Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Practice routine for beginner
- Thread starter sherocksonbass
- Start date
Do you have a teacher? If they have a plan they're following, go with that.
If you're self-teaching, I'd suggest looking at a video series or book. There's studybass.com, Scott's Bass Lessons, Roy Vogt's series (Teach me bass guitar, I think it's called), or Ed Friedland's method books from Hal Leonard. Any of those should take you through the basics you need to know.
You should try to at least touch your bass every day if possible, if only for fifteen minutes or so. Frequent contact will do you a lot more good than having a three-hour marathon session and then not touching it for a week. Probably half an hour to an hour a day would be ideal.
My advice on how to spend that time is to divide it between method and theory, on the one hand, and learning songs on the others. Practicing your fingering and muting, learning scales and chord tones and so forth, will make you a better musician. Learning songs helps you apply it all, and besides, it's fun. All scales and no songs can be dreary.
When you're learning songs starting out, you may use a lot of tablature. Tablature is a tool to see how other people play a song and it's easy to find on the internet. However, don't let yourself get sucked into becoming a "tab monkey" who can reproduce a tab but has no idea what's actually happening in the song. Practice learning by ear, or working out a part off a chord progression. Again, that will make you a better musician.
If you're self-teaching, I'd suggest looking at a video series or book. There's studybass.com, Scott's Bass Lessons, Roy Vogt's series (Teach me bass guitar, I think it's called), or Ed Friedland's method books from Hal Leonard. Any of those should take you through the basics you need to know.
You should try to at least touch your bass every day if possible, if only for fifteen minutes or so. Frequent contact will do you a lot more good than having a three-hour marathon session and then not touching it for a week. Probably half an hour to an hour a day would be ideal.
My advice on how to spend that time is to divide it between method and theory, on the one hand, and learning songs on the others. Practicing your fingering and muting, learning scales and chord tones and so forth, will make you a better musician. Learning songs helps you apply it all, and besides, it's fun. All scales and no songs can be dreary.
When you're learning songs starting out, you may use a lot of tablature. Tablature is a tool to see how other people play a song and it's easy to find on the internet. However, don't let yourself get sucked into becoming a "tab monkey" who can reproduce a tab but has no idea what's actually happening in the song. Practice learning by ear, or working out a part off a chord progression. Again, that will make you a better musician.
One thing to remember about TAB is that it is just one person's interpretation of how to play a piece. There was a thread not too long ago in the Technique forms about how to play Miles Davis' "So What." Everyone that responded played the same notes, but had different ways of playing them. We all had different left hand positioning.
Get to it everyday. Have a goal before you start. Play something that is fun, play something that is challenging. Remember that it's a process, not an event. Have as much patience with yourself as you would someone you love.
Something that many beginners forget to do is listen to recordings. A lot. Until you're sick of it. Then listen a few more times.
If you're sick of a song, then you probably know it. Then you'll have a better chance of being able to play it.
I'll leave others to talk about scales and other stuff. I'm not the best resource for that.
If you're sick of a song, then you probably know it. Then you'll have a better chance of being able to play it.
I'll leave others to talk about scales and other stuff. I'm not the best resource for that.
To learn all my note positions I played CF Bb Eb Ab Db Gb B E A D G repeatedly all over my fretboard and saying the notes as I played them. That helped immensely. Got that from the guy at talking Bass (I really need to learn his name lol)
Edit:
Also I should add that these aren't scale shapes or anything to remember, strictly just to learn note positions.
Edit:
Also I should add that these aren't scale shapes or anything to remember, strictly just to learn note positions.
Divide it into sections:
- Warm up. 15 minutes or so.
- Work on something new or in progress. 30 minutes or so.
- Fun. 15 minutes or so.
- Warm up. Scales and Arpeggios. Theses are the building blocks of all your playing. Major and minor. Start mid fretboard, working downward to headstock, one fret at a time. Strive for accuracy, not speed. Speed will come over time without even striving for it. Dexterity and strength exercises for fretting hand. Articulation and string crossing exercises for plucking hand.
- Something new. Whatever you are working on that hasn't been achieved yet. An Etude, a favorite song you are learning, an exercise, whatever. This is the bulk of your practice time.
- Fun. Ear training. Turn on radio and play along, even if you don't know the song. Rhythm clapping exercises. Play a chord on piano, or loop in GarageBand, and improvise to it. Make up funk lines. Whatever is fun to you on bass.
A teacher would be your best bet to get you off to a good start. Having said that, here is a link to a set of lessons on Youtube (starts off VERY basic).
My advice would be to start at the beginning, work your way SLOWLY through the lessons and only move to the next one when you feel you understand the current one.
Best of luck with your playing.
Learn Bass Guitar - YouTube
My advice would be to start at the beginning, work your way SLOWLY through the lessons and only move to the next one when you feel you understand the current one.
Best of luck with your playing.
Learn Bass Guitar - YouTube
I don't have a teacher, I'm trying to learn some basic things on my own first. I'll check out the teaching series you mention here. I'm going to try to pick my bass up everyday, even if it's only for 15 minutes. Thank you for your reply!
A teacher would be your best bet to get you off to a good start. Having said that, here is a link to a set of lessons on Youtube (starts off VERY basic).
My advice would be to start at the beginning, work your way SLOWLY through the lessons and only move to the next one when you feel you understand the current one.
Best of luck with your playing.
Learn Bass Guitar - YouTube
Thank you, I'll check those lessons out.
