I'd tell anyone, if you wanna improve more rapidly, learn to READ and do it every day. Why? Because it will teach you to learn your neck and will force you to play things that are not yet in your musical vocabulary. It improves technique and musical ideas. It's tedious and sometimes I hate it but there is no denying it works. Most of the Best bassists can read.
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How long does it take to get good?
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
It's different for everybody. When I started playing at 13/14 around 1973, I was at it many hours daily. In a years time, apparently, I was ready to play in a band due to the calls I began receiving out of the blue. Sports got in the way and I didn't play in a band again until the mid 90's. I still played my bass at home along with records/Cassettes/CD's.
I got my first bass for Christmas 40 years ago; I could joke and say "I'll answer that once I've gotten good..."
But I recognize that I'm a solid bassist - certainly not a virtuoso, but better than average.
"Getting good" is a tough question, though...
Realistically, I achieved "peak goodness" last summer.
That moment was the point where I had enough musical knowledge to not make an @$$ of myself, but before my hand injuries significantly slowed me down.
But I recognize that I'm a solid bassist - certainly not a virtuoso, but better than average.
"Getting good" is a tough question, though...
Realistically, I achieved "peak goodness" last summer.
That moment was the point where I had enough musical knowledge to not make an @$$ of myself, but before my hand injuries significantly slowed me down.
After a recent gig my girlfriend of many, many, many...many (over 30) years said "I never knew you played so well!" I was flattered and insulted.
What is "good?" It's a matter
of degrees. Is "good" good enough? Can you learn and play a complicated arrangement? How's your timing?
"Good" means different things to different players.
We are always learning new things. My answer to "how long" is a lifetime!
What is "good?" It's a matter
of degrees. Is "good" good enough? Can you learn and play a complicated arrangement? How's your timing?
"Good" means different things to different players.
We are always learning new things. My answer to "how long" is a lifetime!
It really depends on the individual. Some people have more natural talent than others and some people are faster learners and have faster recall than others. Then there's the amount of quality work you put in (because it's easy to waste time working on the "wrong" things). When you compare yourself to the exceptions (e.g., Marcus Miller) it's easy to get discouraged if you don't make progress as quickly as they have. I think the key thing to keep in mind is that if you put in the work it's virtually impossible for progress to not occur. Just make sure your expectations aren't completely out of line with reality.
I feel like my bass playing and musical ear developed greatly around year 6 of playing. This is in addition to multiple years in musical theory classes and classical training.
IME there is no arrival, there is only the journey. You can always get better. Either you're on the path or you're not. Sounds like you're on the path!
That last paragraph sums it up for me. When I think of "good" players, THAT, more than anything else, is what comes to mind. This is a big part of the reason that the kinds of videos that make the rounds on social media typically do nothing for me.
“Good enough” probably in 2-4 years, assuming that you are actively practicing. “Pretty good” in about five. “Really good” in about ten assuming that you are actively playing in a band and gigging frequently. A good instructor will change the slope of the line to get you closer to the intermediate goals, but you need to put in the time to get there. IMHO, of course.
I find that I do better with achieving things if I make a physical list - written, not on the phone, at the beginning of the work day or at the beginning of a practice session. Write down 3-4 things that I want to accomplish and give them check boxes. At the end, summarize how it went, and what could have been improved.
I find that I do better with achieving things if I make a physical list - written, not on the phone, at the beginning of the work day or at the beginning of a practice session. Write down 3-4 things that I want to accomplish and give them check boxes. At the end, summarize how it went, and what could have been improved.
2 years = Before you can even be called a Beginner
4 years = Intermediate - capable of U-tube karaoke bass - understands the rest (but can't do it yet)
6 years = Advanced - capable of playing anything you wanna - assuming its not too hard
8 years + you can play - capable of just picking up a bass and having your way with it.
4 years = Intermediate - capable of U-tube karaoke bass - understands the rest (but can't do it yet)
6 years = Advanced - capable of playing anything you wanna - assuming its not too hard
8 years + you can play - capable of just picking up a bass and having your way with it.
Good = n + 1
n being the amount of time I have already invested
n being the amount of time I have already invested
My answer would be: However long it takes. I've been playing over 50 years and I'm still not good.
I've been reading Atomic Habits, and I've found some of the concepts to be inspiring in terms of improving at bass.
My take on the book:
Goals are cheap. Anyone can proclaim an admirable goal and then lay back down on the couch.
People that achieve admirable goals have SYSTEMS. Systems are the well thought-out routines that are executed with uncompromising consistency. The basketball coach who wins a championship did so because of the practice system that her players were drilled in day after day, possibly for years.
The system is what gets you there, but it gets you there via tiny, incremental improvements that compound massively over time. With bass, put together a practice routine, perhaps with the help of a teacher, and spend an hour or two a day amassing your tiny improvements in critical, usually fundamental areas. You will become a very good bass player.
Yes like many of these books there's some repackaging of common sense here, but I do find the "atomic" part to be interesting. I spend about 10 minutes a day drilling on sight reading, key signatures, and ear training via various apps. I spend another 15 or so working on the notes on the fretboard, as well as the major and major pentatonic patterns up and down the fretboard. This little system was put together via Joe Hubbard's fundamentals course. I went back to lesson 1 and took note of all the cr** I had glossed over, thinking I knew it even though I totally didn't and dropped it into a daily routine.
Executing this consistently, almost every day, and more out of habit than in in pursuit of some far off goal has had an impact. It's super fundamental material, but it seems like being absolutely great at fundamentals is a common trait of anyone who's good at anything. And again...it's atomic...very small, but very consistent chunks of effort that are easy to turn into habits.
