why the great bands are almost always bass-driven. It’s an awesome feeling when you have complete command of your instrument and you’re pushing the band …
That said, plenty of players are not “taught”. I was, started playing at the age of eight and was formally trained. I was a lifelong professional bassist until my retirement in 2017 … I still play about 70 dates a year (not so much during the pandemic, of course). What really matters is whether you are ready to take your playing seriously, or whether you just want to mess around a bit. If you’re serious, you need to study, either on your own or with assistance. If not, enjoy the hobby and be happy!
That said, plenty of players are not “taught”. I was, started playing at the age of eight and was formally trained. I was a lifelong professional bassist until my retirement in 2017 … I still play about 70 dates a year (not so much during the pandemic, of course). What really matters is whether you are ready to take your playing seriously, or whether you just want to mess around a bit. If you’re serious, you need to study, either on your own or with assistance. If not, enjoy the hobby and be happy!
I picked up BG a couple of years ago specifically for playing in my church's worship team, which I guess counts as a "band." I had a lot of musical experience on woodwinds, knew some basic keyboards, and have a fair grasp of music theory. Compared to other instruments I've played before, BG is very friendly to beginners. I'd like to say I've made it to the "intermediate" level since then, without any in-person instruction. And to be honest that's good enough for me. I'm only a glorified hobbyist at the moment, but if I ever wanted to get serious with my playing, I'd take lessons for sure.
-Cal.
-Cal.
My first gig was 1989 (ish... I think) and I was handed a bass and asked if I thought I could figure out how to play 6 songs in a week. I knew the songs and thought I could figure it out. Showed up and played the songs and got my own bass and started playing...
Before that situation, though, I'd been playing 10 or so other instruments in jazz and classical situations with both school and outside of school bands. So I guess technically I had a bunch of lessons, just none on bass. I did have a year of work on one other bass clef instrument... The bassoon. It helped not even a little bit.
Before that situation, though, I'd been playing 10 or so other instruments in jazz and classical situations with both school and outside of school bands. So I guess technically I had a bunch of lessons, just none on bass. I did have a year of work on one other bass clef instrument... The bassoon. It helped not even a little bit.
Yes, but I also started lessons when I was almost 50 after just fooling around in my basement for quite a few years. Because of family and work responsibilities, I didn’t have time to devote to really learning (and making reasonable progress) before that. But I finally joined an occasional basement jam in my early 50s, at which point I stopped taking lessons. After playing in a few basement jams over a few years, I joined a gigging band and played my first gig about two weeks before I turned 55 (actually, two years ago this weekend).
If I find myself bandless for a while in the future, I wouldn’t be against taking lessons again. I wouldn’t do it for a couple years like I did the first time, but it might be interesting to see if a short series of lessons could help me get to a new level faster.
If I find myself bandless for a while in the future, I wouldn’t be against taking lessons again. I wouldn’t do it for a couple years like I did the first time, but it might be interesting to see if a short series of lessons could help me get to a new level faster.
Technically, yes. Two lessons with a guitarist who claimed he could teach bass. Lesson one, he wrote out a walking bass line over a 12 bar blues, no explanation, just "play this by next week." I did, and he wrote out another one. I didn't go back after that. Instead, I got a couple of beginner's books to teach me the basics, then mostly learned by playing along with albums. Managed to get into a local rock band a few months later, did just fine.
I recommend lessons. A lot. Although I never took bass lessons, the five years of violin lessons I had previous to taking up the bass were enough; I got the idea and learning to switch clefs was not that hard.
What you will learn in just going out and playing with others is something that can’t really be taught one on one with a teacher - how to play with a bunch of others! Now, a good teacher can also help with questions that you have once you start playing with others, and you’ll have them. I’ll give you the most helpful thing I ever learned right now: stand where you can see the drummer hitting the kick drum with his foot, and play when he does so.
You need a better instructor. Learning how to do something you already want to do should not feel like a chore.
What you will learn in just going out and playing with others is something that can’t really be taught one on one with a teacher - how to play with a bunch of others! Now, a good teacher can also help with questions that you have once you start playing with others, and you’ll have them. I’ll give you the most helpful thing I ever learned right now: stand where you can see the drummer hitting the kick drum with his foot, and play when he does so.
You need a better instructor. Learning how to do something you already want to do should not feel like a chore.
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