dohhhhh6 Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 Well hullo fellow low enders. I'm having a problem. I was making slow progress before in learning bass because of doing a play but now I have no excuse for my poor practicing. I seem to be stuck in the habits I had when I was in the play even though it ended 2 weeks ago. So I'm having stunted learning . What I think will help me is if I start to learn songs. Now I've never been a fan of using tab to learn songs (I'm not a fan of using standard notation either )so I would like to ask you guys how can I easily learn songs on my own time for liek 30 minutes or so a day? This would help me a lot since I'm starting to get into music theory, which is cool but then I don't get to learn songs. That means whenever I just feel liek playing my bass (everytime) I can just go through tunes I know, which I can't since the only whole song I know right now is Manic Depression. So I would be very greatful if you guys coudl tell me a way to learn some music to play around with. Thanks for your time guys. In Skynyrd We Trust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoot Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 Originally posted by Da LadY In The Red Dress: . . . how can I easily learn songs on my own time for liek 30 minutes or so a day? . . . tell me a way to learn some music to play around with.Spend 30 minutes a day trying to learn and you tell us! There's no way we can tell what kind of ear you have. The only way to learn is by trying. It'll be hard at first, but it'll get easier (just like ANYTHING else that requires skill.) I doubt anybody is gonna have a "magic answer", it just doesn't work that way. How did you learn how to ride a bike? I'm sure it wasn't by somebody telling you how. Just keep practicing and don't get discouraged. Remember, all of us in this forum sucked when we first started. Ah, nice marmot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowbell Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 Originally posted by Scootdog: Remember, all of us in this forum sucked when we first started.I'm sorry,but this is where I have to disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoot Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 Originally posted by CowbellAllen: Originally posted by Scootdog: Remember, all of us in this forum sucked when we first started.I'm sorry,but this is where I have to disagree.lol. Well, at least I did! Ah, nice marmot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenLoy Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 What are your favorite songs? Learn the ones that seem possible to get under your fingers. Then work on the ones slightly harder. If you know "manic depression", you should try "Fire" or "Foxy Lady" Then maybe "Who Knows" or "Machine Gun". All great Jimi songs. Listen to Cream's cover of "Crossroads", there's some killer stuff on there. Don't learn it yet if it seems too intimidating...but keep it or another tough tune in the back of your mind as something to work towards. "If only I could get good enough to play that song..." That stuff works. The joy of practicing starts here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 Like Benloy said, the joy of practicing starts here. It's not really going to be an easy thirty minutes, but it'll be thirty minutes of learning a part of, in not all of, a new song of your choosing. And that's developing your skills, gets you out of a rut, and develops your ears. I don't read music, so I went thru the same thing you are. Frustrating, you want to play, but it just won't happen fast enough. There will be a time when you can listen to most ANY song the first time, and have about 90 percent of it figured out in your head. While listening to a cd or the radio, you'll be playing a song you've never heard before pretty good around the second verse (after having burbled a bit during the first verse and chorus). With that ability, you can sit in a jam session and just by listening, you can get thru the song. So take that thirty minutes and figure out something, anything. And if you learn to read, with your ears already along in development, you'll be a monster player. Bassplayers aren't paid to play fast, they're paid to listen fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzbass Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 If you only have 30 minutes a day, what you practice might not be as important as HOW you practice. Make sure you are comfortable in your enviorment, breathe easily and dont push yourself to the point of frustration. Perhaps you could start with warming up for 10 minutes, just playing and learning somthing about a scale or arpegio that has relevance to a song you may be learning. Then maybee put on a CD and try and play-along to the track your working on learning. Stop and reflect on exactly what it is you are doing-often. Identify bad habits, both in your playing and in your state of mind. relax, relax, then relax some more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebrownbass Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 Well, lessee: You want to learn songs, but you aren't a fan of tab or reading music. So where are you gonna get your notes from? It seems to me, that there are only 3 other ways to learn songs. