Need to get better

[Titovonb24]

New to talkbass..My name is Ryan, I'm 16 and I've been playing bass for about a year and a half now. I have some questions though. I play in a band and I'm fairly decent, though lately I don't feel like I've made any progress. I have been working hard on the songs we've made for our first show (I do both bass and vocals for most songs) and thats pretty much all I've been practicing. Lately I've been trying to play stuff from Green Day but I just cannot play those basslines for the life of me. I can play friggin Master of Puppets from Cliff, but as soon as I try Longview I just can't do anything right...I feel like I haven't progressed in a long time and I want to really love playing bass again, because at this rate I don't know how long I'll last

 

[MalcolmAmos]

What are you playing from now, tab, standard notation, chord tone interval or ear? Be a little more specific about what you are doing now and what you would like to do better.

Lot of help here just be a little more specific.

 

[Titovonb24]

I play mostly from tab, and I'm trying to write a lot of my own basslines as well. I just want something more complex than following the guitar or doing a root-fifth kinda thing...I just want in general to play the bass better than I do now. I've been told I'm good but I don't agree with them so much. Another hard thing to do is write a decent bassline that I can play as I sing, instead of just supporting the chords.

 

[Warrior_Bass]

A lot of the basics you can learn from a teacher will help give you a collection of tools to use. You still have to use your creativity to actually use them, but understanding chords, scales, and theory in general will definitely help. Ultimately I'd say get a teacher. Don't re-invent the wheel.

 

[onionpuzzle]

singing and playing bass can be a challenge, best to know the basslines inside and out so the fingers just MOVE without much thought---

as far as bass skills alone, the topic has been covered ad nauseum on TB about beginner/intermediate advice. There is no ONE WAY to learn, or get better.

Lessons, and/or learning to read music is a GREAT way to get better, and especially someone as young as you would benefit greatly. There are books, tabs, youtube vids, etc. also, if lessons aren't your cup of tea.

I found an "arpeggio" book that shows chordal notes/scales VERY VERY useful.
PICK UP ONE OF THESE.

Bottom line is, if the bass is not in your hands, you are not learning much. Practice, practice, practice.

 

[puddin tame]

practice and listen to a lot more music. variety is essential if you want to be any good

 

[Titovonb24]

I suppose the biggest problem I have is that, my fingers just wont do what I want them to do. I have a very basic understanding of music theory, and I can play some scales and whatnot. I didn't mean so much as I wanted to learn more theory (which I know I need to do anyway) but that I want to improve my technique persay. I wish I could get a teacher but I don't know of any around here...

 

[ryco]

Getting a GOOD teacher makes the learning process a lot faster while avoiding making bad technique habits. Bad habits you'll have to unlearn and then relearn correctly.
Also a GOOD teacher will naturally work theory into your lessons - theory is just a labeling device to describe what you're hearing/playing. One idea - if you can't find a bass teacher, find a GOOD guitar teacher.

If technique issues are what is bothering you, it just takes time = repetition; until what you want to hear is ingrained in your fingers. Or, if your a singer, get to the point where you can put your bass on "automatic" and still do a good job playing lines (ala Geddy, Araya, etc).

If you listed your location, someone might know of some GOOD local teachers, or check out your nearest music store. If that doesn't help maybe check out Mel Bay or Hal Leonard and find books that look interesting to you = techniques/styles you want to learn. Of course there's a LOT of info here at TalkBass = check out all the stickies at the top of the General Instruction page!

Playing well and coming up with creative lines just takes consistent practice time and good focused effort.

 

[Chris K]

+1 on the teacher, as always.
Learn to read music and buy some good bass study books.
Study the essential scales and arpeggio's.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

I play mostly from tab,

Stop. Tabs are a dead end. Now it is OK to take a peek and see how a specific riff is done, but, do not rely upon tabs for what you do all the time.

....and I'm trying to write a lot of my own basslines as well. I just want something more complex than following the guitar or doing a root-fifth kinda thing...

I'd recommend Building Walking Bass Lines by Ed Friedland for more complex lines and remember our job is the groove, sometime the groove is just roots. http://www.amazon.com/Building-Walking-Bass-Lines-Instruction/dp/0793542049#reader_0793542049

Another hard thing to do is write a decent bass line that I can play as I sing, instead of just supporting the chords.

Who has the lead when you sing? Your voice. Everybody else is supposed to lay back and give your voice the lead.
Anything beyond roots or simple R-5's while you are singing will take away from your vocal.
start out with roots and work your way to full chord tones. Two chords in the same measure - you've got two beats for each chord R-5 if it's major and R-b3 if it's minor is one way of doing it.


That should keep you busy and hopefully let you find something that will lead you to something "better".