I need some serious help

[madbass6]

I apologize in advanced for this post, please don't bother reading if you don't like complainers.

Hi everyone. I am here asking for help. I have been trying to "play" bass since 2010. My partner plays guitar and we were supposed to have a band together but I just can't do it. For the life of me I cannot learn this instrument and it's making me feel like there's something wrong with me. I don't know one note. I've watched numerous youtube videos and explanations of why notes and scales and tabs and stuff are great and important, but it just makes no sense. None. Not an ounce. It's like I have dyslexia of music.

I can't play one song. All I want to do is play along and I can't. It's the most discouraging thing and I end up throwing the thing on the ground and not picking it up for another month. I end up hating it. I can't hit a single matching note and when I think I do, apparently it's still wrong. I don't want to learn by playing to songs. I need to come up with original stuff that goes with the songs that my partner had already written.

So, how does a completely inept backwards person learn how to play the bass to existing songs? How do I even know if it goes? How do I even like playing the bass anymore if I haven't been able to come up with anything in 7 years? God. It is just the worst.

Maybe you chosed the wrong instrument! You'll probably have better luck with maracas! go for it!!

 

[TinIndian]

Mel Bay has got to be the worst thing ever

Maybe try drums. Fire the bass player

Seriously though if the plan is to play with your partner he should be playing with you and showing you stuff. Really really really simple stuff to start. Like G all day long

Oh come on! Mel wasn't THAT bad! LOL!

Point is, there are tons of resources available now if you look. Heck just listening to music is huge! Look up isolated bass tracks on YouTube to different songs. You can learn so much about what is going on just by giving those a listen.

 

[DD Gunz]

Bass is an instrument not unlike any other in that it takes time, dedication, commitment, and patience to learn. More than the aforementioned, it takes an unwaiverable interest and desire.

I have never once taken a lesson or been shown anything. I learned 25 years ago prior to the internet and YouTube. Nowdays, there is help at a click of a button. The answers to playing all your favorite songs are at your fingertips.

I recommend learning a song you are familiar with and then learning scales to exercise your fingers. IMO it goes a long way in learning the fretboard and making you stronger.

If playing an instrument was easy, everyone would do it. Get past that awkward stage and it will all fall into place.

Welcome to Talkbass!

 

[lz4005]

If you literally can't match one note or play 5 seconds of a single song after 7 years of trying you need a different hobby. I'm sure there are many things in life you're awesome at doing. Playing bass isn't one of them.

 

[DD Gunz]

The great thing about playing the bass, is that a lot of the time, it's completely appropriate to strike one note and hold it for four Beats before hitting the next note, and then holding it for four Beats! My advice probably doesn't add up to much, but for what it's worth , I would get a metronome and maybe just play a pattern to the metronome, repetitively of G ,C , & D, holding each note four four beats, to train your fingers and your mind to think in that rhythmic and harmonic way. Trust me man, anyone can learn to play the bass, it's mostly just played one note at a time! Don't get too frustrated, just try to master playing one note at a time consistently to a beat and build up slowly from there.

The same can be said for any stringed instrument. Guitar is more akin to holding chords. Either way it's possible. I don't advocate the bass as being a simlistic instrument and that's not what drew me to it. It was the energy and "feel." Hard to explain as I play guitar as well. Guitar does not give me the same satisfaction as playing bass. There is nothing like holding down the low end and feeling the stage rumble under your feet.

As always, your results may vary and you know what they say about opinions.

 

[Nickweissmusic]

Start easy. Undone (the sweater song) by Weezer is quite possibly the easiest famous bass song on the planet. Wait, With or Without You by U2 is even easier. Stand By Me is a little harder physically, but it's the same pattern the whole song. Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix can be simplified to 5 repeated notes the whole song. There are many more I'm forgetting at the moment.

It's hard for a lot of people to hold down their own part with another player at first, so in those cases I always have students play along with famous recordings. Did you know you can slow down music on YouTube? Click the little gear in the lower right (desktop only).

If you let us know what style of music you are looking to play, maybe we can come up with more very simple songs to get you started.

 

[5544]

First problem I see you are having is you are already comparing yourself to other people.
Second problem I see is you are asking other people for advice.
Now that is out of the way...

1) Can you name the parts of your instrument? If NO - LEARN IT. If YES - REVIEW IT then move to the next item in the list.
2) Can you name all the open strings on your instrument? If NO - LEARN IT. If YES - REVIEW IT then move to the next item in the list.
3) Can you name all the open strings on your instrument in random order when someone wakes you up in the middle of the night with a gun to your head? If NO - LEARN IT. If YES - REVIEW IT then move to the next item in the list.
4) Can you name all the notes on the fretboard? If NO - LEARN IT. If YES - REVIEW IT then move to the next item in the list.
Can you name all the notes on the fretboard in random order when someone wakes you up in the middle of the night with a gun to your head? If NO - LEARN IT. If YES - REVIEW IT then move to the next item in the list.

