Not Sure What I Need To Learn

[kmon]

I've found the major and minor pentatonic scales, as well as the notes on the fretboard, to be good things to master, if you're gonna master something. Arpeggios too, although they're kind of a subset of pentatonics. I've found those genuinely useful in sprinkling some cool stuff in here and there when the mood strikes me. I find that this little bit of knowledge enables that.

However, the reality is that most of this journey, for me, is about learning songs.

I find it massively rewarding to cover a song, no matter how "simple" it might be, REALLY well. Playing it cleanly, really nailing the timing(I mean REALLY nailing it). I record everything so I get instant, honest feedback.

So don't downplay learning songs, I think it can serve a very important purpose, and if that's your thing I think it can be a very legitimate primary focus.

 

[mambo4]

I’m not interested in (re)learning bass clef... I’m not interested in finding a band

are you interested in paying songs with others at all?
because "what you need" will be the same for both cases:
learn enough fretboard and theory to navigate a chord chart.

Maybe you're not sure what you need to learn because you 're not clear what you want to learn.
Ask yourself: What do you want to do with your bass, that you cannot?

 

[BOOG]

Bear with me while I explain. I started playing music in grade school. Three years of lessons on a Hammond organ. Great fun! I was taught how read treble clef and play melodies with chords. After stopping music for 10+ years, I started playing a recorder because it was comparatively inexpensive. The recorder became a good recorder which became the flute. That turned into an alto sax and then a tenor sax. All these instruments were fun because I knew treble clef notation So, I played songs once I knew the fingering. Except for the organ, I was self-taught.

Four years ago (I’m 67) I started strumming a uke because medical conditions made it impossible to blow a horn. It was fun but I bought a bass a year ago and I started adjusting to bass clef until I found something new to me…tablature. Now, I’m back to just playing songs. I have 400+ songs – all tab - which I play to some degree or another. However, I feel like I should be learning something. Maybe concentrate on the fretboard? Music theory? A genre of music – the blues, bluesy rock, folk, country?

I’m not interested in (re)learning bass clef. For some reason, my brain reads treble clef like it were English, not so much with bass clef. I’m not interested in finding a band either. Maybe I should learn how to improvise? I don’t know because bass is a different animal compared to what I’ve played in the past.

One of the things I love about playing bass, it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. For me, in the band context, that works out well because, just knowing the chord progression allows me to contribute. Over time, I can embellish, if I want to. For you, without ambitions to play in a group setting it gives you the freedom to do whatever you want and whenever you want.
In response to “what” you “should” be learning, let the internet and YouTube take you down the different rabbit holes and see where you end up. Any learning is good learning, right? All of the topics you listed are worth the time/effort expended. It just depends what your goals are, and those are for you on a personal level. It’s kind of a cliche but, “it’s a journey”. You’ve been around this site for at least 16 years and music, all of your life so, nothing I’m saying is groundbreaking.

 

[KeepItMoving]

This is brilliant. That never crossed my mind, and it should have. The other day i watched a YT from "Become A Bassist" about improvising. He said one easy way to improvise is to play the melody, play with the timing, rhythm, notes or whatever to make it your own. He played melody on an upper register of the bass and it sounded good too. This would really help me get to know my way around the fretboard...never crossed my mind at all. Thank you!

I could kick myself for tossing lots of sheet music years ago. Moving many, many times. But I can surely find some keyboard music again, and actually have a mini keyboard next to my basses. This is just what I need to do to keep from stalling with tab. Thanks again!

One piece of software you might find handy is Musescore (Musescore.com | The world's largest free sheet music catalog and community). There are tons of multi-part scores available for all kinds of music, and with the app on your computer you can control what clef each part appears in. So you could easily move a bass part into the treble clef and print it out. It's also reasonably easy to create your own scores, though there is a learning curve.

Hoping you get tons of enjoyment from all this!

 

[Killing Floor]

EGBDF

We all deserve fudge.

 

[Old_Noob]

I learned it in a much more vulgar way...EveryGoodBoyDoesn'tEffup

 

[dbsfgyd1]

We all deserve fudge.

They used to use “Does Fine” until they heard me play and thought bribery would produce better results!

 

[Malcolm35]

Lot of good information on this string. I suggest you flag or bookmark it and go back over it - a lot of times.

Mark's talking bass post has to be in your tool chest, aka, box of tricks.

Happy trails.