You can only get so far practicing alone… but join a band, and suddenly the REAL learning begins.
If you’re doing the Beginner to Badass course, watch this video any time after you finish Module 1 and I start harassing you to jam with other people. 
If you’re not in a band yet, what’s holding you back?
edit note: this was supposed to go out when this video launched but there was a scheduling SNAFU and I just now noticed. enjoy the late arrival!
Hey y’all, we had a scheduling oops so this thread didn’t go out with this video, here it is in all its glory! Here’s my own ‘first bands’ timeline as an amends -
Not in a band yet, but a few weeks ago my neighbor who knows I’ve been learning bass texted and said “our bassist can’t make it to practice, can you come fill in?”
Well, I am only on module 9 of Beginner2Badass but figured “why not?” so I grabbed my bass and went over.
I can’t tell you how much fun I had. I have been playing guitar for quite a while, mostly acoustic, and have jammed with another acoustic player, but this was my first time ever playing with a full band. It was incredible!
I have been looking on Craigslist for others to play with and as I near the age of 50 I am finally going to get on stage with a band and play like I always wanted to but never did in my youth.
Thank you @JoshFossgreen for making it happen for me! Your course has given me the confidence to play with others and has really motivated me to keep learning.
I love this attitude 
Glad the jam went well! So awesome. 
I think I just need to post an honest classified on bandmix and see what hits I get. Maybe list some of my favorite country artists and rock bands and see what happens…as I think I’d only be motivated if I found the right music interest match (which may be difficult?). Offer them a link to my YT page to see 45 vids of “progress” so they know what they’d be getting (without them knowing how many takes it took to get each recording done 
).
This is exactly what I did @JohnF
I posted a link to one of my YT covers on various social media platforms.
I said this is me. I’m not great, but I don’t totally suck either. Motivated to work hard with your band etc. We ended up forming a band from scratch.
People value reliability and being fun to be around etc over mad bass chops.
The band has been together for over a year now. We have a two hour set list of (currently) 28 songs and I really look forward to playing live with everyone every week.
Don’t ask, don’t get 
Yes. Yes I am.
After finishing B2B I joined the adult program at the School or Rock and proved to myself that I can definitely hang. Now it’s time to find a “real” band I suppose. I auditioned for one and played well, but didn’t get it (it’s hard to feel bad about losing to a bass player with 3 decades more experience who is a known good hang).
Ended up in an impromtu improvised jam w/ two other dads in the neighborhood yesterday (bass, drums, and keys) and had a blast (watch out for a keyboard player saying things like “this is an 11 count” or “let’s play in E Flat” like it’s no big deal ).
I saw recently a interview with Nathan East that made me laugh" I would tell anyone who was looking for stage time to play in church, you hit a wrong note or make a mistake they are all about forgiveness"
@JohnF, you are absolutely good enough to play in a band!! My route to the band was actually to set my own up, as in I posted my profile in Bandmix, along with links to YouTube videos, then actively approached other people. “I’m looking to get a band going, wanna join me?” It took a bit of work and we’ve are at our 3rd guitarist and 2nd vocalist, (it seems the rhythm section is steady and reliable ) but it’s coming together. We now have 10 songs we can nail and are working on the next 10.
Regarding the point about the right music, broad brush, I agree with you. There are genres I won’t play, metal and hard rock, anything with religious overtones etc. But, as a band, we’ve agreed that providing, individually, we like 80% of the songs, we’re probably good. We do each have the power of veto, “I’m not playing that!!” and we seem to be able to coalesce around a set list that works.
All in all, John, I’d say go for it!!
If you posted that Jackson 5 song you did at the 1-year mark, then I am sure you got a lot of people contacting you as that showed you put in a lot of work to get to that level so quickly. Yeah, your story and Duncan’s story are both really good examples of ways to make this happoen.
Really appreciate the encouragement, Duncan! Seeing footage of your band and Barney’s band on here is really important for bass buzzers to see to get us out of our bedroom bass mode and into the real world. I am almost at the one and a half year mark so I think it is time to venture out a little to see what happens.
Yeah no lol, I posted this video. Super straightforward, not flashy; just being realistic about where my comfort level was.
John, absolutely, put yourself out there! For me, the whole point* in starting to play the bass was to get into a band an play with other people … an itch I’ve had since a teenager.
*well, I say the whole point, that’s not strictly true, there were other factors, but getting into a band was a significant motivator.
If I could offer a piece of advice, one of the cool things about starting a band, rather than joining a band, is that we have collectively selected the songs. This has allowed me to make sure the songs are within my capability envelope, i.e. while I’d love to be in a Duran Duran tribute act, playing John Taylor bass lines, the vast majority of his stuff is simply beyond my skill level… When I initially approached a couple of established bands that required bassist, that their set list of 30 or 40 songs stressed me out. I could not imagine getting on top of so many songs in the space of a month or two. For me, playing the bass needs to be fun, a source of ‘stretch’, yes, but not a source of stress. One of the things we are conscious of in the band is that simple can actually be good. We need songs that are ‘bangers’, and there are plenty of those that are not super-complicated. In fact, the reason the second guitarist left was that he wanted to play songs that where a) beyond my capability, but also the (then) vocalists capability, and I suspected, his. There would be no joy in spending rehearsal after rehearsal sounding awful. But select simple songs that kick a55, and you’re on to a winner. I posted my cover of Molly’s Chambers today - a new addition to our set list. It’s simple, but is rocks, and rocks hard from the first note. Common People is another one we do. Incredible song. Zombie the same. Teenage kicks, kicks!! Venus is dripping with 60s cool, and once you learn the pattern, is actually pretty simple. I could go on. 
I’m 48 years old and I don’t know any musicians let alone anyone looking for a terrible bassist. Lol
I’m learning bass for myself with no immediate goals beyond being able to play some cool stuff on my own. My wife is learning guitar so our more long term goals is to be able to hang out and play music together. We’re not far off from me being able to lay down a simple bass line she can strum country roads to, but we’re not planning on booking any gigs any time soon. But who knows, maybe one day you’ll see us doing a duet at a local vineyard or something.
School of Rock is a guaranteed way to play with other people each week which on its own is a good reason to keep with it. I met my current band through school of rock. We were all members at one point so see if you gel with anyone enough to start your own with other members
I have no interest in playing in a band. Been there several times, having played a variety of different instruments in everything from small groups to large ensembles. All that was fun enough back when I didn’t have anything better to do, but the whole band thing holds no allure for me anymore.
I play music for the peace, joy and expression it provides me. These days, I love having added being able to play bass properly, and learning more about it each day.
This is great advice…I appreciate it. Yeah, most of the musicians I am a fan of are in their late 60’s or late 70’s (and still touring), so finding some band mates with similar tastes (Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou, Neil Young type stuff) will be interesting. May have to move from south Florida up to the Smoky Mountains . That is a really good point about song complexity…I definitely want to keep improving, but want to enjoy the journey and not get in over my head.
That was a cool song choice…if I find people that want to play music like that…I’d love it.
Yeah, this is where I am at now in terms of playing live. Been there, had a lot of fun, loved it a lot despite the drama and hassles, but it’s just not what I am looking for any more.
I strongly encourage everyone to do it though, especially if you have never done it. It’s a great experience and a definite rush.
I agree that playing in a band is a great thing to do.
When it goes well, it’s fantastic. But when it doesn’t, well… 
Still, the rush of playing with others and hearing a song come together is a rush. Then, when you play live and the audience is into it, that rush is magnified exponentially.
I’m glad I did it, but I’m also glad I don’t do it anymore. If you know, you know. 