That is so true @T_dub
5 Likes
That’s a tough one…
8 Likes
yeah, that’s a non starter.
5 Likes
great, and important, point.
5 Likes
C’mon, at least give yourself the 4th fret so you can play For Once In My Life. 
9 Likes
absolutely! I think i picked up the rest of the tips on the way but I pushed myself too much - especially in the beginning.
4 Likes
Hello @JoshFossgreen I’ve been meaning to get back online to comment on this video. I think this might have been one your best videos. 
Sometimes you do a thing that you think is the right thing to do, but you just never know and it’s really good to hear your teach say it’s good to do those things like “Listen for the Bass.” I’ve been doing that, and I think it really helps. Music from the 70’s seems more than any other decade to show case the bass. Sometimes I even improvise in my head, “Yeah, that would sound good! I just need to learn how to master the bass better!”
5 minutes per day-- just…pick…up…the…bass. I am often tired, but if I can just get started, you’re right it often ends up being longer. I don’t unplug the bass anymore. the patch cord is always plugged in. I can just grab it, and turn on the amp.
This one is so hard to do, and sometimes you just don’t notice. I sometimes surprise myself even when I screw up. “How did I recover so quickly? How did I know where to jump back in the song so quickly without counting?” You just get these skills, and a music sense, and you just know the bass better.
So many good tips I haven’t even tried yet. Thanks Josh!
7 Likes
Look, you give me the 4th fret, now I’m going to push for the 5th, next thing you know, the groove is out the window, I’m high on caffeine, and it’s slap-bass-solo-city… and where’s that groove??? WHERE IS IT??
Maybe I should take it back to the 2nd fret… and one meal a day.
Also, only burlap sack clothing.
10 Likes
You are one disciplined dude, gotta respect that!!
My philosophy would probably more lean towards - explore the heck out of all the tangents till your heart is content. Hopefully you’re picking up some groove in the process! But don’t worry about it too much in the beginning stages, it’s probably subconsciously happening. And if it’s not… burlap sack clothing for good!
6 Likes
I enjoyed the video. My problem is, I would like to learn more songs, but I don’t have a printer and I hate learning songs from tabs posted on the Internet or from YouTube videos. I really want a big book like the Real Book, but for pop songs and with the bass lines written out (in music, not tabs), preferably corresponding to the radio versions of the songs. Does anything like this exist? I mean obviously not for hundreds of songs like the Real Book, but…?
4 Likes
Ha!
No, no no… I think it’s me facetiously trying to make up for my extreme lack of discipline!
I just wish that young me had been more into groove, and less into shred. This was me brainstorming ways - like good old Kung Fu movies - where I could be disciplined and focused by the pain and hardship of my training!!
I think the no-coffee extremity would have gotten through to little me.
7 Likes
Transcribe! is one of the most useful tools I’ve used to learn bass guitar. Bass track isolation / removal for a backing track, etc.,. The price is too low, too good be true, but it is that good.
9 Likes
Agree
5 Likes
@T_dub and here I am coming in with bad hands. Hoping the left hand gets some strengthening with the power of Bass.
Hard to say don’t play through the pain when it’s always there haha!
5 Likes
Just go slow and steady. It’s strange how fast you can build up strength without overdoing 
4 Likes
Definitely. I was going to start my lessons tonight, but after moving furniture all day, I have decided tonight will be a compression glove night and enjoy a little XBox.
6 Likes
I hear that, maybe it would be more appropriate to say don’t play thru any NEW extreme pains, like the type you don’t recognize from day to day living, and it start feeling more like an injury. Or, maybe better to simply say, don’t play thru an injury, give it a chance to heal.
4 Likes
Have you tried, or thought about playing with a musicians glove?
I have one and use it from time to time.
Some use them because it is less painful on your finger tips. I don’t have that issue as my fingers are now heavily calloused, but it helps with arthritic pain some, it helps me with circulation, as my hand can go numb while holding it up above my heart for long periods, and it is a little like wearing a compression glove for playing.
You can get them on amazon for about $10. They have black and white, tan which is closer to my skin tone, and possibly other colors if you look.
Scott from SBL playa with one on his hands almost ALL the time because he has a neurological condition which makes his fingers wiggle uncontrollably, and the glove stops that.
I have actually worn mine AFTER playing, like a compression glove to help with some arthritic pain, post practice.
There is a thread here somewhere about playing with gloves, if I find it I will post the link here.
I honestly could not tell you if there is a difference between the $10 gloves and the $30 gloves. the $30 might be for 2 or 3 of them, but if there is one for $30 alone, I doubt it is any better then the $10 glove. But I could not say for sure
4 Likes
Those are all good @JoshFossgreen
I’d add
Be more open to theory and understanding it
Practice scales more (still guilty, not as)
Take your bass to get intonated by pros regularly
Learn about how to get different tones.
5 Likes