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New at bass, again

E

el conejo

Jan 22, 2023
4
2
#1
Hey all, I'm picking up my bass again.

I was a beginner about 5 years ago. At that time I mostly followed the Hal Leonard Method, getting to the end of book 2. I was practicing multiple hours per day and felt I was progressing well. Life threw me a bad twist, and it all came crashing down sending me on the road to drive a truck OTR for a few years. That was it for bass, being on the road for months at a time.

I'm back home again due to some back problems, and it's uncertain how long I'll be here, but I said screw it, I'm picking up the bass and if I go out again, take it with me.

This time I'm taking a different approach. Concentrating on the fretboard, important shapes and scales, and playing various songs or grooves that I find that I'm capable of, or just playing what sounds good to me.

I'm going to read through links and advise here, and follow what I find. I'm going to do as much playing as I can without sheet music in front of me, reading to learn, but attempting to play somethings without it.

Sorry for the long post. :)
 
#3
Thanks for the welcome. I'm trying to follow the structure in an unstructured way. :)

I've always been a bit too retentive, which makes me want to organize everything neatly. Maybe living in a truck for a few years broke that habit. It's hard to have structure when you don't know what state you'll be in day to day, or when you can't plan anything farther than the next load destination. You have to just flow with it. I'm just going to do the same with the bass and see if I get anywhere.
 
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#6
MrLenny1 said:
You tube has a lot of play along tunes with
full video of neck.
Look up EU Bass & also Benny the Bassman.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out.

Earlier today I found a groove by Bootsy Collins at Gregs Bass Shed. Later I was playing a C scale going over what I remember from a few years ago, and realized that those notes where in the groove, with the addition of the C#. I can play it, although much slower than the bpm in his sheet, and I think my timing is off.

So for a bit, I'll continue on scales. Dig around for some timing exercises, and explore. So thanks again, I'll check that out.
 
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#8
MrLenny1 said:
If you end up traveling a lot in the future I would highly recommend a Traveler P bass.
It's the size of a Strat. You can play with headphones plugged directly into
the bass. Very handy & I have played gigs with one.
Click to expand...
That's a really good idea. Being both compact and light is the only way to drive OTR. If some type of breakdown happens requiring swapping trucks, all you can take is what you can carry.
 

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