One year progress - may I ask for some advice?

[Katoosie]

Record yourself to hear how you actually sound.

I did! I even made a really crappy video on YouTube of me playing to one song, just to figure out how that works.
My next move is to get an interface, some lights and other stuff and record covers of the music I like and post it there.
I have even chosen what to cover, I will cover an entire album called "Communion" by Septicflesh!

Be sure to practice standing up. At the music store I managed. We had a recital and it was really awkward seeing everyone playing really awkwardly standing up for the first time. Plus its good practice for gigging to be on your feet.

(I have never been paid to play music. I am paid for moving equipment and standing for 5 hours!)

Play at church, play with friends, go to open jams and just play. If you say yes on bass a lot you will get to play more often than a guitar player! (Post covid)

You have received a lot of good advice. Just go slow and do one thing well at a time! Keep it up! Happy anniversary!
.

I practice standing up, sitting and sometimes even walking a little bit. Just making circles in my room
Thank you!

Lots of good advice here, but I'm guessing someone as motivated as you will find your own path to progress.

I'm trying really hard, sometimes it is very difficult to stay motivated simply because I do not really have an end goal except "to be really good at playing bass". I hope it's enough.

Hey, you're doing great. Really achieved a good amount of groundwork and fundamentals.

You dont mention recording yourself, but did I recall you discussing options of home recording devices before??

That's certainly a next step in practicing/recording/assessing to backings. Working on timings, getting familiar with locking into drums/setting your own rhythm(s), hearing and varying your tone & dynamics, feel, vibe, effects etc.... Playing along to songs is fun & useful but when you are one of the stand alone instruments in a band set up, its another skill/experience level.

You mention Scotts Bass Lessons - are you a member? It does cost, but SO much resources there, almost overwhelming choice. Not everything might be relevant to your tastes, but so useful to have everything in one 'bass school'. Plus you can chat/share with other students, get feedback etc. There's also a new Players Path grading system, where you work on different song backings at developing levels 1 to 9. Pushes your playing technique through levels of difficulty.

Keep going with reading music theory. Much better way to understand rhythm on a music score than tab.

Then when you feel right, connect with other musicians to jam with. Next step but what its all about fundamentally. fun & rewarding.

Well done, happy Bass

Like I wrote to someone else, yes I did discuss recording and I have chosen what interface to get and how to set it up, it just kind of took a back seat due to other purchases so it hasn't happened yet.

I'm not a member at Scotts Bass Lessons mainly because his website and program seems disorganized and there is too much random banter in his videos. I prefer Mark from Talking Bass and Studybass.com

Thank you everyone!

 

[g-dude]

I am going to tell you something that everyone else tells you, and then I will let you know what happens if you don't, because I am living proof of if you don't. Start now to look for and play with other people, no matter if all you do is play roots or how bad they may be, or if they are so good that they find you not at their level, so what! Then find someone else. I was where you were at the 1 year mark. Exactly where you are, with theory, reading, instrument setup/maintain, scales, notes..etc, everything. I was on a mission. I took lessons from two different real teachers. I put everything into it just like you. I also played my bass using the Rocksmith for song play-along, you can look it up if you don't know what it is. I would keep telling myself at the point your at now, that I'm not good enough to play with others, I need to learn more, I need to play along to songs more. I need to do this and that more, no one will want to play with me, I don't know enough yet. Now its 3.3 years later, after that 1 year mark for me, so 4.3 years now, and I STILL do everything your doing now, meaning watching bass teaching videos, read music, and play like 400+ songs on my Rocksmith and ace them all, BUT, I still have not played with one single real person/group/jam session, whatever. Do I think I'm good enough now to play with others, on paper? Heck yes, but you know what? I'm a little scared, because I never have yet. Don't let yourself get to the point I'm at now, go for it, listen to them when they say to play with others.

So, not to turn this into a religion thread, but if you attend church ask to play.

They would likely welcome having someone on rotation. As much as I wish I could play all the time, I’m glad I’m only playing 2x a month because of how early we have to show up for sound check and run through before the service.

One secret advantage: because there is usually a rotation, you’ll likely be playing with different musicians, and you’ll be doing different songs each week. Helps develop the ability to quickly adapt.

