How did you go from beginner to badass to band member? (long read)

[damonjc]

Hello Bass Buzz community and happy Friday,

As the thread title implies, I am interested in hearing (if posters would be so willing to take the time) the ins and outs of how those of you who went from a beginner bass player to playing in a band.

How did you do it? Would you be willing to share the specifics of your practice routines and how you developed your skills - and confidence - to play in a band?

How often would you practice? For how long? What constituted your practice sessions (i.e., how would you focus your time)? What other things contributed to your development?

I realize this is a big ask, and frankly - before posting - I’m a little worried my first post will get passed over and disappear into the dustbin of “threads I never bothered to respond to” or maybe “tl;dr” posts

To be honest, and I hope this member doesn’t mind me using his name, but as I become more active in the community here I’ve spent significantly more time browsing the “Post your covers!” thread where I’ve enjoyed and taken inspiration from everyone who shared themselves playing.

However, one particular badass has really stood out - @sunDOG - so much so that I asked if he was a professional to which he answered having never played before, while in “The Reason People Don’t Get Better at Bass” thread he shared his goal of playing in a band and a couple of steps to get there. This is when I started thinking about asking someone what, specifically, did it take to reach that goal?

I have such admiration for your level of play and accomplishments @sunDOG that I considered asking you directly, but then thought this would be a good question for the B2B community as a whole. So, here it is.

As he said in the linked thread above

@sunDOG

We all have our own individual bass journey…

with that in mind the questions I’ve asked are not simply about copying what other people have done, but seeing what it took for people to go from beginner to badass to band and use your achievements and success as a model for my own aspirations.

Whew! That’s a mouthful.

[Al1885]

Paging @Barney

[Barney]

TL;DR

[Barney]

Happy to answer this in full when I get home later.

[BeerBaron]

TL;DR - Playing in a band is its own thing. The only way to get good at playing in a band is to play in a band. No amount of solo practice matters. Go do it.

You need to be able to play in rhythm, fret cleanly, and understand basic chord changes. By the time you are 1/3 of the way through B2B, you will have covered all the foundation you need to play with other people. I’d say, once you get to the section on 12-bar blues and are comfortable playing along with a backing track. You will probably want a a 200+ watt amp if playing with a drummer.

At that point, you need to get out and meet people. Be honest about your skill level and goals. Then find people who understand and are willing to work with you.

Once you start playing with others, your skills level and rate of progress will shoot up.

My personal journey:
I went from starting bass to being in a band in about 3 months. Most will not get there that quickly. I came in with a solid amount of other knowledge/experience that accelerated my learning. Lots of dance experience made rhythm and groove natural for me. I had a solid amount of singing and a bit of piano experience.

Almost right away, I started taking lessons at a local School of Rock. The lessons were nowhere near as useful as B2B. However, they roped me into playing with one of their adult bands. We were playing really basic punk/grunge chugging riffs. I realized it was easy, and the band practice gave me more than the lessons.

I went to online forums to look for other musicians. I posted in a local Facebook “Find a Musician/Band” group about what I was looking for and my skill level, and if anyone wanted a bassist or wanted to jam. Connected with a drummer in a complimentary position. We met a couple times and jammed, using Moises for other parts to play along with. (I was roughly halfway through the course.)

Asked around my friends group, and found a friend who sings and plays keyboard, and that her partner plays guitar. Brought them on, and we were playing as a band.

Things mixed up a bit - we added a second guitarist, dropped the couple of friends (time and energy levels), and have added another vocalist who can do rhythm guitar.

My Practice During this time

I keep it mixed up. Broadly dividing my time into thirds.

Early on those thirds were:

• Technique warmup/drills
• B2B
• Learning new songs

Now, being more experienced those thirds are:

• Just playing along with recorded music - jamming, improving, absorbing
• Learning new songs
• Study videos/course, or writing original songs/lines/parts.

[damonjc]

@Barney

TL;DR

I mean I said this just above: I’m a little worried my first post will get passed over and disappear into the dustbin of “threads I never bothered to respond to” or maybe “tl;dr” posts

PS - I am also in the middle of work and think it best I avoid this thread until the end of the day and after the kids are in bed. But, I look forward to reading your replies.

Tia

[sunDOG]

Hi @damonjc, I’m happy to answer directly. As I have previously posted, I started the B2B course very late Aug. '23 / beginning Sept. '23, when I bought a bass on eBay and signed up for the course a day later. The reason I started was because two people I knew - a colleague and a client - both approximately my age, had died within 2 or 3 weeks of each other. I was then listening to a radio programme that was talking about the cognitive benefits of learning an instrument, mainly in children, but it is apparently good at any age.

