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Most important lessons you have learned about bass

#43
don't chase tone-let tone chase you.
in other words, become a solid player and execute everything well. your sound is in your hands, not necessarily in your gear.
learn to sing as well and you will will always be in demand.
 
#45
-Bass is an instrument, not a bass (try to see past your opinionated facade and see bass as a concrete and harmonic instrument; the masters tended to think that way)

-Bass is what you make it. Some can thump and thump all day and make millions and others can conjure complex, thoughtful basslines and make money as well.

-A perfect bassline is simply complex; complexities simple make everything complexly simple.
 
#48
topo morto said:
You'd be kicked out of any reggae band pretty fast!
Click to expand...

Most reggae bass lines play on the one. Dropping the one is more common in reggae than other styles, but it is still not as common as you may think. I don't mean to sound pedantic, I've just been learning a lot of reggae lately :)

So I guess you could call that a lesson I'VE learned recently. But the best lesson I ever got came early on, from a bassist who was tapped by my music teacher to come in and coach our high school jazz band's rhythm section on the arts of groove and swing. Over 20 years ago he laid this on me, and it is still the best piece of advice I ever got: "If you ain't movin', you ain't groovin'".

He actually meant it as a way to tell if you're in the groove or not, but I've found it to be an excellent way to get into the groove, too.
 
#50
Bassist4Eris said:
Most reggae bass lines play on the one. Dropping the one is more common in reggae than other styles, but it is still not as common as you may think. I don't mean to sound pedantic, I've just been learning a lot of reggae lately :)

So I guess you could call that a lesson I'VE learned recently. But the best lesson I ever got came early on, from a bassist who was tapped by my music teacher to come in and coach our high school jazz band's rhythm section on the arts of groove and swing. Over 20 years ago he laid this on me, and it is still the best piece of advice I ever got: "If you ain't movin', you ain't groovin'".

He actually meant it as a way to tell if you're in the groove or not, but I've found it to be an excellent way to get into the groove, too.
Click to expand...

It just depends on the song. Some reggae songs sound awesome if you're skipping the 1st beat, but other songs will sound whack if you're not playing the 1st beat.
 
#53
A couple of things that have made the last few years better.

Spend the time in the wood shed so that when you gig you can enjoy it.

Also, during rehearsals or gigs, unexpected things are going to happen, just relax and deal as best as possible and move on. Later on you can think about how you want to prepare for next time. For me, I find this helps to keep the joy in making music.
 
#55
bassinplace said:
Most recent lesson learned; always do warm ups and stretches especially if you practice a lot, like I do. I ignored this very crucial item and I am paying dearly for it at the moment. At least 3 weeks with no bass and a whole lot of pain. :atoz:
Click to expand...
What kind of warm-ups and stretches?

I typically play around a little, maybe work on a song I'm trying to get down by ear, before I start working on scales and sequences. Those are much more intense than most the stuff I play.

Hint: I'm a beginner.
 
#57
Best lesson learned:
- Bass ist NOT that easy. It is more than just staying in the corner of the stage playing the quarter-notes. There is no thing like THE bass, THE strings, THE amp and you have to dig, dig and dig to find what suits you best. After you found what suits you best you may find out that it won't fit your band-sound and you start it all over again. But the best thing is: digging can be fun, just learn how to do it. Chat with other bass players, always ask, play other rigs/setup as often as possible and remember: playing bass is as cool as you make it! You can be the motor/energie on stage, this is no dedicated function for singers/lead-guitarists.
Bass can be a part of your life - e.g. It keeps me going to the gym because I want to have energie on stage

Nice lessons learned:
- When you think you are just loud enough, you are 10% too loud!! Bass develops in the room
- When you think your sound is great, turn back the BASS/LOW knob for at least 10%
- Protect your ears!!
- You do not need a second guitar when the bassplayer knows what he is doing

And as said earlier:
- Mids are your friend!!

Mysts I thought were right but turned out to be totally wrong:
- Adding a 1x15 adds low-end to your sound (and must be stacked UNDER to 4x10)
- A bass signal must be as clean as possible (NO distortion) because bass speakers cannot handle distortion, will overheat and eventually blow

Most lessons learned in this forum :-)
Thanks for all your input!!!
 
#60
Many years ago, my oboe teacher Mr. M taught me Commandments 11 through 15. My bass instructor Chris and I rewrote them for the bass. Chris changed the order to emphasize playing on time. They are in ascending order of importance.

Thou shalt:

11. Play on time.
12. Play the right note.
13. Plan fingering.
14. Articulate correctly.
15. Play with correct dynamics.

Not much else to say!
 

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