One other point and I'll end my novel: Action vs. Motion.
Motion is preparation, planning, and learning (e.g., shopping for basses, cruising TB forums, spending a month trying to find the perfect bass course etc), creating an illusion of progress, while Action is the concrete behavior that produces results (e.g., actually practicing stuff you're not great at).
Avoid motion, it's insidious. (Trust me I'm a motion master lol)
My take on the book:
Goals are cheap. Anyone can proclaim an admirable goal and then lay back down on the couch.
People that achieve admirable goals have SYSTEMS. Systems are the well thought-out routines that are executed with uncompromising consistency. The basketball coach who wins a championship did so because of the practice system that her players were drilled in day after day, possibly for years.
The system is what gets you there, but it gets you there via tiny, incremental improvements that compound massively over time. With bass, put together a practice routine, perhaps with the help of a teacher, and spend an hour or two a day amassing your tiny improvements in critical, usually fundamental areas. You will become a very good bass player.
Yes like many of these books there's some repackaging of common sense here, but I do find the "atomic" part to be interesting. I spend about 10 minutes a day drilling on sight reading, key signatures, and ear training via various apps. I spend another 15 or so working on the notes on the fretboard, as well as the major and major pentatonic patterns up and down the fretboard. This little system was put together via Joe Hubbard's fundamentals course. I went back to lesson 1 and took note of all the cr** I had glossed over, thinking I knew it even though I totally didn't and dropped it into a daily routine.
Executing this consistently, almost every day, and more out of habit than in in pursuit of some far off goal has had an impact. It's super fundamental material, but it seems like being absolutely great at fundamentals is a common trait of anyone who's good at anything. And again...it's atomic...very small, but very consistent chunks of effort that are easy to turn into habits.
One other point and I'll end my novel: Action vs. Motion.
Motion is preparation, planning, and learning (e.g., shopping for basses, cruising TB forums, spending a month trying to find the perfect bass course etc), creating an illusion of progress, while Action is the concrete behavior that produces results (e.g., actually practicing stuff you're not great at).
Avoid motion, it's insidious. (Trust me I'm a motion master lol)
Once it dawned on me that comparing myself to all the prodigies I'd hear on my favorite recordings was the same as hoping my local Junior College football team was going to beat the KC Chiefs or the Rams, I was at peace with myself.
And 'good' is very context dependent. Was I sufficient for the gigs I played? Yes.
And that, was 'good enough'.
I seemed to get better in sync with me slowly easing off beating myself up irrationally, which was a different, dark, blaming emotional process than honestly exploring ways I could improve or bad habits to lose from an intellectual standpoint. Otherwise, you're eternally beating the dog that he'll NEVER be good enough, or even worth a damn. Deadly.
And 'good' is very context dependent. Was I sufficient for the gigs I played? Yes.
And that, was 'good enough'.
I seemed to get better in sync with me slowly easing off beating myself up irrationally, which was a different, dark, blaming emotional process than honestly exploring ways I could improve or bad habits to lose from an intellectual standpoint. Otherwise, you're eternally beating the dog that he'll NEVER be good enough, or even worth a damn. Deadly.
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,068
- 46,006
- Disclosures
- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
As long as it takes to find other musicians you make sound better. That’s my definition of “good”, at least. And for myself, that’s mostly process based, only having a little to do with goals. 
Don’t try to compare yourself to others. EVERYONE learns at a different pace, and in different ways. To get “good” you have to find out what works for you, then do a lot of that.
For example, I am also a guitar player and I used to get very frustrated that I had a difficult time learning things note for note. BUT, I was always pretty decent at improvising. So I leaned into that strength, and it served me very well when I used to gig,,,especially for subbing. Because, I could just learn key signature parts of songs, then “fake” the rest. When I started playing bass, then drums, I took that same approach. And I was able to regularly gig on all of those instruments for years.
My point is this….some people learn very well with books (not me), others by learning their favorite songs by ear (not me either, though I still try and am better than I used to be), and still others in some different way. Find out what works for you, and take that as far as you can. You should still try learning different ways too, but put most of your effort into your strengths and you will definitely progress faster than you think you can.
There’s a “rule” in life called the 80/20 rule, and it really seems to be true with most things. Basically it’s that the first 20% of effort that you put in, will give you 80% of the results/skill. So, if you find your strengths and put in a little effort, you’ll achieve a lot of results.
That being said, you will have to work on weak areas, but if you can modify the way that you do that to incorporate your strengths, you’ll have a much easier time.
Yes, I agree with this. I save my self loathing for the middle of the night, when I lay awake reviewing all my life's mistakes, and try not to apply it to my bass playing. I am so much better now than I was in my younger days, mostly due to the lesson material available now online, plus the innumerable number of hours more available practice time (i.e., retired with no kids). I figure as long as I enjoy what is coming out of my fingers I am "good" though I realize I will never be "great." I just try to be better each time I pick up the bass, or at least not worse.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
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- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
Depends on many factors. If you put the time in, obsessively, you can get pretty good, pretty quick. I got my first bass when I was 12, and was playing in a band with guys 3-4 years older than me by the time I was 15, doing 2-3 sets a night. But music was an obsession. Didn’t really care about much else (same as today). So just go all in, freaking head first.
I wrote my goals. I will
Keep them to myself and get to work. Thanks for the feedback.
Keep them to myself and get to work. Thanks for the feedback.
It will take as long as it takes. The joy is in the journey.