The bass seemed pretty simple to get an initial hang of, after all, it’s mainly one note at a time, isn’t it? And I am a Duran Duran fan. I have always loved John Taylor’s style and his bass playing, so bass it was.

So that’s the origin. The journey to playing with other people was fairly simple. While playing the solo covers is fun, there is nothing like the frisson of playing with other people. With a solo cover, if you get it wrong, you just start recording again, and again, and again… Playing with other people, you’ve just got to ‘style out’ the mistakes

I have a mate who is a fairly well known guitarist - we were at university together - and his advice, whenever he is talking to budding musicians is play in a band. I called him, he said, “Dude, you need to play in a band!” This was at about 4 / 5 months in, so Dec '23. I signed up to BandMix and started looking there, I even messaged a couple of bands that were advertising for a bass player. The first sent me a set list of 40 songs, including Billie Jean. I ran away! The second, a punk band, had a set list that was about 30 songs long, and being mainly punk, were more approachable in terms of what the bass was expected to do. But frankly, while I like a bit of punk, I also like other stuff, so that wasn’t a fit.

So… I decided to form a band. I advertised for a guitarist, a drummer and I knew a vocalist - someone from work. My idea here was that if I form the band, I get to have some say over what we play, plus we are all starting together, so we learn the songs together. i.e. I would not be trying to slot into someone else’s gig. So that what I did… It’s taken some time and there are frustrations - basically, different levels of commitment etc, but that’s life.

In terms of personal practice, it’s basically an hour a day, either first thing (05:30am) or last thing. I have a family, so need to fit in around work, school etc etc. WE’re on holiday next week … the bass is coming with me! The covers are my practice. I’m not really a “theorist”, so learning scales just doesn’t do it for me. I pick songs I like and then try to take something from each. Some are harder, some are easy. The thing that links them all is that I’m having fun and progressing. My daughter is also suggesting songs, which is cool, as she open me up to stuff I’ve never heard before. Last week’s Billie Eilish, Bad Guy cover was suggested by my daughter and one of her friend, while we were in the car, a month ago.

As a band, we currently have a set list of 15 songs that we are reasonable at. We have an open mic in a couple of weeks where we will try out three or four. We need to learn some stage craft - someone said to me, play three straight through, no talking - bang - bang - bang - then bla bla bla, then play the last song, then off. I’m trying to get the vocalist to understand this Once we have a few of these (open mics) under our belt, the ambition is to approach some pubs, along with another band (a colleague at work is also a bassist in a band), and e offer up two bands for the price of one - two band, 2 x 15 song. There, I’ve said it… eeek!

I think the key point is to jump in and accept that you are going to make mistakes. Forget the bassline (done that), hit the wrong note (done that, lots), turn the bass up too loud ( ), sound crap and as muddy as hell (done that), but as long as it’s fun, and you’re learning, it’s worth it.

I could go on. I’ll stop.

[BeerBaron]

@sunDOG

So… I decided to form a band. I advertised for a guitarist, a drummer and I knew a vocalist - someone from work.

This turned out to be my path as well. Find a solid drummer you gel with. There are no shortage of guitarists.

My post that’s worked well for me is something to the effect of.

“Casual bassist forming a band. Very modest skills. Still learning. No chops, but I can hold an even groove. Looking for other hobbyists with no rockstar aspirations, but who want to put in time learning songs and playing with other people.”

Then get ready for a BUNCH of responses.

Remember: there are just as many (probably more) novice guitar players, drummers, and singers who want to be in a band.

[sunDOG]

@BeerBaron

I’d say, once you get to the section on 12-bar blues and are comfortable playing along with a backing track. You will probably want a a 200+ watt amp if playing with a drummer.

One thing I would add to this comment, is also invest in musician grade hearing protection. Your hearing is precious. Standing next to a drum kit, thumping out a bass line, while a guitarist is playing power chords is loud.

In the band situation I’ve always got hearing protection.

[BK]

Admittedly I didn’t read all your post but I think I get the jist.

