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What one specific thing do you feel helped elevate your playing

#81
Playing in a band did it for me. Not my first band, which was a pop punk band. Not my second band, which was like a melodic hardcore band. But, my 3rd band. Which is the cover band I'm currently in and have been in for 9 years now. Having to play just about genre of music and having to learn all the different styles and techniques of bass playing really made me grow as a player. I would still be pretty narrow skilled hadn't I joined my current band. But, I still have a LOT to learn.
 
#83
This was many, many years ago, after a few years of playing, but for me, the biggest impact on my playing was COMPLETELY dismissing the idea of "learning songs" and focusing on the basic elements of a line and the bass's role in the greater scheme of things.
 
#84
BAG said:
Moving from guitar to bass I was able to get playing really quickly just using the arpeggio shapes in a sheet similar to this below. I started with getting to know the Pattern 1 and Pattern 4 major and minor shapes. Knowing just these two patterns meant I could easily play a major or minor of any chord just by hitting the root on either the E or the A string. Once comfortable with that adding in a b7 or 6th gave some different flavours. While I now have learnt a lot more I still use Pattern 1 and 4 the most.

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In terms of the color coding on the chart? Are the red notes the root? The black passing tones or other notes in the scale? What are the grey notes supposed to to denote?
BAG said:
Moving from guitar to bass I was able to get playing really quickly just using the arpeggio shapes in a sheet similar to this below. I started with getting to know the Pattern 1 and Pattern 4 major and minor shapes. Knowing just these two patterns meant I could easily play a major or minor of any chord just by hitting the root on either the E or the A string. Once comfortable with that adding in a b7 or 6th gave some different flavours. While I now have learnt a lot more I still use Pattern 1 and 4 the most.

View attachment 1057730
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I hope I don't sound like a nutcase, but do you have this in a left handed version? Or maybe I view it upside down?
 
#86
MalcolmAmos said:
Being part of a band and augmenting, not competing with, the other members.
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I believe the 2 days you learn most as a musician are the first time you play with others and the first time you do that on stage.

When I was 19, after playing around at home with a bass since I was 15 (I had played cello for 6 years in school), I suddenly got the opportunity to play with a couple old pros. Over the course of 3 days, the band leader/guitarist and primary lead vocalist went through a list of 40 simple 3 (or fewer) chord rock and country covers. On day 1 I was terrible. On day 2 I was exponentially less terrible.

On day 4, we started a 5 night a week gig at a little hotel bar. I thought I was terrible. In retrospect, I at least had the sense to just focus on pounding out root notes and keeping the rhythm solid. As much as I dreaded the second night, I was surprised to discover I felt almost competent (actual competence took a good week) after just that one night. It probably helped that I was only crapping my pants in fear until the first downbeat, instead of all night long.

When I picked up the bass again, 25 years removed from my last gig, I found 1 other thing which has allowed me to progress much more quickly the second time around. This was the first time I actually had a proper lefty instrument, and I quickly realized that the solution to almost every problem was better technique. Before I knew why to practice, now I know how to make the most efficient use of my practice time.
 
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#89
for me it was when I went from playing with wanna be musicians who never practice and who saw band rehearsals as a excuse for a drinking session ,to playing with "musicians", who put 100% effort into their music and art ....... "I had to up my game bigtime" ,that's what elevated my playing .........also learning some theory helped ,understanding how intervals work ,learning all the scales , also playing guitar and some keys helped my ability as a bassist IMO.
 
#91
When my first bass teacher encouraged me to stop obsessing over other people's songs (covers) and start creating my own

Jazzcaster89 said:
Talking about this at work today. Some answers I hadn't thought of. Made me want to learn those things. So I figured, I'll keep it going on here. What one thing did you learn that stands out. That took you from beginner to intermediate or advanced. That once you had it down you knew you had elevated your playing ability. Ready? Go!
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#93
Playing in a band

Learning about scales to be able to embellish bass lines

Being forced to "read" music = following chords and the flow of the song (repeats, coda and all that fancy stuff)

Playing old worship music with unusual timings

I realize the last 2 most likely do not apply to most people playing in a "regular" band, but in my case the church I play at uses a lot of contemporary worship music, but we still do a lot of old stuff "modernized"
 
#94
This:

I started as a guy with no theory, jamming with friends in college. We weren't very good, but it was fun and nobody had any problems with muddling through strictly by ear. Then, I started working on modal scales and basic theory. It was great for getting to know my fretboard, but I started feeling a bit disconnected/ locked in compared to what I did when I was a rookie. Better, but more confined. Then I found the above video and so many things just fell into place. It was the missing piece for me.
 
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#95
For me, I feel that this book on Latin Bass has helped me cross through one of the many roadblocks we encounter as bass players. This book helped me in my sightreading, string muting, off beat accents, creating my own funk bass lines, really just getting my groove on - the skills I am continuing to learn from this book cross over to so many other types of music.

The Latin Bass Book: A Practical Guide by Oscar Stagnaro and Chuck Sher | Sher Music Co.

I practice the exercise, put the cd in my tascam bass trainer, and play along with the rhythm section into my headphones.
 
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#96
lawjazz1 said:
For me, I feel that this book on Latin Bass has helped me cross through one of the many roadblocks we encounter as bass players. This book helped me in my sightreading, string muting, off beat accents, creating my own funk bass lines, really just getting my groove on - the skills I am continuing to learn from this book cross over to so many other types of music.

The Latin Bass Book: A Practical Guide by Oscar Stagnaro and Chuck Sher | Sher Music Co.

I practice the exercise, put the cd in my tascam bass trainer, and play along with the rhythm section into my headphones.
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Great resource - I just started doing this book, and its great stuff.
 
#99
Listening to musicians who aren't bass players expands my musical landscape more than any other practice, in my experience. It's a matter of taste I suppose, but I turn my ears players like Sonny Rollins, Art Tatum, Airto Moreira, Tito Puente &c. Old school, I suppose. Sonny Rollins was my hero when others at school were having the vapors over Mickey Dolenz ... haha. And listening to Art Tatum play time is a jaw dropping experience for me.

I would say careful listening is at least as important as playing my bass.
 
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