Stuff you wish you knew when first starting out

[static0verdrive]

Hi gang,

I don't think I've started a decent thought-provoking thread in a while, and this came to me this morning: What are some of the things you wish you'd been told or shown when you were first starting out?

Technique is tricky in this regard because unless you started with a good teacher, don't we ALL wish we were shown proper technique on day one?

My list includes stuff like:

• Chord tones instead of scales (or at least more important early on than scales)
• Scales over more than just one octave
• EQ basics (too much bass or low mids is bad, high mids helps cut through, etc)
• Basic setup (truss rod, bridge, intonation, etc)

What do you feel you learned later than you would have liked?

 

[GKon]

Keep practicing! Being good doesn't come easy or overnight.

Stop comparing yourself to everyone else and worrying when people are better than you.

Stop cutting class as a Music Major while in college.

Have fun!

 

[bholder]

Don't be afraid to try stuff because it sounds hard, the harder it is to figure and and learn to play, the more fun it is to play! (To a point, at least, everyone's tolerance for the required suffering differs.)

 

[samson3382]

Bands come and go, don't stick with something that you're not into.

(Not that I would have listened)

 

[Groove Doctor]

Playing recorded music an octave up makes bass lines a LOT easier to hear/learn.

Spend good money on speakers & headphones. Makes a massive difference.

Spend the time needed to learn & memorise songs. You play better on stage as a result.

 

[Aberdumbie]

Finger discipline. Never realized how aweful fret buzz sounded till my first visit to a studio

 

[mambo4]

a bassist who plays simple lines and can sing backup is more hire able than a bassist who play complex lines and does not sing

 

[bigboy_78]

Basic setup – I can’t believe I played my bass before I had it set-up, or how simple the basics are. Truss Rods are accessible for a reason, so are the screws at the bridge.

Singing – That’s my goal for this year. I have zero vocal ability. I wish I had spent more time on it when I was young and everything was easy.

Drugs (inc Alcohol) - Drugs are fun, music is fun, both together are great fun…….but they’re kinda not. Played in too many bands with guys who were essentially drug addicts looking for a pastime to use as an excuse. If something isn’t fun when you’re not wasted, you don’t really enjoy it. You just enjoy being wasted.

 

[Sixpack324]

I wish I learned/knew:

Be a musician first, and an instrumentalist second

Modes are important...... But not that important

How to actually USE the circle of fifths

 

[tfer]

Use your bass heroes as inspiration, but stop trying to be them. You'll never accomplish it, and all you end up doing is chasing your tail.

Instead, find your own voice. When you hear a song, sing the bassline you hear in your head, then transcribe that.

 

[fearceol]

I did not fall into the trap myself, because I started playing long before the internet era. However, to people who are starting out, I would say....dont rely on tabs, but instead develop your ear by trying to figure things out for yourself. It may seem time consuming now, but in the long run it will pay off in spades.

 

[Lanky Tunes]

- Think in intervals instead of notes/letters and learn to play everything in in all keys. Learn how they work to make chords, scales, ect..
I learned to play some great stuff right away, but couldn't really translate it to anything else.

- shag TAB. Really.
I could already read for alto sax at an intermediate level and was just too lazy to bother with even trying for bass.

- Play whatever you like, but learn, practice, and master the blues and basic/early jazz.
The lessons in functional harmony here carries over to everything.

- Start singing while playing ASAP.
It's not actually impossible. I was doing both, but never together.

 

[micahwc]

EQ, as mentioned before. I remember 17 years ago getting my first real amp and taking it to school, I had no idea how to set up its graphic EQ. Band teacher cuts the mids completely and sets the EQ into a V. I played it that way for years before I figured I could do different things with it. (I'm a slow learner)

You get better faster by playing music with other people. I took this for granted as the first two years of playing I played in a school jazz band, and then went about 10 without playing with anyone else.

Doing your own set up allows you to get your guitar or bass to fit you better and its cheaper than having someone else do it for you.

Start learning fingerstyle acoustic guitar since knowing barre chords will help your bass scales and arpeggios, as well as help build finger dexterity in your plucking hand.

Listen to different styles of music, even those you don't particularly like, as frequently they will employ different playing techniques. Learn to play those songs you don't like, and learn to play them well.

Know going into this that you are probably always going to be in the back row behind the guitar players and singers; and be okay with that before starting.

Lock in with your drummer.

Lock in with your drummer.

Lock in with your drummer.

Have fun every time you play or its not worth doing. It's not a job (for most people), it's not a chore, it's something we do because we enjoy it. Your energy and enthusiasm come through your playing and your audience can pick up on it. It will make a difference.

Learn to read actual sheet music, chord sheets, and TAB. (I'd add the Nashville Number system if I knew how to do it ) I've gotten chosen for gigs because I could read the piano music and play.

 

[pjbassist]

How many more doors will open when you learn to read music.

 

[Mike Goebel]

Be humble and get a teacher. When I started playing bass back in the early 90s, I wanted so badly to be that amazing self-taught musician. I worked hard and I was a good player, but I could have been so much better if I hadn't been so hard-headed. I turns out, all that stubbornness did was insert an array of knowledge gaps and bad habits in my playing...kind of like a road with lots of potholes: you can still drive on it, but it could be much smoother. It took me a lot longer than I care to admit to actually say out loud that I needed help to correct the things that were holding me back. And, getting that help took my playing to a whole new level...it also didn't hurt that the teacher who corrected all of these ills was Adam Nitti. Three years taking lessons from him totally reshaped both my playing and who I was as a musician. I just wish I'd been more open sooner. Alas, the perils of youth.

 

[hintz]

Bands come and go, don't stick with something that you're not into.

(Not that I would have listened)

By the same token, stick *with* a group your really into!!

 

[Pyrat]

Gig as often as possible with as many people as possible! Playing live make ya think fast and learn faster...and YOUR style will become cool, not the people you're a fan of...PLAY HARD! Oooh! and the drugs and alcohol bits...save it for when you're old...it matters way less then...you're gonna die soon enough!

 

[Bodeanly]

Do not date your manager.

 

[samson3382]

By the same token, stick *with* a group your really into!!

Exactly. Or start one.

 

[static0verdrive]

Do not date your manager.

Uh oh - dipped your pen in the company ink, did ya? I can't imagine that ends well... (edit: "ink well" pun not intended)