mikel

The Police, one of the best live bands I have ever seen. Saw them at the old Mayfair in Newcastle, not long after the first album came out, they were pretty much un known. Blew me away. No modern technology, no in ear monitors, no backing tracks. Just three good musicians with great songs playing off one another. Great harmonies, lots of jamming.and light and shade. Rekindled my love of music and inspired me to take up the bass.

Its like any gear really, its personal preference. If we all thought the same sound was great there would not be many manufacturers. I always hope that the cheapest, lightest, smallest and locally manufactured option will sound the best to my ears, but sadly its rarely the case.

Depends on the band. If we are locked in and grooving, its wonderful. I always treat playing as the whole thing and. If the band are playing well its great. If the band are not on, its not so good, regardless of how well I may be playing. I try to play the song not the bass, that's what the audience come to hear.

I read the gear reviews, and thats it.

[quote name='UTFB' timestamp='1476334349' post='3153375']
I will say that I wish I had learned when I was younger....

I'm 53 and 4 months in. Had/have some time on my hands and thought I would learn something. I have fairly limited expectations about how far I can take this but it's damn good fun!! My goal when I started was to play "Nice N Sleazy" :-D

I bought the Hal Leonard study bass book and supported that with a few lessons along the way. With hindsight, Not sure that learning music (theory) was the way to go but it's interesting.
Made some decent progress and seem to have the timing and rhythm sorted but now obsessing about technique......For example - when I first started if I played 3 notes F - C - A# I would do my best to just play those notes,[b] now I tend to look at what happens to the other fingers when those notes are being played.... does that make any sense?[/b]
[/quote]

Makes perfect sense. You will start to make shapes to minimise hand and finger movement.

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1476129438' post='3151643']
Wasn't he being ironic ?
[/quote]

I thought everyone would get that.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1476115257' post='3151456']
[b]Everyone learns in different ways, and wants and only really needs to learn what they need given their circumstances.[/b]

As long as you yourself is happy, that's all that matters.

Like on the have you ever gigged thread. Why should you gig if you're quite happy not doing so.


[/quote]

Give the man a cigar. Spot on.

On another note. I spent time and money going to a huge music shop in Leeds, about 5 years ago. What a waste of time. Ever instrument, Including the drums had a big "Do not play" sign on them. I can understand keeping young kids off the equipment but this was a bit ott, just a horrible atmosphere.

A drum shop in Newcastle, now sadly changed hands through retirement, would hand you a pair of sticks if you were looking longingly at a kit or a cymbal and tell you to get on with it. Guess the shop I bought most of my gear from?

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1475139940' post='3143302']
New PMT due to open in Nottm this Sat, looks a decent sized space when I looked in the window a couple of weeks back. I'm told the one in B'ham is massive so hopefully this one will give a bit of competition to the (largely uninspiring) current choices here.
[/quote]

Aye, the Birmingham one is huge. I am still not sure about PMT. They always seem to have a stupid number of staff so they must make lots of money as a company. I also play drums but like a lot of music shops they seem tied in to a few manufacturers. I cant even get the sticks I like in store so end up buying them on line.

Music stores are in trouble. A mate of mine runs one and I dont know how he stays in business. He is a musician and its his shop so he cares, but he says the days of the big purchase seem to be gone. He has to sell beginner packages and low end stuff even though he price matches the web outlets. He makes his money on strings, sticks, plecks, pedals etc.

Strange thread this. The OP asks "How did YOU learn to play bass" and half the posts are from people telling the rest they did it wrong. Here was me thinking it would be an interesting and informative overview of lots of different experiences.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1475687683' post='3148005']
[b]Nonsense[/b], you can learn a lot from records and even more from books and structured lessons.

I'm a rock guy, however I was able to win an audition to play bass in my university jazz band for 4 years because in addition to moving that needle back and fourth I had also studied and took lessons which taught me to read charts.

Blue
[/quote]

Lighten up, it was tonge in cheek, but still true. Thats how all the musicians I knew back in the day did it. You formed a band with your mates and learned together as you went along. Not clever just a condition of the time. I was not aware there was such a thing as lessons to play Rock and Roll. Instruction books taught things like "Little Brown Jug" etc. Try to get a gig playing that. I am simply telling you how I learned to play, you dont have to like or agree with it.

The thin weedy distortion that lots of young guitarists get by using a small none valve amp with a distortion pedal flat out. There is no body or tone to the sound, no harmonics or depth just this fuzzy weedy, but loud, noise.

Depends on the amp, Valve or not valve. One of our guitarists uses an ancient Jazz Chorus tranny amp, and it just goes on and on. The other guy has lots, and I mean lots, of valve amps and seems to have nothing but problems with them. I do prefer the sound of his Dual Showman though.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1476013646' post='3150405']
Most Gibson basses are actually head heavy!
[/quote]
Possibly so, but all the posts on here were about the look of the bass.

Has anyone actually played one?

What if the neck is just what you like. What if the sound is just what you have been looking for?

They look pretty much like most basses to me, what do you expect them to look like?

