delta240 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Hello.. I'm Jeff, 43 years old (never too old to learn I was told)! Ive just bought my first bass (Ibanez SR300L 4 string). I'm a lefty, total novice but very keen to put in the graft to learn... Problem is where do I start?! There as so many books, DVDs etc but what should my first step be? I don't want to get into bad habits so i thought I'd pick the brains of you fine people ) I live in Bedfordshire if anyone could recommend a good patient tutor who has the skills to teach a slow learner like me! Any advice appreciated ) Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 What sort of music do you like? Find a couple of simple songs that you like & google the TAB for it. TAB = Tablature & is a simple way of reading notes as each line represents a string & the # represents the fret. Better still if you can read score, then hit the [url="http://www.studybass.com/tools/bass-clef-notes/"]Bass Clef YTS[/url]. Get a couple of good books (pop into your library & try a few from there). Oh, & welcome to Basschat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Yes, hello mate The key thing when you are beginning is to get a little technique under your belt. Playing the strings cleanly and with decent technique. Like xgsjs says, just ply along with some of your favourite songs on the the bass. You should be able to discern whether the notes you play sound good or bad. Get a tab book for your favourite band and learn a couple of songs. The most important thing is that you ENJOY playing. Without enjoyment you have no reason to carry on. Try to record yourself or at least make some effort to track your progress, even keeping a diary is helpful. You need to see how you are progressing. Remember that the more you learn, the more you realise there is to learn, but concentrate on makes you happy in the meantime. In six months you can start the work of realising your dream and working in a more focused fashion towards it. You will have plateaux, and depressing times when you feel you are making no progress. But believe me, you can try to play something, and struggle for three weeks, then like a lightning bolt you can find you can play it with ease, like a switch. The brain is a funny thing. Have fun, you'll get loads of help here mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 & another great help is to find another musician to play with. Doesn't matter what they play, it makes for more fun! I've been playing bass for well over 25 years & still learning. All good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Agree with both bits of advice so far. Whatever your fave band is, find the easiest of their songs, look up the tab, then play along. Nothing builds confidence like being able to play your fave bands music. I learned to play doing it this way - back in the 80s, with The Sex Pistols Never Mind The Bollocks songbook. Very refreshing to learn a whole album, as a beginner, in a couple of months - especially when you knew the actual bassist - dear Sidney - hadn`t even managed that, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebigyin Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Hi Jeff, Just joined 'basschat' myself seems like great forum for help and advice but above all 'friendliness'. Keep it simple the old saying 'less is more' the roll of the bassist is to keep it tight and in the groove.....we all try and be clever at times putting them extra few notes but at the end of the day your there to 'keep it in the pocket'......there's lots of books/dvd's just google on amazon....you'll be skint in no time...lol. Learn some basic scales and arpeggios.....in the first position [root] then 2nd and 3rd inversions ect, listen, play along....try find some local jam nights....enjoy. I'm just getting back into bass after a long lay off.....p.m me if you need owt....i will do my best to help.....welcome aboard. cheers bob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Hi Jeff...re bass tutors in Bedfordshire: [url="http://www.musicteachers.co.uk/county/bedfordshire/bass.guitar/teachers/"]http://www.musicteachers.co.uk/county/bedfordshire/bass.guitar/teachers/[/url] Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soopercrip Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Hi Jeff, I didn't start till I was 46 and it took some time to 'click'. But when It does it's all worth it. I found learning the fretboard and note sequences,fret by fret, and the major scale were my best starting points once the bass felt 'comfortable' in my hands. Welcome by the way. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehux Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Hi Jeff Learn the notes of the E and A strings and their octaves, then the basic 12 bar blues sequence which you can play in any key, then get yourself to a jam night. Give yer nuts a good squeeze and get up there and give it a go. One song on a stage with other musicians is worth 10 hours of bedroom practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucatus Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Hi Jeff, welcome! When I began my teacher only showed me two notes, C and E, and told me to play them freely and enjoy! Still, up to date so many years afterwards, I treasure that very first lesson and the joy I had. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seashell Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Forty three? You're just a spring chicken! I'm a little bit older (not saying how much!) and I've only been learning since February. Absolutely loving it. Hope you can find a good tutor. I know without my tutor I would never have stuck at it. silddx said: 'You will have plateaux, and depressing times when you feel you are making no progress. But believe me, you can try to play something, and struggle for three weeks, then like a lightning bolt you can find you can play it with ease, like a switch. The brain is a funny thing.' I have found this to be so true! Haev a great time learning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta240 Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 Many thanks for all the comments chaps, can I do all this without learning to read music or is it a must? (told you I was a total novice)! Also, is it a hinderence to be a lefty when going to a tutor? Is everything back to front so to speak? I am pretty impatient... I guess I'll have to learn a lot of patience! Can anyone recommend a particular tutor in the Bedfordshire/Herts/Cambs area? Thanks for all the help so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Don't pressure yourself to read music and learn theory at the beginning. Just get a little technique under your belt and enjoy what you're doing for a few months. Get to understand the instrument a little bit. Then get a teacher and make an effort to learn some theory, technique, and reading music notation. This will stand you in good stead later on. Being a lefty is no problem except maybe when trying to buy a new bass. Don't know any teachers in your area but have a look in the Tutors section of the Basschat Marketplace on here, and put the word out. You haven't told us what music genres you want to play though. Pop and rock is generally quite easy to learn without reading and theory, and often have fairly simple arrangements, but the techniques can be advanced and difficult in funk, rock and prog rock, metal, mathcore, etc. you can expect some tricky time signatures and arrangements in the latter too. Jazz almost certainly requires you to understand theory and be able to read notation as the compositions and arrangements can be beyond most people's ability to pick up and remember quickly, however the playing techniques used can often be fairly simple. If you love music, and you are 43, it's possible you have quite well developed ears, have musical taste and may be able to apply this to the bass naturally. Of course you may not and have to work at it and listen hard to your favourite music to make sense of it. For instance, I am 47, I know little theory and can barely read music, but most pop and rock, and some more complex music like Zappa, I have few problems picking up and learning and playing quickly. I can usually 'hear' the harmonies, melodies and their interactions and play the notes on the bass. I can compose bass lines to recorded music, I can improvise, I know a few scales and I my ears are good. I can do that with taste and musicality from 30 years of playing guitar and bass. However, present me with a complex Jazz piece, and I seriously struggle. Had I learned theory and reading and was fluent in both, I would probably be a pretty decent and expressive jazzer. But I don't play jazz and was only really ever interested in being a pop and rock musician, and did not want to be a session player or teacher for which reading and theory is almost a prerequisite. So keep your options open and go with your heart, music is primarily about pleasure, but learning some theory and reading can greatly increase the potential for further pleasure. Don't rush it and try to do everything at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I believe Jakesbass (the best teacher of anything I've ever come across, he's is incredible) does lessons by skype. PM him. http://basschat.co.uk/topic/6270-jakesbass-jakesbass-and-thrice-jakesbass/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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