Beginner - first jam - terrifying!

[SpondonBassed]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1460328687' post='3024762']
Don't forget to breath
[/quote]

Dad3353 is dead right on that one. I sometimes have to tell myself to relax and adopt a better posture so's I can breath naturally. There is a natural tendency to tense up when faced with these situations for the first (and possibly second or third for some) time(s). Yoga is a good way of "finding your centre" just before you go on. There are many other disciplines that can put you in the zone, as it were. This forum is a good place to start looking.

[TrevorR]

Well done, Lardy. There is nothing like playing with others to sharpen up your playing and push you forward. Lots of good advice above already. I'd also say, don't be afraid to simplify and just drive the song long with the roots of the chord.

To help with flexibility in jams another thing to look at in your practice times is a mix of thinking about learning the various intervals in chords... Major and minor thirds, fourths, fifths especially. Then thinking about the shapes the notes form on the fret board. Try using tab only to work out fingering initially, then translate the line into intervals and shapes and how they move each time the chord changes. If you look at 12 bar blues like HJ says you'll soon see how those classic blues/rock and roll walking bass lines are just a shape that moves up and down the neck or across the strings, usually starting on the root of the chord.

Then try playing the songs using a chord sheet relying on the fretboard shapes, not trying to sight read Tab. Very quickly you'll start to internalise the way that lines are built up and it will all become more natural. Then when a song goes, say G, C, D, Em, G you'll be much better able to make up your own line based on shapes and chord intervals based on those chords, even if you don't know the song or a specific bass line.

An other beauty of this is that if they say we're playing this in A instead of G, then all you do is move all the shapes up two frets but still play all the same shapes!

But most of all, have fun and expect to make a few fluffs at the jam. I can guarantee you everyone else is... You just don't notice them. That's normal!

[KevB]

Well done, they can be very cliquey set ups and quite intimidating so a thumbs up for having a go. It's been said before on here but if your goal is to get into playing in a band situation you can learn more at one of these things than a week of noodling around with tabs in front of your PC. First thing you usually learn is that there is a wide range in quality of drummers that turn up to them

[ambient]

I don't know what your level is, but I'd recommend just playing root notes along to stuff to start with. If you're comfortable with other notes from arpeggios etc, then maybe include them. But keep it simple to start with, it's just a jam.

Most of all enjoy it !

[hairychris]

Congratulations!

I've never jammed with strangers like that (yeah... not for me!) but playing with others in any situation really forces you to improve. And if you've only been playing a year then that's really awesome going.

Edited April 11, 2016 by hairychris

[Lardy]

Thanks again for all the encouragement and tips (I've cut and pasted a few of them and taped it to my music stand to keep me going/amused).

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1460328687' post='3024762']
Good man..! Don't rush things; slow is the new fast. Don't forget to breath (more important than one imagines, and a permanent problem of mine since infancy...) Take breaks; I recommend Earl Grey and Rich Tea or Digestive biscuits, but a glass of milk is fine, too. Every hour of practise, take a walk around the house (yes, outside...) for 5 minutes. Raining..? Pah..! It's only water; it'll wash off.
As you were; carry on...
[/quote]
I've been practising until 1.30am (with headphones), or until my fingers nearly bleed (whichever is the sooner) - I take it that's what you really mean.

[Geek99]

No, he is saying take your time and absorb it, using breaks as thinktime. If you cram too hard you risk kicking yourself too hard if you make a single mistake
We are saying mistakes go with the territory and few people notice so don't sweat it

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Lardy' timestamp='1460469392' post='3025958']...
I've been practising until 1.30am (with headphones), or until my fingers nearly bleed (whichever is the sooner) - I take it that's what you really mean.
[/quote]

What do you mean, 'nearly'..? Get back in there at once..! Down to the bone, then you won't need a plectrum..!

