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I need some serious help

#61
I think an underrated aspect of this whole thing is how the "partner" is apparently treating OP. I agree with all the comments so far about lessons, and studying notes/theory, and all that basic "learning an instrument" stuff. However, if your primary playing partner is seemingly compounding the issue of your inability to play bass whatsoever, I'd have a serious think-session about the end goal of this project and what you are getting out of it. Then have a discussion with Partner about your frustrations and try to constructively share your thoughts on how you feel unable to keep up and that you may need to work a little on your personal skill level before diving back into writing bass parts for original music.

Also keep in mind that I am pretty sure most of us on here didn't first learn the bass guitar by writing for new, original material before even having a handle on our respective playing abilities. I taught myself bass by reading tips on how to correctly place my hands on the frets/strings and then learning as many songs on bass as I could. I created an iTunes playlist of about 50 songs and then spent my free time learning and playing along with each one. This also eventually taught me how to dial in tones as I tried to match the recordings after awhile.

We are all here to help you get to where you want to go with your bass guitar.

Cheers :)
 
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#62
i've had students that just can't get their heads wrapped around things ... as a teacher , i feel it's my job to figure out how to explain things in a variety of ways ... i see when that ' light ' comes on and they get it ...

i understand , you just can't ' jump in and play along ' ...

gotta learn the notes ... and learn timing/rhythm ... they work together .!

i really think it boils down to fact that some folks have better ' pattern recognition ' than others .. !!!

a lot of players aren't good teachers ... it take patience , as does learning .. ! which takes lots of practice and repetition .. !

also ... Do Not practice Mistakes .. ! or bad habits ... that only makes things harder/worse .. !
 
#63
Turn the radio on and follow whatever song is playing. I'd start with the Country & Western format then do some Top 40, R&R and eventually tune into some Jazz stations. At first you won't have a clue but if you try hard enough, you'll have fun which is the first requisite to be successful in music.
 
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#65
John Conte said:
Turn the radio on and follow whatever song is playing. I'd start with the Country & Western format then do some Top 40, R&R and eventually tune into some Jazz stations. At first you won't have a clue but if you try hard enough, you'll have fun which is the first requisite to be successful in music.
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I kinda agree with this theory...I've been playing 37 years and there is stuff I struggle with, we all cant be good at everything, so sometimes I give the wife the iPod and she just hits whatever floats her boat at the moment and I go at it, sometimes it results in learning a new tune, sometimes it results in me just ripping it up, regardless I always learn a little something, and its a lot of fun, which, IMHO, is what should be the primary reason/driver/outcome when playing...having fun.
Rock on!
 
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#67
J-Bassomatic said:
So THAT'S why they're heavy!:wideyed:
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Actually, most of the weight issues came from the depleted uranium hardware that Leo used on the early models. Being the businessman that he was, he couldn't turn down the material when he got such a good price on the bulk lot of it. I think it was the "B. Scheissenman" company that fabricated the first 2 or 3 lots for him. Can you imagine a 2 and a half pound bent plate bridge? I tried ordering one but they won't ship to Canada because apparently "they're not RoHS compliant"...... (Rolls eyes..)
 
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#68
DavC said:
follow-up

those students who have the most troubles are usually the ones that refuse to learn/practice the most very basic boring stuff ... !! finger exercises , basic notes/rhythms ... boring , boring , boring ....

but very important .. !!
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Exactly! You can't just jump in and start playing. Must start with simplicity Grasshopper! Interval recognition is also key to knowing where the fingers are going to go next.

An early theory teacher I had taught us to remember different intervals by associating them with the first couple notes of famous songs (i.e. perfect 4th = Taps).
 
#70
Wfrance3 said:
Once you have been playing a while and look back at what you do know, what you don't know is barely frustrating.
..........
People say all you have to do is put 10,000 hours into something to be an expert.
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They've been trying for 7 years.

10,000 hours is a myth. It's based on a study of people who were in music school studying violin. By the time they graduated the people at the top of their class had practiced on average 10,000 hours. People lower in the class had practiced on average fewer hours.

Hours by themselves mean nothing. You can waste a lot of time and not learn anything, or you can learn a lot in a short amount of time.
 
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#71
I must comment, I envy all of you who Teach, and all of you who can be taught...I can do neither, I am a "hear it and play it" guy, which has its own merits as does the teach/learn group...but I deem myself "unteachable" as when I look at notes on a sheet, they swim around my head and it might as well be Chinese algebra because I cant understand that either. Some folks just are unteachable for whatever reasons, here I am ;-) I guess the grass is always greener on the other side...my brother in law is a life long high school music teacher and has to have played over 3000 gigs that I know of, he can slap the bass like it owes him money, me, I cant slap to save my life, my talents are in finger speed and melodic playing...I want half the slap skill he has, he wants half the speed I have...I guess its just human nature.
 
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#72
A lot to follow here, but I have to ask the OP. Do you really want to play the bass for you, or just to fit in with your partner? It might not be the instrument for you, if an instrument is for you at all.

I knew I wanted to play bass because of all the parts I would hear in the music, it really excited me. Even if I played a couple notes that kinda sorta matched up with the song, I'd get all giddy. Even the feel and tones of pulling the strings in different ways made me smile. I'd go out of my way to watch people play. Before I had a bass I made something out of an erector set and rubber bands. Do you feel this way, or are you doing this because you feel you have to live up to a promise from 7 years ago?

If bass doesn't seem for you, then IMO it's time to face the music (no pun intended) and stop being miserable. Do something you actually enjoy, your partner should understand being with you for this long.

