Everyone Wants to Jam with Me, I'm Scared

[pabs]

I've been learning bass for almost 3 weeks now and I've had 3 separate guitarist friends ask me multiple times to jam with them soon, they've all got at least 3 years of consistent playing experience under their belts meanwhile this is the first time I've touched an instrument (used to play violin) in 4 years. Bassists are in short supply in the scene so I know they're all waiting for the moment they can snatch me up into their bands. The idea of trying to play in front of any of them, let alone play a good bassline, is extremely daunting. I just don't feel like I have enough skill developed yet.

What kind of stuff should I be doing to get myself to be jam ready besides learning scales and learning to identify pitches by ear?

Also, at what point in playing bass did you feel comfortable with the idea of playing alongside others?

 

[Lee Moses]

Dive in. Keep your ears open to what everyone around you is doing. Be open to feedback. Work on everything and show up each time better than the last time.

 

[micguy]

You're a bassist. One of the things you have to get used to is being in demand. When you get good, and people start to notice, it gets "worse".

How long it takes before you're ready to play with others depends on your work ethic, and how good they are - if they're a bunch of kids, you don't need to be nearly as good as you do with experienced musicians.

 

[Lobster11]

I suggest that you put heads together with one or more of these friends and come up with a list of simple songs that you can work on in advance. A lot of blues are simple 3-chord progressions, and the songs I first "jammed" with friend on when I was learning. Then you'll know what to expect and can prepare as much in advance as possible.

Also, be completely honest with them: Tell them that you don't feel like you've learned enough yet to start playing with others -- but that you'd be willing to try if they'll "put up with" you and help you out.

 

[mambo4]

What kind of stuff should I be doing to get myself to be jam ready

for jamming with guitarists? learn 12 bar blues in a variety of keys....
Or just E minor pentatonic. You can milk that for days.
Only half joking...

Planning what songs you are going to play is helpful

 

[Bioflava]

Heya @pabs — I was in the exact same position when I started to play several decades ago! IMO, nothing helps you learn faster than trying to jam with other people — especially those who are better than you!

I like @Lobster11's suggestion: Ask them for a few songs and practice playing roots against those changes. Then as you can play some simple changes like those @mambo4 mentioned, then you can take more folks up on offers — and you can always let folks know, "hey I'm a total beginner, but I'd be happy to try and play some basic stuff"

Scales are useful to learn (of course) but as a beginner, it's really all about being able to play roots against the chords in a rhythmic way — with a few simple step-ups to roots, and then maybe some 5ths and 3rds thrown in. Listening to the bass lines of the songs you're trying to learn (and using charts and/or play along videos on Youtube) is also a great way to quickly get better.

Have fun!

 

[pabs]

Heya @pabs Scales are useful to learn (of course) but as a beginner, it's really all about being able to play roots against the chords in a rhythmic way — with a few simple step-ups to roots, and then maybe some 5ths and 3rds thrown in. Listening to the bass lines of the songs you're trying to learn (and using charts and/or play along videos on Youtube) is also a great way to quickly get better.

Have fun!

Thank you!

 

[QweziRider]

Also, at what point in playing bass did you feel comfortable with the idea of playing alongside others?

Granted, it was Southern Gospel quartet type stuff (not exactly complex music), but I was gigging a week after picking up the bass back as a teen. Jump in. Jam with them. You'll learn a lot from that, along with all the practice things you continue to do. Certainly can't hurt a bit.

 

[Killing Floor]

What you should focus on right now is keeping time, keeping in rhythm.

Of course we don’t know your guitarist friends but surely they know in just a few weeks of playing you’re not going to be perfect and nobody will expect that. So don’t go into it from a place of fear or inadequacy. This is an opportunity to learn very early on and an opportunity to gain encouragement. No pressure.
More important at your stage to be aware of the rhythm than whether you miss notes. Go have fun and relax, it’s just bass.

Oh, after many years of regimented violin playing one of my idiot friends handed me a bass and said they needed a bass player and I was it. That was decades ago. Seriously this doofus said “it has 4 strings so you’ll get it”.
Technically he was right. I did eventually get it.
Take advantage. Because nobody ever grows without being uncomfortable once in a while.

 

[kevrex]

when this happened to me a hundred years ago, I asked a guitarist I knew to play a bunch of chords, tell me their names, and show me the root note of each. that way if I got lost I could look at his hand or have him shout out a chord name and have some idea of what to play. it worked pretty well for basic stuff.

 

[matante]

I don't know how old the OP is but the idea that jamming with guitarists means you have to know 12 bar blues is rather old fashioned.

The best thing is to ask the guitarists what specific songs they'd like to play. "Jamming" when you're close to an absolute beginner gets old pretty fast.

 

[KidAmnesia]

If they are not terribly stupid, they're probably not expecting someone that just started playing to be able to play "a good bassline", they've been begginers too.

