Zero to playing in band ?

[The Hat]

Now i know this is a very subjective question, but a goal I have is to be good enough to play in a band. Ive only been learning the guitar about 5 months and the bass about 1 month but i think its good to have goals, no matter how long they take to achieve. I practise most days for around an hour but do miss a day every now again.
With the right commitment, im reckoning 2 to 3 years to get good enough ? I fully realise that even after 2 to 3 yrs i would still have loads to learn but hopefully be good enough to play in a band.

What ya reckon, am i wildly out ?

On another note, has there ever been a bassist or guitarist who came to the instrument late in life but became a pro and makes money from it now. Im not talking about someone that has been musical before but someone that never played an instrument before and then suddenly picks it up and then becomes sh*t hot ?

[BassTractor]

Of course you know it depends.
That out of the way, some people start in a band immediately, and others never get there.

Don't know how old you are, but it does matter.

From my experience in teaching, I can't tell you what it takes to be in a band, but I can tell you:
- The oldest organ pupil of mine I taught up to the level of music college was in her thirties, and it took her five years.
- Friend of mine was roughly 25 when I forced him to learn one song on bass during one evening, and half a year to a year later he was playing bass in a local band.

Good luck, and ... ENJOY!!


best,
bert

[Musky]

There's nothing stopping you from joining a band right now. It's just a matter of finding other people at a similar level to yourself.

[The Hat]

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1364681036' post='2029698']
There's nothing stopping you from joining a band right now. It's just a matter of finding other people at a similar level to yourself.
[/quote]

Very very funny indeed, thats deffo me at the moment !
Maybe i should put an add out, crap bass player wanting to play in a band

[Musky]

[quote name='The Hat' timestamp='1364681470' post='2029699']


Very very funny indeed, thats deffo me at the moment !
Maybe i should put an add out, crap bass player wanting to play in a band
[/quote]

Actually someone put a similar ad in the classifieds recently - it got a very decent response! You'd be surprised how many people are in the same position as yourself.

[Happy Jack]

From a standing start, and playing bass as a hobby rather than an obsession, I was ready to jam with single guitarists (i.e. one guitarist at a time, rather than unmarried guitar players) after about six months.

18 months from zero I was a regular at various West London jam sessions, not great (obviously) but getting steadily less embarrassing.

In less than two years from zero, I was in my first band. 18 months later I was gigging regularly in a pub band (covers) and involved in various side projects, even occasional dep stuff.

YMMV

[icastle]

Totally impossible to say.

For some people a couple of months is enough time whilst others may practice for years and never get to play in a band.

It's all down to ability and a healthy dollop of luck.

[Clarky]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1364683150' post='2029712']
It's all down to ability and a healthy dollop of luck.
[/quote]
It also depends what type of music you are wanting to play - clearly playing complex jazz or prog rock (for example) is going to require more work and technical ability than pumping out 16th root notes a la Ramones.

What I will say is there is no substitute for playing with other musicians. All the bedroom practice in the world will not take you half as far as developing empathy with a bunch of like-minded musicians. My advice is to find other people as soon as poss and you will get better much quicker than you think and much quicker than playing on your own

[discreet]

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1364683388' post='2029714']
...there is no substitute for playing with other musicians. All the bedroom practice in the world will not take you half as far as developing empathy with a bunch of like-minded musicians. My advice is to find other people as soon as poss and you will get better much quicker than you think and much quicker than playing on your own
[/quote]

This. I'd go further and say if you play with people who are better than you, you will tend to play up to their level very quickly.
Playing in a band can be more about confidence than technical ability.

Edited March 30, 2013 by discreet

[mcnach]

[quote name='The Hat' timestamp='1364679715' post='2029682']
Now i know this is a very subjective question, but a goal I have is to be good enough to play in a band. Ive only been learning the guitar about 5 months and the bass about 1 month but i think its good to have goals, no matter how long they take to achieve. I practise most days for around an hour but do miss a day every now again.
With the right commitment, im reckoning 2 to 3 years to get good enough ? I fully realise that even after 2 to 3 yrs i would still have loads to learn but hopefully be good enough to play in a band.

What ya reckon, am i wildly out ?

On another note, has there ever been a bassist or guitarist who came to the instrument late in life but became a pro and makes money from it now. Im not talking about someone that has been musical before but someone that never played an instrument before and then suddenly picks it up and then becomes sh*t hot ?
[/quote]


The amount of time it takes varies from person to person, and band to band...

Try to get in the best band that will have you, and try to play with people who are all better than you. That will push you and you will learn a lot faster.

Whenever you think you are willing to try, go for it!

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1364683388' post='2029714']
What I will say is there is no substitute for playing with other musicians. All the bedroom practice in the world will not take you half as far as developing empathy with a bunch of like-minded musicians. My advice is to find other people as soon as poss and you will get better much quicker than you think and much quicker than playing on your own
[/quote]

Yep, the trouble with playing along to records is that none of the other musicians will be making mistakes and it'll all sound good in your head. I'd bet that these guys can all sing and play along to the record, but they sure struggle when trying to play as a band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj7pDNDuoJ0

[discreet]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1364687524' post='2029748']
I'd bet that these guys can all sing and play along to the record, but they sure struggle when trying to play as a band.
[/quote]

And yet they still managed to get more than 1,500,000 hits on YouTube!

[Pembo]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1364687524' post='2029748']
I'd bet that these guys can all sing and play along to the record, but they sure struggle when trying to play as a band.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj7pDNDuoJ0[/media]
[/quote]

Fair do's, I've had root canal work less painful than watching that.

