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Learning bass is really difficult!!

#21
What Flabass said..Plateaus..What kraigo said..3 minutes/ radio.

I began around 1969; playing String bass in High School Symphony and Electric bass at home.

After initial "epiphanies"; when the light goes -on and you begin to join groups; learn from everyone you can; teachers, books, other musicians.

Listen to as much music from different genres; different eras. For instance: Rock has changed drastically since 1950's through today.

Learn enough music..music theory... at least to communicate with others; many books/ instructional dvds to choose from.

Sometimes I can go long periods of time without touching a bass, but those are times where you may be better served studying music.

Plateaus: Sometimes I remain in same place for years. I have a day job, marriage, responsibilites, so playing bass is only a part of my life, although it has been profitable in some years.

For last 15 years, I have used headphones and played along with radio, like kraigo said. Do the best you can; you get one shot; then that song is gone and next begins. Change stations to different genres. The more styles you can play; the more versatile you become. I play along with tapes and CD's as well. This is good for silent practice, so I disturb no one. This also a security measure. No one driving by knows that I have basses and amps..to possibly steal.

1972 Rickenbacker 4001 was my first "real" electric bass. I earned $2 /per hour saving $$ and living at home; still in my teens. A bass that should last you a lifetime.

Basses, amps, boxes, cables..so many choices as well as opinions. Take opinions into consideration and ultmately use your own ears fpr what is" best".

Best of luck and welcome to our world.
 
#22
The equation is this...

instrument + time = better proficiency. For an interesting read check out "This Is Your Brain On Music". It's about the neuroscience of music. It takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become truly proficient at anything. There's a few other interesting tidbits as well... I think he found it typically takes 3000 repetitions (can't remember if that's the exact number or not... may have been 30,000... anyhow, there's a number and the point is you just have to do it) before something starts to commit to muscle memory. Of course some progress faster than others and there are a number of variables that contribute to that (some of them will be out of your control) but, what you do with your time IS something you can control and that may be key to progressing faster.

I went to college for music (not for bass... piano) so I put in a lot of time practicing in those days and here's a few tidbits that I discovered through trial and error...

Time - When I started putting LOTS of time into practicing I might go for an hour droning on one particular thing. While that does meet the requirement for muscle memory I found it was a pretty ineffective way of approaching things. What helped me progress much better was to limit what I was practicing to 15 minutes. If I practice one particular thing for 15 minutes, then practice again for 15 minutes the next day, etc. for 4 days I'd be MILES ahead of where I would be if I practiced it in one day for an hour. Of course back then I was practicing in 4 to 6 hour blocks... this means I needed a variety of different things to work on. I suspect the key mechanism at play here is sleep. Sleep is when the brain sorts through everything you've taken in during the day and filters everything keeping that which is important and discarding that which is not.

Practice in your head and also practice playing air guitar (you don't have to actually pretend to be holding the bass, but do make the same finger movements while visualizing the fretboard). It may sound silly but this has been proven to be quite effective as it exercises the same neuropathways used when actually playing and thus strengthens them. An experiment in neuroplasticity was done where they had two groups of people, both of which had never played piano before. They all received a lesson. Group 1 was allowed to practice on pianos, group 2 was not but was instructed to visualize practicing. At the end of two weeks their progress was compared. Group 1 performed better initially but after 2 hours in front of a real piano, group 2 was playing just as well as group 1. So if you're somewhere without your bass it doesn't mean you can't still practice!

There's a thread running about best Apps for bass. There's a few ear training and sight reading apps that folks mentioned. I would recommend checking those out. If you have an iOS or Android based smart phone, that's another thing that can help you strengthen your chops when you're not physically in front of a bass.

Definitely get an instructor but keep in mind that the first person you go to might not be the best for you. If you don't feel enthusiastic after leaving a lesson then you need to find someone else that will get you pumped. Some of what they'll give you will of course be boring but it is really important to get certain things that will form the foundation for your playing committed to muscle memory. You build upon a foundation. If you build a house without a foundation, the house will not be level and in a short period of time it will get significantly worse. Cracks will develop in the drywall, and you'll just have all sorts of problems. With learning, the speed in which you move to the next level is dependent upon the foundation that you're building upon. A weak foundation may mean slower progress.

Cheers, Joe
 
#23
It took me a couple of years to be comfortable in my playing, and it took me a further few years to define and find my sound and its taken me about a year after that to progress even further! it all takes time friend, a bit of patience and it really pays off in the end!
 
