I joined a jam group of more experienced musicians, they were happy to have a dedicated bass player.
They knew I was (am) a beginner and said “play what you can”, so I have been furiously learning songs since.
I can see an improvement, songs that were hard/impossible I can play credibly now.
I have plateaued several times and climbed over. I have found a new plateau currently with Cult of Personality (mutter mutter) but will get there eventually.
I even have the confidence to improvise a bit over War Pigs (the kind of song you can get away with doing so).
So find a bunch of guys you can hang with, ideally who are better than you are, and enjoy the ride.
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I am so impressed that you even reached out. Maybe the next one will be a better fit.
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Oh man cult of personality…
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Hey Matty! Good on ya for converting all that cheap wine into urine, strong work! Don’t get hung up on not being good enough to play with other musicians. I’ve been down this road a few times now and you’ll
be surprised how you good you can do, and how some of them embellish their musical prowess in these ads. Get out there and play brother, you’ll learn so much from other players in addition to Josh and B2B.
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Thanks Ronnie!
Don’t worry. With an open border, kidneys are really cheap now. Check Craigslist.
I can’t resist cheap wine, I feel I have to try it just to see what it is like. And in the UK ASDA (part of wallmart) sell one for £4.25 called ‘Nice Drop’ and its better than some I’ve twice that price for!
Good luck with finding people to play with, I want to do the same as I think it will really help with confidence, and just be good fun.
Yep, big fan of jumping in someone’s wagon so to speak and see where they’ll take me. When I started playing with the country group I’m with now I didn’t know anything but the basics. Both guitar players have taught me how to improvise, walk, chug, all the necessary stuff.
I’m advanced enough now I can play through our 120+ tunes without the sheet music and every time I throw in a cool zinger or run, it’s rewarding to see the lead guy look over and smile knowing he’s responsible for helping me blossom.
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That’s awesome!
Apologies if someone already covered this, but just get out there and play. Don’t overthink it. You’re going to get better quicker if you start playing with others, but don’t forget to focus on your B2B work also!!!
That said, be honest with yourself and others about where you’re at, and try to get a sense of where they are at prior to meeting up and if it is potentially a good fit.
Also, it might help potential jamming partners if you provided a little better detail about yourself as a bass player and what you’re looking for in the ad (maybe have something quick ready for the next time you open a box-o-wine😃). I know we tend to say, I just want to jam, and that is true. But saying something like “I’ve been playing bass for x amount of time, my favorite bands are x and x, but I’m pretty open to most music. Looking for other musicians to practice with and eventually play some local gigs around the x area.”
Asking normal questions might help you from getting your kidney stolen - might. I wouldn’t immediately invite people to my house, but that is me.
Best of luck!
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Sage advice bass brother! I have a call tonight with an established band to see if they are interested. I was strong with where I’m at and they are still interested.
I also have 2 rookie guitarists a drummer and a vocalist who are bored and just want to make noise. I didn’t think bassists would be so valued 
I think for me I just need someone who is pretty solid playing and can humor me.
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I wouldn’t poo poo this one. It might take some of the nerves out of it if you all suck equally, figure yr stuff out and come out the other side as a band. That was how the band I was in as a kid did it. Just screwing around to eventually playing some local shows down in Baltimore. Was a blast and part of the reason why I wanted to pick up an instrument again in my mid 40’s.
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Well I just got off the phone with the 2nd band that reached out. He’s going to send me some songs to try for an audition on next Monday.
He seems like he gets where I’m at and they are between bassists but totally ok with a rookie.
We’ll see. At least I have some potential other folks to fall back to.
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I don’t have anything to contribute except to say that I can look at each bass I own and think of each flavor of mead I was drinking when I talked myself into it! A couple of glasses of Merlot almost talked me into a Dingwall two weeks ago!
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HAHAAHA Love it. My Bass purchasing is similar:
- Bass 1 (Ibanez GIO) hated my job bought it on the way home from work
- Bass 1 pt 2 - Pandemic… Time to buy/upgrade to EMG-X pickups
- Bass 2 (Sterling Stingray SUB 5) - Family vacation turned into 500 screaming kids under 11yrs… Took some “quiet alone time” in the room alone to bid on a Bass
- Bass 3 (Fender Squire Jaguar) Turned an unused, unopened, wood chipper into a Bass and AMP
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Hey just wanted to give an update and thank everyone who gave me encouragement here.
Tonight I had an audition and I was asked to join my first band!!!
I still have a lot of work to do but it was nice to experience the other folks having their own moments and us all just rolling along.
I was amazed at how different playing with others is! At home I’m so worried about buzzing frets and every little tone nuance but with everyone else mixed in at volume it’s such a different dynamic. Not that it affords being sloppy but it’s a whole different world.
I never really understood the concept of “playing in the pocket” when playing along at home but with a live drummer it makes so much more sense.
I also realized how different it is to play with super sweaty nervous hands
Thanks again everyone and to anyone who is nervous just go find people better than you to play with. Even if you suck just take the bruises and go.
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Congrats, man! Very happy for you.
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This is awesome. Good for you, man!
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Good advice for music and for life.