[thisnameistaken]

As was said above, you can join a band at any time so long as you're in the same ballpark, experience-wise, as the other guys. The bass doesn't often play anything difficult so arguably a band can have a less experienced bass player without it causing issues musically (so long as your timing is good).

I was playing with other musicians pretty much as soon as I started playing bass, having never played an instrument before. Within a year or two I did my first 'proper' band and got plenty of positive feedback from the more established guys in my town, a year later my second band got offered a major label record deal (which I personally - as the main songwriter - turned down ), after playing for about five years I moved to another continent and played professionally for a few years although I was still pretty green.

Recently I took up double bass, and gigged it within six months, but I have to say three years in I'm nowhere near as confident as I was three years into playing bass guitar, but that's because I now have 20+ years of experience that informs me of how well I'm doing, and so I know my limits better than I used to.

My advice - if you want to progress quickly - would be to get together with other musicians as soon as you can, and get some lessons as soon as you can, and study music as much if not more than you study bass guitar. Reason being that you'll rarely be required to play anything difficult on bass guitar but the usual role of the instrument means that the better you understand music, the better your contribution will be.

Oh and while it's tempting to listen mostly to players who play really busy lines and technically difficult stuff, you will learn more from listening to lines that have driven great pop songs and try to work out why they're so effective.

[discreet]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1364689035' post='2029774']
...while it's tempting to listen mostly to players who play really busy lines and technically difficult stuff, you will learn more from listening to lines that have driven great pop songs and try to work out why they're so effective.
[/quote]

+1 Less really [i]is[/i] more!

[thisnameistaken]

And there are so many great examples. My era is mostly late '70s post-punk to early '90s indie and acid-jazz, and there were an amazing amount of memorable bass hooks but I wouldn't want to overlook any other periods by spelling it out.

One guy I think never gets enough credit is Mark Brydon aka Moloko. Fun For Me is just a brilliant hook, and as far as I'm aware The Time Is Now is still the only hit pop record to be led by an acoustic bass guitar. Most people don't even think of him as a bass player but he's one of my favourites.

[icastle]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1364687524' post='2029748']
I'd bet that these guys can all sing and play along to the record, but they sure struggle when trying to play as a band.
[/quote]

'Struggle' is being somewhat generous.

It sounded to me as if none of them had actually learned the same song.

[Floyd]

I first picked up a bass late last summer. I've played guitar for years although not to band standard so I know some scale theory so I spent the winter just learning bass to songs. Not note for note but near enough as I believe that the bass gives a signature to a lot of songs that shouldn't be ignored. Just doing this you soon learn the fretboard. I've joined an established blues, R&B, rock band and just over two weeks ago we played our first gig of the year to 200 people and it went very well. I was high for 2 days. Last Thursday we played another gig, 2 sets, over 30 songs and got 2 encores. I love it.
Age? ....... I remember seeing T-Rex at Sheffield City Hall

[barneyg42]

A father was buying bass lessons for his son.
The 1st week the father asked him what he had learned
The son said "On my 1st lesson we learned about the E string"
The 2nd week came and after the lesson the father asked what had he learned that week
The son said "On my 2nd lesson I learned about the A string"
3rd week came by and the father said to his son "You know these are expensive lessons what have you learned this week"
The son said "I quit the lessons I already got a gig"

[Fat Rich]

I played my first gig within a few weeks of learning bass, to about 1000 people at Middlesex Polytechnic. I think the audience enjoyed the gig more than I did, I was terrified!

As has been said, it very much depends what kind of music you're playing, for me it was simple rock covers with very simple basslines so it actually went really well.

I think when it comes to music the more you learn, you realise the more there is to learn. It's very easy to think you're not ready, then after a few years think you'll actually never be ready. Also the older you get, the more risk averse you probably become.

I would say play with other musicians as soon as possible and bash out a few simple tunes, as long as you don't mislead people about your skills and remain humble and ready to take criticism, and learn from your mistakes you'll make faster progress than if you just practice on your own.

[stingrayPete1977]

No one has ever learnt to play an instrument, we are all just at different points along the way to getter nearer, even the best players in the world will have a weakness somewhere. Interesting example in what Clarky said before is that I have found some jazzers or classic players might struggle to pull off a convincing Ramones style, that statement applies for all genres in all directions and only the very best players in the world could nail every style imo. Certainly not me that's for sure

Edited March 31, 2013 by stingrayPete1977

[The Hat]

I need to find someone to play with then, anyone ?

[BigRedX]

The only way you are going to find out if you are good enough to play in a band is to go along to some auditions and find out.

It's my impression, that in general musicians on here tend to undersell themselves, so someone who thinks they still need another year or two (unless they want to play basslines that are massively technically complicated) is probably ready to join a band.

Length of time playing against competence, has no direct correlation. I've seen people go from zero interest in music to being far more technically able than me in under 6 months, on the other hand, after nearly 40 years of playing I'm still pretty basic, but I get around it by being confident in the fact that even if I can't do it now, I'll be much closer to having it nailed at next week's rehearsal.

Playing on your own and along to recordings is all very well, but you don't have any real yardstick to measure your ability by, and most of the time no real focus to know where to channel your energies most effectively. Joining a band will give a definite set of goals to work towards. IMO I develop more as a musician every time I set foot in a rehearsal room or on stage with other musicians than I do from endless hours practicing on my own.

Go and do it. The real fun in music starts when you play with other people.

[domjohnson]

Have a look at joinmyband.com or .co.uk or whatever it is, theres always adverts for bassists. Thats the great thing about playing bass - we're always in demand!

[gafbass02]

It is indeed so different for everyone. I think my first gig was around two weeks after picking up my first bass, 22 years later I'm still gigging and learning all the time.