#24
BTW, I came to the realization about taking a chunking approach to practicing after I figured out that my progress was never gradual, it always happened abruptly and it never happened while I was practicing. Usually anytime I notice an improvement it happens the next day, or even several days after I've practiced something. Bass is new-ish for me and a few weeks ago I was having difficultly getting my left and right hands to sync up playing scales at faster speeds. Many people might approach this by practicing just on the edge of what they are capable of and then trying to take it 1 BPM faster resulting in a bunch of mistakes... they'll continue to do this thinking they'll eventually get it right and maybe 1 out of 10 times they'll nail which encourages them to keep on going but in reality it's holding them back. My approach is to find the tempo where things start to break down and then back it up to where I can play it really proficiently every time. I don't try to push it at first, I just practice it at a very comfortable tempo. I might even slow it down even more after that which allows me to focus on the timing much more critically when I pluck each individual note. I find that practicing like this and then sleeping on it... the next day my "comfort zone" has moved to a much faster tempo. I'll also practice just below my limit... I'll find the tempo where I can solidly play something say 10 times in a row without screwing up, but any faster would result in errors.

The point here is that it makes absolutely no sense to practice something poorly. When you approach practicing by trying to push beyond your limits every time you practice, that can actually backfire because you're reinforcing poor technique. I'm not saying don't ever push yourself but, if you're playing a lick over and over and you keep screwing it up every time, you're actually hindering your progress as your brain is never getting a good taste of doing it correctly. I think a lot of people have the expectation that if they slowly ramp up the speed, they'll slowly improve and that (in my experience) is just not how it works.

Cheers, Joe
 
#25
I've been playing since 1976 and I've come to the conclusion that one never really reaches a point of complete mastery of the bass....................I'm always learning something new, even if it is a new song, or a different way to improvise on an old jazz standard.

The continual learning of new things playing bass makes it the true joy that it is.

I believe one would get extremely bored and stop playing if they completely mastered the bass. For example, didn't Buzz Aldrin go a little wacky after he walked on the moon? I mean, what human accomplishment could have topped that way back in 1969?? I think it freaked him out...............what more was there to accomplish?

The ultimate journey never has a final destination.
 
#27
Someone on this forum said they had a teacher who said they could take fifteen minutes between notes if they wanted, but if they missed a note the lesson was over.

Heh, heh. Well, it just reminds me that when learning a new part, I find that there are two ways to practice learning it:

One way is to play it as if on a gig, sitting in. If I miss a note, just keep going and catch up as soon as possible. That way the beat goes on and I get an "overall" view of the song.

The other way is to practice it like the teacher said above. This way, the beat and tempo are secondary. The primary thing is to get used to how the notes go together, and get that in my muscle memory, or brain memory. During this process I may slow down drastically to play through a lick, much in the same way as a hiker will slow down to step on the right stones in order to cross a stream.

For me, both ways are necessary. I think a lot of other players learn this way as well. Seems to just make sense, IMO.
 
#28
There's always that "hump" you have to get over before gaining confidence. When I first started playing, I thought I sucked for over a year, and then one day a friend of mine said "hey, that sounds pretty good!". Once I heard those words, I wanted to practice even more. And in another year's time, I was getting paid to play. Hang in there, and always practice at least an hour a day. Don't stop learning songs and always try to understand the theory behind what you're playing.
 
#29
kr0n said:
Learn to enjoy making perfect sounds. 1 note in a bar in the right place is wonderful and very powerful. Leave Jaco stuff for later.

Doing the same riff perfectly for 3-4 minutes, that's tough.
Click to expand...

+1

Are you gigging??
Try to get inot a band no matter how "bad" it sounds. There is no better teacher than live performance. Assuming you can fret basic/single notes.
 
#30
Well, I have had a somewhat similar experience, but not with bass. I have played cello for 8 years, and it's taken me those eight years (granted i didn't practice much) to get to a point where I feel confident that I can play many things that come my way. The transition from that to bass, however, made bass a lot easier. I've been playing for about 2 and a half months now, and I have a decent understanding of regular finger style and slap, though youre right, it is difficult. I practice many of the same songs over and over until it becomes thoughtless for me, especially for slap. I still consider myself a beginner, although I cant really judge myself very well. It's like my art. Something that I drew may look amazing to something else, but i only see flaws.
 
#31
Technic wise ... bass is really easier than most instrument. Most people only do 8th note root note or play simple version of what a guitar player do.

When I started bass, I was glad that the bass was so easy compared to guitar. But during one year I only learn two songs... instead I worked on my dexterity and theory with my teacher. After that it didn't took long before I played jazz instead of rock or other mainstream type of music.
 