Me? I think most Fenders looks bulky and head heavy. No accounting for taste, eh?

Do we really need a 1000 watt backline amp?

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1475937373' post='3149935']
I recommend that you don't learn theory and don't learn to read.

That way, I will continue to get the gigs you won't get called for.

Seriously, I gig weekly with some of the world's greatest players and COULD NOT DO IT without theory and reading. If a player like John Etheridge puts a piece of coffee stained paper in front of you, you need to make it into something musical WITHOUT ANY REHEARSAL. You need to be ready.
[/quote]

As I pointed out, you learn what you need, to do what you want in music.I had neither the natural talent, the time or the desire to be a pro musician. Most of us will never play with the worlds best players so we also dont need the knowledge you have. I am more than happy with my level of playing and the gigs I have performed. I have worked with some superb musicians and had some great improv jams.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1475934645' post='3149907']
this isnt karaoke. Playing from a written peice of music takes years of practice. I wonder what Anthony Jackson would say if you said Anthony, mate your just playing what someone else has played. Ridiculous thing to say. Your lines between reading music and learning theory are blurred.
[/quote]

Firstly, you obviously missed the "Devils advocate" part of my post. Also, it was you that suggested that if you cant read and write you cant possibly converse.properly.

And I am not belittling knowledge, If it floats your boat and you require it to do what you want or need to do thats fine. No problem, but dont suggest its the way for everyone. We all have our own way of learning and progressing.

I have been playing bass in bands and jamming with other musicians for 35 years and not once has someone said "You need more music theory mate". Not that it makes me in any way special, just one of many that are not interested in theory and prefer to do it my own way. Not right or wrong just what suits me, and I would never suggest to someone in the theory camp that they are wasting there time cos there not, they are just doing what suits them.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1475918117' post='3149700'][b]I would c[/b]

[b]ompare knowing music theory to being like someone who can speak the English (or any) language but does not know the alphabet or how to spell, and as a result, can't read or write. They have learned by mimicking what others say.[/b] This is no bad thing, and they'll get by quite OK if you communicate via word of mouth. However, emails, texts, books, newspapers, forums like this, ...etc are a non runner.

Obviously these people are excluding themselves from a lot of rewarding and useful information.
[/quote]

To play devils advocate. Surely playing from music is more akin to mimicking what others have played? In fact it is playing exactly what others have already played.

To use another analogy. Its like learning a language by reading books, its ok for theory but you only learn to converse with other by doing it.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1475871301' post='3149472']
Reading music isn't theory, it's reading music. There's only one of my current students that is learning to read, but they're all learning some theory/harmony.
[/quote]

My point exactly, what was yours? I was responding to a post that suggested anyone that didnt know bass theory wouldnt know the notes on the fretboard of know the name of guitar chords.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1475870298' post='3149466']
Are you saying that understanding chords and notes is not understanding musical theory ? I don't understand your association with theory and reading music.?
[/quote]

Its not theory, its practice.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1475854625' post='3149288']
Bottom line is musical theory is about communication. Good musicians should be able to communicate within the language of music to each other.[b] I don't want to play with a guitarst who doesn't know what chords he's playing,[/b] thus I can't play the best bass line to make the music as good as it should be. I think alot of people want to take the easy route, and just get by.Learning theory is hard work. But it's very rewarding. Reading music I don't think is necessary. Music is about having fun, but as my Dad says, nothing really great came from anything that was easy.
[/quote]

Knowing what note or chord you are playing is hardly theory. I know the notes on the fretboard and guitar chords but I dont read music.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1475853562' post='3149278']
Well no, they didn't learn, that's my point. Whenever their band started a new song, it'd be trial and error writing a bass line.

[b]Minor over a major isn't anything to do with a theorist[/b].
[/quote]

It is when a theorist, earlier in the thread, is pulling someone up about it.

Anyway, If you can play by ear, and know the neck, you know by experience what will work over any chord. Nothing wrong with theory but If you dont develop your ears, jamming or changing things on the fly will not be so easy. The ears are the greatest learning tool we have.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1475848750' post='3149223']
It's music, no matter what you call it, or how you dress it up, and there are rules. You can learn or study them, or discover them accidentally, but they're there.

[b]I remember seeing a similar thread a while ago. Someone posted that they didn't know what they were playing, and used to just play all the notes randomly until they found something that would fit over a chord, then they'd do the same over the next chord. So trial and error. Wouldn't it be easier and quicker to know what you could play over a chord, and how what you choose to play would sound like ?[/b]
[/quote]

Well, surely they did learn what fits, and in real time. They learned the notes on the neck at the same time, and while learning a song. Also, lots of new stuff can come from a happy accident. As for playing a minor blues scale run instead of a major? perhaps thats exactly what the player intended, it fits but its not what the music theorist would have played.

I have no interest in musical theory for any instrument. I am from the old school. Listen, try to play,listen again. Modify, adapt, use happy accidents. Dont copy or "Study" anyone, enjoy there playing personality and absorb a little of it into your playing. Try to be a little different and have your own playing personality/sound. Its Rock and Roll, there are no rules.