The other week I actually played with a drummer I had never played with before. It was really interesting and fun having to reset certain expectations and adapt to his style.

 

[VolverseLoco]

So, not to turn this into a religion thread, but if you attend church ask to play.

They would likely welcome having someone on rotation. As much as I wish I could play all the time, I’m glad I’m only playing 2x a month because of how early we have to show up for sound check and run through before the service.

One secret advantage: because there is usually a rotation, you’ll likely be playing with different musicians, and you’ll be doing different songs each week. Helps develop the ability to quickly adapt.

The other week I actually played with a drummer I had never played with before. It was really interesting and fun having to reset certain expectations and adapt to his style.

You know what, I have posted here about that, I have thought about that and still do think about that, and it has nothing to do with religion for me. I would gladly jump at the chance to play in a church band, just to play my instrument. I'm always looking at the Craig's list for that type of church opening/opportunity. I live 5 houses from a church so I asked a group of boys who I saw that just came from there and they said it was a Mormon's church and no music band. I don't care what religion it is, but I know that sometimes the church cares that you get into whatever religion they are if you play there and I don't really want to go that far, I just wanna play my bass there.

 

[g-dude]

You know what, I have posted here about that, I have thought about that and still do think about that, and it has nothing to do with religion for me. I would gladly jump at the chance to play in a church band, just to play my instrument. I'm always looking at the Craig's list for that type of church opening/opportunity. I live 5 houses from a church so I asked a group of boys who I saw that just came from there and they said it was a Mormon's church and no music band. I don't care what religion it is, but I know that sometimes the church cares that you get into whatever religion they are if you play there and I don't really want to go that far, I just wanna play my bass there.

Occasionally some churches do use paid musicians, but that isn’t very common - it’s sort of a waste of money when you can make due with the talents of the congregation.

General rule of thumb is “non-denominational” churches are most likely to have music opportunities of a rock natural that lend themselves to a bass guitar. After that, it’s the Protestant churches that are more “low church” such as Assembly of God, Baptists, Christian Missionary Alliance, etc.

Once you start getting past Methodists and Lutherans in terms of levels of formality, the music is increasingly less likely to utilize electric instruments from my experience.

You’re right that most churches are interested in you being a part of the church. Some may want that before you play, whereas others might be fine as long as you are honestly open to the idea of eventually joining. Naturally if you are closed to the idea of joining, you’d want to be honest about it, but if it’s more of a not wanting to commit until you feel comfortable and decide that it’s for you, that’s a different story.

LDS churches (aka Mormons) are a bit of a different story, as would Jehovahs Witnesses and what not. I don’t have firsthand experience with their services, as they have some views that I consider a bridge too far from a theological standpoint - but that’s another topic for another day.

 

[VolverseLoco]

Occasionally some churches do use paid musicians, but that isn’t very common - it’s sort of a waste of money when you can make due with the talents of the congregation.

General rule of thumb is “non-denominational” churches are most likely to have music opportunities of a rock natural that lend themselves to a bass guitar. After that, it’s the Protestant churches that are more “low church” such as Assembly of God, Baptists, Christian Missionary Alliance, etc.

Once you start getting past Methodists and Lutherans in terms of levels of formality, the music is increasingly less likely to utilize electric instruments from my experience.

You’re right that most churches are interested in you being a part of the church. Some may want that before you play, whereas others might be fine as long as you are honestly open to the idea of eventually joining. Naturally if you are closed to the idea of joining, you’d want to be honest about it, but if it’s more of a not wanting to commit until you feel comfortable and decide that it’s for you, that’s a different story.

LDS churches (aka Mormons) are a bit of a different story, as would Jehovahs Witnesses and what not. I don’t have firsthand experience with their services, as they have some views that I consider a bridge too far from a theological standpoint - but that’s another topic for another day.

Your reading my mind, this is exactly the 'rundown' of what I wanted to know, because I thought all churches had live musical instrument players. Thank you!

 

[oldcatfish]

Occasionally some churches do use paid musicians, but that isn’t very common - it’s sort of a waste of money when you can make due with the talents of the congregation.

General rule of thumb is “non-denominational” churches are most likely to have music opportunities of a rock natural that lend themselves to a bass guitar. After that, it’s the Protestant churches that are more “low church” such as Assembly of God, Baptists, Christian Missionary Alliance, etc.

