Tips For Beginners

[El_Charro]

Hi Everybody,

I recently joined this forum and I've gotten a lot of positive responses on my first post (thank you to everyone who responded to my questions about equipment).

Since I'm a total newbie I'm curious- For the more experienced players-What sort of tips/advice would you offer to someone who's starting to learn bass?

I started a little over two weeks ago and I'm trying to practice at least 60-90 minutes a day by playing tabs online at full speed using Songsterr. I'm not sure if this is the best way to learn but I feel like even in the short amount of time I've been playing I'm getting better.

I've been pleasantly surprised how much fun playing is especially after having failed at learning guitar earlier in life. I'm not entirely starting from scratch musically as I took piano as a kid and did choir in middle school.

Really wish I had picked up a bass sooner and really given it a serious try because it seems to fit my personality a lot better than guitar and it's a lot more fun to play from what I can tell.

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to improve and how to learn for a new players beyond taking lessons. Ordinarily I would probably try to find in person lessons, but with the pandemic I think I'm stuck doing it virtually or learning on my own for the moment.

Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Gorn]

If you're having fun and you're getting better than I think you're on the right track. Try to maintain good playing positions with your hands and your posture. You're building habits now that'll be very difficult to break so start with good ones. You don't have to play the songs at full speed. It'd be good to learn to read actual music. It's not nearly as difficult as it seams. Try to play songs by ear without any tabs from time to time. Just listen and try to play the right notes. Get a teacher if you can.

 

[Bassdirty]

Best advice I can give:

PRACTICE!

We have it great these days with the stuff we can learn from the internet. So many tips / facts (plenty of misinfo as well tho), but still worth it.

I wish I had practiced more when I 1st took up guitar back in the 80's. Then again, wish I could redo plenty of things I shoulda done differently..

Practice YO!

T$

 

[TolerancEJ]

@El_Charro Learning songs is a good way to start. This is developing your ear to identify notes.

I recommend some face-to-face lessons if there are other bassists offering lessons in your area. You will often find someone offering both guitar & bass lessons. Select the instructor whose instrument is bass first and guitar second. Watching instructional videos & YouTube is ok, but they cannot offer feedback on your techniques.

There is a lot of information online to research topics. At a very minimum, research the notes of your fretboard and notice how the notes will repeat every 12 frets and patterns on the fretboard, learn major and minor scales.

I'm not aware of your age, but if you're still going to school it will benefit if you sign up for Music class & learn to read music. You don't necessarily need to learn how to read music to be successful, but it will open a lot more opportunities to you.

 

[bholder]

Practice more.

 

[Malcolm35]

Learn where the notes are on the neck. When you see or hear a note/chord where do your fingers need to be.

I liked the following: How to get started? Post number 4 to memory will help.

 

[proverbs10_4]

Learn where all the notes are. Don’t do “technique” exercises. Good technique is a byproduct of playing music correctly.

 

[El_Charro]

Thanks everyone...

Good to know that practicing songs is a good (or at least okay) way to learn since I can't see a teacher in person at the moment. I also find it adds some degree of structure to practicing as I can focus on one song at a time vs just practicing certain techniques (I have looked at a few tutorials online, but playing songs seems to make practice time go by much more quickly).

One odd thing that I've noticed playing bass tabs vs my brief (and very unsuccessful) foray into guitar is that I somehow more instinctively try to play to the overall vibe of the song on bass especially if it's something I'm really familiar with.

On guitar I would get frustrated with my own inaccuracy and was so worried about my technique I would end up overthinking what I was trying to do which made it difficult to find my way back into the song (if that makes sense). On bass it's like I somehow know if I'm off and it doesn't seem as difficult to correct myself and get back to playing the correct notes whether that's using better technique or realizing my left hand is not where it is suppose to be.

Listening without tabs is also a good suggestion- I am trying to make myself play something relatively easy as a warm up every time I practice so eventually playing that song without looking at the tab would probably be a good place to start.

Thank you for the link to the above thread- I hadn't seen that yet so I appreciate the link especially since it has that diagram about where the notes correspond with the fretboard.

Thanks!

 

[MrLenny1]

IME tab is full of mistakes.
Trust your ears and learn the neck.

