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Self taught bassist problem

#41
I'm going to second all the suggestions for finding a good teacher - ASAP. You'll get MUCH farther much faster with someone who can teach you to be a better musician rather than be a better bass player, especially if they also play and can teach you piano. And, if you're planning to go to college for music, you absolutely want to be a better MUSICIAN first and foremost and theory and sight reading will be a big part of it. Find several teachers and interview them. Tell them what your goal is, tell them that you plan to work your butt off starting immediately and that you want them to challenge you relentlessly, ask them what they think they can do for you, and ask them how they think they can accomplish all that. And be willing to pay whatever they ask. Without having a few more years to develop, you need the best teacher you can find, so consider their fee an educational expense rather than just "music lessons".

Honestly, if you're 17 already, you're way behind the majority of kids who are going into a college music program. But, if it's something you really want, you may as well go for it now. In 10 years, it will be MUCH harder. ;) :D Seriously (I'm a 52 year old who started lessons at age 47, I know how hard it gets later in life!).

Good luck!
 
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#42
I go to LSU, but it wasn't for music, it was for biochemistry. Anyway I found that studying how other players play helped some, I don't know many jazz players except Victor Wooten though. Though honestly, I think you should look into what you can do with a music degree. But I'm not sure if you are degree-seeking or just looking for some instruction, but lessons from a teacher rather than a university would be a lot cheaper. LSU's tuition is pretty high, even if you're an instate student. I know a local instructor actually and his rates aren't too high, I don't know how much he specifically knows about scales and music theory but he's gonna teach me about slapping technique :P
 
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#43
tfer said:
Trying to study music at a university level, without being fluent in theory and reading, is like deciding to major in English while being functionally illiterate.

You've got a year. Time to learn.
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This. You'll be expected to be a competent and proficient sight reader in standard notation (five line staff, bass clef, all the spots, dots, and squiggly things) in any formal music program.

As a private music teacher, I can't recommend the Friedland/Hal Leonard book (all three parts combined) highly enough. It is not intimidating, well-paced, and has interesting novel practice pieces. Even if you work with a teacher, you'll need a primer, and that's the one that got my students up and running the quickest. You will need to make reading music a daily routine. When you get through the basic primer, move on to something aimed at the beginner/intermediate jazz student. This can be done in a year, but it will take determination. Most jazz programs expect a level of proficiency for admission and often there is an audition process where they give you a piece of written music.

Dayjin39 said:
So I am 17 and I've been playing bass for around 3 years now...Lsu's jazz studies class requires knowledge of certain scales and, uh, jazzy things.
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I'm curious, how much of your self-taught playing experience is emulating jazz music? And what artists or styles have you been playing?
 
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#44
I started out at the University of North Texas, a world renowned music school, some 20something years ago. There are a ton of former music majors at that school. (I went there thinking I wanted to major in music, but by the time I started I realized that wasn't the path for me... that's another story though.) A lot of those former music majors were guys like yourself: really good players who didn't have the academic background in music necessary to succeed. A guy across the hall from me was a great drummer, but he couldn't read music, had no idea about harmony, melody or theory and was getting has butt kicked learning xylophone, which was required of all percussionists. (He wound up dropping out the middle of his freshman year.) You're going to be expected to keep up with kids who've been playing since middle school and earlier and who've been reading and learning theory for just as long. And for those things it's not just about being a good player. You'll also have to practice 4-6 hours a day on top of your course work, and will have to work harder than your peers just to catch up to them.

If you do want to major in music, go talk with a professor at the schools you want to attend. Have them give you a syllabus for the intro music major classes and talk about the minimum competency you'll need to achieve. You may also want to consider starting off at a community college for a year while you work on your theory and reading chops; this will also allow you to get your basic non-music major classes out of the way so you can have more time for music when you get to university. Hell, see if you can get in a music class at your high school next semester.

I'm not looking to discourage you, but I'm not looking to give you false encouragement either. Majoring in music requires a commitment far beyond what most people realize. On top of that, you are going to have to work much harder than all of your classmates to make up for not having an academic background in music. Most importantly, be realistic with yourself about the level of time and work you are willing to put in.

All the best.
 