If it is not 100% natural, a instructor is the way to go. Be careful not to learn bad habits. That is where an instructor is helpful. Learn scales, learn something new, don't get in the habit of playing same stuff over & over.
Best advice I can give you is to avoid a common trap: Don't waste your practice time on things you are already good at! Rather, you should fearlessly attack your musical weaknesses, and push yourself to improve the things you are bad at!
Personal example #1: When I was a kid, I was really into the RHCP. So I learned a few Flea bass lines and spent most of my practice time slapping faster, and faster, and faster. This was great because 1990s audiences went crazy for slap bass
but in the long run, there are some skills (like ear training) that I missed out on and wish I had practiced more as a youth.
Personal example #2: I'm good at math. When I first learned how scales are constructed from a numerical formula (i.e. natural minor scale = 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7) I thought it was the coolest thing, and I spent hours and hours practicing the same scales over and over and over again. But in retrospect, I should have moved on to other things once I'd memorized all the scales.
So therefore I ask you: When it comes to being a musician, what are you worst at? Which part of playing the bass is most difficult for you? (The answer will be different for everybody.) That is what you should be studying and practicing. If learning songs is hard for you, then find a teacher who is a gigging musician and knows lots of songs. If ear training is hard for you, then find a teacher who is great at teaching ear training. If theory is hard for you, then find a teacher who is a theory whiz (maybe even a guitarist or pianist). Does that make any sense?
Personal example #1: When I was a kid, I was really into the RHCP. So I learned a few Flea bass lines and spent most of my practice time slapping faster, and faster, and faster. This was great because 1990s audiences went crazy for slap bass
but in the long run, there are some skills (like ear training) that I missed out on and wish I had practiced more as a youth.Personal example #2: I'm good at math. When I first learned how scales are constructed from a numerical formula (i.e. natural minor scale = 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7) I thought it was the coolest thing, and I spent hours and hours practicing the same scales over and over and over again. But in retrospect, I should have moved on to other things once I'd memorized all the scales.
So therefore I ask you: When it comes to being a musician, what are you worst at? Which part of playing the bass is most difficult for you? (The answer will be different for everybody.) That is what you should be studying and practicing. If learning songs is hard for you, then find a teacher who is a gigging musician and knows lots of songs. If ear training is hard for you, then find a teacher who is great at teaching ear training. If theory is hard for you, then find a teacher who is a theory whiz (maybe even a guitarist or pianist). Does that make any sense?
Best advice I can give you is to avoid a common trap: Don't waste your practice time on things you are already good at! Rather, you should fearlessly attack your musical weaknesses, and push yourself to improve the things you are bad at!
Personal example #1: When I was a kid, I was really into the RHCP. So I learned a few Flea bass lines and spent most of my practice time slapping faster, and faster, and faster. This was great because 1990s audiences went crazy for slap bass
Personal example #2: I'm good at math. When I first learned how scales are constructed from a numerical formula (i.e. natural minor scale = 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7) I thought it was the coolest thing, and I spent hours and hours practicing the same scales over and over and over again. But in retrospect, I should have moved on to other things once I'd memorized all the scales.
So therefore I ask you: When it comes to being a musician, what are you worst at? Which part of playing the bass is most difficult for you? (The answer will be different for everybody.) That is what you should be studying and practicing. If learning songs is hard for you, then find a teacher who is a gigging musician and knows lots of songs. If ear training is hard for you, then find a teacher who is great at teaching ear training. If theory is hard for you, then find a teacher who is a theory whiz (maybe even a guitarist or pianist). Does that make any sense?
Totally makes sense. My weaknesses are rhythm and theory.
I've been in a garage rock band for years with other beginner players. I memorized simple bass lines to all of the songs, not even knowing what notes I'm playing, just what position to play on the fretboard, and it's been a lot of fun. But then what?
I've reached a point where I want to take my playing to another level, and add more value to my band. I want to learn theory and understand song construction. I also want to work on rhythm so I can partner better with the drummer.
Thank you to everyone who has replied to this post. What a great musical community.
I always practice in the evening. When you go to sleep, your brain consolidates things that it learned that day, and the stuff that's most recent gets consolidated best. At least that's what the theory I've read says, and it does seem to help.
I think transcription is the answer to your rhythm and theory weaknesses.
Obviously transcription is great for rhythm, because it forces you to hear the difference between (for example) two eighth notes vs. a dotted eighth and 16th note, or (another example) between 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures.
And transcription is great for theory as well. First of all because you need to know the note names in order to write them down! And secondly because a good transcription process includes identifying the key signature, chord progression, song form, etc.
(Note: I am assuming that you already can read and write music notation, that you know the 12 major scales and 12 minor scales, and that you can construct major/minor/diminished/7th chords on any scale degree. If you don't know those things, then STOP and learn that basic stuff first.
)I think transcription is the answer to your rhythm and theory weaknesses.
Obviously transcription is great for rhythm, because it forces you to hear the difference between (for example) two eighth notes vs. a dotted eighth and 16th note, or (another example) between 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures.
And transcription is great for theory as well. First of all because you need to know the note names in order to write them down! And secondly because a good transcription process includes identifying the key signature, chord progression, song form, etc.
(Note: I am assuming that you already can read and write music notation, that you know the 12 major scales and 12 minor scales, and that you can construct major/minor/diminished/7th chords on any scale degree. If you don't know those things, then STOP and learn that basic stuff first.
I'm working on basic stuff, just started practicing major scales and learning the notes on the fretboard.
I'll try transcribing. Do you recommend doing that by hand on paper, or is there a program where I could do it online and then print it out?