 

[mambo4]

If you are just starting out, watch the Holy trinity of beginner bass technique videos

 

[fearceol]

My tips/advice for what it is worth.

1. Avoid tab, or use VERY sparingly. Instead develop your ear by working out bass lines to songs yourself.
2. Develop safe right and left hand technique. It differs from that of guitar.
3. Regularity over duration is better. A half an hour a day is better than countless hours each weekend. Take
regular breaks between practice sessions and keep the time to forty five minutes approx. per session.
4. Read the "How To Get Started" link posted by Malcolm is post no.6.
5. Dont be too obsessed by speed. One of the hardest things to play on bass is a slow blues. Speed will happen by
itself over time.
6. Learn some basic theory. When doing so, give equal attention to both scales AND chord tones.

Best of luck...and welcome to the low end.

 

[lfmn16]

The best advice I can give is to get a good teacher. With all of the pros giving Skype lessons because they aren't playing, there is no excuse for not being able to find a good teacher.

 

[lfmn16]

Good technique is a byproduct of playing music correctly.

 

[BarfanyShart]

Learning songs from tab and recordings is pretty much how everyone gets started, so keep soing that as long as it is interesting to you, by all means. Just try learning the song straight from the recording for a little bit before you pull the tab, because that will help develop your ear. Learning the notes on the fingerboard, learning to read music, and learning some basic-to-intermediate theory are also all things you should set as goals. Another practically important thing that I think a lot of players overlook is developing your memory - learn 10-20 songs and then put them on a playlist and play them through in order with the recording - that's really the core skill you need to master to play in a band.

 

[40Hz]

I’m not affiliated in any way with this, but I thought the 8-moduie Practice Accelerator program from Scott’s Bass Lessons was worth the $147 price. I bought it as a refresher and was surprised to discover a few areas where my skills had either deteriorated over the years, or were nonexistent in the first place. Quite eye opening when you’ve been playing as long as I have. Talk about experiencing a Dunning-Kreuger moment!

If you can manage the self-discipline to work through it completely it’s a worthwhile investment of your money and time AFAIC.

 

[nilorius]

Keep practising, anything. That will help to make yourself better, day by day.

 

[Koshchei]

Hi Everybody,

I recently joined this forum and I've gotten a lot of positive responses on my first post (thank you to everyone who responded to my questions about equipment).

Since I'm a total newbie I'm curious- For the more experienced players-What sort of tips/advice would you offer to someone who's starting to learn bass?

I started a little over two weeks ago and I'm trying to practice at least 60-90 minutes a day by playing tabs online at full speed using Songsterr. I'm not sure if this is the best way to learn but I feel like even in the short amount of time I've been playing I'm getting better.

I've been pleasantly surprised how much fun playing is especially after having failed at learning guitar earlier in life. I'm not entirely starting from scratch musically as I took piano as a kid and did choir in middle school.

Really wish I had picked up a bass sooner and really given it a serious try because it seems to fit my personality a lot better than guitar and it's a lot more fun to play from what I can tell.

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to improve and how to learn for a new players beyond taking lessons. Ordinarily I would probably try to find in person lessons, but with the pandemic I think I'm stuck doing it virtually or learning on my own for the moment.

Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Awesome! Keep practicing, and when you find yourself starting to ask questions like "why does this chord sound good next to this other one?" sign up for some in-person or online lessons to learn your theory fundamentals and take your playing to the next level. SBL is an excellent resource.

 

[JRA]

for bass = strengthen the 'facilities' and potentials of what your fingers/hands/eyes/brains can do.
for music = strengthen the 'facilities' and potentials of what your ears can do.

good luck with your playing!

 

[SoCal80s]

Take lessons.
Study music theory as much as you study the bass.
Listen to and learn from all styles of music.
Surround yourself with musicians and play with them often.

 

[Bruiser Stone]

I like Scott’s Bass Lessons, but I can see how it’s not for everyone. He offers a 14-day trial period.

Aside from this, I suggest:

1. Make sure your bass is set up properly so that you are not fighting against your instrument.
2. Play along to any and all music you enjoy.
3. Learn chord tones in addition to scales.
4. Avoid Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS). It can be a distraction. Not all of your tone comes from your fingers, but gear isn’t the answer 9 times out of ten. Speaking from experience.