I could go on and on but the point is you need to learn to build a solid foundation before you start decorating the attic.

Stop looking for things that other people are able to do and work on things you are not able to do.

 

[Fabio_MIJ]

I can't throw a football.

I don't know why, maybe a bad habit I got into as a kid? Was told I throw from my elbow and I need to throw from my shoulder. Well meaning people spent a lot of time showing me how. I practiced. I still can't throw a football half the distance of your average 12 year old girl. I'd like to be able to throw a football, but I have some sort of mental block, and for some reason I just don't have the motivation to really get it down. This is a true story.

I play a kickass bass.

I quit trying to play football.

Your story may let one conclude with an "Ok, so it is better to focus on what we are naturally talented for", that is the principle of some alternative education philosophy (that I like, as opposed to the standard school way of teaching that aims at filling the "holes" in all subjects). At the same time, I found myself dissenting a bit from this way of "living", I don't believe in the equation "what you like" = "what you are good at", unfortunately I have proved it on my skin. I am more than good in doing my job (a "dream" job for some people), but it does not make me passionate about it. I am passionate about music, but I am not very good at it, I struggle a lot, still being passionate about it. So... I will go on trying kicking the ball.

 

[Stumbo]

. I have a hard time paying attention to, well, anything really.

+1 That may be the first clue as to why nothing sticks.

Can you sing? Can your remember lyrics and melodies?

Have you been tested for ADD?

Are you in school? How's your grades?

Gotta improve your attention span/memory to succeed in life in general.

Good luck!

 

[Slevage]

Get a teacher. Ditch the tab. Learn to play the instrument before you learn songs.


A good teacher that uses a "method" will sort out your issues.
Standard notation will help you to understand the musical part of the bass.

 

[Oddly]

Hi, Nope, and welcome to TB.

There's some good advice (and some negative stuff) above but I think all you really need to get started here is to just learn the notes of the fretboard.

Once you know the notes...and heck, it doesn't even need to be all of them to get started...ignore anything beyond the 12th fret for now...if that's too much even just learn the notes on the E and A string.
Have your partner write out the songs and what chords he's playing over the lyrics.
Just play the root note for that chord.
That at least will get you started.
Good Luck!

Oh, and if he keeps yelling at you, another lesser-known function of a bass guitar is that when reversed and swung like a baseball bat, it ends arguments pretty quickly.

 

[Dana R Gregory]

You really need face to face lessons. I can appreciate that you are on a limited budget so maybe lessons every other week might work to get you started. You also need to learn proper ergonomics to prevent corpal tunnel syndrome down the road and an instructor can teach you this. You might be using the wrong size bass. Perhaps a short scale would be more suitable for your smaller hands. Again, an instructor can help with this. You also need patience. It takes time to get your fingers to stretch and to build up callouses on both hands. Self taught is fine if you know the basics. If you don't then it's the blind leading the blind and you'll get nowhere. Like the other posters have said, start with the root note and just pound out a beat. Learn the notes on the fret board, especially the first 7 frets. Again, go to an instructor. Good luck.

 

[Ewo]

Welcome to TB!

If it's frustrating you so much that you don't want to pick up the instrument, sounds like a half-dozen lessons with a good teacher would be a smart move. Just let the teacher get you off on the good foot (James Brown reference, there...), and you'll be in a better position to cop tunes off the recordings and have fun doing it.

My Jack Handy _Deep Thoughts_ (Saturday Night Live reference, there) for ya:

Playing music is both so simple you can start having fun quickly, and so deep that few people will master it in a lifetime. The main thing is to be patient with yourself, and to appreciate what you've been able to do with it, each step along the path.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Go to music store.

Buy Intro to Bass book.

Study it. 30 min every night.

Finish it.

Ignore your partner.

If that fails, quit for good.

 

[Nev375]

You are not a bass player and that's probably a good thing. Someone might respect you someday.

 

[Pbassmanca]

Hi, Nope, and welcome to TB.

"Oh, and if he keeps yelling at you, another lesser-known function of a bass guitar is that when reversed and swung like a baseball bat, it ends arguments pretty quickly."

A lot of people don't realize that in fact the Leo Fender was hired by the United States government in the late forties to develop the Fender precision bass for this exact reason. It proved to be such an excellent melee weapon, that the U.S Government paid him handsomely for its developement in case of nuclear war and civilization was wiped out ; U.S. soldiers would still have a weapon to slay the Soviet communist hordes with......