Once you start getting past Methodists and Lutherans in terms of levels of formality, the music is increasingly less likely to utilize electric instruments from my experience.

You’re right that most churches are interested in you being a part of the church. Some may want that before you play, whereas others might be fine as long as you are honestly open to the idea of eventually joining. Naturally if you are closed to the idea of joining, you’d want to be honest about it, but if it’s more of a not wanting to commit until you feel comfortable and decide that it’s for you, that’s a different story.

LDS churches (aka Mormons) are a bit of a different story, as would Jehovahs Witnesses and what not. I don’t have firsthand experience with their services, as they have some views that I consider a bridge too far from a theological standpoint - but that’s another topic for another day.

I have played at a lot of churches and also have taught a lot of church musicians. I agree 100% with this post.

 

[g-dude]

I have played at a lot of churches and also have taught a lot of church musicians. I agree 100% with this post.

I imagine it doesn’t take long to teach them the first five frets of the E and A strings.

While I am joking, there is an unfortunate level of truth in that joke - and not at the choice of the bassists.

 

[Txpigdog]

First, good job. I started at 59 and I'll be 62 in March. I spent a lot of time at some open mic jams where I was encouraged. The experience has helped me with my ear and just stage awareness. Also, it has made it much more fun. I'm probably not as far along as you in my study of theory and the practical application of theory but I do study that as well.

 

[VolverseLoco]

First, good job. I started at 59 and I'll be 62 in March. I spent a lot of time at some open mic jams where I was encouraged. The experience has helped me with my ear and just stage awareness. Also, it has made it much more fun. I'm probably not as far along as you in my study of theory and the practical application of theory but I do study that as well.

Good for you! I started at 48 and now I'm 52, so I'm not the only late bloomer at learning an instrument. Its fun stuff!

 

[Womber]

Not sure if you belong to a church. Years ago the Music Director at my church found out that I was learning to play the bass and asked me to play there on Sundays. Doing so is an easy, non-threatening way to start playing with others in front of an audience.

 

[VolverseLoco]

I do not belong to any church. I would totally be into playing my bass at ANY church that would have me as a bass player, no matter what goes in in there, so I am open to anything. I could REALLY get into playing at any one of these churches here in Las Vegas. Yes I could..

 

[Womber]

I played at my church for about three years. One morning I arrived early and thought that I was the only one there. Set up and got bored so I launched into some Cream, Jethro Tull, and Nirvana at perhaps slightly elevated volume levels ( turned up to “11” ).

Didn’t realize that congregants had started to come into dark church. Musical Director was not happy but on my way out got several rave reviews and my first groupies ( although they were all over 70 years old ).

 

[LoveJackBruce]

Grab a pile of records and jam along.
Very important part of musical development IMO.

Transcribe by ear some of your favorite lines.
Have fun.

2 octave 4 note arpeggios are a very cool way to learn the finger board and basic harmony. Start with MAJ7, Min7, DOM7, Min7b5 and Dim chords.
Do it in all 12 keys in the circle of 5ths.

Happy to answer any more questions you might have.
Next part would be to incorporate the technical stuff and apply them to musical. ideas and applications.

Cheers.

Exactly. Just Play! And ensure you can keep time and tempo.

 

[g-dude]

I played at my church for about three years. One morning I arrived early and thought that I was the only one there. Set up and got bored so I launched into some Cream, Jethro Tull, and Nirvana at perhaps slightly elevated volume levels ( turned up to “11” ).

Didn’t realize that congregants had started to come into dark church. Musical Director was not happy but on my way out got several rave reviews and my first groupies ( although they were all over 70 years old ).

LOL...

I usually play some random stuff ranging from Metallica to Nena when there’s downtime during rehearsals.

But every time I go to make sure the fuzz pedal sounds right, there’s one go to song... “Bass solo, take one...” (Cliff Burton’s Anesthesia)

 

[Womber]

Miss Cliff. RIP Dude.

 

[oldcatfish]

I imagine it doesn’t take long to teach them the first five frets of the E and A strings.

While I am joking, there is an unfortunate level of truth in that joke - and not at the choice of the bassists.

