Solo Bass - where to start

[thepurpleblob]

I want to learn to play solo bass. Mostly to help my technique and to be able to look cool trying instruments in shops

But.... I have absolutely no clue where to start. My experience is entirely cover bands so learning other people's stuff. This is, almost certainly, not for performance. Just for my own gratification.

Where do I start? The hurdles seem to be (although I stand to be corrected), knowing some sensible chord sequences to play over and then working out what sort of things to play over them. Then what?

Any pointers / exercises appreciated. Or, just tell me I've gone mad.

[GonzoBass]

[url="http://www.beaverfelton.com/Downloadables.asp"]http://www.beaverfelton.com/Downloadables.asp[/url]

Have fun!

[Doddy]

When you say solo bass,are you thinking about playing solo's over
changes or do you want to be able play things like chord melodies
and things-kind of like Michael Manring and those guys?

[thepurpleblob]

[quote name='Doddy' post='780247' date='Mar 19 2010, 09:35 PM']When you say solo bass,are you thinking about playing solo's over
changes or do you want to be able play things like chord melodies
and things-kind of like Michael Manring and those guys?[/quote]


I *think* what I want to aim for is to play solos over changes. To be able to improvise - even a bit. Mostly because I can't do it at all. I've been playing around with chordal stuff to, but I find that terribly hard going. My fingers aren't bendy enough

[Doddy]

For soloing over changes the ultimate goal is to play melodically through them.

First of all you need to be aware of what the chords are. Play through whatever piece
you want to solo over using just the arpeggios at first,so that you become familiar with
the strong tones. When you are really comfortable,you can begin to invert the arpeggios
so that you are starting on the 3rd, 5th and 7th. Straight away this will sound more melodic
than always leading with the root.

Later on you can do the whole 'play what you sing' thing,where you sing a melodic phrase and
play it on the instrument-with practise you can do this simultaniously.

Also,learn melodies to tunes. They give you a good starting point for your own ideas.