How soon is too soon?

[Froggy]

Looking for a bit of advice here.

So I've been playing around 3 months now, taking weekly lessons for all of that time, and I intend to keep taking the lessons. I can play scales and arpeggios, I know to hammer on and pull off, I can learn songs and grooves as long as they're fairly simple. My biggest weakness is when I try to play too fast my fingers become less accurate when fretting, I hit the right note, but I'll often get fret buzz in faster numbers. My tutor thinks I'm too critical of myself, that I notice the things I do wrong more than I take note of the times I'm playing well.
Thing is, as I said in my introduction thread, I always wanted to learn bass from a young age, but for various reasons never picked it up until now, almost 40. I picked up the bass with the aim of playing with a band, so when should I start looking into joining one? Oh yeah, one of my other weaknesses is lack of patience haha. I have other problems when it comes to actually joining a band too, I work away from home all week, and although that gives me lots of time for solo practice, it does mean that I'm only going to be able to rehearse with a band, and play gigs, at weekends. I'm looking to change my job, not for the music, but because I've had enough of sleeping in a lorry all week, so hopefully that'll pan out sometime this year.

So am I being realistic? I've set myself a goal of playing in band by the end of this year, but in all honesty, I'd like to be at that point by the summer (again that lack of patience)

Cheers,
Mark

[stingrayPete1977]

Everyone is different, some people join a band within weeks others never get there, most will go from day one to a fairly simple blues covers type band within 6 months to a year as a guess? The wanting to get better never really ends and there is more than a single life times worth of learning out there so be prepared for never ending searching for nailing something new! I have been playing nearly 30 years starting in acoustic guitar lessons at primary school, I have a lesson booked in for next Sunday!

Enjoy it, start going to a few jam nights and meeting people, you will be amazed how much a goal focuses the mind and practicing time, even if you dont get up and play for a year from now you can start learning a few numbers your local jam night does then turn up one week and ask to play three numbers from the list you have got or even ask if you could just join in on mustang sally or whatever, as a house bassist I would be more than happy to let you do one song then me jump on for the next two for example.

The only problem I can see and it is not really a problem anyway is that I wish I had nailed scales, theory, reading etc etc first but like most I just wanted to get out there and gig, now years later I am having to do it backwards to understand what I have been doing all these years! That is just me though, I know some people say they are happy with what they do, no intenetion now of doing anything else and no need no learn any new skills to be busy out there playing for example.

Dont worry about messy playing, it just takes more time and practice and like I said once you tidy up one aspect of your playing you will find the next thing wrong or you will want to learn slap or use a pick or use fingers or buy a fretless, it is never ending but it is good fun

Edited February 8, 2015 by stingrayPete1977

[gadgie]

I don't see why not.

I went the opposite route in that I got into a band to play bass. Bought a bass and now trying to learn as I go along type thing. Admittedly the stuff I started playing was basic, but it suited the band. Maybe less is more after all. You sound a lot further on than I am.
I did play guitar for many years so know my way around some of the neck at least.

Good on you mate. Stick in!

[JapanAxe]

Go for it. You're not going to get into, say, a wedding band straight off, but your first steps might be to find some other players with similar musical tastes and ambitions, and set yourself a short list of songs to play together.

[TorturedSaints]

+1 to 'Go for it'. I had always wanted to play bass, but until a friend asked me if I was interested in playing with him and a couple of his mates, I had never done anything about it. That was 10 years ago when I was 40 and I'm still playing.

There is nothing like being in a band to improve your standard of playing very quickly.

I also have a very irregular varied work schedule that is outside my control. This stops us from booking the same rehearsal slot every week, causes some problems booking gigs and I certainly wouldn't be able to play in a wedding band. This may put some bands off you, but I've always been upfront with people that I've played with, or enquired about playing with. When you get to 40, most people have family/work/life commitments and are much more understanding of this than they would have been at 18. So, my message is still go for it!

Ralph

[Phil Adams]

In at the deep end. You'll learn so much.
Have fun.

[Les]

You should go for it. You're already ready in your head and that's a major part of it.

Ultimately it isn't going to be your decision. If you audition and the band say's yes then it's the right time.

Don't get too hung up on your playing, listen to your tutor. Speed will come. BassChat is a bass forum so there is a lot of focus on technique, sheer brilliance and awesomeness.

BUT most bands want something solid to hang their egos on, solid will win you the gig over flamboyance.

good luck

Les

[JamesBass]

Go for it! Play away, you'll learn as you go with the band!

