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Old six-string picker would like to feel comfortable about trading off on Bass


fretmonster

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Kind of embarrassed to admit that I really don't know the first thing about Bass playing. Would be nice to be able to trade off occasionally when jamming with friends. I tried it once or twice and felt like a fish out of water. Figured I better do something about this glaring deficiency, so I recently acquired a Bass rig in Craigslist trades - Line 6 Lowdown Studio amp and a Washburn Bantam Series 4 string Bass. Decent enough stuff but I still don't really know where to start and when I go into my studio still gravitate to my electric and acoustic guitars over the Bass. Are there some relatively easy, and not too time consuming steps I can take to learn to be able to play it in a pinch and maybe record with it? Is there a $20 DVD or Book you'd recommend someone who already knows where the notes are located but nothing else about the theory or technique of Bass accompaniment?

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Um, play the root note (2), usually followed by a 1 or a 2 or 4 on next string, or the octave up on the third from root seems to be the basis of 99% of bass lines, lol. Pentatonic, 14 13 13. Mixo 24 124 124. minor 134 134 13 (I think). Same scales as guitar just diff strings. Books? You tube some bass lessons, good stuff on there.

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Thx nicholai. Having some trouble following your numeric sequencing though. I assume you are referring to fingering as opposed to intervals with the (2) meaning second finger and one being index. Still a little confused by it. Really like some clarification on the Penta, Mixo, minor stuff. Sounds really cool if I can figure it out.

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Exactly what I meant. Fingering opposed to interval,

 

 

I can do interval if you need it or frets.

 

Lets do frets for fun. Say A pentatonic. Starting on E string, 5th fret 8th fret A string fifth fret 7th fret d string fifth fret 7th fret. To Play blues, Hit the root, than walk the scale down from the octave up (in A, D string, 7th fret, octave is always skip a string three intervals up), skipping whatever notes you like.

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The theory definitely has a place but the fingering is not any different from guitar if you're tuning the same. Playing the roots with some creative intervals is usually good but you can still have fun on a bass if it suits the music. Wanky bass is just as fun as it is on guitar except it shakes your house and vibrates your chest :)

 

I started on bass before buying my guitars and it's still a lot of fun. You can really lock in with the drums and really lay the foundation. It just depends on the song and where you try to fit in. I've tried playing off the snare or high hat, it's whatever works in the moment

 

Fingers vs pick is a thread for another day. Just do what's comfortable. Finger picking will sound different but give your fingers a rest when they turn pink on those bass strings ;) I got used to using a 1.1mm pick from bass, so now that's my standard guitar pick

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Well, since you already play music, know music, understand music, and know where the notes are, I would say you just need to put the time in to get comfortable. Bass is exactly like guitar in that there is no "right way" to play it, and no two players will ever play the same. I play bass for a living, as you probably know, and One thing I observes over and over again, is guitar players who aren't yet bass players, usually try to play the bass musically like a guitar and just WAY overplay. If you think of the bass as an accompanying instrument more than a solo instrument and play it as such, you are going to have tons more other musicians want to play with you then even if you are a "great", but overplaying "noodling" bass player. Well, you aren't going to make that mistake because you have help. As others have stated, start of slow just holding down root notes, going back and forth between fifths, work on all your octaves, arpeggios and scales and then always remember less is more when playing with other people. I, for example, consider "playing bass" as just giving me something to do while singing harmonies. Yes I put in my time when I was younger, windsurfing, got to the point I could play just about anything I heard, but I have to tell you, I was always way more popular with other people warrington play with me for what I DIDN't play as much as what I did play. Now that we have covered the "please don't treat the bass like a guitar" part and talked a little but about the musicality of it, I will finish that by saying something I say on this forum over and over again. Learn cover tunes. Sit with all your favorite records, you already have a developed musicians ear, so picking out notes shouldn't be a problem for you, and just keep trying to copy what you hear. It will teach you to think more like a bass player, it is actually fun, and once you know the song, keep playing along to develop your finesse, and NOW, you will have the added benefit of already knowing a bunch of songs you can play with other people.

 

So now that we have covered the musical part of it, let's move on to technique. I'd suggest using your fingers at first because it is likely as a guitarist you can already use a pick, but on bass, playing with a pick versus fingers gives you two totally different sounds and feels, so it would be good for you to have both developed.

 

Next is the fact that playing bass is all about finesse and what I always see omitted by teachers is stressing the hugely important fact to keep the strings that aren't being played muted and quiet while you are not using them. On bass, this can lead to just a huge mess if you are concentrating so heavily on what "to" play, that you forget what not to accidentally "play" while you are doing it. There are a bunch of different techniques to use for muting, and I might use every one of them in as short as a few seconds in one song, or even more than one type at once. For using a pick, you will rely alot on right hand palm muting d'd well as lifting the string up off the fret withstood left hand but continuing to dampen it. I use this constantly. With your right hand finger technique, you can use a couple or one finger to do the playing, and use the others to sit on unused strings dampening them. This is harder to explain then it is to do, and you will take to it naturally, but right off the bar I wanted to get you started thinking about that so you develop a nice finessed style as opposed to making the mid that I hear so many guitarists do.

