New member and new to playing bass, looking for advice please

[Bertie Bassit]

Hello everyone, I'm Mike. I bought myself a westfield bass a few years ago, it was £50 new...don't laugh, it's a pink one lol but I'm not bothered about the colour, I've had established bass players playing it and they say it's not too bad for the money. Anyway I've started jamming with a few guys every week, we play mostly blue grass stuff and it's really just simple notes on the bass I'm playing. I'm wanting to ask two things, what is the best way to pick out bass lines in a song? I've downloaded a certain track from youtube and slowed it down with a program called Audacity, which is not bad for hearing how the bass line goes except that my ear is not proficient at picking out notes yet, so how can I identify the notes in a song. The other thing is apart from taking lessons, how can I progress to a more elaborate way of playing, i.e. doing fills and climbs etc, Is it just a case of going on line looking for lesson etc? Sorry to seem so dumb but I've never touched a bass in my life up till about 2 months ago, and am a complete novice, not a spring chicken either I'm 49 lol! I'd appreciate any help and advice, thanks

[ubit]

There's a site I have used called songster, that gives tab for music. You can select which instrument you want highlighted and go from there. You can also highlight little passages that you might want to repeat. It's a very handy site. There is a small subscription if you want all the functions, but it's well worth it for the help you can get in working out parts.
Apart from that, just listening to tracks and picking out the root notes before trying fancy fills will help you. Tha main thing is to enjoy it and don't get frustrated if you can't pick something up because the secret is practice , practice, practice ! Good luck.

[Allie]

Hello Mike

Welcome to BC.
There's lots of methods you can use whilst you're learning. You seem to have a dicovered one already. I used to play along to the song/track as far as I could in the early days, then it was repeated. You could learn to read or use Tabs, or pick up ideas from on-line tutorials if you wish, or if you think it will help you, look for a tutor. I guess the most important thing is to enjoy it and have fun whichever way you decide on.

There's lot's of friendly and wise folk here on BC too, so if you get stuck, just shout/ask away on one of the forum sections.

Best wishes for the learning and enjoy your stay.

Allie.

[jgmh315]

I started playing eighteen months ago at age 48. In two bands now, one originals and one covers so practice as much as you can, have fun and enjoy it.

[gary mac]

First off, welcome, you are in the right place.

Secondly, it's not dumb to ask those questions, it would be dumb to not ask

[size=4]Don't try to run mate. What you are doing is good, nail those root notes, they are much more important than fills and flash runs. [/size]

[size=4]Once you have nailed the groove you can worry about those fills etc.[/size]

[discreet]

[madshadows]

Hi and welcome Mike

John

[Horizontalste]

Welcome Mike

My advice to your questions would be learn your intervals inside out, know how they sound so you can pick them out in the bassline you want to learn. Also, learn about the circle of fifths and how to apply it and practice picking out the key center of songs you are learning.
It sounds daunting at first but the more you do it the easier it becomes and you'll have a lightbulb moment at some point I guarantee.
I've recently started applying the spaced practice method to my practice & I'm seeing huge gains even after over a decade of playing.
Stick with it man.

Steve

[SimonEdward]

Hello Mike,

You've done the right thing: a) picked up a Bass and B ) joined the BC forum!!

I can also point you in the direction of Thomas Rissell a.k.a 'MarloweDK' - lots of good stuff for beginners to advanced here: - http://playbassnow.com/

Good luck!

[Marc S]

Hi there Mike / Bertie,

Welcome to BC firstly
Don't worry about the quality of your cheapie bass, for now
It's bound to be better than my 1st bass, which was almost unplayable
If other, experienced players think it's OK
then that's a good start.... I had no idea just how terrible my 1st bass was,
so it was something of a stumbling block, not knowing whether something didn't sound right
due to my playing, or due to the terrible bass (you'd tune it up, but some points on the neck it was out!)

Keep practicing, and try playing along with CD's / MP3's
I keep a bass next to the sofa, so if something comes on the TV or radio,
and I like the sound of it - I can jam along & work it out

This seems difficult at first, but the more you do it, the more it will click
I play by ear, as I can't read music. But there are plenty of Tabs available online
Tab is easy to learn. Even if you find it difficult to play while reading (as I usually do)
the Tab will at least get you in the right area - if it's correct, of course.....

Anyhow - good luck, and just keep practicing

Edited January 7, 2015 by Marc S

[billfaro]

Hi Mike. You will be fine on here, they are a really helpful bunch.