Where & how do you find "others" to play with?

[Deleted member 409896]

Confirmed, at least one of the local independents has a no-kidding bulletin board.

Time for me to stop by and put up an ad, or at least see if there are any ads of interest.

Their other suggestion was Craigslist. I do check once a week, but that has been a dry well, so far. Ads are there, including opportunities nearby, but are only looking for serious, commercial-grade bass players, who are ready to tour. That's not me. Yet, lol.

 

[hrodbert696]

As far as ability level goes; I once had a friend who was teaching himself bass ask if I could play Sir Duke. I laughed and said no. Honestly, I only have a vague idea of what Sir Duke even sounds like, let alone how it's bass part goes. He was flabbergasted. How did anyone get to play in gigging bands if they couldn't play Sir Duke?

Suffice to say, you can play with people no matter your level.

I initially met people to play with via Craigslist. You have to sort through lots of crap, but eventually can connect to people worth playing with. You don't have to limit yourself to replying to others' ads; place your own. If you just say honestly, "Beginning bassist looking for people to jam with casually," you may find you start getting bites.

After some years of CL bands, most of which crashed and burned after a while (yes, it's not unlike dating - most just don't work out), eventually I got to the point that I'm connected enough to a circle of good musicians that I don't need to do that any more. Someone has a project and asks me to play with them, or vice-versa.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

I have a Craigslist ad up now. No point in linking here, since we're all bass players, ha.

Bandmix is still crickets. I suspect they do the same thing the online dating websites used to be notorious for: padding the site with fake accounts (likely "AI"-generated), to make it look busier than it really is, to convince you to pay for a subscription.

Practice at home is going well. I am definitely nowhere near pro level, but I no longer fear that I'll be wasting everyone's time.

A lot of stuff I learned years ago is coming back to me, which is cool. Only, this time I'm paying more attention to fundamentals. Might even record some of my practice, to see if I sound like I think I sound.

Something I have today that I did not years ago: YouTube play-along vids with "everything but bass", covering jazz standards and many other songs. In more than one tempo, even, some which also highlight where you should be in the chart. Hugely helpful for practice.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Wow, actually got a (seemingly actual human being) response to my CL. Guitar player.

We will still need a drummer, at minimum, but that's something I suppose.

 

[bucephylus]

I have a Craigslist ad up now. No point in linking here, since we're all bass players, ha.

Bandmix is still crickets. I suspect they do the same thing the online dating websites used to be notorious for: padding the site with fake accounts (likely "AI"-generated), to make it look busier than it really is, to convince you to pay for a subscription.

Practice at home is going well. I am definitely nowhere near pro level, but I no longer fear that I'll be wasting everyone's time.

A lot of stuff I learned years ago is coming back to me, which is cool. Only, this time I'm paying more attention to fundamentals. Might even record some of my practice, to see if I sound like I think I sound.

Something I have today that I did not years ago: YouTube play-along vids with "everything but bass", covering jazz standards and many other songs. In more than one tempo, even, some which also highlight where you should be in the chart. Hugely helpful for practice.

CL is generally the most used connection forum, IME. But, there are exceptions.

We spent 11 years in PHX; and the standard connection forum was CL. Then we moved to Tucson. Whole different scene there. Almost none of the Tucson musicians used CL while we were there. BANDMIX was by far the more used forum. Extreme difference in the musical cultures between those cities. Just saying that networking can have pretty large variations, depending on the local communities.

 

[OldBlue61]

I've had a decent amount of success w/ Bandmix, and that's with a free account. I've met a couple of people/groups through that website.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Craigslist. I do check once a week, but that has been a dry well, so far. Ads are there, including opportunities nearby, but are only looking for serious, commercial-grade bass players, who are ready to tour. That's not me. Yet, lol.

Really?!?! We should swap cities! All the "bassist wanted" ads on my local Craigslist are looking for non-serious amateur-grade bass players who are ready to hang out in a garage jamming for six months before finally playing a 20 minute set at the brewpub's Wednesday open mic night.

 

[ryco]

Anymore they find me.
Recommend you hang around clubs featuring bands playing the styles you are interested in playing. Just hang. Get to know the bands and players. Let them get to know you and tell what you can, or would like, to do.
And you can tack your name up on music store and coffee shop bulletin boards.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

That escalated quickly.

I showed up again, to a weekend jam session I sat in on a few weeks ago. This time I was ready to play.

It went reasonably well. I got lost a couple of times, but found my place again, thanks in part to a drummer and keyboard player who knew what they were about. So, not a total trainwreck.

After, said drummer and keyboardist asked for my contact info. We'll see if that turns into anything.

I was also asked to be "the" bass player at one of the regular sessions. I gave my availability. TBD whether that turns into anything either, but seems promising.

