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The Ultimate List of Online Learning Resources


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I'm still at home from covid distancing and pretty bored. I'm looking to pick up my bass and actually devote some time to learning instead of casually playing songs here and there.

What are the best online resources for learning bass? Preferably free, but looking for ones with some structure over random YouTube links to keep me focused. I thought it would be great for the community to put together an ultimate list of learning resources for newbies.

I'll kick it off with a few sites with lessons that looked reputable:

  1. aimusiclessons.com: this site's free and has the books I used to use when I took private lessons. Looks like it listens to you as you play and gives you tips and feedback on your playing which is pretty cool.
  2. yousician.com: same kind of thing as aimusiclessons but looks more like a video game. Paid site. Looks like the free trial requires a CC. Looks alright to me.
  3. fender play: cheaper than yousician but doesn't have the interactive listening/feedback thing. Has lots of songs though, but I can get those elsewhere on the web for free.

Has anyone tried any of these? Are there ones I'm missing that you would recommend?

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A lot of people swear by this:

https://www.studybass.com/

Apart from that, there is a ton of stuff on YouTube that I get bits from that aren't necessarily presented by bass players. If you want to learn about music, check out Rick Beato's channel. He's recently done some basic harmony and theory videos that applies to pretty much any tuned instrument.

I know Joe Hubbard runs a beginners course every 6 months, but it's not free. However, you'll be getting top quality tuition and you'll be expected to put in the hours if you want to get the most from it. I've no personal experience of that myself as I've been playing a long time and I've got my own private teacher, but if you look at any of his videos on YouTube, you'll see what I mean.

 

If you like the thought of learning the basics from a book, get this:

Hal Leonard Bass Method: Complete Edition by Friedland, Ed, NEW Book, FREE & FAS

I think this is the best beginner's bass book ever written, and one of the many good things about it is that it encourages you to learn how to read. All of Ed Friedland's books are great.

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I'd second @louisthebass suggestion of Joe Hubbard's beginners' course - I haven't taken it personally, but I studied with him for a year or so and learned way more than I did in my entire music degree. He taught Pino, Paul Turner, Dave Swift (I think...) and hundreds of others and his materials and concepts are top-notch.

Sure, it's not free, but in my experience you definitely get what you pay for.  I think you also value what you've paid for more than anything you get for free - I have hard drives full of video lessons and books that I've 'acquired' over the years, but I always come back to books that  I've actually bought or notes from lessons that I've taken.

The Friedland book is also a great shout. From the little I've seen of Yousician, I'd avoid it like the plague; it's aimed squarely at children and the lessons videos I've seen have some very questionable advice on bass technique.

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On 27/06/2020 at 10:46, TKenrick said:

I'd second @louisthebass suggestion of Joe Hubbard's beginners' course - I haven't taken it personally, but I studied with him for a year or so and learned way more than I did in my entire music degree. He taught Pino, Paul Turner, Dave Swift (I think...) and hundreds of others and his materials and concepts are top-notch.

Sure, it's not free, but in my experience you definitely get what you pay for.  I think you also value what you've paid for more than anything you get for free - I have hard drives full of video lessons and books that I've 'acquired' over the years, but I always come back to books that  I've actually bought or notes from lessons that I've taken.

The Friedland book is also a great shout. From the little I've seen of Yousician, I'd avoid it like the plague; it's aimed squarely at children and the lessons videos I've seen have some very questionable advice on bass technique.

I'd also recommend checking out @TKenrick's own site; https://freebasstranscriptions.com - there's a few videos on there that a relative beginner can benefit from, and Tom has also produced his own book called "Better Bass Practice" E-Book which is well worth buying. I've found it very helpful, and it makes you refocus how to practice the instrument.

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  • 9 months later...

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