What should I start learning or practicing to improve my bass playing?

[Green Knight]

My first teacher taught me tunes. I played them with little understanding. My second teacher, a pro still at it today 30+ years later, taught me modes. I had to learn them by memory. It took me years to figure out exactly how they join to make different keys, but it gave me a lasting base I could default to while improvising or writing alike. Our guitarist never learned any modes — he plays blues scales over everything, and can do it effortlessly up and down the fretboard, but it's too much lol.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Based on your question and description of your level of knowledge vs time you have played, it sounds like you are probably more advanced in your basic skills than in your knowledge of theory. A structured approach to moving forward would benefit you, either a teacher or a well-organized online course. BassBuzz has one on YouTube (paid), Rick Brown has structured lessons on The Brown'sTone on his Youtube channel (free), and then of course there are books if you can read music.

 

[Keomar]

Hey, I've been playing bass for a couple of years and right now I'm at a point where I'm not sure what to focus on to get to the point I want. When I first began I was interested in learning theory so I learned the basics (I think), (I know how to play minor, major, 7th and dominant 7th arpeggios) and learned where the ntoes are on the fretboard, but I always felt like I never implemented the basic knowledge of theory properly on my playing, (I always noodled randomly not being aware of what I am doing except for playing simple triads). This year I got really into motown and became a fan of James Jamersons playing. I sometimes open iRealPro and try to improvise on the chord changes, and basically what I want to be able to do is to be more aware of what I'm doing and to learn how/when to emphasise chords / chord changes on my bass. I want to understand chord progressions better and how they work. I feel a bit lost because I think I need to find a way to implement what I learned on my bass playing which I havent done for years. Do you guys have any suggestions? have you ever been in a similar situation? If so, what did you practice or do? Thanks!!

Well I would %100 advice you to practice with pedal notes. Open a pedal G for example. Practice scales over it. That way you can improve your relative pitch by understanding the relationship between the root note and other notes in a scale. This also helps you to learn songs by ear and play what you hear in your mind! Good luck!

 

[mambo4]

I want to understand chord progressions better and how they work.

My response to thread titles like this is "learn to read music",
because any one at a plateau & unsure of what to practice should probably do that.
But sheet music does not explicitly describe the underlying patterns of chord progressions.

The first part of understanding chord progressions is adopting the I - ii - iii -IV - vi - vii point of view
aka Roman numeral analysis
aka functional harmony
aka Nashville numbers
aka diatonic harmony

The Basic Theory PDF linked in my sig contains this information.

The second part of understanding chord progressions answering the question what do I play over these chords?
which has as much to do with style as theory. The information that answers that question can be found by learning lots of songs

 

[SteveCS]

For anyone interested, the full first page of what I posted earlier is in the attached *.pdf. I chose the minor key because all 4 triad types (major, minor, diminished and augmented) appear diatonically without alteration.

 

[bherman]

Given that you said that you can't read music, I'd recommend that you start there. Get a copy of Ed Friedlands book Hal Leonards Bass Method (Amazon sells it) and work your way through it slowly and methodically. In addition to learning to read (which opens many doors for learning), he builds in alot of the things that you need to know. Otherwise you're just gonna be bouncing around from one shiny object to another.

 

[wboyd68]

Find yourself a band.

 

[KenSmithFan]

Get a good qualified teacher who will help you articulate your goals and start working towards them. Just working on something with no idea how it relates to the big picture is unlikely to stick.

 

[antfarm]

Given that you said that you can't read music, I'd recommend that you start there. Get a copy of Ed Friedlands book Hal Leonards Bass Method (Amazon sells it) and work your way through it slowly and methodically. In addition to learning to read (which opens many doors for learning), he builds in alot of the things that you need to know. Otherwise you're just gonna be bouncing around from one shiny object to another.

Great advice! StudyBass - Free interactive online bass lessons is another resource that aims to present a solid foundation for the understanding of music in general and the role of the bass.

 

[Erenzkm]

Given that you said that you can't read music, I'd recommend that you start there. Get a copy of Ed Friedlands book Hal Leonards Bass Method (Amazon sells it) and work your way through it slowly and methodically. In addition to learning to read (which opens many doors for learning), he builds in alot of the things that you need to know. Otherwise you're just gonna be bouncing around from one shiny object to another.

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely start reading music.

 

[bass12]

For learning to read I would recommend Jeff Berlin's reading package in PDF form:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

And, as already mentioned, learn to harmonize the major scale and learn about functional harmony. A little goes a long way.

I like to recommend this book for theory:

Amazon.com

 

[brianrost]

Anthony Wellington's "MILLPAD" video has been a game changer for me.

The patterns he shows I've known about for many years. It can be used to work out different fingerings for scales, modes, arpeggios, etc.

For a major scale:

If you start with whole-whole the root is on the index finger, cross over two strings and end with the pinky. On a 4 string, the root can be on either the E or A string. On a 5, 6 or more it can also be on the B.

If you start with half-whole, the root is on the middle finger, cross over two strings and end on the pinky. The rot can be on the same strings as the previous one.

