New guy from NJ

[NJSouth]

Hey all, fantastic forum! Well I'm here and don't know where to start. I'm a trombone player who wants to start to play bass. At the mid 40s age range, I hope I'm not being delusional in my pursuit. My background is church choir and trombone where I play the bass lines from the hymnals. I love it. I'm not looking to go pro and get THIS.. I don't own a bass OR amp yet.

You now have the opportunity to shape and mold a bass player. I am open to all suggestions on what to buy, how to practice, who to listen to music wise to develop my ear to follow bass lines.

I would love all your direction and guidance and I will keep you posted with what I am doing but honestly, where do I start? What kind of bass and what kind of amp. Lets start there and then tell me who I can listen to, to develop an ear for bass players.

Thanks for having me!!!

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Which bass? Spend what you can afford. No one makes junk and stays in business so those $300 basses gets you out of the starter kit stuff and into something that will do everything you ask of it for a long time. I started with a 4 string Yamaha and it does everything I ask of it. My practice amp is a Peavey Max 15B (15 watt) which cost just over $100 and has a built in tuner. You'll need at least 150 watts for gigging, but, that can come later.

What about a 5 string? Good question. The low B string comes in handy if you play from standard notation. The 4 string's E is as low as you can go with out some mental gymnastics - with a 5 string you will be able to pick up those lower ledger notes you will find in church hymnals.

Starting at 40, no sweat I took up music when I retired in 2000 at the age of 65 and I'm still gigging in two bands. The kids pick it up quicker, as they don't have to put bread on the table, thus have time to practice in their room. You'll have to carve out some practice time. Forty five minutes to an hour per day seems to get it done.

Where to start? How to get started? | TalkBass.com would be a good place IMO. A teacher will save you a lot of time. However your music experience will transfer over and you'll be OK being self taught. We play chord tones, i.e. notes of the chord to the beat of the kick drum. Which chord tones? Be happy with pounding out root notes at first to get started. When roots flow insert the 5 for R-5-R-5. When that flows bring in an 8 for a R-5-8-5. That R-5-8-5 will play a lot of bass as it's kinda generic and fits just about anywhere. That get started site will explain the R-3-5-b7 stuff.

Work on knowing where those notes are on your fretboard and being able to pick up the sound of the kick drum. Being able to hear the kick drum right at first is something we have to work on. It gives us the basic beat we should be following. Melody, harmony and rhythm, right at first concentrate on harmony and rhythm, your trombone experience is going to help. In fact if you still have some trombone bass clef sheet music dig it out and get busy.

Welcome and good luck.

 

[NJSouth]

Greatly appreciate that MalcolmAmos!!! Looking forward to it already!

 

[Lobster11]

Welcome aboard. I grew up in central Jersey ("down the shaw") myself, though I haven't lived there for 30 years. I also took up bass in my (early) 40s, though unlike you I had no previous experience with any instrument. My goal was simply to get good enough (as quickly as possible) to be able to play in hobby bands with friends, which I've been having a blast doing now for almost 15 years.

If at all possible, I recommend borrowing or renting a bass and amp for a couple of months to begin learning on. The best way to choose a bass is, of course, to go to a store where you can try out a variety of them, but you can't really test-drive basses until you're able to actually play a bit. The same is true (to some extent) of amps: You won't know what sounds or features you like better than others until you've played for awhile; if nothing else, you're borrowed amp gives you a standard of comparison by which to judge alternatives when you go shopping. The longer you can put off buying this stuff, the more likely you'll choose something that you'll be happy with for a while.

Once you have a bass and amp, however acquired, my advice is to begin by focusing especially on technique, starting with the most basic things like how long the strap should be and how to properly position your hands and then moving to proper left-hand and right-hand technique. Slow and steady wins this race. Obviously getting a good teacher is the best way to get these things right from the start, but you can teach yourself (as I did) if you work slowly and systematically through the basics. I think it's also a good idea to draw upon multiple sources rather than just one, because sometimes they'll be somewhat different. Anything that they all agree on is something that's probably important to do, and anything they differ on is something you can experiment with and see which way works best for you.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[NJSouth]

Well I did it... Was researching craigslist, ebay, here, there, I went with the simplest and in my opinion safest route. I bought a starter kit with a Squire Fender bass and amp with, cords, tuner, strap, soft bag, and some other small goodies. Its under warranty so I know it will work or be fixed. I don't know enough yet to go
out on craigslist and buy from strangers so I'm happy.

I tuned it last night and watched a short video. I'm calling next week for lessons at a local shop to get me started. I still covet your advice and suggestions on artists, instructional videos, technique books, and your good and bad experiences. Thanks again!

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Good luck. Let us hear from you how it goes.

 

[KennyC_AUS]

From a fellow Trombone player and beginner bassist, welcome!

 

[GKon]

Welcome!