How can I keep progressing my skills as an intermediate bassist?

[Challanger2]

I currently play bass in a Metallica cover band and I’m a bit stuck on what I should be doing to keep improving my skills. I’m at the point where I can essentially learn any Metallica song just from looking at tabs + live videos, so in terms of what’s needed from my band I don’t really need any more skills outside of just generally improving as a bassist. I want to keep improving my ability as a musician and get to the point where I can potentially start writing my own songs, but I have no idea what I should be doing to get there.

Most of my current practicing is major/minor/pentatonic scales and major/minor arpeggios as warm up followed by working on songs.

 

[FatStringer52]

Learn some basic theory and chord construction principles. These will take you a long way to being able to compose your own music. And you can learn them from these lessons . . .

 

[Lobster11]

Learn some basic theory and chord construction principles. These will take you a long way to being able to compose your own music.

I totally agree with this. A little basic theory will help you understand why the bass lines you already know "work," and will go a long way toward helping you write your own lines.

 

[Stephen DeBoard]

I like to be inspired by all kinds of music. Now that you're dialed into Metallica you could go back to the 1960s, listen to and figure out The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Motown, The Beach Boys or whatever music pumps your heart. Then listen and figure out great music from other decades that you love of all styles like Rock, Funk, Punk, Metal, Jazz, Reggae, Soul, Disco, Electronic, whatever. The more great music and fun basslines you ingest, the more tools you'll have in your toolbox when you start writing your own songs. So many great songs are based around a great bass line. Different music and approaches will all get mixed into your DNA and come out sounding like you.

 

[BismarckHerring]

I’m at the point where I can essentially learn any Metallica song just from looking at tabs + live videos.

A good next step is to lean to transcribe songs by ear. Translating what you hear or what’s in your head to finger movements is one of the most important skills you can learn. Start with simple songs where the bass is clearly audible.

 

[MrLenny1]

read music.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

"I want to keep improving my ability as a musician and get to the point where I can potentially start writing my own songs, but I have no idea what I should be doing to get there."

I suggest broadening your scope and look at it as studying music as a whole with bass as your primary instrument. I think learning standard notation and basic theory is well worth the time it takes, and worth the effort of getting through the initial stages.

 

[Michedelic]

I currently play bass in a Metallica cover band and I’m a bit stuck on what I should be doing to keep improving my skills. I’m at the point where I can essentially learn any Metallica song just from looking at tabs + live videos, so in terms of what’s needed from my band I don’t really need any more skills outside of just generally improving as a bassist. I want to keep improving my ability as a musician and get to the point where I can potentially start writing my own songs, but I have no idea what I should be doing to get there.

Most of my current practicing is major/minor/pentatonic scales and major/minor arpeggios as warm up followed by working on songs.

Never get hung up on just one band, one style/genre of music, one era of music. Learn some history. Don’t stop at just 60’s rock and whatnot…if you want to unlock the secrets of songwriting, there is this collection of work referred to as the ‘Great American Songbook’, that gathers up tunes written between from 100 years ago up through the 1950’s. A lot of it may be corny or cringey to your ears, but there are structures within that have stood the test of time. The Beatles will always get cited as songwriting geniuses, but even they took cues from this stuff(let alone performed some titles early on in addition to emulating the original rock’n’roll they grew up with).

As far as the instrument is concerned, once again, listen to music outside your comfort zone. Even though most of it is played on upright acoustic, listen to bop jazz and swing(not fusion)to hear bedrock lines and stuff you wouldn’t think of in a rock context.

Go to a blues jam and participate, it will help you think on your feet. So many rock types are dismissive of the genre, declaring that it’s boring, all the same, simplistic, but if you don’t do it right, you’ll soon find out what a mess can be made. The irony is that blues lines are the basic DNA of all types of rock, and there’s a certain discipline involved when jumping in the deep end on songs you don’t know, with players you’ve never worked with before. And it ain’t all just 12 bar I/IV/V.

Don’t ignore listening to classical music. Inspiration can be found anywhere.

 

[Challanger2]

Never get hung up on just one band, one style/genre of music, one era of music. Learn some history. Don’t stop at just 60’s rock and whatnot…if you want to unlock the secrets of songwriting, there is this collection of work referred to as the ‘Great American Songbook’, that gathers up tunes written between from 100 years ago up through the 1950’s. A lot of it may be corny or cringey to your ears, but there are structures within that have stood the test of time. The Beatles will always get cited as songwriting geniuses, but even they took cues from this stuff(let alone performed some titles early on in addition to emulating the original rock’n’roll they grew up with).

As far as the instrument is concerned, once again, listen to music outside your comfort zone. Even though most of it is played on upright acoustic, listen to bop jazz and swing(not fusion)to hear bedrock lines and stuff you wouldn’t think of in a rock context.

Go to a blues jam and participate, it will help you think on your feet. So many rock types are dismissive of the genre, declaring that it’s boring, all the same, simplistic, but if you don’t do it right, you’ll soon find out what a mess can be made. The irony is that blues lines are the basic DNA of all types of rock, and there’s a certain discipline involved when jumping in the deep end on songs you don’t know, with players you’ve never worked with before. And it ain’t all just 12 bar I/IV/V.