No, seriously, the old adage 'Dont run before you can walk' makes sense, here. By doing stuff slowly, but correctly, speed will come of its own accord. By not skipping the steps, the foundations are laid for a solid future. A trick I used, decades ago (and still do..!) is to periodically (every couple of weeks, maybe..?) go back over all the stuff, from the very beginning. I'm a drummer, but the principles are the same. I open my newbie rudiments books and go over the same old, same old, slowly, page by page. I found it surprising at first that I could have overlooked so much, first, second, even third time through. I spend less time now on each, but it helps me progress when I attack the later stuff. To each his/her own, of course, but slowly is the fastest way forward, in my experience.
And yes, resting, both the fingers and the mind, gives one the time necessary to really assimilate. Going at it hammer and tongs is counter-productive, except for one's ego. A question of character, perhaps, although the British Worker's Rule may be a bit [i]too [/i]much: A 15-minute break every 10 minutes..!

Edited April 12, 2016 by Dad3353

[Lardy]

OK, understood !

[Iain]

I joined a jam session having picked up bass again after 15 or so years off.

Joined a band off the back of it - confidence and increasing skill - then the jam session turned into a band as well and 3 years later I've two bands on the go and loving it!

[4 Strings]

If you can play with people better than yourself, you'll be on a wonderfully steep learning curve and will benefit no end.

I love the challenge of being in this position, learn not to keep making excuses (other musicians generally have us sussed in 30 seconds anyway) and get on with it. Other musos are generally as helpful as can be.

By all means keep things simple as has been suggested but, if you want to improve, keep at it. You'll be all the better for it!

[RandomBass]

Well done. Things like this just add to experience and confidence - the latter probably being the most important. Quite soon you will suddenly realise you are not as far out of your comfort zone as you think you are.
Cheers
Geoff

[zbd1960]

Well done. I'm brand new to bass - first lesson due on Tuesday - but I'm experienced on other instruments and other genres. Much good avice above. I strongly advocate getting to play with a group/band/community orchestra whatever as early as possible. It provides encouragement and better players pull you along (especially good for timing and getting past "oh-it's-hard slowdownitis"). A useful lesson I learnt from my singing teacher many years ago is if you are faced with a passage of lots of notes that you're goign to struggle with, just put the key notes in - the rest are decoration. It is much more important to be in time than anything else - no one will notice the odd bum note, but wrong timing really stcks out.

I'm hoping to do something similar to you as soon as I can, fortunatley I play cello so I have no problems reading bass clef, so that's one challenge avoided, just need to learn to play

[dmccombe7]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1460328687' post='3024762'] Good man..! Don't rush things; slow is the new fast. Don't forget to breath (more important than one imagines, and a permanent problem of mine since infancy...) Take breaks; I recommend Earl Grey and Rich Tea or Digestive biscuits, but a glass of milk is fine, too. Every hour of practise, take a walk around the house (yes, outside...) for 5 minutes. Raining..? Pah..! It's only water; it'll wash off. As you were; carry on... [/quote]

Excellent advice. I'm learning 34 songs in 3 weeks for a new band i've joined and i take regular hourly breaks, coffee, tea etc and its coming along pretty good. Pressure for me is when i'm gigging in 2 weeks with this band without a reahearsal and i don't know these guys apart from passing the audition.
Starting slow and just stick to the basic notes until you get more confident to add the fill ins is how i always start with a band rehearsal.

I remember doing Crossroads years ago with a new band (2nd gig) and the guys thought it funny to stop playing in crossroads without telling me upfront and let me do a bass solo. That's scary altho i did keep it simple and threw in some bass chords along with some minor runs. Got a round of applause after it so must have been ok. I stuck to the standard structure with some variations of a theme.

Well done for getting yourself out there. Pretty sure the other guys at the jam were aware of your initiation and nerves and its accepted that not everyone at a jam seesion will be at same level of experience so very well done sir. I admire you for it.

Keep at it.
It just gets better and better from here.

All the very best
Dave