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages: 1. You could have people "show" you songs. If you have a friend who knows songs, they will...but might get bored after a while. Also, they might not show you songs you want to know. Or, it might be a teacher (that's a really good way) but the teacher might want to teach you music reading. If you are working with a teacher, be prepared to go places you may not be interested in. (That's why you pay for lessons, after all.) 2. You could get books of songs, ignore the notes and tabs and use the chords. This is also valuable, but depends on how well you remember the song goes. However, an understanding of chords (Music Theory) will go a long way toward learning music. 3. You can sit, listen to a CD, and try to imitate the bass lines of songs. The is the BEST WAY! When I was in high school, I "copped the licks" (music slang for "copying the hard parts") of dozens of songs on guitar. After a while, I got pretty good at it. In the process of learning guitar, I also learned chord theory and developed my musical ear. Then, in music college, I got straight A's in Music Theory...top in the class. I'd recommend a teacher to guide you...but listening and copping are really essential....I am a teacher, but I really love it when my students take what I teach them and go listen to some other song and figure it out. "Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread. Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohhhhh6 Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 Ok, well I'm not necessarily depressed or anything(whihc I'm starting to believe you think I am...) I just want something I can play whenever I feel like playing bass because right now all I know is Manic Depression and a few licks from GNR. Now with me starting to get into theory it's gonna get more boring since whenever I JUST want to play I only have somehting I can play for 5 minutes. I'm going to try out some JHE inna mniute since I got Jimmy's GHs cd somewhere in my room. I think I'll try to figure it out and use tab when I get frustrated. In Skynyrd We Trust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan South Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 LaDy In Red - You're not going to practice worth a hoot unless you're EXCITED about music and about playing music, so EVERY DAY fire up your stereo or strap on your headphones and listen to some music that really MOVES you. This music would be a good place for your studies to start. Even if you can only learn a short fragment of a song and play that fragment over and over working on the feel, that will work, because you'll be playing something that gets your juices flowing, so to speak. The next big motivator is to find someone to play with. It's hard to stay motivated without some sort of performance opportunity to look forward to. I'd also recommend taping yourself as you practice. The tape will uncover "flaws" in your playing that you probably didn't know were there. That sounds intimidating, but it's not, really. It will make you want to work harder to get a more polished sound. After all, better to work out technical problems at home than to broadcast them to an audience. Try those tips and see how they work for you!!! The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohhhhh6 Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 Well actually in about 20 minutes I'm going to a friend's house to try to do Sweet Home Alabama WOOT! Too bad I will be using tab . Somethigns are ineviteable I guess. Hope this works good. In Skynyrd We Trust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaerty Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 I thought it said stunted lemming! I was looking forward to a picture of a small little animal playing bass. I should really wear my glasses when reading the posts. Providence over serendipity any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 Tab for Sweet Home Alabama? Surely you jest! That sucker only has three chords, D, C, and G. (Well, once in a while there's an F). Do you still paint by numbers too? It's time to draw outside the lines and listen to what you are playing. I'm sorry you only have a half an hour a day to practice, I practiced 5 hours a day from age 20 to age 30. Just remember, (and I had this on the wall of my teaching studio) "If you don't practice, somebody else will". Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohhhhh6 Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 Wow! I'm rejuvenated but now I need soem down time. I've been playing so much bass recently my fingers are raw feeling! It's a great "high" I guess you could call it. Sadly we didn't get too far in Sweet Home Alabama because neither of us have the cd but we did some good stuff especially because my ear is coming in slowly. It's a good feeling. I feel very refreshed especially since I had bass practice about an hour or 2 ago. But again I need some down time. Plus I finally finished It's So Easy by GNG. I love that song. My teacher got so much in the "fuck you" mood that he actually flicked off an invisible person. It was all good. Well first off I'm gonna change my name back to Da LadY In Tha Pink Dress. Then I'm gonna take a bike ride in the nice weather and finally I'm gonna look for an easy song to try to figure out. Well looks liek all is better. Thanks for the advice guys. In Skynyrd We Trust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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