 

[bolophonic]

1. You have to practice a LOT before you improve. Some people even more than others.

2. It sounds like your jam sessions are extremely counterproductive.

3. Not everyone excels by the same methods. I didn't apply any theory to my playing for years. Instead, I cultivated a love for the instrument by freely exploring it by ear and feel.

4. All of us who have made achievements on bass guitar have also applied our efforts into other hobbies over the years that never panned out. I know that I spent years dabbling in web design before realizing that I had zero passion for it. Team sports were nothing but a source of frustration. Eventually I found the avenues that made me happy and not all of them were what I anticipated.

 

[thewildest]

For what I gather, when you "stop playing to see where to go next" is a. Asic understanding of the instrument; if you can follow the son for a few minutes that may take rythm issues out of the equation (not having sense of rythm is a toigh one to overcome)

I second the need for formal coaching with a teacher.

Beyond that, I feel you may have a problem with the process you use to study, I dont think this is an attention disorder as if it was you wouldn't have posted your note here. A few thoughts:

• Play whatever you want to play. Once you hit a moment of insecurity, isolate the section and play it 10 times until you got it. Start again from the beginning.
• Know where the notes in your bass are. If you hit a tough song, you can always write the chords/notes and read them as you play to avoid being stuck. Most players do that
• Learn scales and pentatonics, to gain dexterity with the instrument.
• Set an objective to get this done within 3 months. Focus.

I would absolutely not discourage you for playing the bass, it is perhaps the most rewarding experience. What is accomplished through dedication and effort is what creates the sense of accomplishment. One day you will look back at this and feel pretty proud. This whole suggestion applies to everything in life.

I hope this helps

 

[JGbassman]

You learned to walk, and you learned to talk, at a time you couldn't even express your frustrations and downfalls. All you had was desire to achieve the goal you wanted. And you did it.

Point being, those two tasks are way more complex, and you practiced more than a month. You did it every day, every moment until you unlocked the mysteries behind them. Learning anything is much the same principal, with the difference being there are thousands of helper tools to get you going on bass.

Remember we all start at the same point. It's what you do from there is what decides your mastery of the instrument. When I was a kid, there wasn't a home computer or smart phones, and my bass was my "figit spinner". Most musicians are the same way, and always have to keep their hands busy with something (like typing on an iPad, lol) at 15, I would lock myself away in a bedroom and play for 6-8 hours at a time, perfecting my craft, and getting that amazing lick on yyz down as an example. It didn't start that way, it started with lessons.

Invest in six months of lessons. This will help you with your questions, and get the basic building blocks of playing down. If fact if you honestly do this, apply yourself and adhere to the lesson goals, and practice at least three days a week, I guarantee in six months you will be a thousand times better, and ready to start learning on your own. That's only three hours a week for practice, and another hour regarding the lesson. What a huge return on your investment!

Video yourself playing (or trying) a song or passage you want to learn. After the lessons, try it again, and video tape it. Then watch the first. I will guarantee you will have progressed to the point you will not only sound good, but can play the song.

So six months from now, you can either have figured out the basics of playing the bass, and are moving on to playing with your partner, or you will be in the same spot as you are now, and frustrated.

The choice is yours, go seize the moment.

We will be eagerly anticipating your success story!

 

[LoveThatBass]

The great thing about playing the bass, is that a lot of the time, it's completely appropriate to strike one note and hold it for four Beats before hitting the next note, and then holding it for four Beats! My advice probably doesn't add up to much, but for what it's worth , I would get a metronome and maybe just play a pattern to the metronome, repetitively of G ,C , & D, holding each note four four beats, to train your fingers and your mind to think in that rhythmic and harmonic way. Trust me man, anyone can learn to play the bass, it's mostly just played one note at a time! Don't get too frustrated, just try to master playing one note at a time consistently to a beat and build up slowly from there.

Try this. I play be ear not sheet music. It is hard to keep my mind from being bored trying to read music sheets, tabs, and Learning a lot of music theory so what I did was start with the E string. just remember the note locations on that string to start. Now put your index finger on a note "say G", now skip the next string (A string) and on the D string put your ring finger 2 frets forward of the fret you are depressing on the E string to make a G note. Where your ring finger sits on the D string will be the same not G (just higher G on the scale). Then learn the notes on the A string and do the same using the G string. Also just start a open E on the E strings and learn the scale of the first 3 frets on E, A, D, and G strings. I then Listen to the song and learn the note pattern that sounds the same as the song. Some are easy and some not so easy but if you sit and play until you get it down firmly. I play to songs on ITunes on the computer. After a while it will be second nature and you will find in many cases there will be some variation of the stuff you learned. Hope this helps. BTW: I hate tabs and find them tedious.