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The fedex man just delivered my bass.


worried

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And now I have no idea how to play it.

 

Can any of you provide me with some links to videos or pictures with a guide for someone who has never played a guitar, let alone a bass?

 

While googling, I found a lot of people trying to sell me things. I don't have much money to buy these things.

 

So, could somebody help me out?

 

I bought this bass:

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Bass/Electric?sku=510424

 

The amp isn't here yet. I'll probably be ordering it this weekend.

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Click on the Bass Player logo above; there are some lessons there that can help. If you have a specific thing you are trying to learn, use the "Search" button here and see if there are any threads about it to give you a head start. Jam along to some of your favorite cd's. I'm sure some other forumites use on-line lessons and can recommend some good starting points.

Welcome; hang around; enjoy!

And most of all, don't worry!!! :thu:

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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Hal Leonard Electric Bass Method Book 1

Hal Leonard Electric Bass Method Book 2

Hal Leonard Electric Bass Method Book 3

 

And a teacher/mentor who will keep you accountable to quality practice time.

- Matt W.
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Welcome! You've never touched any common stringed instrument...have you had any musical training? If not, I'd say find a bass teacher, even if you only take a few lessons. If you've had some other musical training, you might be able to pick it up yourself and from books, DVD's, etc. Tell us more about yourself, and I'm sure folks will let some recommendations roll.

 

Dave

Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs.

- Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006

 

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Welcome to the Lowdown.

Everyone above had some good advice.

 

After the amp (and always practice pluggd in, use headphones if needed late at night) your next purchase should be a metronome or drum machine. Dont practice without it.

Timing is essential and need to get locked in. Practice playin on the beat. later as you progress and get better, practice playing slightly behind then ahead of the beat (myself, i'm not quite at that stage yet lol ).

 

Learn your scales. Major and Minor to start. Doing so also helps you learn the fretboard. may seem daunting at first but pay attention to the patterns.

 

That should keep you busy for quite some time :)

 

and random searches on this forum will reveal many interesting and very useful tips and bits of knowledge.

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you could go to google and type in a song that you like and then type the words, "Bass Tab" after it.

....*Runs and ducks for cover* ;)

 

 

see what you find.

 

 

oh, and to understand tabs is very easy, just search google for "Understanding Tabs" or "How to read Tabulature"

 

good luck!

-BGO

 

5 words you should live by...

 

Music is its own reward

 

---------------

My Band: www.Myspace.com/audreyisanarcissist

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Originally posted by Bass_god_offspring:

you could go to google and type in a song that you like and then type the words, "Bass Tab" after it.

....*Runs and ducks for cover* ;)

see what you find.

oh, and to understand tabs is very easy, just search google for "Understanding Tabs" or "How to read Tabulature"

good luck!

well its a start...but a good start? some would say no, I started on Tab, and have since been going through the arduous task of learning how it is really done... I wish I learnt the proper way to start with

 

so, my advice would be, get some basic lessons and learn some scales

no beer until July 1
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Learning to play by downloading the horrendous tablature available online is ill-advised and illegal.

 

You would do better smashing your hand with a hammer, as it would do less damage to your long-term learning.

 

Pay a teacher. It is money well spent. Learning without a teacher is possible. Going from New York to San Fransisco on foot is also possible.

 

Two excuses used regarding skipping a teacher:

 

1) Too expensive

2) Too much time

 

Response to (1) - it should be factored into the cost when you decide to get into this mess if you intend to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. Skip the pedals, cool straps, nifty gig-bag, and even a big ol' amp and spend it on lessons if you need to.

 

Response to (2) - the time you will save by going to a teacher is many factors greater than the time spent at lessons. (Final analogy of the night for me) Yes, it takes time to open the door to a car and turn the ignition, but you recoup those costs by getting to where you are going in a much more rapid manner than walking.

 

Enough... did you find a teacher yet?

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I ordered an amp, a 18 foot cable, and a cool strap with skulls on it last night. They should be delivered by saturday.

 

I'll look into getting a metronome. I'm going to be busy learning scales and things for a while though.

 

here are the things i bought:

 

Black 18 Foot Fender® ElectroVolt Cable Straight/Right-Angle Plug Black 18 Foot

 

Peavey MAX 158 Bass Practice Combo

 

Navy Yak Pak Skull Guitar Strap 2 Navy

 

each were purchased at musiciansfriend.com.

 

I did find some great videos here: http://hobbies.expertvillage.com/interviews/bass-guitar-basics.htm

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Getz is right. But one other really important thing: learn songs and play them with the record. You'll know very fast witch thing you have to work and how apply what you already know. And you'll have the chance to play with great drummers....
I've no more a guilty conscience, only a stomach.
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Originally posted by worried:

I did find some great videos here: http://hobbies.expertvillage.com/interviews/bass-guitar-basics.htm

For the love of God, don't watch those!!!

 

First off, don't ever ever ever stretch your strings like he shows you to! Just don't!

 

When putting on new strings, do it one string at a time to keep tension on the neck. (Don't take them all off like this guy did!)

 

When tuning, don't retune to the harmonic on the 12th fret. True, the harmonic should have the same pitch as you get when fretting at the 12th fret, but this is a bridge/saddle adjustment. (You can learn how to DIY or have the tech at your local music store do this for you as part of a "setup".) Simply using your tuning peg like this guy shows you puts your bass out of tune!

 

There's probably more bad info in there, but I just couldn't watch anymore!

 

Getz' advice is golden: "Find a teacher and give him money." Really. This will be the best way to get started. If it's not too far for you to drive to the Detroit area, I'll even give you lessons, and the first one will be on the house to get those videos out of your head!

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