As the title says. How long will it take to be able to play like this if an average person practices for about an hour each day?
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How long will it take to be able to play like this?
- Thread starter Julian Kim
- Start date
There are so many variables to that question. For one we all learn differently and some of us can never get to the levels others achieved. There are guys that have played everyday for thirty years and tried there hardest but they wont ever be able to play as good as John Entwistle was when he was 25. Thats why their isnt a ton of bass "gods" or professional athletes. There is no formal to X amount of hours equals X amount of skill. Slash said he practiced up to 12 hours a day from 14 to 22 years old when he recorded guitar for Appetite for Destruction .
I have played for 10 years and if I wanted to play that bass line I could learn all that, it may take me a few days of practicing a few hours each day but I could play it. That said could I write something that detailed? no I couldn't.
Those strings look super thing, light gauge?
I have played for 10 years and if I wanted to play that bass line I could learn all that, it may take me a few days of practicing a few hours each day but I could play it. That said could I write something that detailed? no I couldn't.
Those strings look super thing, light gauge?
How many years would it have taken you to reach the level required to play that piece?
I don't practice harmonics or hammer-on/tapping stuff but if you give me a few hours, a piccolo-ish bass and some reverb I could probably pull it off. It's not a typical bass type of thing going-on here, much more guitar or "stick" oriented I'd say.
I think you might be looking at it the wrong way. If you want to be able to play that piece then start working on it. Would you have a much easier time learning it after years of practicing? Sure, but you'd learn so much from forcing yourself to learn it right now.
Start by learning the chord progression. If you don't know how chords are constructed and how they relate to the key signature then make that part of your learning process.
Once you know the chord progression you can outline the chords with roots, double stops or chords & arpeggios as well as learning where the appropriate harmonics are since he begins the piece marking the chord changes with harmonics.
Once you understand those things you'll understand what he's doing in that piece.
If you want to learn the tapped passages you'll have to learn to tap which may also force you to learn to set up your bass with low action if you don't already know how.
I personally can't do the thumb & three finger picking that he does at the end do I'd have to learn to do it to play the piece but then I'd have another technique to draw from if I wanted.
I don't want to say that people shouldn't practice scales & modes or work on their sight reading or fingering technique - they should - but they should also focus intently on learning the type of music they want to play.
I ran through my scales, modes and arpeggios books every day for a year and it paid dividends but pushing myself to learn Teen Town and I Was Made To Love Her paid even more dividends in my early development as a bass player and musician.
So just dive in. And you tell US how long it took you to learn to play that piece. If you're dedicated I guarantee it will take less time than you think.
Good luck.
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Eh I dont know. I doubt many could tell you that. The first years I sucked, most everyone does. Then I had a span where my playing skills doubled every year, because I practiced hard and progressed quickly. Then I started screwing off on Talk bass, kidding. My playing the past few years has more or less leveled off, I don't notice extreme improvements as of lately, but I have went a different style. Also I started playing guitar 5 years ago and honestly I play guitar more then bass now, but I still practice either instrument 1 hour a day , plus 2 practices with my band on bass for 3 hours a week. I think the fact I play guitar would make me able to play that "bass" line easier then my bass playing experience, as some others noted its more like guitar then bass music wise.
Just practice you will get it. The first song I learned on guitar was the first 3 minutes of Stairway to Heaven, a very difficult first song but I already had played bass so I wasn't going to start with Mary Had a Little Lamb. If you practice seriously a minimum of 1 hour a day 6 months to a year from now you are going to notice a sizable improvement. Dont kid yourself and keep setting new goals with harder stuff to play and different techniques.
This question reminds me of a zen story:
A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it." The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years." Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?" The teacher thought for a moment, "20 years."
A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it." The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years." Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?" The teacher thought for a moment, "20 years."
I have to say i dont mid when people play bass more like a guitar but this didnt even SOUND like a bass. Might as well have done it on guitar. I think if i hadnt seen it i might have assumed this was on guitar. i do think this guy might have been learning the wrong instrument if h's gonna play it this way and mainly, make it sound like this...
Sounds great, very nice!
Looks like lots of techniques are taken from classical/flamenco guitar. If you showed that to a classically trained guitar player, he would not find that too difficult to play…..so a few months of good guitar lessons, and you could do this.
Looks like lots of techniques are taken from classical/flamenco guitar. If you showed that to a classically trained guitar player, he would not find that too difficult to play…..so a few months of good guitar lessons, and you could do this.
Asking "how long it takes" is asking the wrong question.
If anyone wants to play like this, start with lessons, learn music theory, advanced playing techniques and practice, practice, practice . But be aware that this guy sounds like he's using classical guitar playing skills so just being a "good" bass player might not be enough.
Anyway, you'll only get close if you want it enough to put in the work. Some will find it easy but others might never get there, but if you try hard enough and are focused enough you'll get as good as you can get.
If anyone wants to play like this, start with lessons, learn music theory, advanced playing techniques and practice, practice, practice . But be aware that this guy sounds like he's using classical guitar playing skills so just being a "good" bass player might not be enough.
Anyway, you'll only get close if you want it enough to put in the work. Some will find it easy but others might never get there, but if you try hard enough and are focused enough you'll get as good as you can get.
This reminds me of a factoid I learned studying at a language institute:
For a typical American, Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn. But if a person speaks Navaho, then Chinese is easy.
Bass players could try to learn something like this for months on their own and never get it. Someone with classical guitar training might be able to knock it out in an afternoon.
For a typical American, Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn. But if a person speaks Navaho, then Chinese is easy.
Bass players could try to learn something like this for months on their own and never get it. Someone with classical guitar training might be able to knock it out in an afternoon.
11.68 years on the nose...based on calculations entered into my flux capacitor...
There really is no solid answer to the question.
Every player progresses at different rates, if you and I practised for the same amount of time each day for the same length of time we would probably still be at different skill levels, at least in certain areas. Whether or not you have background knowledge with other instruments also plays a part especially playing something like this. I would argue this is very far from "traditional" bass style playing and therefore I'm sure many otherwise fantastic players might struggle to play something like this.
Every player progresses at different rates, if you and I practised for the same amount of time each day for the same length of time we would probably still be at different skill levels, at least in certain areas. Whether or not you have background knowledge with other instruments also plays a part especially playing something like this. I would argue this is very far from "traditional" bass style playing and therefore I'm sure many otherwise fantastic players might struggle to play something like this.
I'll answer the OP's question if the OP can answer this one: How long is a piece of string?
I would say that "an average person" will never play like that on one hour of practice a day. He/she may get close, but you also need talent and skills that not everyone can get regardless of practice.
But it does sound cool when you trip it out and blend a bit of Elvis in. I'd be happy to play cello to this.
There is not answer to this question, some people practically born playing like that, other people will be able to do it over the time while many other people will never be able to play like that no matter how much time they practice ( I am one of them 
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