If work is limiting your availability to rehearse and gig in a band then maybe spend the next few months enhancing your knowledge of theory and genres etc. Then when it comes to being in a band you'll be at a place, hopefully, where you can dedicate the time to rehearse and gig?

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Playing in a band , does require committment tho'. You already have a teacher which is a bit of a head start. I say this, but what always seems to happens in bands I've been in, is that it takes a bit of work to have the agreed songs ready at the same time . You may well be prepared,( slightly apprehensive) , but other band members may not. ( it's notmy turn to look after the kids, but I've been lumbered/Mr. Guitar sprains arm etc). Then some songs are practiced at home by you, but Mr. Vocals never had time etc.
Other than that, carry on and heed the wisdom of the other basschatters above

[JTUK]

Don't expect too much after 3 months.
If you are of a gigging standard after 3 years, you'll be doing well.
It's all relative...

[SpaceChick]

Just go for it!!

I joined my first band after 2 months. I was rubbish and mainly played root notes!! But then the band I was playing with was a bunch of pensioners that wanted fun (I was a good 25 years younger than the rest of them).

I played with them for about 6 months, worked hard, learned more complex basslines and then they told me I was ready to move onto a better band

The learning experience I had from playing with a drummer, doing a few short sets at open mike nights, learning band dynamics was invaluable.

So get out there and have a go, it'll be a steep learning curve but will move you on quicker than you ever would by being a bedroom bassist until you thought you were ready!

[darren]

Start looking now. Could take a while to find a band you want to join

[gadgie]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1423398804' post='2684265']
Don't expect too much after 3 months.
If you are of a gigging standard after 3 years, you'll be doing well.
It's all relative...
[/quote]

Or subjective!
I think there would be ever possibility that someone could be gigging a lot sooner than 3 years. Your standard (JTUK) might be higher than the OP and his expectations. I know a guy that had never played before and picked up the guitar one day and was playing 3 songs a month later in the local jam night. Was he absolutely perfect....no, but I reckon he could have easy been gigging in a few months.

[TimR]

[quote name='Froggy' timestamp='1423394554' post='2684209']
...
My biggest weakness is when I try to play too fast my fingers become less accurate when fretting, I hit the right note, but I'll often get fret buzz in faster numbers. My tutor thinks I'm too critical of myself,
...
[/quote]

Usually a lot of the buzz gets lost in the mix. Once you add drums and guitar you won't notice it.

Lots of us were in bands before we learned to play.
Quite a few are still in bands and can't play.

Playing with other musicians will hugely raise your game.

[Guest]

Hi Mark,
I quit driving trucks 4 years ago after 20 years of it on and off, mostly on though.
I was having much the same frustrations as yourself, missing rehearsals etc stuck at Birmingham on a Friday, you know the drill.

My music hobby took off almost straight away and working 37 hrs a week rather than 50+ has given me a lot more free time. The downside to being a School Caretaker now is that I'm mostly skint, I took a 50% pay cut pretty much. I've managed to boost my income quite well gigging over the last couple of years but the recent collapse of the Function Band I'm in has left me bereft once more.

I've re-applied for my Class 1 and will be looking for some Driving Work again once I've done my CPC. My plan is.....If I can cope with driving again I'm going to look for Four days a week on agency work then I'll have some "work/life balance" which was sadly lacking before.
I'm not saying quit your job but life is short, if music is something you seriously want to get into, bands especially, then It'll be a struggle finding a group of musos who are going to be on your schedule, not impossible but certainly a challenge.
Best of luck with it and keep on Plonkin'.

[Dad3353]

I'd reverse the question, Mark. How late is too late..? Go for jam nights and open mics, where there's less immediate need for commitment, and meet up with folks (networking...), as well as honing your playing and building confidence. Carry on with the lessons, but don't get hung up on technique as such; that'll come quietly and gently in its own good time as you practise. As a test, try reversing the bass to play it like a 'lefty'. See..? That's how much progress you've already made. I have no reliable source for buckets of patience, but if you can find some, it'll help. Time for my handy, encouraging catch phrase..? "It's the first 40 years that are the worst, after which things get (slightly...) better."

[MacDaddy]

In the Days of punk, it was here's 3 chords, now form a band.

[dadofsix]

One of the great problems with being too critical of yourself is that it makes it too easy, sometimes, to be too critical of the musicians you are playing with at the moment. That doesn't speak well to enduring musical friendships, or bode well of band rehearsals being productive while also being enjoyable.

