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Should I do bass covers on youtube?

G

gfdhicool

Jun 8, 2012
134
0
#1
I've seen many people doing it (good and bad) and of course,It seems fun :)

Unfortunately,I'm afraid that people will make fun of me as well (I'm 15).Here are a few songs out of the 100 I transcribed that I feel like covering.

The Who-My Generation
Genesis-Watcher of the Skies
Rush-Tom Sawyer,Red Barchetta,YYZ,Limelight,Vital Signs,La Villa Strangiato,2112.I still need to get into Rush.
Yes-Close to the Edge (2nd day learning it,but I'll finish by tomorrow),Roundabout.
Iron Maiden-90% of their 80's material.I can play most of their older stuff perfectly.
The Beatles-90% of their stuff.
Queen-All the material on their greatest hits and a few gems.
Duran Duran-Rio
Black Sabbath-Anything except War Pigs.
Deep Purple-Speed King,Highway Star,Living Wreck,Into the Fire,and I'm going to learn Pictures of Home.

Should I do it?
 
#2
Yes people will make fun of you some out of jealousy and stupidity but there will be folks who you will inspire if you have a thick skin do it and if you don't disable the ability for people to leave comments.
 
#3
Well, there are about a million people doing that already that are probably a lot better than you, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.
But don't do it if you think it will make you look "cool" to other people. Do it if you really think you have something to offer in the way you are covering the songs you choose.
 
#4
thedane said:
Well, there are about a million people doing that already that are probably a lot better than you, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.
But don't do it if you think it will make you look "cool" to other people. Do it if you really think you have something to offer in the way you are covering the songs you choose.
Click to expand...

I think I'm doing alright for someone who's been playing for about a year and a half :P,but you're right,there's people on youtube that are older and better than me (more experience).
 
#5
mjac28 said:
Yes people will make fun of you some out of jealousy and stupidity but there will be folks who you will inspire if you have a thick skin do it and if you don't disable the ability for people to leave comments.
Click to expand...

You're right.I'm sensitive when it comes to my playing,since I want to become a serious bass player.But the only way I'll get better is if I just take the criticism.
 
#10
Do it. If someone makes fun of you, well, good for them. You're 15. In ten years you'll school them like they were babies. Most people who can't actually do it, just talk.
Personal Note: If you're familiar with Maiden's 80's work, then you need to work on their 2000's stuff. Brave New World is an awesome new album and, while a slightly different direction for the band, it marked Bruce Dickinson's return to the band and a new chapter in Maiden. New Frontier isn't what I was expecting from them (too jammy), but it was ok. A Matter of Life and Death was solid as hell and Brighter than a Thousand Suns is definitely worth checking.
 
#12
Most of those videos have apologetic players. I hate that. Don't mature in public. Maybe tape yourself and evaluate in private instead.

"Should we hire him for our band?"

"No, he did one of those videos for youtube back in the day. Can't be seen with that."
 
#13
Go for it! A couple of years ago I did two of them - Open Secrets and Grand Designs by Rush - and I really enjoyed doing it. Sure, there'll always be guys better than you, but so what? Just don't take the criticism personally. Pick a song you like, rehearse the hell out of it, then record it and upload it to YT - it's that simple! :)
 
#14
Bassisgood4U said:
Most of those videos have apologetic players. I hate that. Don't mature in public. Maybe tape yourself and evaluate in private instead.

"Should we hire him for our band?"

"No, he did one of those videos for youtube back in the day. Can't be seen with that."
Click to expand...

I understand what you mean,but a lot of my ****'s accurate and I'm not very sloppy if I'm wide awake.

I REALLY want to do My Generation,because the guy doing it on youtube can't even get the bass solos correct
 
#15
gfdhicool said:
I understand what you mean,but a lot of my ****'s accurate and I'm not very sloppy if I'm wide awake.

I REALLY want to do My Generation,because the guy doing it on youtube can't even get the bass solos correct
Click to expand...

Then do it!
I did a fairly awful (disclaimer: My friends thought it was nice even if I didn't.) cover of Sugar Were Going Down, with all the instruments. I'm not ashamed to have it on YouTube! It was fair for a first try.
If you post a cover I wanna hear it!
 
#16
Bassisgood4U said:
Most of those videos have apologetic players. I hate that. Don't mature in public. Maybe tape yourself and evaluate in private instead.

"Should we hire him for our band?"

"No, he did one of those videos for youtube back in the day. Can't be seen with that."
Click to expand...

Food for thought, I fellow I know got his job with one of, if not the, biggest metal bands in Chile through his youtube videos. I have seen pics of him opening for Maiden standing in front of a sea of people. Youtube videos are just another way to get yourself out there.

Do it, just don't be upset when people start tossing out names along with the constructive criticisms, the internet brings out the best and the worst in people.
 
#17
if you want to be a serious bass player, don't post covers on youtube they will come back to haunt you. I am a huge proponent of keeping ones internet presence as minimal and un-personal as possible. that way when you actually want to promote yourself in the future with some serious work of your own, you have a clean slate to work from and you can create any image of yourself that you desire. as a musician/artist (or any sort of professional really) this is a vary useful tool to have at your disposal when it comes to promotion etc. for my money, play with/for your friends in real life, and don't use the internet as your personal diary. by all means record yourself playing things (I have a tape running every time i am noodling around if possible), but it is in your best interest to be vary selective with what you release to the world. I know this might sound like something that a 60+ year old would say, you know, back in my day we had no internet, and we had to walk both ways up hill in the snow carrying a full SVT rig in order to be heard by other people etc. I actually grew up with the internet, and sometimes I wish my name was not on those myspace band profiles circa 2004 that I no longer have access to, yet still come up when people google me.
 
#18
Do it! Great learning experience. It will force yourself to learn the songs well and at the same time you will learn about recording and video editing. My advice - don't use a mic. Record digital direct and mix the backing track low so people can hear your playing. Wish I had these resources available to me when I was your age.....
 
#19
Go for it! You can always minimize how visible the videos are by setting them to unlisted and/or not giving them any tags. I find them helpful because it really shows me places that I need to work on (timing, musical expression, etc.). It's also nice to have kind of a chronology of your progress, for better or worse.

Recording direct is useful. This probably isn't the best method, but I use Audacity (free audio program) and load an mp3 into it as one track. Then I have my bass go to my amp which goes into my pc, and record that as a second track. I record the song, and then go back and edit it. Editing is usually just syncing up the two tracks since there's usually a couple milliseconds of lag during recording and then pushing my track to one side and the original track to the other. Then I save that as an mp3, load it into a crappy video editing program, and sync up the mp3 to the muted video. It's all tedious, but it's free and gets to be a fun hobby after a while.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that at 15, another thing you won't have to worry about is seeing a 15-yr-old absolutely rock out on a song and think to yourself "I'm almost 30 and can't play like that! That's not fair!" Lol
 

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