Members heath_eld Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 Ok. Here goes. I've played bass almost 15 years. Never all that seriously but enough. I have a rig i am very happy with (5 string stingray into a Sansamp into a power amp into a SWR henry the 8x8). My main gig in music is as a sound engineer anyway. In terms of playing an instrument i regularly seem to vary between seeing myself as an acoustic guitarist and a bass player. The last year or so has been an "acoustic guitar" kind of year. Anyway here's my problem: I'm a hack. When i started i was in a garage band that played 90s rock songs. 1 note per chord type deal. Done a fair bit of church playing which again is straightforward root note 4/4 stuff with the odd (learned) bass solo. What i find though is that when i try to play somewhere where the standard is up a bit - even my current church band, or in a gig situation (did a few fill ins for a mate last year) my ability to play by ear is limited (i can play by ear enough on an acoustic). And my playing just feels limited and well, boring. Because of my work as a sound engineer i often work with players that remind me what a hack i am. I mean the other guy i was sitting there as a bass player 10 years younger than me did his warm ups playing scales i couldnt have named, much less played. I do feel that i'm a better player than 2 years ago, or 10 years ago. But the progress is very slow. Anyway - my question is this: If i want to go from garage band level player to, i suppose, intermediate player, someone who's not a beginner... what should i be doing? What should i be practicing? I love doing this. I want to do the best job i can whether its church, or if i got the opportunity to be in a band. Obviously no money involved or anything and that is not an issue at all. Weekend warrior playing for fun all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted August 28, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 28, 2012 I would suggest going to some jam sessions with good musicians. It will stretch your playing and your ear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chunky-b Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 I've advanced some from books and music theory study, some from sitting in front of radio and trying to pick out whatever song comes on, and most of all from playing with the church band... Play, play, play, practice, practice, practice... Just like anything, the more time you put into it, the better you get. There is no magic potion to suddenly become a Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Perfessor Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 Don't you try playing along to music? I thnk the best thing you can do is take out your bass and play it every chance you get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tolka Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 Anyway - my question is this: If i want to go from garage band level player to, i suppose, intermediate player, someone who's not a beginner... what should i be doing? What should i be practicing? The advice to try playing along to songs is good. However to be able to make up your own bass lines, a little basic theory is also a good thing to know. First, learn where all the notes on the fretboard are. My advice is to learn the Maj. minor and pentatonic scales for a start. Learn how chords are made from scales. For example a major chord is got from using the 1 (root), 3, and 5 of that scale. So, C major = CDEFGAB©, C major = CEG. Learn about intervals, how they sound and how to find different ones from a given root note. Afterwards move onto chord tones and their inversions. The latter is where you play a chord starting on a different note. So, taking our C major chord we have CEG which is called the root inversion. For the first inversion we start on E and we get EGC. In this case, E is the lowest sounding note. Play the two different inversions and see how different they sound, even though they are the same chord. I would not dwell too long on scales. Once you have a good handle on them, move swiftly onto chord tones. These are what a bassist plays 90% of the time....not scales. Below is a link to a great site which you should find helpful.. http://www.studybass.com/lessons/bass-chord-patterns/chord-tones-are-primary/ http://www.studybass.com/lessons/intervals/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members perrydabassman Posted August 31, 2012 Members Share Posted August 31, 2012 Sit down and learn any complete stone temple pilots album front to back. You will be overplaying before you know it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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