If it is for you, I'd practice scales and just playing in general, but NOT along with music. Starting out you'll never keep up, and you'll get discouraged. Learn a song till you've really got it, then try playing along. You'll do it for a bit and probably lose it, but keep trying and you'll get farther each time. 25 years and I still do this.
 
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#73
https://www.talkbass.com/members/nope-1988.308993/ --- IMO: you need to stop the 'cycle of failure' you are experiencing. IMO: you could use a 'friendly' advocate to help you = a teacher. the cool thing about a teacher is: you don't need to know anything to start! another cool thing is: you don't have to go to lessons forever = you can quit lessons whenever you want ("i'm done for now...i'm out of money...i need to stop and let this 'soak in'....etc.)

sounds like you are so frustrated (from 'failing' at your quest) that you may be looking for more convincing reasons why you should just chuck the whole thing. if you really want to make some progress on your instrument: get a teacher! a teacher will help you sort out your issues, obstacles, resistances, yada yada. sign up for 2, 3, or 4 lessons, evaluate, and go from there. take the pressure off = do something realistic!

good luck on your quest...it really can be fun! :thumbsup:
 
#74
this is a short and partial version of how I learned...

...start with Santana's Samba Pa Ti.......beautiful relaxing song with a nice slow bass part for the 1st 2 minutes...all whole notes...play it just loud enough that you can hear your bass a bit louder than the song's bass but can hear both clearly...it will hypnotize you into feeling the warmth and power of the bass
here is the tab [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

you can move on to the intro of Dazed and Confused (just the opening main riff)... nice and slow and bluesy ..the 1st time I played this the hairs on my arm stood up as I had the fun of creating on my bass a song that was etched in my brain so I could really feel what I was doing
Dazed And Confused

once you have been hooked and can play those ..move to the beginning of Comfortably Numb... a bit faster but still powerful

then find 3 more songs you like and at a pace you will be able to play and enjoy

learning note names...starting with the E string...I learned that the dotted frets 3 5 & 7 spells GAB or BAG going the other way, an easy word to use as a base point, like the home row on a keyboard, then at the 7th fret, for all strings spells BEAD another word you can easily remember ..play just those and spell out the names in a sing song voice..once you have them memorized, vary the tempo, play with the note length and have fun ...and you build from there
 
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#75
Great advice here... I have little to add but 1. ) GUT CHECK - make sure this is authentically you and that you arent reacting to what others expect of you . Thats a reciepe for failure but many cant see it clearly. 2.) If you're good on #1, you do need to hire a pro to help you work through the mental block you're dealing with and 3.) dont ever practice half-assed or you will never become more than a half-assed player - practice with diligence, or don't bother.

#1 is the key. I hate doing crap others want or "need" me to do, whereas if its my choice and authentically ME , I jump in both feet and swim or drown - eyes wide open. And love every effin minute of it.
 
#76
Attempting to write music before you can play music can be a daunting task. In a lot of ways it would be like me going to Mexico and trying to hold a 30 minute conversation in Spanish. I know about 4 words in Spanish, even if I tried to do it once a month for 7 years I'm pretty positive it would be a train wreck. Especially if I never tried to learn any additional words on my own.
I've been playing 20+ years here are the few nuggets I can share.
1. It's just as much about the learning and journey as it is the destination and results.
2. Just about anyone can play anything they set their mind to. But there's a lot of work that has to go into it that most aren't willing to put forth.
3. Patience and repetition go a long way.
4. You are only as capable as the instrument will allow you to be. Ie, if the intonation is bad, strings are old, tuning pegs suck and it was strung up improperly then notes will just not be in tune regardless of how much you want them to be.
 
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#78
I can't go reading 4 pages, so this will likely have been covered before. But what can I do, I want to help! ;)

You need to go back to basics. Lessons is the obvious answer, but you've got to be serious about it or you're wasting your time. You'll be given a practice plan, and you should expect to practice hours a week if you want to see strong progress.

If lessons aren't for you (I never cared for them) then get a book on the very basics of both music and bass guitar. Bass for Beginners kind of thing. Follow a lesson plan as laid out in the book, taking your time to learn each section as you go. There's no rush - after all you've had 7 years so far!

You will see rapid development if you apply yourself in the right fashion, and a little support from your partner would go a loooooong way too. You're clearly not happy playing together as it is, so get them to help you on the path to improving and hopefully it will become an enjoyable thing to share.

For now I'd forget about learning songs, or learning how to play along to songs. Get playing bass, all the boring technical stuff, and then when you start to feel comfortable with the instrument, then start to move into the fun stuff.
 
#80
Nope 1988 said:
I wasn't even expecting anyone to reply here but I was surely mistaken,you guys are awesome.
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Oh you are new here, aren't you? We respond to pretty much everything, even stuff we know nothing about. And the stuff we do know about we'll turn into a religion. ;)

Most folks here are relentlessly helpful and they're giving you great advice. The path to learning an instrument (and more importantly, playing music) is not the same for everyone. In your circumstances, I think you would benefit the most from in-person lessons. You don't need to do it for years; just a couple of months to kickstart it and see if it clicks.

Everyone is different. As you can see by wide-range of suggestions you're getting, people learned music & bass in a wide variety of ways. You just need to find the way that works for you. And if you find that nothing works for you, then at least you'll know that too.

Hang out here on Talkbass for a while. Read some threads, learn some stuff. The subject of how to master this instrument comes up all the time in one form or another. Perhaps you'll find a perspective that helps you.
 
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