Don’t ignore listening to classical music. Inspiration can be found anywhere.

What foundational knowledge would I need to participate in a blues jam as a bassist? I know the blues scale but that’s about it. Completely unfamiliar with the musician side of the genre. I’ve heard plenty of blues growing up but I’ve never really explored if musically.

 

[Michedelic]

What foundational knowledge would I need to participate in a blues jam as a bassist? I know the blues scale but that’s about it. Completely unfamiliar with the musician side of the genre. I’ve heard plenty of blues growing up but I’ve never really explored if musically.

Just to absorb it, to get familiar with the fundamentals, while it’s not the whole story, the Chess Records catalog of artists would be a one stop shopping destination initially. Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and so on. That also includes many at the ground floor of rock’n’roll…Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley…all the stuff that British and American rock bands appropriated/ripped off.

There are others, like Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Elmore James, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, even earlier performers on the cusp of electricity like Big Boy Crudup. You should certainly work backwards into pre-war acoustic blues, and that’s a whole different realm, however the unavoidable figure would be Robert Johnson, with Charlie Patton before him.

As for what to play, just listen to riffs, basslines (whenever present)and chord changes. Walking technique is important. Try playing along with that. Just the riff from Wolf’s “Killing Floor” can be heard in countless songs.

There’s more ‘modern’(in that context) material to listen to, BB King, Johnny Guitar Watson, T-Bone Walker, and Ray Charles for example, that had a horn/swing flavor; Charles in particular would introduce you to ‘gospel changes’ injected into his bluesy material. Albert King and Freddie King drifted into 60’s soul music motifs.
Then there’s the entirety of New Orleans music…Prof. Longhair, Toussaint, and the Neville family.

You don’t have to immerse yourself in it all, just be conversant.

 

[bass12]

1. Learn some theory (there are plenty of resources for this but I always recommend the book “Edly’s Music Theory For Practical People” for folks getting started).

2. Practice reading (Jeff Berlin’s reading method - available as a PDF file - is great). Reading isn’t just about being able to read and write (which in and of itself is invaluable): it will help solidify your concept of music/time and it is probably the most effective way to learn your fretboard.

3. Start exploring some jazz. This is one of the best ways to apply the theory you’re learning. Begin with a simple twelve bar blues and then expand that to a “jazz blues” with a vi-ii-V turnaround. Get the iReal Pro app to show you changes and accompanying scales/chord tones, and to provide backing tracks for you to play along to.

 

[bass12]

What foundational knowledge would I need to participate in a blues jam as a bassist? I know the blues scale but that’s about it. Completely unfamiliar with the musician side of the genre. I’ve heard plenty of blues growing up but I’ve never really explored if musically.

Learn the forms and possible variations. The most common form will be the “standard” twelve bar blues. The most common variation of this will be the same form but with a “quick IV” or “quick change” (which means that the I chord at the beginning will play for only one bar before going to the IV (instead of playing four bars before the change).

It’s also important to be aware of likely turnarounds and endings. There are also some standard box patterns that will get you through a lot of blues and that don’t require walking.

If you want to start checking out blues jams the best thing to do would be to find some standard blues set lists and begin learning some of those songs. It’s also a good idea to attend a jam before actually playing in order to get a sense of what material is being played. It wouldn’t hurt to ask someone in the house band what songs you should learn if you want to participate in the jam.

 

[bass12]

As Michedelic said, don’t limit yourself to metal. As you might already know, a lot of the best metal players have taken inspiration from all kinds of non-metal styles. Robert Trujillo is a great example. Part of what makes him such a cool bassist is that he’s checked out a lot of different music from outside the metal sphere.

 

[ryco]

Check out this book; The Improvisors Bass Method by Chuck Sher! Good for basic theory knowledge, total fretboard familiarity with diagrams, and will teach you how to read standard notation - no tab, but some suggested fingerings laid out. Also a lot of great creative musical ideas to go along with exercises. Go slow and have fun!

https://www.shermusic.com/0961470100.php

 

[Polfuste]

A good next step is to lean to transcribe songs by ear. Translating what you hear or what’s in your head to finger movements is one of the most important skills you can learn. Start with simple songs where the bass is clearly audible.

And you can also transcrire other melodic part than basslines. Take a Melody you love, transcribe it and write your own tab. Playing melodies or solos will help you to increase your musical vocabulary out of classic bass lines and gimmicks. Don't try a solo from Kirk, but the James solo from "nothing else " can a fun exercise. And of course: transcribe other music than Metallica and métal songs to open to other ways of playing.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Learn some basic theory and chord construction principles. These will take you a long way to being able to compose your own music. And you can learn them from these lessons . . .

Music Theory course work will certainly expand your horizons.

Secondly studying and playing a broader palette of music genres will help. The app Chordfy is a great for doing this. There is a 500k+ library to belay along with. Oh, it’s cheap.