SteveXFR

Definitely agree on nit limiting yourself to one genre. I did, it was a mistake. Im a huge metal fan and all my favourite metal musicians have a background in either jazz or classical.

Ive always found at Glastonbury its great when there's an enormous act on the main stage, it makes it easy to get to the front at any of the other stages. Ive never enjoyed performances on the pyramid stage, its too big there and even if you get to the front you're still a long way from the stage and sound isn't great at the front

I just throw a pick at the singer

Like those times your guitarist forgets what song you were playing as he goes in to a solo and drifts off in to a different chord progression. If you have the skills to spot it quickly and follow the daft b*****d you will save your band from many embarrassments.

I was there when Blur clashed with Prodigy (2010?). I lost the argument and we watched Blur and it was boring. Everyone agreed afterwards that I was right and we should have watched Prodigy.

Festival organisers obviously can't get it 100% right for everyone. For some of us, there will be unfortunate clashes. Last year, I had to make a tough choice between Battlesnakes and God Speed You Black Emperor. I chose Battlesnake and it was brilliant but I know I missed something great. This year its between missing the end of Napalm Death or the start of Primus. Thats a tough one. What's the toughest choice you've had to make at a festival?

Thanks for the tips. Ill get on to writing out charts for the songs giving me trouble. Next challenge, thinking of a band name we all like.

Im having some trouble remembering more complex song structures. Our band has lots of double length bridges, half verses and missing choruses and other weird stuff that works great but is a bugger to remember. I love that the listener doesn't know whats coming next, I just wish I knew! Any tips or is it just repetition until I get it?

I can't stand Scott. His American clone, Ian is pretty good though.

I tried Scott's Bass Lessons. Didn't get on with them at all. I found them quite uninspiring and too much based around jazz and blues music. The biggest problem was the lack of any feedback until I got in a room with other musicians who were honest enough to tell me that my timing sucked

You'll be needing to learn to play with pick and fingers.

What you want to play will also determine whats most important to learn. If you want to play motown, there's no point learning to use a pick or if you only want to play covers then you won't need much theory or if you want to play funk you won't need to learn to change strings.

A bassist who plays a simple part perfectly in time is far better than one who plays a complex part with sloppy timing. Understanding when to stay simple and when to go for it is also an important skill and a skill no guitarist has.

Id definitely recommend in person lessons. On line lessons are fine but you'll get no feedback at all. You need someone to tell you if you're technique is a bit off. The online lessons also don't put enough emphasis on timing and because bass is a rhythm instrument, timing is extremely important. Bad timing can make a good band sound terrible.

Eat the meek - NOFX