First jam

[mjnyc]

Again, thanks all. Very much looking forward to the next jam, armed with great suggestions.

Michael

 

[Bassic_desires]

@mjnyc I am at the same point as you after roughly 12 months of playing bass guitar (and piano). It took me nearly 63 years to find the time to begin learning to play an instrument. I thank the people around me for their patience in helping me develop my skills. I feel your joy and hope that the joy of playing bass continues for you for a long time to come. FWIW, most of competent and professional musos around me tend to use UG. I am also learning to work with Songbook Pro. I find both to be a useful starting point, even to simply understand the chords and chord changes.

 

[Doner Designs]

I used to jam with my son on guitar when he lived at home. He once said “it doesn’t matter what you play as long as you keep time and set the beat.”

 

[WestyBassBob]

Congratulations. It sounds like you’ve found a good bunch of musicians to play with. The important thing is no one gave you the stink eye or asked if you were in the wrong place.

 

[Johnny Fingers]

Way to dig in and give it the groove!

 

[LBS-bass]

Ultimate Guitar can be good; one tip is that there are often several different versions of a song on there so it helps if you know which version others are using. Some are better than others, since most of them are user submitted. Sounds like you had a great time, and this is a great way to get valuable experience!

 

[chuck65]

On UG ….
I use it ALOT . Here is my 2cents worth of advice.
Pay for the extras , set it up for “ Rockstar “ ALWAYS , when available have the standard notation with the tab . Practice, practice, practice.
I used it to convert my minds eye from years of reading Treble clef music to changing over to Bass Clef and so far so good ! Best of luck !!!!

 

[bfields]

Not sure how well I did, one person said very well for the first time, others hard to read.

One way to judge this is to record the jam. You can use a portable recorder (like a Zoom H1n or similar) or your ipad or phone. (Just be discrete about it and don't share without permission.) Then you can go back and listen to help figure out what you need to improve on.

Is UG the best app for this? Any other approaches to finding the chords?

That's a reasonable way to get started. You can also play along the radio (or streaming equivalent) to practice finding the chords by ear. Or take notes on the list of songs you did, and go home and start learning them--they'll come back to the same songs eventually.

How acceptable is just roots in this situation? Aim to throw in some 5ths, 3rds, 7ths? I was sweating just putting the roots in on time...

I think best is to listen to the original versions of those songs and try to figure out what the original bass player was doing. Start with songs where the bass part is simple and easy to hear.

Pay attention to the rhythm as well as the notes. And listen for when notes end as well as when they start.

 

[beatmachine pro]

since these guys play together all the time..
ask what their set list is
i goes alot better when you know what the songs are

you got thrown right into the fire
i have nightmares about that

 

[two fingers]

Playing for just under a year.

Went to a local jam session yesterday, first time.
2-3 guitars, drums, me on bass.
Two people had obviously worked together a lot and called out one song after another.
We must have done about 30 songs in 4 hours many of which I didn't know at all. Mostly rock, some Bob Dylan.

Luckily I brought an iPad and at the start of each song could pull up UltimateGuitar chords (some of the others were using it too). Essentially tried to play roots with a little rhythm. Sink or swim, mostly swam sometimes sunk. Enjoyed it a lot. Not sure how well I did, one person said very well for the first time, others hard to read. I assume mediocre bass might be better than no bass at all? Sort of insecure about this but not enough to not do it again.

Going forward:

Is UG the best app for this? Any other approaches to finding the chords?
How acceptable is just roots in this situation? Aim to throw in some 5ths, 3rds, 7ths? I was sweating just putting the roots in on time...

Michael

Congrats!

Next time make a document in your iPad to keep a list of the songs called. Then you can go back and actually learn some of them later. These kinds of jams will only serve to make you much better MUCH faster.

 

[StringCanvas]

Awesome to hear! I think you learn more in playing with other people, even when it feels like you're just holding on, than you do for years sitting at home. Home can train your muscles, but jamming with other people teaches you to play.

I used to jam with my son on guitar when he lived at home. He once said “it doesn’t matter what you play as long as you keep time and set the beat.”

Ha ha, spoken like every guitar player ever!