Everytime I pick up my bass I feel like I just doodle around for an hour or so and maybe play a song. Are there any things you would recommend I could focus on like a specific practice or anything else so I can go from beginner/Intermediate to badass?
Side note: I’ve had my bass for a couple of months now so I know how to use it Im not a total beginner I would say a reaching intermediate but Im still lacking in a lot of areas such as fretting/plucking speed/accuracy and copying scales on the fretboard if that helps
If you want to proceed with actually playing bass, you really should sign up for the Beginner to Badass course. It’s the quickest, most fun way to actually learn bass. Virtually everyone on this forum either is taking the course or has graduated from it. Josh is a truly great teacher. Just do it. You’ll be glad you did.
I started like you… solo… playing around… trying to follow along with tabs and drums, etc. Frustration and mistakes were frequent. I then decided on SBL… but needed in person teaching because SBL when I started threw you a bit too hard into weird names and modes, that completely overwhelmed me.
Beginner to Badass is very nice to start with. Josh in one of the comments, left me a challenge to warmup… depending on which level you feel comfortable with:
I start there… daily for 10 min. Then I do 1-2 lessons from Josh and jump into Yousician to end up with a song or two… lately been trying to add a few mins of chords between Josh and Yousician.
This is my routine… works for me… I am pretty sure you’ll find yours too… but yeah… B2B is a must and from what I have seen online it’s the best to get you out of the floor.
I was in same situation (January), and I pulled the trigger on B2B: I couldn’t have made a better choice!
I have finished the course (very sad) and I’m going to planning my next step (I have been talking in another thread), but the basics are there.
Like others, it all started with B2B. I’m about 2/3s done with the course, so I’ve been doing more “on my own” practice.
Warmup: I walk the neck once (up and down) WITH A METRONOME using Travis Dyke’s fingering as described in this video:
Lessons: One lesson per day. No more. I find that trying to learn too much at once impacts my retention. There’s value in “sleeping on it” when learning.
Songs: Practice whatever song I’m working on. I haven’t explored any of the apps (Yousician) I normally just look up some tabs and try to play along with a song on youtube. You can slow it down if you can’t keep up, but I try to pick songs with tempos I can handle but are still challenging.
Another vote for the B2B course here. It’s going to give you the foundation you need to advance your playing, no question.
Also, think about what your goals are and that should help you focus your practice sessions once you have the basics under control. In other words, think about what kind of music you want to be playing and what you’re lacking in terms of technique in order to play that music.
Lastly, working through the 50 song challenge is a great project to take on. There is nothing like working on actual tunes in order to improve your playing. Plus, you’ll eventually get enough under your belt that you can start playing with other people.
As per me you can start with scales and arpeggios to improve fretting and plucking speed. Use a metronome to develop timing and accuracy. Practice finger exercises to build dexterity. Learn songs by ear to enhance your listening skills and mimic different playing styles.
Do it. It’s the best thing you can do to actually learn what you need to play bass. Messing around on your own might or, unfortunately, might never get you there.
Hi All, Just sharing I’m a new member here and I just purchased the course from begineer to badass. I’m not entirely a begineer. I have many years of playing bass instrument when I was young during my college days. however when I’ve been working in IT Industry, I’m not able to use and play my instrument because of my busy days. so I’m now 34 years old to start again with that course to play and study it with direction. hopefully I’m not too late to pursue my passion and can back up my skills when I play my bass with a good method by using the course of begineer to badass.
