hi, sorry if i stuck this in the wrong forum. i'm pretty new here and made my account yesterday lol.
i don't know if i'm allowed to ask this since it's kind of vague, but does anyone have any tips for someone who'd like to learn bass? i got my first bass for christmas recently and i don't really have any experience playing instruments besides the recorder back when i was in middle school.
i'm just looking for general pointers since i'm not really sure where else to go for tips? any recommendations for a decent amp i should get or any good tutorials for technique and form? i figured most people here are experienced since that's the idea i get from seeing all the recent posts so i wanted to ask here first before i tried other places like reddit or something
I'm sure you have too many tips and pointers already, so i'll add some more
- Practice and play every day, even if just for a few minutes.
- Practice and playing are two different things. Yes, you will develop skills the more you play. You're reinforcing skills you've practiced but not learning new skills. Also playing without practicing is reinforcing bad habits.
Playing is playing.
Practice is deliberate skill improvement.
- Yes, there's a lot to learn and sometimes practice can feel a bit tedious, but also have fun with it. It's music. Music should be fun, so don't forget to have fun with it.
- You can learn a lot for free online. But, be careful because there's as much bad info online as there is good info. Any jerk can start a YT/Insta/TkTk page and claim to be an expert. Also, in-person lessons are one of the best ways to learn, because a real human can watch and listen to what you're doing and give you instant feedback on what to practice, and they help curate what you learn. With all the info out there, where do you start? A good teacher has that all figured out for you.
- Once you get enough under your belt to play through some simple songs, start playing with other people. We play bass to make music. Find people at your skill level to learn songs together with. Amazing way to learn. Go to open jams. Find players who are better than you and sit in with them for a bit. Playing with better players forces you to play better. Another amazing way to learn. And when you're playing with players who aren't at your skill level yet, help them play better by giving them a solid bedrock of bass. Good players play well. Great players make other players play well.
- If you don't get something right during
Practice, stop and get it right. If you keep playing it wrong, you're essentially training yourself to keep doing it wrong. If you mess something up while
Playing, don't stop; just keep going. We all make mistakes all the time, but the song keeps moving so just forget about the mistake and keep playing. Then go back and practice the bit you flubbed after.
- If you're really struggling to learn something in Practice and keep screwing up, stop for the day. Sleep on it. Your brain literally teaches itself things you've been learning while you sleep. It's ok to struggle with a new skill. Don't just stop and give up if something is difficult. But also, don't kill yourself trying to get it in one sitting. Practice + sleep + time is how we learn. You'll get it.
- Probably most important:
Just keep playing and learning one thing at a time.
Don't overwhelm yourself with too much at once. It'll seem like an impossible task. Getting better at music making is a lifelong endeavor. If you keep at it, every day you'l be a little better than the day before for the rest of your life, which is amazing.