Time between buying my first bass and taking my first BB lesson to jamming with a band would have been about 10 months. We have a great amateur musical community where I live and I was lucky to stumble onto their facebook page. So I signed up and dove head first into the deep end and put a call out to have a jam, seeking guitarist, drummer and vocals. I received an almost immediate response and 3 days later, we formed a band and had a setlist. A few lessons to come of that…

1. band members will suggest songs they already know to lighten the load of songs they need to learn.
2. the singers should really be the ones dictating the setlist

So I went about learning the songs to the best of my ability in the lead up to the jam. That setlist was my practise routine for 3 weeks. I went about learning it as best I could. The day of the jam finally arrived and I learnt another valuable lesson … don’t rely on everyone to put in as much work as you. First time meeting the drummer in the carpark of the studio, his first words were “hey mate, I know I said I went over the setlist and learnt it but to be honest, I haven’t practised a thing!” As you can imagine, that wasn’t the best of starts to the night, especially since I’d been reading a lot about bass/drummer connection. Anyway, we got through the night and had some fun in amongst some frustrations.
That first jam was a good learning experience, I came out of it with 10 or so songs that I’ll still sometimes play to this day. I also became very aware that not everyone will be as prepared as you and not to get disappointed.
My next jam was with a bunch of experienced muso’s that my guitarist friend invited me to. Total opposite of what I experienced in my first jam. Learnt a lot and loved every second of it. I still go over the youtube vids I took of that night!

[paolo.pfm]

@damonjc

How did you do it? Would you be willing to share the specifics of your practice routines and how you developed your skills - and confidence - to play in a band?

If I didn’t get lost multiple times reading the post, this is the key question, right?

I had something like this process in mind, having already played in a band/group of friends before (but guitar instead of bass):

1. Learn the basics of the instrument: B2B has been plenty enough for me

2. Learn to learn songs: develop the endurance, memorize structures, figure out what to listen for when (not if…) you get lost or make a mistake and need to start playing again asap.
   [ The songs weren’t exactly as the original recordings - and mostly still aren’t. Close enough is usually ok for me and the band. YMMV.
   Keeping the rhythm and the groove going is more important, as well as recovering as fast as possible after mistakes - yours or others’… yeah, singers may miss a verse or chorus entrance too].

3. Put yourself out there (bandmix/backstage pro/etc - an honest description of skills and interests) and wait…

I did not have any specific routine beyond B2B and perhaps a couple of others from BB Youtube videos… learning songs I liked kept me busy enough. All in all, it worked out pretty well for me, I don’t see myself starting a band from scratch. Not at this time, at least.

Beyond the musical skill, being in a band is also about being humble and able to compromise, being on time, being reliable, having your material prepared & suitable gear (as needed). Don’t be an asshole or waste other people’s time should go without saying. Especially if it’s not a professional gig but just for fun… it should be fun

P.S.: don’t cut your mids when playing in a (loud) band

[Vader]

Haven’t seen anyone else say this yet. (Full disclosure: I’m not currently in a band - my last band was nearly 30 years ago in college. I was on keys at the time, long before starting my bass journey)

Playing in a band that never performs on stage is just as legit as playing in a band that does shows. We play music to have fun, right? If the band feels like just playing in someone’s basement/garage/boathouse/whatever fills the itch of playing with other musicians, that’s perfectly fine. Not every band has to be about getting on stage in front of people.

Also, if you find you don’t get along with the other people in the band - feel free to leave. Don’t stay in a band just to be in a band. That’s the perfect way to ruin your enjoyment of playing music.

[Barney]

@damonjc this is a good question.

Lots of good answers already in this thread. Here’s how I did it.

1. Obviously take the excellent B2B course. You don’t need any more theory / courses to be in a garage band, after completing this course.
   Taking more courses will obviously improve your knowledge / playing but it’s not a prerequisite to playing in a band / with others.

2. Set yourself an achievable target of daily practice. Close the door / turn off the phone / focus on the task at hand. Treat it like a job to begin with and eventually as you improve it’ll become something you look forward to when you come home. Try to commit to a minimum of 30 mins every day (3.5 hrs a week) and after a year you should start to see some real improvement. I was 49 when I picked up the bass with no previous musical experience as an adult. I went all in and averaged 2 hours a night (so well over 700 hrs in my first year).
   My friend who’d been in bands since we were in school said ‘If you only practice 5-10 mins a day’ you’re going to suck for a very long time.

3. Learn songs as soon as you can. Whole songs, not bits of songs. End to end. Start very simply and build up a repertoire of tunes you can just have on the speaker and play along to. This is a massive motivator. At that point you think, yeah I’m a bassist.

4. Practice with some form of drum / beat. I started out with a Zoom Bx1 which had a built in drum machine and now I use the BeatBuddy drum pedal. You can also do this on a computer as an app etc. Whatever. Play every day with a drum beat. It develops you inner sense of time.

