How good am i as a beginner bassist

[sisyphus]

I have no idea about how good or bad i am, i just want to know if i am skilled or not by the pieces im able to play.
First 2 weeks, simple stuff like another one bites the dust and are you gonna be my girl.
At the 1 month mark i was able to play songs like hysteria and the trooper with a pretty good accuracy. In the second month i was able to play some megadeth songs like peace sells. I am in my third month now and i just played Orions bass solo.
Sorry if this is the wrong category to post this, im new.

 

[theduke1]

Hi
While I am not familiar with the most of what you are able to play, it’s most likely a very good start.
Are you rehearsing along with the recordings?
That is how I learn new scales. Scales are very important to learn, so practice them as well.
The true test of a bassist chops is how well you can play with others. Can you hold down the floor with the drummer, can you stay in time with the band? How easily can you fit with others say at a jam?
The more experience you gain with others the more skill you will achieve all the while work out new songs and working the scales.
Good luck on you journey
PS
The only thing that ever made me a better was practice
Duke

 

[Malcolm1935]

What are you using, ear, chord charts, fake chord or tab?

Five minutes with Google and these search words "chord, name of the song" gets me fake chord sheet music on just about any song I want.

Fake chord gives me the chord progression, lyrics and then if I sing along with the lyrics I'm where the rest of the band is within the song. Roots and fives get me asked back.

Works for thousands of good ole boys.

Try chords, Hotel California -- have fun.

 

[buldog5151bass]

1. It's not a contest.
2. Whether you can play well with others is more important.
3. I don't know how well you can play those parts.

Relax and keep playing.

 

[fearceol]

1. It's not a contest.
Relax and keep playing.

This ^.

OP...after three months of playing it is unlikely that you would be considered "skilled". As mentioned above, just keep on practicing and don't worry about progress or skill. Everyone learns at their own pace. There is no definitive point where a person becomes "skilled."

If you want to get an idea of where you are at, try recording yourself playing along to a song...or better still...record yourself playing with others.

Relax and enjoy the learning journey.

 

[WrapRough]

Well you may be skilled at playing those songs, and I would consider Hysteria a fairly tricky line, but playing songs does not a bassist make.

So what's your goal? To be a bassist or to be good at playing songs on bass?

I'd say you're doing just fine, and learning songs is a great way to start, but don't forget to focus on the fundamentals as you will regret not doing so down the line.

Enjoy the journey! We're all climbing the same mountain, some are just higher than others.

 

[mambo4]

2. Whether you can play well with others is more important.

the sooner you get used playing with others the better
at 3 months you should be able to learn a simple 12 bar blues
and be able to move it around to different keys
this alone will allow you to jam for hours with any competent musician.

were this not a plague year I would encourage this approach
But it may be wiser to find a blues station / spot-tube-ify playlist and jam along for the time being

 

[Gorn]

I can play plenty of difficult songs. That doesn’t mean I can play them in a way that anyone wants to hear. Record yourself and let us hear it.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

 

[sonojono]

Maybe posting a video of your playing would help better judge not only us but yourself if you keep track of your playing results. Which I recommend you should do for your own benefit.

Happy Bass playing!

 

[MTN.bass72]

I have no idea about how good or bad i am, i just want to know if i am skilled or not by the pieces im able to play.
First 2 weeks, simple stuff like another one bites the dust and are you gonna be my girl.
At the 1 month mark i was able to play songs like hysteria and the trooper with a pretty good accuracy. In the second month i was able to play some megadeth songs like peace sells. I am in my third month now and i just played Orions bass solo.
Sorry if this is the wrong category to post this, im new.

If you able to even halfway pull off The Trooper, at the two month mark, I'd say you're doing pretty dang good!

Keep at it! And remember to have fun. If it starts to feel like a chore, it's time to take bit of a break

 

[sawzalot]

Getting through the notes of a song doesn't necessarily determine if you're a good player. It is indeed potentially a good start. To share my own personal shortcomings, which might not be yours: as a new player, I was able to get through some really difficult tunes, but it wasn't till later that I realized my right-hand technique was really problematic, I had no consistency of tone, no groove, and no sense of how to best serve a song. You might be doing much better than I did at those things. I needed someone to actually see what I was and wasn't doing to get set in the right direction.