 

Work on smooth legato playing with clear clean smoothness and pureness of individual notes, and get some practice making staccato notes as crisp and clean as possible.

 

Keep playing with your favorite records, keep jamming with other people, play at home with a drum machine, and don't forget the indescribably valuable resource of information wealth that is just sitting on youtube waiting for you for free, but remember, bass is like any other instrument, you can watch all the videos you want, take all the lessons you want, read all the posts you want, but you have to put the playing time in to get "good".

 

Already being a guitar player will give you a huge musical head start, but not necessarily a physical and technical head start, so go slow at first, don't over expect touch based on your ability to play guitar, start playing the crap out of the bass, and get good.

 

This is one way to do it, but I can promise you, this way works, and it wild faster than any other way. You have to put in the playing time, so go play.

 

I'm not about to edit all the errors my cell phone spell check made in this post so you may get a good laugh and try to guess what I was texting in a few spots. My phone seems to be on ludes at times.

 

Good luck!

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Oh I forgot to mention the single most important thing

 

!Slaps forehead!

 

The kick drum is your soulmate. Lock in with it so tight that you and the kick drum become one instrument like it is your very own heartbeat. Of course you can play around it, but it needs to be locked into every fiber of your being so you are completely at one with it.

 

Unless, of course, your drummer sucks, then yeah, go get a drum machine.

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Oh I forgot to mention the single most important thing


!Slaps forehead!


The kick drum is your soulmate. Lock in with it so tight that you and the kick drum become one instrument like it is your very own heartbeat. Of course you can play around it, but it needs to be locked into every fiber of your being so you are completely at one with it.


Unless, of course, your drummer sucks, then yeah, go get a drum machine.

 

 

Sound advice right there. If you've got any drum sequencing software or a drum machine, it's great to play along with. Or as Dave suggested, play along with a song. For bass, it's much better than a metronome because of the combination of various drums and your bass. It's also true for guitar, but because I find it way more interesting.

 

And Dave... Do you have any tips/exercises for a young'n with regard to finger picking the bass? Like you said, picking feels natural to a guitar player such as myself, and the theory isn't a problem. Noodling and simple lines were both easy enough to grasp, but I can't seem to crack finger picking that thing. No idea where to put my tiny, feminine hands or how to attack. Sure, I get by okay with a pick, but it's such a fun instrument that I'd like to take it to the next level and really own it, y'know?

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Great advice, Dave :thu:

 

I recently picked up a Squier VM Jazz bass, and for once, am really enjoying playing bass as I pretty much had that advice in my head. Being a huge Rush nut, of course the tendency would be to try the Geddy lines ;), but I find it just as satisfying to play some simple bass lines, and get the technique down, not to mention how to control the plucking/picking force so as not make make the low E and A buzz :p

 

Have fun, fretmonster :)

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Wow, what an avalanche of great responses!!! I'm overwhelmed especially when a guy like Aronow, who makes his living laying down the low-end writes a small tome about all the ins and outs. Seriously, so cool and I'm all ears. I was actually out playing some pentatonic stuff and starting to feel pretty funky after being inspired by nicholai and almost didn't even look back in to see if there had been any more posts. This is really why I love this place. Just some real quality folks out there that aren't afraid to share. So hats off fellas, I mentioned Dave and nichoai but I read every word and they were all great posts. Appreciate you guys.:cry::p:cool:

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Some good advice in here. I agree with everything said so far.

 

When I first started, since I play lead guitar, I had a tendency to do too much on bass. Start with simple stuff, and eventually you'll find your style and can branch out more.

 

I love playing bass. There is something zen like when you get a good rhythm section going (speaking from my experience with a jazz band, but it's still pretty true of smaller ensembles too).

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Oh I forgot to mention the single most important thing


!Slaps forehead!


The kick drum is your soulmate. Lock in with it so tight that you and the kick drum become one instrument like it is your very own heartbeat. Of course you can play around it, but it needs to be locked into every fiber of your being so you are completely at one with it.


Unless, of course, your drummer sucks, then yeah, go get a drum machine.

 

 

The note starts with the kick and ends at the snare hit.

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I've been pickin' six strings for years and got a hankerin' to learn bass. I've been looking around online and there's some good stuff, but the site I keep going back to is the one below. Good stuff! and Good Luck!


http://www.studybass.com/lessons/common-bass-patterns/roots-and-fifths/exercises/

 

Killer! Thx much.

 

To Sxyryan: Not a good idea to infuse the melody into your Bass lines I suppose. I have to learn to think like a Bass player. Somebody once said it can actually help your lead playing as well.

 

Working on the cool hat and red shoes as we speak.

 

bling.jpg

 

And don't tell me I have to take my rings off.:mad::wave:

 

Thx fellas. From a few of the responses, looks like maybe I'm not the only guitar player out there that needs a little help plunkin a Bass. Looks like a few of us can benefit from this.

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