But it's fun to jam with friends and you can learn a lot from the experience, they might be acctually offering it help you. If you can hold a very simple groove (it can be root quarter notes) you can try jamming with them, let them play guitar stuff over it, see how you feel.

Remember music is a language, and like any other language, you learn it by talking with people that already know how to speak.

 

[lark_z]

when this happened to me a hundred years ago, I asked a guitarist I knew to play a bunch of chords, tell me their names, and show me the root note of each. that way if I got lost I could look at his hand or have him shout out a chord name and have some idea of what to play. it worked pretty well for basic stuff.

Knowing the basic chord shapes for guitar can really help. Even if it's just the "campfire" chords (G, C, D, Em, Am). Knowing that the lowest note in whatever chord they're playing could likely be the root helps.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Two things. Ask for recordings, so you know the song structures. Second, remember, as long as you are in tune, and meshing with the drummer, you'll be OK.



Relax and enjoy.

 

[Jason Sypher]

I had no clue how good you had to be before playing with others. I practiced for hours a day learning from recordings. I was a big Rush fan and since Geddy was considered to be the best I tried to learn all his lines. Every day I would play along with all the albums. I got where I could memorize them pretty much note for note. One day some frat boys who were friends of a girl I knew asked if I wanted to come over and jam with them. Ok I said. The next was terrible, I was so nervous and doubled down on my practice. I had never really played with anyone before and assumed everyone was incredible and that I wasn’t near ready. So the day shows up. I nervously take my stuff over. They started up a blues and I tried to play along. Ok, not that great. And then they said what do you want to play and I suggested Tom Sawyer. We kicked it off and I proceeded to completely blow their minds. They couldn’t keep up with me. Song after song they would fall apart while I nailed it. When I left I couldn’t believe it. We never played again. I didn’t play with anyone for another year or so. I realized that I had to expand my vocabulary and learn more music and genres. One day I got a knock on the door and my neighbor asked me if I wanted a gig at a local bar. I thanked him and said “thanks for asking but I’m not ready to play with people yet. I’ve got so much more to learn”. He said “what do you mean? I hear you all the time you sound amazing?!” Well, ok, I said. It was a hilarious gig with an “older” singer who played Rickie Lee Jones covers and such. I nailed them. After that I got in my first band. The rest is history but I tell you this because I think I wasted so much time in my life feeling I wasn’t ready for something, assuming everyone else was great and I was not. Get out there and play. Play with anyone. Some will shut you down but you’ll find your people. Don’t wait for any reason. I learned bass in a bubble and that got me so far. But bass is a support instrument. You need something to support to really become a bass player.

 

[Fynn]

They're your friends, so they probably know that you just started, right? I doubt that they will expect you to do anything incredibly complex, or polished. This seems more like a general anxiety thing, not necessarily a music thing. I would recommend to just go in and don't try to think too much. Sometimes the best way to learn is to just jump in and fail again and again, until you get it.

Musically speaking, you need to somehow be in tune with the others for a pleasant sounding jam. Which means you need to learn what chord shapes are, what the notes on the neck are, and what chord progression is happening. The fastest way to figure that out, is to just jam with them and look at what they do. You can do loads of prep work beforehand, but I would just suggest you to dive in. And then you can sit down at home and study all the notes on the necks.

Try to not think too much about it. If you want to learn the instrument, then do that, but try not to pressure yourself into trying to impress your friends. The purpose of music, especially amongst friends, is to have fun together! And you will hear plenty of very accomplished musicians say that the fastest way they learnt was by playing with other, better musicians.
Eventually you'll become so accustomed to your instrument, that you can put almost 100% of your focus into listening to the other musicians. That's when the real fun begins, because then you can really react to whats happening around you. Until then, enjoy yourself and take every experience you can get!!

Don't you ever forget to have fun!!!

 

[flannel cat]

best thing to do is jam with them asap... get under the shade of their wings and they will help you fly..
Their experience will become yours... and its fun..

 

[kmon]

Go play with them. Play the roots.

Agree on some tunes beforehand, feel free to grab some tabs and learn them or at least simplified versions.

Be bold. It’s just music. It’s not life or death.

 

[jeffb28451]

I wish I'd have had the nerve/courage to sit in with better players when I was younger. I could not check my ego and
wanted to be the "best" player in the group. It stunted my development by and for years.

Get in there and ask for help as you need it. Back when I "knew everything" or learned it from a book, MANY
issues developed over the years, not just musically. When I learned to ask for help (in my thirties) I met and learned from a lot of generous people
who were only too willing to help me when I asked them.

 

[JimmyM]

I don’t know about diving in if you think it’s traumatic at the moment. Last thing you need is to be scared away from it. Give yourself a little extra time. 3 more weeks should do it