i remember that feeling...gawd i envy you!
BassSquatch : lots of great advice for you! good luck on your quest!
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Help for complete beginner
- Thread starter BassSquatch
- Start date
BassSquatch : lots of great advice for you! good luck on your quest!
The secret - although actually well known: if you play your bass regularly, you will get better. If you don't play your bass regularly, you won't, regardless of instruction, instructor, or method.
All other considerations are actually academic. They will impact how quickly you improve with regular playing, but absolutely nothing replaces playing your bass.
All other considerations are actually academic. They will impact how quickly you improve with regular playing, but absolutely nothing replaces playing your bass.
Amen! Don't loose that childish zeel that your feeling. Start you practice with something your good at and end with something your good at.
Welcome! Above is very true! Play every day, even if all you have is 20 minutes.
If your fingers get sore, take short breaks.
Yes, leave the bass out on a stand so it is ready when ever you are.
Invest in one of those VOX earphone amps. They cost around $40 and you can take your bass anywhere in the house.
We all started in your shoes at some point. Unless your knees are shot I would recommend you practice standing up. I could never get in exactly the same position sitting down so it always threw me off. Plus, your not going to be able to practice for very long initially anyway. It will take many weeks for you to safely build up the endurance in your hands. If anything becomes painful, stop. Good luck .
.Another old fart newbie here. I am doing this entirely for myself so I am not worried about jamming or playing in a band, or going out to take lessons. I took up guitar with no previous music experience just under two years ago and the bass a couple of months ago. I primarily use Yousician because it is interactive unlike just watching Youtube videos but it is $10/month. Studybass is good and I have just ordered Music Theory for Bass by Ariane Cap which came well recommended. I also have a Bass Tab book by Hal Leonard.
From one old fart to another...welcome! Does anyone know if we have a "Old Farts Club" ? We may need one!
Tomb, the other guys on TB are looking at their future.. when they see our posts!! Ha
Do it! Your name describes me... I'm an "old P Bass Guy". My MIM P bass is fairly young but I'm not.
Great advice! Many times I've picked mine up and played for 15 minutes when my lovely wife is running late. I keep a little vox amp you plug directly into the bass nearby and use that with phones during commercials while watching ball games in the man cave (she has her own cave too
).
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Just wanted to thank everyone for all the great responses. I'm taking it all in and try to put together a system that works for me. Already got my amp and some accessories from local music store, just waiting on the bass from Sweetwater this Friday.
A couple of other details: I'm a big guy with 3xl work glove sized hands. I am concerned about hand fatigue since I already work with them for a living. I don't have any ambition of ever getting a paid gig, I just love rock and roll and especially the bass. I'll be mostly just jamming by myself in the garage and maybe some with my guitarist cousin.
And a couple more questions: should I buy a stand for the amp instead of setting it on carpet! And can I get buy with Fender's tunning Android app, or should I buy a real one?
Thanks again!!!
A couple of other details: I'm a big guy with 3xl work glove sized hands. I am concerned about hand fatigue since I already work with them for a living. I don't have any ambition of ever getting a paid gig, I just love rock and roll and especially the bass. I'll be mostly just jamming by myself in the garage and maybe some with my guitarist cousin.
And a couple more questions: should I buy a stand for the amp instead of setting it on carpet! And can I get buy with Fender's tunning Android app, or should I buy a real one?
Thanks again!!!
Tuners are pretty cheap. Everybody here will tell you to learn to tune from the harmonics but if you don't know what you're doing it's an exercise in frustration. A stand is often helpful but I'd roll with what you have— same goes for pedals etc. You can tilt the amp back a bit and see how the sound changes. Ease into it with your hands at first.
The app tuners are functional. They get a little frustrating though because they pick up other environmental sound besides your guitar. The snark clip on tuner ($10) works well for me.
Hand size doesn't really matter. Big hands, little hands, all sizes play. It may be worthwhile to just do some basic hand and finger stretching throughout the day when you're bored and warm them up before playing. As said before, go slow and take breaks. You'll know when to back off with a little common sense.
If your gear is in the garage then I would definitely get it off the floor and cover when not using. Dust and moisture won't help your gear.
What guitar are you getting? Post pics when you get a chance.
Hand size doesn't really matter. Big hands, little hands, all sizes play. It may be worthwhile to just do some basic hand and finger stretching throughout the day when you're bored and warm them up before playing. As said before, go slow and take breaks. You'll know when to back off with a little common sense.
If your gear is in the garage then I would definitely get it off the floor and cover when not using. Dust and moisture won't help your gear.
What guitar are you getting? Post pics when you get a chance.
I got the 2017 Fender MIM standard P, Noir edition, with a Rumble 100. It's probably overkill for my purposes, but it's a reward to myself for accomplishing some big goals.
Nice bass! I have a 98 (I believe) MIM P bass. Plays nice and stays in tune. Even better since adding EMG Geezer pickups. Love it.
Not overkill on the amp. You will have fun with that.
Aside from getting the mechanics of my hands working in coordination, I spent the first year trying to learn what I needed to learn by watching a ton of YouTube videos. I won't even suggest what you should learn because I think we are all on a different path to achieve different things. However, getting your hands working mechanically correct is paramount. When you are comfortable with it you will thank yourself for taking some lessons or making friends with a bass player to really be critical of what your hands are doing or not doing.
FWIW that's my .02
Not overkill on the amp. You will have fun with that.
Aside from getting the mechanics of my hands working in coordination, I spent the first year trying to learn what I needed to learn by watching a ton of YouTube videos. I won't even suggest what you should learn because I think we are all on a different path to achieve different things. However, getting your hands working mechanically correct is paramount. When you are comfortable with it you will thank yourself for taking some lessons or making friends with a bass player to really be critical of what your hands are doing or not doing.
FWIW that's my .02
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