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#45
Since everyone already gave practical and sound advice, I'll be the devil on your shoulder and suggest skipping school and touring the seedy underbelly of this country in an uninspected Ford Econoline van with a bass you stole from your estranged father. You'll live fast and burn out before your 20's are over. At 40 you'll see a dust covered bass in the corner of your basement. Dust it off, crack a beer, and do the whole thing over again.

Hal Leonard has a book on all that btw.
 
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#46
If I were in this situation, I would find a teacher. I can learn from books just fine but I wouldn't trust myself to be disciplined enough to learn a lot of theory in a year. I would need a good structured course with a good teacher. But that's just me.
 
#47
Wow, I'm really surprised and happy to see this many people willing to help me out. So, as far as reading music, I can read, but it takes me much longer than it should. I will talk to my parents about lessons, but because of the price, I will most likely be working with YouTube videos and hopefully some books that you guys suggest. I'm not sure if I have the ability to major in it, so I will probably minor in Jazz Studies and Major in Psychology. Seriously it's awesome to see this much help.
 
#48
The elephant in the room that I haven't seen anyone mention is that to study at either of the schools you have mentioned you are likely going to have to major on double bass rather than bass guitar. This is the way most university music programs work in the States, for better or worse. It's no small thing and you should be aware of what you're potentially getting yourself into.
 
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#49
Dayjin39 said:
Wow, I'm really surprised and happy to see this many people willing to help me out. So, as far as reading music, I can read, but it takes me much longer than it should. I will talk to my parents about lessons, but because of the price, I will most likely be working with YouTube videos and hopefully some books that you guys suggest. I'm not sure if I have the ability to major in it, so I will probably minor in Jazz Studies and Major in Psychology. Seriously it's awesome to see this much help.
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Take piano with someone who can teach jazz and classical and help you improve your reading. Knowing what the notation symbols mean is not reading. Keeping with the actual flow of time while playing from notation something you have not seen before—with very few mistakes and no stops and starts—that is reading.

Remember what Jaco said, "Nobody reads 'just a little.' You either read well, or you don't read." Get a part-time job to pay for lessons.
 
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#50
MYLOWFREQ said:
If the schools you want to apply are close to where you live, I'd suggest going there and meeting the students. You might get to talk to an advisor. Most of the schools have open houses where you can get a chance to talk to the instructors. If you ask for their advice, they'd be happy to help you and you'd know what you should focus on specifically. Good luck!
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This! We're glad to help, but getting it straight from someone at that school these days should be very easy.
 
#51
Former music major here. I agree with others, but would say more forcefully: Start in on your piano.......asap. You'll need to take it anyway, and it is the "key" if you will to any academic study. Blah, Blah, Blah. Take piano lessons if you're serious at all about studying music.
 
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#54
One good choice will be to get some beginner books to start having the first impression on some of the main music topics bass and not-bass related, bassbooks.com is a great place to visit for the amazing library availability.
But sometimes it can't be enough and maybe taking some lessons from a bass instructor will be the best choice as someone previously wrote.
If you need more help, feel free to contact me.
Ciao
 
#55
You are young, so best advice is learn to read music and learn music theory. Work hard and set some learning goals. Learn to play some music genre you don't necessarily listen to.
Following those tips will prevent you from one day reaching a plateau and getting stuck there forever like most self taught musicians.

I am mostly self taught and started playing bass in 1986 after seeing a guy in a music store playing all those insane Mark King, Stanley Clark slapping licks. Forward 30 years later and I pretty much play all this. I don't slap much anymore but It is a great satisfaction to grab a bass and play pretty much whatever you like.
 
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#57
MalcolmAmos said:
Reading standard notation and being able to sight read fast enough to play from SN will be a must. If your high school has a jazz band program, sign up.

Music theory - try this. Music Theory Book - Free Download

www.jazzbooks.com will be time well spent.
This is a free E-book and a must have. Jamey Aebersold Jazz: Free Jamey Aebersold Jazz Handbook
Look around once you are into jazzbooks lot of good information there. Jamey Aebersold Jazz

You will need to know the notes in each chord, i.e. R-3-5-7 for all maj7 chords. R-b3-5-b7 for all minor seven chords, etc. This site will help with all that R-3-5-7 stuff. How to get started? And this needs to be in your reference file. Chord Formulas



Good luck.
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MalcomAmos is pretty much the go to guy for theory around here. Heed his advice, OP. Look up his posts. You'll learn a ton.
 

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