Getting outside comment on your playing is indeed a good thing to do, and a recording or video will really tell us what things you're doing well and what things need improvement.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

Been playing bass for well over 5 decades. Have huge experience with basses, amps, and sound equipment. Been on stages doing intro shows for many major artists, and recognized in my area as an experienced and top notch bassist. I say I'm still just learning and trying to fit in.

I can say, most important thing to be a good high quality bassist is humility and a good ear.

You say you've been playing only a few months. It would be more important to me to be practicing on fitting in with other musicians, than asking questions on one's ability. Just saying.

BTW welcome to T.B. and keep on enjoying what you are doing.

 

[dan1952]

Trying to compare your playing to anyone else's is really pretty pointless, in my opinion.
Can I play "Donna Lee" like Jaco? No, I don't hear bass that way. Have I been able to earn a living as a working bassist since I was 18 years old? (Not these days...) Yes. Do I try to gain facility on the bass? Yes, of course. When anyone asks me to evaluate their playing, their new song, their girlfriend's hairstyle, or anything else, I politely decline...

 

[Jeff Hughes]

I think you sound like you are making some good progress. Some of the students that took lessons at the music store I worked at would work on the same song for about three or four months, and it never got better, and the song wasn't that hard.

"Bites the dust" has a few rhythmic challenges in it. If you can play it in time, correctly, and cleanly with the recording, then that it pretty good. Ready to tour or do sessions? probably not yet. Haha

 

[beaglesandbass]

I have no idea about how good or bad i am, i just want to know if i am skilled or not by the pieces im able to play.
First 2 weeks, simple stuff like another one bites the dust and are you gonna be my girl.
At the 1 month mark i was able to play songs like hysteria and the trooper with a pretty good accuracy. In the second month i was able to play some megadeth songs like peace sells. I am in my third month now and i just played Orions bass solo.
Sorry if this is the wrong category to post this, im new.

A video of you playing will do far more than your own word, if you wish to be evaluated.

 

[bonin in the boneyard]

I'm a rock climber first and a bass player second. A great rock climber once said that The best climber in the world is the one having the most fun.

I don't climb as much as I would like anymore, but I play almost every day, and I've taken Alex's quote to heart.

And just like in climbing, one thing that will hugely increase your skill and enjoyment is playing with other people.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Without a video, really no way to gauge how well you're doing. But I will say that there is a typical point in any beginner's path of any pursuit where you think you know what you're doing. Then as you get a little more skilled you start to realize what you're doing wrong. This is frustrating because you went from doing great to now that wasn't quite as good as I thought. You just have to push through this phase and realize that learning to be self-critical is the only way to improve you're playing. Also, that never really ends. But the process of playing something wrong, realizing it was wrong and being able to adapt and do it right next time is what builds a collective knowledge base that will prevent other mistakes in the future. I'm not sure which is more important - knowing what to play or knowing what not to play. Good luck in the pursuit!

 

[smeet]

If you have never played a instrument and after 3 months you are Abe to do a good , clean, rhythmically accurate job of playing these songs, I would be very impressed.

if you can do them consistently with good groove, I’m really really impressed.

if you can play them with good dynamics and tone and fit in well with other musicians - call me in 6 months and you’ll be ready to give me lessons.

 

[BarfanyShart]

You seem to be progressing. If you are picking out these bass parts by ear from the recordings, then I would be pretty impressed by your natural talent for transcription. Keep doing what you are doing, and consider getting lessons if you are not already.

If your goal is to play with other people as soon as possible, then get yourself a metronome and work on playing the songs you have learned- from start to finish - away from the recordings with just the metronome. That's how you develop your natural sense of time, and really learn the songs to the level you need to so that you can jump in with a band. As you progress, you will want to learn more theory and work on composing your own bass lines, but it is a lifelong journey. Keep it up, I imagine almost everyone here started similarly to you.