#32
OP, you should remember one important thing: you need to let yourself go and enjoy the JOURNEY, rather than the premise of the destination.

I've also been playing for about a year (two years if I count in guitar), and I realize I'm not Gerard Butler, but why should I? I have been enjoying almost every minute that I grab the bass and play (especially when practice makes somethings a bit easier and sound better!).

If I didn't enjoy just taking the bass and playing, I wouldn't be practicing nearly as much as I currently do. Heck, I like it so much I always have my basses on their stands, always enticing me with their beauty and screaming "take me and play with me now!". It's hard to resist, especially if you adore the instrument itself (how it looks, how it plays, how it sounds).

All that is to inspire you to enjoy the now. You'll get better as you keep playing, no worries. Just don't compare yourself to others.

My 2 cents.
 
#33
carlthegroover said:
OP, you should remember one important thing: you need to let yourself go and enjoy the JOURNEY, rather than the premise of the destination.

I've also been playing for about a year (two years if I count in guitar), and I realize I'm not Gerard Butler, but why should I? I have been enjoying almost every minute that I grab the bass and play (especially when practice makes somethings a bit easier and sound better!).

If I didn't enjoy just taking the bass and playing, I wouldn't be practicing nearly as much as I currently do. Heck, I like it so much I always have my basses on their stands, always enticing me with their beauty and screaming "take me and play with me now!". It's hard to resist, especially if you adore the instrument itself (how it looks, how it plays, how it sounds).

All that is to inspire you to enjoy the now. You'll get better as you keep playing, no worries. Just don't compare yourself to others.

My 2 cents.
Click to expand...

This. ^ 1000x.
 
#34
Lots of solid advice here. One thing that I feel is overlooked, and everybody won`t agree with, is that it`s possible to practice too much. I seem to hit a plateau every couple years. Several times, I just walk away from it for a couple weeks to a few months. For whatever reason, when I come back to it, I seem to be out of the rut and my playing is better. Goes against conventional wisdom, I know, but it`s worked for me.
 
#35
carlthegroover said:
OP, you should remember one important thing: you need to let yourself go and enjoy the JOURNEY, rather than the premise of the destination.

I've also been playing for about a year (two years if I count in guitar), and I realize I'm not Gerard Butler, but why should I? I have been enjoying almost every minute that I grab the bass and play (especially when practice makes somethings a bit easier and sound better!).

If I didn't enjoy just taking the bass and playing, I wouldn't be practicing nearly as much as I currently do. Heck, I like it so much I always have my basses on their stands, always enticing me with their beauty and screaming "take me and play with me now!". It's hard to resist, especially if you adore the instrument itself (how it looks, how it plays, how it sounds).

All that is to inspire you to enjoy the now. You'll get better as you keep playing, no worries. Just don't compare yourself to others.

My 2 cents.
Click to expand...

!?
 
#36
TVC15 said:
Been "playing" just over a year now and can see improvement but progress is painfully slow! I've had countless moments where i feel i'm just wasting my time and feel like doing a Paul Simonon and smashing the bass off the floor.
Maybe i'm just too impatient but i'm determined to learn this instrument, i've given up once before.
Anyone have similar experiences?
Click to expand...

Lots of salient advice given, however I would start by setting a realistic goal. When you achieve that goal make a new one. First goal, make sure you can keep time at different tempos. Start with some basic melody and play it at different tempos strictly on the down beat playing along with a metronome. At some point you can add a few upbeat tones (same pattern) again at different tempos. Once you have mastered that melody move to more complicated ones that use rest (what don't play is as important as what you do play). I would do this on MWF. On T & Th try learn some basic tune you like (but not too complicated) and go through it one phrase at a time till you eventually have the whole song. At some point you will get faster at this.

While I know some may not agree, I would advice you learn music theory. There are lots of resources to learning on your own if you are disciplined. I have been playing for the better part of three decades and for two of them I did not address this as important. In the last 10 after learning music theory I made my most significant advances in playing.

Again just my experience and $0.02 of advice.
 
#37
Hang in there! Get out and play with other musicians as often as possible, better than yourself if possible. Want to he a better skier? Find and follow a better skier..... Playing with other & better musicians that yourself will accelerate your learning curve. BTDT.
 
#38
All of what zon6c-f said.

I started in the late 60's on upright at school and electric at home.
For the electric bass Paul McCartney was my teacher and Sgt Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour were my study guides. I studied those bass parts every night until I had them memorized. Once I had those down I thought anything was possible. Then, a few years later, I came upon Billy Cobham's Stratus LP with Lee Sklar on bass and it was off to bass school again. You can learn from everyone...just listen.
 

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