Any bass guitar players here?

[modey]

I'm thinking of having a go at learning bass but don't really know where to start, obviously i'm going to find a good tutor locally but does anyone who plays have any tips? Any advice on what sort to buy as a starter bass, any good websites with tuition, videos etc to look at, how hard is it compared to learning guitar?

any help appreciated

[ampersand]

my main influences were primus, chili's and stu hamm.

then my tastes changed and the music i listened to was less bass orientated and i left school and gave it up

[Ed209]

I basically taught bass myself. I started by just downloading bass tabs for songs I liked and playing along to that. You can get them free from a lot of different sites. Bass tabs are really easy to read, you don't really need any knowledge of music to give it a go. This will get your fingers used to the fret board and how to get a nice tone. Once you want to start coming up with your own stuff though, if its going to be half decent then you have to get into your theory.

The key to great bass playing is knowning your scales. I'm not sure if you've played any instruments before, but a solid grounding in the scales and chord structures is what takes you to the next level (i.e. being able to improvise). I was lucky as I was already a pianist so knew all the theory, but if you don't then it can be a bit of long hard slog to get up to speed. But don't give up, playing a bass well is cool as hell, and an easy key to getting in a band.

As for a starter bass, best to go with something cheap until you know whether you want to stick with it or not. Something like a cheap Fender squire is not a bad starting point, then if you get a feel for it its time to up the anti and get something with style.

And please please please ... play with your fingers, not with a plectrum

[gama]

I have a friend is also playing bass guitar, I think this instrument is not easy to learn, friends, you can.

Edited July 21, 2011 by gama

[The Nal]

Paul McCartney (really!)

[The Nal]

and he uses a pick...

I think

Edited July 21, 2011 by The Nal

[The Nal]

to which the bastard would say "yes, well when you're as good as them, I'll reconsider"

Edited July 21, 2011 by The Nal

[The Nal]

ps

after seeing Stevie Wonder last year at Glastonbury, my daughter wanted to know the bass part to Superstition. She tried playing the riff, but it didn't sound right. So I listened to the song, and the bass is just playing the root note on every beat for the first half of the verse

[The Nal]

indeed..

I've seen her a couple of times with Sir Jeffrey

[Ed209]

Yeah Macca is amazing. What he's playing on the whole isn't particularly difficult to copy, but you had to be a genius to come up with it in the first place. I'll let him off with the pick playing as those Hofner Basses are built up for that, plus he was originally a guitarist and most of them struggle without a pick.

As with Stevie, a lot of the bass work on his records was actually his left hand going ape shit on a synth.

[ampersand]

i used to hate the pick on a bass. mainly cos i found it trickier than using my fingers. but i'm not too arsed now.

chris squire is a beast on the bass. i'd put him higher up than mccartney.

[modey]

thanks for the replies guys, even if it has turned into who is the best bassist thread

[ampersand]

would you now....

[stylishkids]

Have just bought a bass myself and am starting to learn my way through tabs atm. I actually went the way of McCartney myself and got myself a Tanglewood RVB-2 Violin which is a copy of the Hofner bass and I'd recommend you check it out if you like the design.

It's a short scale bass so the fretboard is shorter. This has helped quite a bit with the frets been closer together and also the string tension is less. I've tried out friends bass guitars but I much prefer the RVB 2. The string tension does make a hell of a difference I've found and I've found it easier to move from strings when you don't have to apply that much pressure with your fingers. The shorter fretboard helps as well moving between the notes. I like the size of it as well and find it pretty easy to learn while sat down. A very good bass guitar tbh.

[ampersand]

talking of frets, 24 or nothing for me

[strummer77]

thanks for the replies guys, even if it has turned into who is the best bassist thread

[metallimuse]

Do you play any other instruments already?

I would completely agree with the following post...

I basically taught bass myself. I started by just downloading bass tabs for songs I liked and playing along to that. You can get them free from a lot of different sites. Bass tabs are really easy to read, you don't really need any knowledge of music to give it a go. This will get your fingers used to the fret board and how to get a nice tone. Once you want to start coming up with your own stuff though, if its going to be half decent then you have to get into your theory.

The key to great bass playing is knowning your scales. I'm not sure if you've played any instruments before, but a solid grounding in the scales and chord structures is what takes you to the next level (i.e. being able to improvise). I was lucky as I was already a pianist so knew all the theory, but if you don't then it can be a bit of long hard slog to get up to speed. But don't give up, playing a bass well is cool as hell, and an easy key to getting in a band.

And please please please ... play with your fingers, not with a plectrum

[theampersanddevil]

Whenever folks talk about learning to play bass and getting a bass, they usually forget about the amp.

Do yourself a favour and get a half decent practice amp.

Oh and good leads.

I grew up playing violin, so I took to the bass easily.

The most important thing is to enjoy playing it, the easiest way to do this is learn stuff you like. You'd be surprised how quickly it will come to you.

[worm]

And please please please ... play with your fingers, not with a plectrum

Edited July 23, 2011 by worm

[strummer77]

A good bassist plays with both. I prefer the explicit definition a plectrum gives to the drive of the bass. I also like the meandering and avante garde effect that finger playing gives. Slap bass is also a great deal of fun, but over doing it is tantamount to the bass being a second rythm section rather than accompanying rythm instrument.

The advice I'd give is to always remember that the bass guitar is a percussion instrument. That is to say that it's all about maintaining a rythm. That's why I believe that people say that it's easier to play than guitar - a guitar is about creating a melody rather than maintaining a rythm. Though helpful, a great guitarist in the making doesn't need to have a natural inclination for rythm from the off. This develops over time. Whereas a great bassist in the making must have a natural inclination for rythm. Developing more sophisticated melodic bass lines comes in time. That's it really. There's nothing worse than a flowery bassist.

A bassist has more in common with a drummer than with a guitarist.

[worm]

Indeed, though I wish I'd spelled rhythm properly.

[strummer77]

Indeed, though I wish I'd spelled rhythm properly.