Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Help with my technique and practice habits please.
- Thread starter MarshallNole
- Start date
Record a video of yourself with your iPhone or whatever, then you watch the video after, and learn from your mistakes, plus you'll be able to hear and see what you are doing wrong. A lot of times people don't notice how bad there timing, or that they are playing the wrong notes.. Videos will help you notice, and then correct.
Last edited:
One thing that helped me be patient with mistakes and the perception of learning slowly is to remember that every brilliant bass player in the world once knew less than you know right now.
Just keep going.
I've been playing for 20 years and still stumble from time to time. You got the right mindset though. Never settle! Always strive for something better than you are capable of doing. That's one key to becoming better not just at the bass, but at life. 
Last edited:
Don't beat yourself up over not being able to play a Tool song perfectly. A lot of their music is in odd time signatures and most of the bass parts aren't what I would consider easy. With that being said, there are a ton of awesome Tool songs to learn on bass!
There has been a lot of good advice given thus far. Since it doesn't sound like you're too into the scales and theory route right now, I would suggest these things already mentioned:
+ Watch and Learn (YouTube)
If you can find a decent bass player covering the song on YouTube, it can help you learn it faster. Compare that to recording of yourself and you may quickly find what the problem is.
I've been playing bass for like 15 years and this is still how I learn new songs.
Hope the answers you found in this thread are helpful. Good luck and have fun!
I have found practices with Apogee Jam to be very productive. If you're unfamiliar, this is a device that lets you hook up your bass/guitar to your Ipad/Iphone. I use the JamUp app. Within this app you can purchase amps (I use the B15) and pedals. It allows you to play live to songs on your Ipad or through background apps (rhapsody, Youtube, etc). If you are playing to songs that are already loaded onto your device you can slow them down without changing the pitch or select starting and stopping points to loop from. You can play to a metronome and can also record your sessions and listen back. I originally purchased this because I now live in an apartment and my 410HLF wasn't well received by my neighbors but have found this to be my preferred method for solo practices.
Whatever your medium is, the biggest thing is to keep at it and practice every day! Best of luck!
Whatever your medium is, the biggest thing is to keep at it and practice every day! Best of luck!
s
Respectfully I would submit that although I respect your wishes not to join a band.......as Jack Bruce once said: "music is interplay, and you have to learn how to play with other musicians to come to your full potential"
These words my friend are painfully, incredibly true.
We can all practice & play our basses alone from now until the end of time but ultimately playing along with other people or even one other person (regardless of what instrument they play) really helps your timing, and it gets your creative juices flowing much more-so than when your home alone just trying to riff along with your favorites song.
Repetition is any musicians best friend (regardless of the instrument) and believe it or not (for some of us) it takes a really long time before our fingers finally do what our brain is telling them to do..........but they "do" get there if you don't give up.
Lastly, I would say that finding a "real" bass player that is especially technically gifted as an instructor would move heaven & earth regarding breaking you out of any bad habits you may have.
I picked up my first bass a thousand years ago and for almost all of that time..............I played badly, I got by........but I played badly.
I got with this amazing bass player last year who is technically as good as they come (think Geddy Lee) and my playing has improved 1.000.000% percent because of all the bad habits he got me out of.
Even my professional musician friends have all noticed and they're amazed at my transformation.
The bass guitar is probably one of the most (if not the most) underrated instrument's there is, please don't give up, and please consider finding a really good instructor.
Respectfully I would submit that although I respect your wishes not to join a band.......as Jack Bruce once said: "music is interplay, and you have to learn how to play with other musicians to come to your full potential"
These words my friend are painfully, incredibly true.
We can all practice & play our basses alone from now until the end of time but ultimately playing along with other people or even one other person (regardless of what instrument they play) really helps your timing, and it gets your creative juices flowing much more-so than when your home alone just trying to riff along with your favorites song.
Repetition is any musicians best friend (regardless of the instrument) and believe it or not (for some of us) it takes a really long time before our fingers finally do what our brain is telling them to do..........but they "do" get there if you don't give up.
Lastly, I would say that finding a "real" bass player that is especially technically gifted as an instructor would move heaven & earth regarding breaking you out of any bad habits you may have.
I picked up my first bass a thousand years ago and for almost all of that time..............I played badly, I got by........but I played badly.
I got with this amazing bass player last year who is technically as good as they come (think Geddy Lee) and my playing has improved 1.000.000% percent because of all the bad habits he got me out of.
Even my professional musician friends have all noticed and they're amazed at my transformation.
The bass guitar is probably one of the most (if not the most) underrated instrument's there is, please don't give up, and please consider finding a really good instructor.
Not only time, careful analysis. See where you make a mistake, practice that part. Then practice fitting it in to the rest of the song. You'll get it
Maybe get back to basics by mastering the major and minor scales and other arpeggios. Always helps fingering
I agree and fortunately, there are levels of middle ground.
I have a bit of social anxiety and playing with other people has been a remarkably painless way of working through it.
I started with a local low-key blues jam.
Went to some open mikes.
Got invited to be 'the house band' at the local low-key blues jam.
Went to some CL auditions - went nowhere but learned a lot of stuff in a short time. Not perfect - close enough for live music.
Working with a group that is -way- out of my musical comfort zone, and it is a struggle, but they have a need I seem to be uniquely qualified to fill. (Or - it could go nowhere...)
Short version - there will be ways to play with other people that do not involve a long-term commitment to join a band.
Doing so will give you the opportunity to learn new, useful stuff.
And it will create an opportunity for you to work through issues, perfectionist or no, because it is live and it is NOW.
Last blues jam, I took a solo during 'Crossroads Blues.' I got lost somewhere above the 14th fret (fretless...) and it was horrible.
But you know what ? The next verse came around right on time and -nobody- remembers that, except me...
Wow, that's great...and I hope you continue to work towards fulfilling your vision of what the bass means for you along your musical journey.
I haven't played with anybody in a while, and I'm actually thinking about getting into some gospel music with a friend of mine who is a tremendous musician well versed in many instruments.
He's willing to teach me some of the songs at his church, and possibly let me sit in on bass while he does the keys.....
We'll see............
All the OP needs to do is slow everything way down, not expect genius overnight, and get with the right support group.
I'm going to start warming up with scales. On parts I rarely play right I'll slow them down. I do think some of you have a point on warming up for 30 minutes before playing. Often I can nail the Schism main riff but if I jump right into it then it seems my fingers just can't move fast enough and I end up muting notes etc. As I explained in the open. Thank you all for the advice
One thing that helps me is to not gloss over weak spots. I stop and analyze them to see where the problem is. It could be not really knowing the notes, or a problem with the position on the fret board - or even my fingering; even just not thinking ahead through transitions. Either way, like so many of the wise are saying - take the time - slow it down - and don't let the weak spots turn into mental block habits. Work on a tune and build it in sections - conquering smaller bites, not just wailing through the whole song at once. - Plus, doing technical exercises can help to overcome issues like I've mentioned when you encounter things in real life music. - Lastly, if you're feeling or thinking that the songs you're doing are crap - then that can be part of the problem, too. Give 'em a rest, start something fresh that you know you can conquer - sometimes we just need to play to enjoy - even just jamming improv - It's supposed to be fun, inspiring and a place of joy. - Know this: NO ONE ever masters it all nor plays perfectly. The best players focus on their weaknesses, and navigate them by mastering the basics and being free - not by focusing on the stress of falling short. It's a life long chase. Practice toward your weaknesses - but in performance, play on the level of your strengths.
Last edited:
