Could Use Some Help Here!

[Ibanez Owner]

Heya fellas,

My no. of posts already tell you I am new to this forum. I am not in US/UK, but somewhere else you probably may not imagine.

 

Here is my plight...Out here, we do not have access to good books the way you guys do, and there are no DVDs whatsoever(we've got to import them, which is quite a hassle). Also, we have very few good bassists but most of them don't like teaching.

I have been playing bass for 3+ yrs now, but am as good as a newbie since I've learnt all on my own and online lessons haven't helped me much.

 

Now, I would love some advice on how I can go about bettering my bass skills with the limited options I've got(e.g practise routines, techs, etc.). People say I have to learn the guitar first but somehow the 6-string does not appeal to me.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Dave Brown]

Hmmmmm.....a remote area with a "few good bassists?"

 

The tried and true method is the best; it's how Beethoven and Mozart learned. (Sure, they had teachers, but the teachers gave them this assignment:)

 

Listen to music, and attempt to copy exactly what the bassist is doing on that music.

 

You won't be doing that with the Headhunters right off. You'll have to start with country or folk or eighth note rock.

 

But you'll begin to hear it; even the difference between and open D and a 5th fret D.

 

It really doesn't matter what kind of music you learn from. I learned every guitar lick from the old group Bread in HS. I've never performed a single Bread song in my life, and I don't play that kind of music.

 

But I liked it then (and now) and learned from it. I learned enough to ace college music theory.

 

So get that Stevie Ray Vaughan album, or Mudvayne or whatever. Play along; even one note is progress.

 

Good luck

[Rocky McDougall]

Sounds like you are in West Texas. Since you found us on the internet, you can also find some good teaching sites and videos on the net. I learned by copying from a 45rpm record player, shortly after the time Leo made his first bass. This forum can give you a tremendous amount of advise. Hang around, you will like us.

Rocky

[bruiser_dup2]

Originally posted by Rocky3840:

Sounds like you are in West Texas. Rocky

West Texas is not in the US anymore? Did you guys go and secede from the Union AGAIN?

 

(The original poster said he was not in the US).

Ed

[JonathanD]

If you can, look up the words "scales" "chords" and "theory" in the search option at the top of the screen. There is a thread that is composed of what people practice and different exercises that are jsut as good or exactly like the books we have.

 

I learned from sheetmusic, then latter listened to music and copied. I would suggest doing both.

 

What country are you in, I might have an extra book I can send you if shippings not too expensive.

good luck mate, jonathan

[Newf]

Welcome to the forum DIM.

 

As for good info there's always Jeremy\'s Theory Thread for you to peruse at your leisure. Lotsa good stuff there. Hopefully I'll get a good handle on its contents in about 50 years or so.

 

Cheers

Newf

[dcr]

I'll second Dave Brown's advice. I learned heaps from studying other players. For a while, I just learned to repeat the notes I heard them playing. That's not very useful outside of playing those specific songs, though. It's best if you know enough about music & theory to understand why their note choices & how they fit into the musical context of the song. That'll help you know how to choose your own notes in your own context.

 

The first thing to learn, if you don't already know, is all the notes on the whole neck.

 

The most essential theory to know at this point is:

Major scale

Basic minor scale

How to identify the notes in basic major & minor chords

 

You can get started on all that stuff by searching the forum & by following the links already given.

 

Good luck & don't be a stranger!

 

PS Bruiser, if you'd been to west Texas, Rocky's post would've made much more sense. If you go, take a book.

[Ibanez Owner]

Thank you guys for all your comments and advice. Sorry for the late reply. Have already started using the 'SEARCH' option here.

 

I have been following this forum for quite sometime, though I never had the balls to register. But now that I have, I am happy I did so and intend on sticking around. I will be asking a lot of silly questions...hope you guys dont mind.

[DavidMPires]

Hey where are you from anyway?

 

Welcome to the forum, and forget that thing of learning g@itar, it's an awfull decease and does loads of noise

[Moe Monsarrat]

I am going to get one of the new Fender bass practice amps with a computer onboard. You can play along with a bunch of prerecorded tracks following the bass & key parts which are provided. You can take the part out & record your own over it. It has a cool drum machine which is programable & you can insert your own tracks thru the computer interface. I wish I'd had one when I first started playing bass, so maybe you'd dig it. Playing bass alone is pretty weird unless you're a Low Lifer like most guys here. I think it's called the Fender B-DEC Practice Amp or some such. It's a good tool to learn with & loads of fun even if you already play a bunch. I think they're less than $500.