Quest_bikerider

Honestly Iv been playing about 18 months which puts me in the newbie class I would say in the grand scheme of things. Iv taken a few lessons & i recon my right hand techneque after revewing seems to be sound ie alternate finguring up & raking down, but I take on board your comments & I probably pluck to hard which is probably slowing me down. I have found using a drum machine better than a metronome as I can hear the high hat tapping out the semi quaver rythem with practice I can play the hole bass line in the order of the song at about 80bpm all be it a bit sloppy, but I would rather play it at this speed accurately before increasing the tempo, its coming along, It will take time, but I am determined to get there. Its not Impossible is it? Thanks for comments very much appreciated

I played or rather tried to a Rickenbacker bass in the guitar shop Denmark st London. It was a beast horrible sounded great though, each to there own

Thanks for that just looked it up £130 on ebay gonna look into it a bit more but looks good

[quote name='ColinB' timestamp='1332236628' post='1585106'] For difficult stuff I find it helps to break it down in to obvious short 'blocks'... and then start with an [u]end[/u] block, say, the last one in the verse or the last one in the chorus. Then learn the one previous to it so you're always playing into a part that you know. This means you don't always get that 'aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrgggghhhhh' feeling when you inevitably mess up - which then becomes very negative. I find this way gives positive reinforcement to what you've achieved. [/quote] I think this is a really good idea Im gonna incorporate this into my practice. many times I f*** things up at the end due to the fact I havnt learnt it properly. Cheers.

Thanks for your encouragement. I figured if I can nail this I can pretty much nail anything & it is indeed a great bassline, I have heard this line played Live by Norman even faster than the oryginal recording & he really shows the effort involved, awsome. Im determined to get it right hopefully it wont take 20 years . A device that slows the rythem down without changing the pitch seems a fantastic practice tool to me, any further info on this would be greatfully received will look at amplitube as advised above.

As a newbie only been playing a short while I thought I would push the boat out a little (at least for me anyway ) & try & learn Norman Wot-Roy's classic bassline to "Hit me with your rythem stick" Ian Dury & The Blockheads. Iv allways wanted to have a crack at this. I must confess I have used utube & tab to work it out (chastisement accepted ) & I think Iv got the main parts learnt, I think its mainly minor pentatonic scales, & its taken me a couple of days . The problem is playing it at the right speed, @ 105 bpm plus the rythem, I think its a hard bassline to master. Would you agree, or should I be getting this? I'v tried playing along to the song but the intro starts so fast my fingures (left & right) are in knots by the end of the second bar. Just wonderd what is the best way to overcome this Iv tried playing to a metronome at a slower speed, I do find it quite hard to listen to the metronomes anoying click & playing, listening to the song gives me more clues as to whare Im suposed to be if this make sense,is this the right approach? Its not impossible is it? Any sugestions.

I know the Dominant 7 uses flat 7 instead of (just 7 which would be major) but am I right in thinking then that a chord written as simply C7 for eg is Dominant in tone?

This may be a stupid question for you more experienced musicians , but I am just learning the in's & out's of music theory on bass as a relitive newbie, I think I have a resonable handle on the main 7th cord structures of Major, Dominant, Minor & Half Diminished. & how to play there arpaggio's, but whats confused me is, in the book that I am learning from gives a chord progression with which to practice the Maj & M 7th chords musically which are written in the progression as e.g. A maj7, Bm7, but also C7. Is the C7 chord major or minor?, there seems to me no explaination Im assuming its Major but Im probably wrong.Am I missing something?. Also any practice ideas on this would be most welcome Many thanks Marc.

Thanks for all your comments. Without really knowing what I was doing with respect to replacing my strings (newbie syndrome) I eventually went for DR Fatbeams .45 - 1.05 on reccomendation. All I can say is 'WOW' maybe its because I havnt replaced them for i cant remember when but my bass now sounds fantastic & without too much of a comparison i think the sound is what I was after, its got me on the 'which strings learning curve' anyway.

Thanks for the info. Im very much in the learning stage at the moment at the bottom end of intermediate I would say, so a long way to go. Not really thought about slap style yet bit advanced for me, as for music I pretty much like anything but lean towards rock/pop. Strings I have at the moment I think are Rotosound & the G seems a little harsh compared tou the others so Im trying to get a more ballenced sound here as well as (as Iv said) a gravely sound, Im not sure weather just a new set of strings will acheive this.

Probably a question that has been asked a million times before on here, but I just wanted some opinions on the best strings to arm my Fender US jazz bass with, its the active deluxe version with 24 frets, & I think its about time i changed them (cant remember the last time!) . I havnt been playing very long & there are so many different types/size out there it seems confusing. DR strings have been reccomended but I dont know what there like. Im looking for that nice gravely sound. Cheers Marc.

Hi & thanks, I will definately enquire I think I have heard of the Swan Jam nights & South hill park is just round the corner so I will go along & have a chat. cheers.

I was just wondering, Sorry for the basic question but is it a good idea to get a bass guitar checked over by a professional workshop ie to check the truss rod is set right or the bridge is set up right etc. I have had my US Fender Jazz for about 8 years & apart from changing the strings Have not touched it, I dont think there is anything wrong & it plays & sounds great. Should I just leave it alone?

No I havnt put this post in the wrong place, Just wanted a little insight into a problem free intoduction to other musicians. I have been playing only a short time & am very much on the learning curve & hungry to learn, I have played with others a few times (never gigged) & I supose I have learned a bit from them, but its always led to dissapointment iether I meet up with the pros who are expexting Jacko Pastorius to turn up for the gig next week, or they are more concerned with smoking elegal substances or drinking instead of playing music, despite me being honest about my abilities. Sure I can learn a song or two & play along a bit but it takes time because Im still learning the foundations & things are not perfect. Just wonderd what's the best approach? I took up bass for fun rather than become a professional bassist & Im having great fun with it, but it would be a lot more fun playing with others on the same wavelength.

I went to school with Zak Starkey Ringo Stars Son currently playing with The Who, he was a year below me at school but I saw him play drums many times in the local pub The Cannon near Ascot. I didnt play bass then but if I did 'Who' knows.