 

[T McClure]

If there’s a School of Rock anywhere near you, they have adult programs. You can play there with musicians who have quite a wide range of proficiency. Often, a few folks in those programs, the more committed ones, will break out on their own to form a band.

School of Rock and their similar competitors work as the easy mode to getting to play with others. It's like joining an adult team sport where they handle picking the songs, getting you all to rehearse the songs together, and handle the logistics of getting you to play live shows every couple of months. It's a set time each week.

It's not cheap, but you know what you're getting.

 

[Mark from Boston]

Dr Mr. Hack:

A few things that have worked for me:

1) Ask around among your friends — at work or in the neighborhood or wherever — and find someone who plays guitar. Beginner/intermediate guitar players are thick on the ground. Get together and play some tunes, just bass and guitar. No pressure at all, just two friends having fun. I started playing in my basement with a work buddy and I learned a whole heck of a lot quickly. Had a blast. That led the two of us to ...

2) If there's no School of Rock around where you live, hunt around for a small private music "studio" or "center" (they're not called schools because then they'd have to meet state education requirements). Searching for "music lessons near me" may help you find such a place. These places are usually owned by a professional musician and offer lessons and ensembles for beginning and intermediate players. All these ensembles need bass players. That'll not only get you playing with others, but the ensemble will have a teacher.

3) Any colleges near you that offer degrees in music? Some of these colleges' music departments offer adult education ensembles (adult ed is a big money-maker for colleges). If there is a conservatory anywhere near you it is likely the conservatory will have an adult ed program.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

We do have a School of Rock here, but I'm not interested in paying to play at this time. There are too many opportunities that cost nothing more than my time.

I did finally get what appears to be a legit message on Bandmix, in the last few days. Cover band looking for a new bass player, apparently. I got a list of songs they typically play, and I'll see if I can handle them.

Might get together with the guitar player who responded to my CL ad next weekend. TBD.

Stuff is slowly starting to happen.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Guitar player stopped responding. Must have other stuff going on.

The cover band stuff is too much for me now. Also, they're in the next town over. It's a 30-minute no-traffic, 45 minutes to an hour real-traffic (typical weekday) drive each way.

I'll go play with the jazz folks this weekend. They're 10 minutes away.

 

[Lamphun_Lamyai]

Don't live in Thailand. I feel completely ham-strung by 1) the language barrier although music can transcend that, and I speak enough Thai to communicate although not necessarily effectively, and 2) you can actually get arrested for "working without a work-permit" for being a foreigner who dares to play in a public jam session. It's happens and it sucks. It's literally seen as "taking a job away from a Thai." Playing with others is a real issue if you are a non-Thai who is living as an expat in this country. Show me a country in the West where you risk getting arrested for jamming in a public jam session with no funds interchanged and accused of "taking jobs away from a Western country's nationals" by practicing with other musicians if you are legally residing in a Western country.
Amazing Thailand.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

I did play with the jazz folks again. They had a bass player scheduled, but we shared. He also plays keys, so he switched to that once I took over on bass.

I also found out about a couple of other jam session opportunities around town. Neither of which is more than a 15 minute drive away, which is nice.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Played with the jazz folks again last weekend. This go-around it was coordinated ahead of time, so I got a 1.5 hr session all to myself.

It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't a total disaster. Liked some of the tunes, didn't like others so much, got lost a few times but mostly found my place. don't know if I'm getting invited back. We'll see.

One reason to keep going back: I will definitely build endurance, by playing with these folks.

One of the features of the sessions is that everyone gets a solo.

"Solo" means everyone else plays accompaniment, for either an entire run-through of the song, or for the "solos" section if one is written (e.g. Moanin').

It's brutal.

Why? Here's why.

Let's suppose it takes 2 minutes, on average, to get all the way through a typical jazz standard, including all the repeats and multiple endings.

Since everyone gets a solo, that means I'm playing a bassline for "Autumn Leaves" for at least 20 minutes straight, if there are 10 people at the session that day. Closer to 25 minutes, including that initial run-through of the "book" melody, or if there are more people.

I do not want any solos yet, and they are OK with that.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Holy crap, I got invited back to play again!

Unfortunately I had prior commitments for this weekend, but they're not necessarily expecting one to play EVERY weekend or else you're out. I told them I could do it the following weekend so that is probably what will happen.

 

[brianrost]

Since everyone gets a solo, that means I'm playing a bassline for "Autumn Leaves" for at least 20 minutes straight, if there are 10 people at the session that day. Closer to 25 minutes, including that initial run-through of the "book" melody, or if there are more people.

That’s a good thing, not sure why you see it as “brutal”. Every pass through the tune gives you more time to really get it under your fingers and in your ears.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

I did not say it was not a good thing, but it is still brutal.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Yay, I got invited back again lol

Taking the fretless bass tomorrow (Ibanez SR370EF). I love how it sounds. I think they will too.