Theres a plethera of info out there for us bass newbies. I wanna cut to the chase and do things right the first time. Got myself a Spector Performer 4 string and i love it and cant put it down lol. Oh and any other tips muchly appreciated. Cheers
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Your choice for ultimate beginners book or video
- Thread starter suedehead
- Start date
My book recommendation for someone starting from absolute scratch, would be "Bass Guitar for Dummies". The "D" word can be off putting, but it is a great all round book for noobs IMO. You may be able to pick it up in your local library.
Any other tips ? Make sure to learn good (and safe ) technique from the start. This will have you playing at your best, while avoiding potential injury problems in the process.
What is "good" technique ? Everyone has their own opinions, but the general consensus is :
Have both wrists as straight as possible.
Keep the hands relaxed.
Not resting the forearm on the body of the bass.
Not gripping the neck too hard.
Not pressing down too hard on the strings when fretting.
Wearing the bass at about belt buckle height. This is a compromise, as too high effects the plucking hand and too low, the fretting hand.
Warm up with gentle stretches for about five minutes, before you even touch the bass. Give the hands time to adjust to this new task being asked of them. Search You Tube for clips on this.
Never play through pain. If you experience it, stop and investigate the cause.
The last two above, are not really about technique but are important IMO.
Here are two clips on technique to get you started :
Welcome to the low end, and best of luck with it.
Any other tips ? Make sure to learn good (and safe ) technique from the start. This will have you playing at your best, while avoiding potential injury problems in the process.
What is "good" technique ? Everyone has their own opinions, but the general consensus is :
Have both wrists as straight as possible.
Keep the hands relaxed.
Not resting the forearm on the body of the bass.
Not gripping the neck too hard.
Not pressing down too hard on the strings when fretting.
Wearing the bass at about belt buckle height. This is a compromise, as too high effects the plucking hand and too low, the fretting hand.
Warm up with gentle stretches for about five minutes, before you even touch the bass. Give the hands time to adjust to this new task being asked of them. Search You Tube for clips on this.
Never play through pain. If you experience it, stop and investigate the cause.
The last two above, are not really about technique but are important IMO.
Here are two clips on technique to get you started :
Welcome to the low end, and best of luck with it.
Bass Guitar for Dummies is GREAT. It taught me sooo much. Then I lent it to this girl who turned out to be a b****. Ohhhh well. Payin' it forward.
It kind of depends what you want to play...but all those things that fearceol said, take them to heart. Another thing that's going to help you immensely, that I wish *I* did when starting out, is to figure stuff out by ear. Doesn't matter what. Just songs you like, sit down and try to work out the bass line with your ears and your instrument. It's really, really hard at first. Persevere. What does this do? Well, when you start playing with other people, the absolute last thing you want to be is that bassist who goes "uh...well, do you have a tab?" After a while of checking out a book like Bass Guitar for Dummies, you'll understand somewhat how the chords and scales work. This will make both transcribing & playing with others even easier. These are the foundational skills that allow rhythm section players to "fake it" through tunes.
Also, if you have an amp, practice through your amp (or headphone amp or something) as often as possible. I know, I know, it's a WHOLE extra step with plugging it in and stuff but...the thing is that it'll teach you to play as it's going to sound live. When you play unplugged, often you'll end up striking the string harder than you need to to compensate for lack of amplification. This A. Tires you out and 2. Kinda kills the sound.
Happy playing!
It kind of depends what you want to play...but all those things that fearceol said, take them to heart. Another thing that's going to help you immensely, that I wish *I* did when starting out, is to figure stuff out by ear. Doesn't matter what. Just songs you like, sit down and try to work out the bass line with your ears and your instrument. It's really, really hard at first. Persevere. What does this do? Well, when you start playing with other people, the absolute last thing you want to be is that bassist who goes "uh...well, do you have a tab?" After a while of checking out a book like Bass Guitar for Dummies, you'll understand somewhat how the chords and scales work. This will make both transcribing & playing with others even easier. These are the foundational skills that allow rhythm section players to "fake it" through tunes.
Also, if you have an amp, practice through your amp (or headphone amp or something) as often as possible. I know, I know, it's a WHOLE extra step with plugging it in and stuff but...the thing is that it'll teach you to play as it's going to sound live. When you play unplugged, often you'll end up striking the string harder than you need to to compensate for lack of amplification. This A. Tires you out and 2. Kinda kills the sound.
Happy playing!
+1 Bass Guitar for Dummies, nice pull-out charts of scales, modes, and triads.
It comes with a cd with a lot of examples and covers slapping too.
It comes with a cd with a lot of examples and covers slapping too.