--You are in fact correct, for the most part. Most of the teaching for the church bassist involves the very basics....how to read a chord chart, where the notes are on the fretboard, basic rhythm and techniques, etc. It gets more fun when I get to teach them how to tastefully add fills, improvise a bass line to a rhythm, etc. Actually, not much different than teaching basic rock/pop bass.

Now, teaching the church guitar players is a little more involved, especially the lead guitar players. They require longer periods of lessons, or a higher skill level to be able to play in a church band.

The biggest challenge with teaching church musicians is teaching them what to play (or not play) when the music director decides to modernize a traditional hymn or Christmas music....with no specific modern example in mind, and only lead sheets written for piano!

Before the Covid pandemic, the holidays were very busy and stressful for me, because I had much greater teaching demands and requests to sub at churches other than my own. One year I played at 3 different churches in a single weekend. This year, it's a totally different kind of stress...I am a frontline healthcare worker that works directly with Covid patients. No teaching and I barely have enough time to play for enjoyment--no playing at church for me. I really prefer the old type of stress!

 

[g-dude]

--You are in fact correct, for the most part. Most of the teaching for the church bassist involves the very basics....how to read a chord chart, where the notes are on the fretboard, basic rhythm and techniques, etc. It gets more fun when I get to teach them how to tastefully add fills, improvise a bass line to a rhythm, etc. Actually, not much different than teaching basic rock/pop bass.

Now, teaching the church guitar players is a little more involved, especially the lead guitar players. They require longer periods of lessons, or a higher skill level to be able to play in a church band.

The biggest challenge with teaching church musicians is teaching them what to play (or not play) when the music director decides to modernize a traditional hymn or Christmas music....with no specific modern example in mind, and only lead sheets written for piano!

Before the Covid pandemic, the holidays were very busy and stressful for me, because I had much greater teaching demands and requests to sub at churches other than my own. One year I played at 3 different churches in a single weekend. This year, it's a totally different kind of stress...I am a frontline healthcare worker that works directly with Covid patients. No teaching and I barely have enough time to play for enjoyment--no playing at church for me. I really prefer the old type of stress!

First and foremost, stay safe and good luck!

I think my biggest frustration I have with church playing comes down to the idea that the music needs to be dumbed-down or simplified. I mean, if someone is only able to play whole notes that ring out, then you make do with what you have. At the same time, when it comes to praise music, most of it seems to have bass parts written by people that don’t understand the bass (let’s call them guitarists for short).

These people often say things like “the bass should always play exactly the same rhythm as the bass drum unless they are playing whole notes or eighth notes”.

In those situations, I really think a bass player should step outside the limitations of the original recording artist. After all, nobody would suggest that the acoustic guitar player should only strum quarter notes or eighth notes.

When I think of the ideal church musician, I have a specific name in mind: J.S. Bach. Among his talents that I believe should inform modern praise music:

1) The ability to deal with complex arrangements.
2) Strong use of counterpoint.
3) Improvisational skills.

The 3rd one is the mind blowing one — people don’t think of Bach as some dude who would just get up there and let rip a face melting bit of improv. But he did.

Personally, I’m a fan of mixing up legato and staccato playing. Of leaving space, and of filling it up. Of smoothly walking to turn a series of chords into something more than just 1-5-4-6 (or whatever), or making big jumps to emphasize something dramatic. Might as well throw in (holy) ghost notes, double stops, finger rakes, arpeggios, etc. as it fits.

But ask me to just play nothing but whole notes of the chord roots? I’d rather just put the bass on the stand and play a monophonic synthesizer.

 

[StatesideRambler]

This repeats much of what has been written above. Here are the rudiments of practice I was taught long ago.

Warm up before working on anything else. Do some easy hand and finger stretches.
Break your practice session into parts in a logical order. e.g. Scales then etudes then new tunes then familiar tunes.
When you practice the simple stuff like basic scales, chords and arpeggios, that’s the time to focus on finger position, fretting pressure, timing and coordinating LH & RH.
Do NOT work on one thing too long! That’s fatiguing and self defeating.
Save the end of your practice session for rewarding yourself by playing something you enjoy. Have fun with it. e.g. Play along with recorded music.

Play with others as often as you can do.