5. Create a YouTube channel and post your covers. Recording yourself is massively important to your development. Hearing yourself back when you aren’t playing is crucial. You can hear when you’re rushing/dragging etc far more than when you’re playing along. It’s like a you’re using a different critical part of your brain when listening back.
   Learning songs / posting covers develops your ear. It forces you to be disciplined and stick to the task at hand. It improves your stamina.
   Lastly you can then use your songs from your channel as an advert for your playing.
   I’m in the band now because I posted up on some local Facebook music groups and said ‘This is me. I’m not great, but I don’t completely suck. I can keep time, learn songs, I’m motivated’

This was the video I posted to FB. Nothing flashy, just solid playing, in time.

It took me nearly 3 years from starting Bass to playing in a band. It can be done much quicker than that. But I live in the sticks so it was hard finding other people.

But the upside of that was I had over 2000 hours of playing before i showed up for the first rehearsal. Most cover band stuff is pretty simple stuff. You don’t need to be any kind of genius. Learn the chord progression, have rock solid timing and you’re gold.
Most bass lines in cover songs can be made to be pretty simple. Once you’ve got them down, then the pressure is off. You can look around, have a laugh and just have fun playing music. By practicing hard, you give yourself the bandwidth to easily play with others and not be overwhelmed.

Should We Panic? - Can't Let Go (25 Feb rehearsal)

Put the work in, that’s it. Just put in the work (especially timing / groove) and it’ll all be OK.

Cheers

[damonjc]

First, a sincere thank you to everyone who responded so far @BeerBaron @sunDOG @BK @paolo.pfm @Vader

I’ve read and given thought to each of your posts, and watched you and your band jamming @Barney. Awesome! Mark Knopfler and Lucinda Williams

Second, my apologies for telling a story to ask a simple question.

Lastly, I would say more about the wisdom and experience each of you shared, but the family is calling for me to game and watch movies.

Thank you again and have a good night.

[Jadegirly2k]

I recognise the loops what’s the other thing?

[Nebel]

TL;DR hopeless depressed bassist joins school band and is happier than ever and gets to play live.

Hey,
I started with the Bassbuzz lessons in the summer of 23, I had actually thought to have it done in a couple of months, but life got in the way (a fire at our house) so from September on I did not touch my bass for more or less the rest of the year. From January on I started to play a bit more and eventually finished the course.

Since I have a depression and somewhat severe social anxiety, the thought of finding people for a band seemed like an impossible mission and my interest in bass slowly dwindled. In summer of 24 my wife suggested to me to take some bass lessons and the nearby music school. Which also requires me to take music theory in order to enroll there.

That started in September 24. Now, bass lessons is possible the best decision I’ve ever made. My teacher has instilled a certain confidence in my abilities that I never had.

After a few months, he recommended me to one of the school bands, that are all made up of students that attend the school. I initially turned it down, since anxieties and such, but eventually caved in. Now, meeting 4 strangers that had all been studying and performing music for several more years than me (all of them are about 6 years into their journey) was nerve wracking, but I made it through the first rehearsals and immediately they said “you’re in!”.

We only rehearse once a week, but it’s so much fun. Also there’s about 6 concerts lined up for May/june/july. One is at a fairly well known music festival here, and the others are at bars and some local events. Am I nervous? Hell yeah, do I look forward to strut my stuff on stage? Fuck yeah!

Playing with others, have really turned my bass journey into everything I thought it could be. I’m someone who doesn’t color outside the lines, but now I find myself improvising in some songs that I feel need a bit extra.

I want to find a regular band as well and I now know that’s not beyond the reach of my abilities.

[sunDOG]

@Jadegirly2k

I recognise the loops what’s the other thing?

Minuendo Lossless Adjustable Earplugs at Gear4music

[BeerBaron]

I don’t think your story was too long. Your post did not disappear into the weeds.

I hope what you’re also taking away is that all of us here have had unique journeys. We all clearly approach music differently. I’m very groove oriented and trying to play the way I dance - simple patterns but with lots of feel, nuance, and texture. Others are more complex and melodical. None of us are wrong.

The other big thing to take away is that forming a band is work, but it was far easier than I expected. And once you start doing it, it builds up momentum quickly.

[macshark]

I also did the adult program at School of Rock. I do recommend it as it really helped you understand how to fit in with a band. The problem is that it was kinda pricey. So, I am trying to find people to jam with on my own. That seems to be the hard part for me. I am not on social networking sites almost at all. Craigslist and Bandmix seem kinda hit/miss. I’ll keep looking and @damonjc I say go for it. You can do it!

[Rob5589]

@Nebel, awesome post! I think it would be a blast to play in a band but honestly don’t feel like I would ever have that kind of confidence. Both my kids do, son plays sax and banjo in school bands, daughter sings mostly at open mic type events. I am so proud (and a bit envious) that they are so comfortable performing in front of strangers.