Beginner Class of Winter 2021 - How is it going?

Welcome aboard @Doug_Keese,
Sounds like your having a real blast,
The B2B course does give you the stuff that is structured and sets you up to get to where you need to be.
Enjoy the ride,
Cheers Brian

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Glad you are here @Doug_Keese
You are in the right place

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Welcome @Doug_Keeseā€¦

Please also post in the Introduce Yourself thread.

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So just starting out, module 1, lesson 3. Normal for the left index finger to hurt? Not a lot, but of course I practiced what I learned so far for about an hour.

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Yes, your fingers are doing things that they are not used to.
Just make sure it doesnā€™t hurt to point of pain, a little soreness ok, pain no way.

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Yep, a bit sore and a little numb-ish? Nice to meet you John_E. Thanks for the reply!

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Same here, welcome!

Yes, will take time to build up stamina and strength in those little muscles.

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Welcome to the forum @GunnyAlki
A little discomfort is fine, certainly on the finger tips
ā€¦ on the update front, Iā€™m working on module 9, just did Roxanne today, I really like syncopation very much, it adds flavorā€¦ Iā€™ve struggled with consistency, meaning I have had some very sloppy days, but it seems that we all have thoseā€¦ I intent to keep my casual pace with the course and figured that the second half will be slower

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Awesome! I tend to over do things sometimes, so going to slow it down a bit, practice tomorrow. What kind of practice schedule are you using? No idea what would be considered too much or not enough. Understand itā€™s all individual, just looking for ideas.

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I donā€™t have a set routine for bass like I do for sax, just donā€™t have the regimented time for both like that.
Some nights, I look up and it is 12:30am before I know it, and some nights, I noodle for a bit and walk away.
The best thing about a hobby is you make the rules, however, your rules dicate your pace of advancing. But practicing too much can have a negative effect too. Days off work wonders for your brain to let things bake in. Multiple days, not so much.
If you try on light days to even do 5-15 minutes, then as long as you like without pain, you will soon fall into a groove that is right for you. Donā€™t force it, it will come on its own.

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Hey John, @John_E,
i am doing another cover of Aussie Crawlā€™s Downhearted ā€œShort versionā€ which imo is better than the long version simply because it has some nice SAX in it, I will let you know when im done so you can have a listen,
Cheers Brian

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You should collaborate. Remove the Sax from the track too, after you lay down the bass line, send it to @John_E to add the saxā€¦

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That could probably work Toby, @T_dub, i will see if i can :thinking:
if not im sure @howard may be able to do it :+1:
Cheers Brian

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Thought Iā€™d post back to reflect on my progress over the last month or so. So from just starting to tackle scales in March, I am now able to play along some of the ā€˜50 first songsā€™ and signed up to Ultimate Guitar to try out some more tunes. Itā€™s a long journey and still early days, but from picking up the instrument for the first time in Feb to this, I think Iā€™m on the right path. Thereā€™s definite pitfalls to using tabs whilst still learning the neck I feel, and Iā€™m trying to think ā€˜notesā€™ more than fret numbers each time I play, as it makes things a lot more straightforward in my head.
Back to the course, I am now starting the last, third section and excited where that will take me, having made such good progress over the previous several modules (ā€˜Higher & Higherā€™ was a real challenge that was worth overcoming, syncopation was lots of fun, though nailing ā€˜Feel Good Incā€™ to rhythm was pretty hard, even though Iā€™ve listened to that song since I was 15! And Iā€™m still amazed how learning chord progressions hasnā€™t been intimidating at all).

Yesterday I learned bits of Evil by Interpol, now off to play some simpler Coldplay bass lines for morale-boosting, and will be back at it with section 3 of B2Bā€¦ But itā€™s been such a blast so far, starting out on this journey has been the best decision in a long while.

Keep calm and rock on folks!

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Hieeeee :slight_smile:
I am finishing module 2 today - hoorayyy -
I wasnā€™t very very beginner it seems; up until now Iā€™ve been cutting through like knife on butter! But what I cherished the most is my better understanding for rhythm, using eighths. Beat ruler makes it easier for me to comprehend when to pluck and when to mute. I am better at counting whole notes too.
I canā€™t wait to proceed to module 3.
I am slow with my practice though. I am trying to do lessons as much as I can but I feel like I 'm disappointing Josh lol because I ve been doing these 2 modules for like 3 months :<

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There is no requirement that anyone has to complete the course within any specific time frame, @NocturnalPulse . . . :slight_smile:

Each of us has other things going on which could impede our progress.

So donā€™t worry, and just do the best you can, as time and other commitments allow.

Remember, itā€™s supposed to be fun! :wink:

Cheers
Joe

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Iā€™m on module 6. But Iā€™ve been doing a lot of other practise and just general noodling to build up my pinky strength. Today, I played Billy Jean fluently with no fret buzz so thereā€™s definitely improvement. I refused to let that track beat me :sweat_smile:

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For what itā€™s worth (probably a half a cuppa coffee), I did B2B and the Scale Essentials Course on TalkingBass simultaneously. It took me 4 month to get thought B2B nstead of the 30 days I had originally predicted, but Iā€™m all the better for it. You canā€™t rush art, as they say.

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I needed to hear that.
Thank you Joe :slight_smile:

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@Barney, that is an AWESOME & FREEā€™ING quote, especially the line about ā€œā€¦you are literally making an inanimate object sing!ā€ I just finished the course (started in 2020) and as I reflected on my experience, I took great satisfaction when I realized that although I might not be where I want to be in my playing, or as good as someone else, I was doing something I could not do last year!

@Regina and everyone else, let me know if I can help in any way sharing my thoughts experiences. We are all in this together.

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