If you start with whole-half, the root is on the pinky, cross over 3 strings this time and end on the index. On a 4 string, the root must be on the F string. ON 5, 6 or more it can be on the B string also.

 

[pbass2]

Find yourself a band.

This right here. I'd add, find yourself...bands! I don't see where you mention you're playing with other people. Learning technique, theory, et al is of course important, but if you really want to "improve your bass playing", get out there and play with as many different musicians in as many different genres as you can, whatever level you're at. There's no substitute in a book, app, or a teacher's practice room for playing with other musicians IRL. Bass is an accompaniment instrument after all.

 

[Erenzkm]

This right here. I'd add, find yourself...bands! I don't see where you mention you're playing with other people. Learning technique, theory, et al is of course important, but if you really want to "improve your bass playing", get out there and play with as many different musicians in as many different genres as you can, whatever level you're at. There's no substitute in a book, app, or a teacher's practice room for playing with other musicians IRL. Bass is an accompaniment instrument after all.

You're right, I used to play with some people 2, 3 years ago and it helped me a lot. Sadly I haven't been able to because I went to uni abroad. I am still searching for some musicians (I got a bit better with the language too).

 

[Erenzkm]

I think the best way might be to get a job with a band, record your playing, review and fix what you don't like.

I can understand the frustration with a lack of progress, but how can you measure your progress when it's a virtual impossibility to remember every note you just played and how well or how bad you played it? Odds are you're going play a lot more notes well than bad. A recording will show you areas where you need to focus which will shorten the learning curve.

Secondly, playing the bass without the ensemble is a lonely enterprise. The whole point of the art of playing bass is to provide the musical logic (see J.S. Bach) of the other parts of the piece. Trying to create the mental environment of playing in an ensemble is not the same as playing with other musicians. By recording your work with an actual ensemble you can judge your work in context which is a much more accurate feedback than your memory which tends to dwell on just mistakes

I've been fortunate to have been working in ensembles most of the last 60+ years and have been recording my work since the 70's. I have going on 50 years worth of examples of my work. Most of them have periods of what the heck was he thinking, but there is a lot more of really cool stuff in between. And that's is what you should be striving for, consistency, playing within your talent and serving the music and or the ensemble as best as your can.

I hope this helps. Best wishes.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[pbass2]

You're right, I used to play with some people 2, 3 years ago and it helped me a lot. Sadly I haven't been able to because I went to uni abroad. I am still searching for some musicians (I got a bit better with the language too).

One thing that helped me immensely (actually still does) is I'm really open to throwing myself into genres that might not necessarily be my own faves. Especially since I started playing pro of course--you gotta work--but even before then I was fortunately blessed with that musical curiosity. I came from being a rock kid, but I've learned a ton from reggae, country, various world styles, you-name-it. And not "rock hybrids" but the true forms. So maybe you'll find some musicians in a genre you wouldn't immediately gravitate to, and find out it's really fun!

 

[Lefty Joe]

Hey, I've been playing bass for a couple of years and right now I'm at a point where I'm not sure what to focus on to get to the point I want. When I first began I was interested in learning theory so I learned the basics (I think), (I know how to play minor, major, 7th and dominant 7th arpeggios) and learned where the ntoes are on the fretboard, but I always felt like I never implemented the basic knowledge of theory properly on my playing, (I always noodled randomly not being aware of what I am doing except for playing simple triads). This year I got really into motown and became a fan of James Jamersons playing. I sometimes open iRealPro and try to improvise on the chord changes, and basically what I want to be able to do is to be more aware of what I'm doing and to learn how/when to emphasise chords / chord changes on my bass. I want to understand chord progressions better and how they work. I feel a bit lost because I think I need to find a way to implement what I learned on my bass playing which I havent done for years. Do you guys have any suggestions? have you ever been in a similar situation? If so, what did you practice or do? Thanks!!

Like anyone else, I'll tell you what I did -- and especially, what I may have done recently that I wished I'd done earlier. And that, my friend, was listening and trying to play along with Van Morrison songs. Not so much Astral Weeks, where the bassist was overdubbed after the fact, but anything from Moondance onward. And while it's good to know the more popular/well-known early songs, this doesn't stop with his later albums.

Why VM in particular? Because of the styles involved, which often require a jazzer's sense of scale/arpeggio (which you already know) coupled with a pop musician's sense of song identity: Van's got dozens of songs in G which use the same four or five chords. As bassist, you will see how th changes work, over and over, with minor variations but still different results. In I've Been Working, you've got a killer groove with variations. In Wild Night, you're racing with the drummer to see who gets to the end of the phrase first, while also feeding into each change. In Real Real Gone, you've got a killer opening groove with variations that rivals what a guitar would do. In Cleaning Windows, you could sneak in a bit of thumb-popping, then lead into the chorus under the horns. And of course, in Into the Mystic, you have one of the most recognizable of all bass riffs; it's enough to play it just as it is.

 

[Moredator]

I have done the same for a long time. Always just noodling with chord tones, playing walking bass lines etc. What I think is really helpful is getting a Songsterr sub and start playing songs. Google what key and scale the song is in, so you get a deeper understanding of the song idea than you might with just tabs.