[JTUK]

[quote name='dadofsix' timestamp='1423424633' post='2684621']
One of the great problems with being too critical of yourself is that it makes it too easy, sometimes, to be too critical of the musicians you are playing with at the moment. That doesn't speak well to enduring musical friendships, or bode well of band rehearsals being productive while also being enjoyable.
[/quote]

Sure, if you are hard on everyone else, you should be at least as hard on yourself, but this is the driver and
you'll find a level, and hopefully you'll go thru that level.
You should always try and play up a bit but you don't want to be playing down unless you aren't at all bothered..
The best musical relationships are borne out of mutual respect and the sense that no one is a passenger

[Froggy]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I guess I'm about to embark on a search for a band. I'll have to learn how to go about that now too 😃
Unfortunately jam/open mic nights are out for me, they all seem to be midweek and as I said before, my job keeps me away.

Kennyrogers, don't do it man! You know what happens, the diesel gets in your blood and you end up spending nights in a tin box on a dodgy industrial estate before you know it! It nowhere near as much fun as it used to be! I've even considered going to work for McDonald's just to get off the bloody road!

Dadofsix and JTUK, I judge myself harshly, and have always held myself to high standards, but luckily I don't seem to hold others to those standards, but thanks for the warning, it'll be something I watch for!

All the replies have been very helpful, and the thing I'm picking up on most, which I've noticed mentioned in other threads here, is that playing with others tends to help raise your game, so even if that's all I get from the first few tries it's a bonus! In fact, the mentions of it in other threads are what made me consider the question of is it too soon.

[JapanAxe]

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1423400728' post='2684296']
I played with them for about 6 months, worked hard, learned more complex basslines and then they told me I was ready to move onto a better band
[/quote]

That's the nicest 'you're fired' line I've ever heard! Only joking

[Twincam]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1423398804' post='2684265']
Don't expect too much after 3 months.
If you are of a gigging standard after 3 years, you'll be doing well.
It's all relative...
[/quote]

Yeah to me this seems right, ive known mainly guitar players but other people who play various instruments. And while you do get these people who can play well, learn and gig in a short period of time this is the exception rather than the rule.
I have 1 friend who was good enough in around a year of playing on guitar, he was a natural and put in the practice was also confident. But most people ive known have taken 3 plus years before they gigged.
Myself im coming up to 2 years playing and could gig basic, beginner stuff and maybe some intermediate things. And i can jam along ok with decent players, But I feel i need another year or two playing before i would gig though.

Everyone is different do what you feel. Definitely playing with others makes you better. Go for it!. But if it doesn't go to plan make sure its not going to put you off. I seen a friend do two crap first gigs in a row the band could of been alright but the singer could not sing and they hardly rehearsed, he had played guitar for 9 years and was pretty good but it put him right off, hardly plays now!.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Twincam

[CHW]

I started playing at 15 so the journey will be very different, but I first jammed with a guitarist (my best mate at the time and still) after I'd been playing for 2 weeks. IIRC I could just about get through the main riffs from Manic Depression, albeit a lot slower than my friend. We got going with a band after I'd been playing for about 8 months and I did my first gig just before I'd been playing for a year.

Playing with others, and gigging did me no end of good for bringing on my playing.

As long as you are there, or thereabouts with your playing, I'd say that it's never too early. If you are willing to work at any more difficult passages in songs, then most people will cut you some slack as a band brings things together. I know that as bass players we definitely need to cut guitarists some slack as they try to nail certain parts, or find "that" tone...

[chris_b]

It's never too soon to get into a band and start gigging.

IMO that's the point of playing a musical instrument.

Just find the right band and off you go.

[gadgie]

Interesting comments in this thread. I like the one about the punk music. I was going around at that time and that seemed to be the case. Also the fret buzz not being noticeable in a band situation. I agree with this as well.
If you go to watch your average pub band playing, the majority of folk are there to hear the music/tunes the band are playing. There are a few that might be listening to the players and picking out good bits and bad bits.
I think I'm at the level of pretty rubbish to average on the guitar (still at the pretty rubbish stage on the bass). However if I ever pick up the guitar at work (there are music rooms on some of the locations I go to) the people there seem to think I'm really good...go figure that one out. I think it's because as players we think we can always be better. We hear every bum note we make etc. Where as the other people just hear me playing a tune that they know and sing along to it.