I was slacking, I was nearly 6 months old by the end of '89, I should have at least had the course out in beta by then. 
Ha I think 1984 might be just around the corner. 
8 Likes
it’s here man
4 Likes
Both those statements can be true 
3 Likes
I was young too, but… not that young 
1 Like
I was 16 and had just gotten my 365 living out in the sticks. I was the king of the world.
2 Likes
" No time like the present to work shit out That’s what I’m going on and on and on about" -Beastie Boys
So, I don’t know what I don’t know yet because I just started. I’m on Module 4, Lesson 5. However, I have a few items that I’ll toss out.
Why
- I need new neural pathways, so I picked music theory, practical application, and loud rhythmic thump-twangs!
- Have always gravitated to bass-forward music
- Spouse supports this and might be drawn in to learn piano and take voice lessons
Mindset
- I’ve learned exactly one trick - always learn new tricks. Now that I’m an old dawg, I don’t have to learn new tricks
- Time is the only currency of any real value. Love is all that matters to me. I will not let learning to play the bass get in the way of either. Rather, incorporate it.
Practical
I cannot have done this other than the way I did, but if I had known then what I know now, I might have…
- walked into my local non-corporate music stores with a list of specified bass, amp, strap, cable, tuner, guitar stand, and audio interface, asked for a bundle discount, checked for a cash discount, had them do the first setup, checked the setup to see if horrible buzzing is coming from my technique or from the bass, and gone from there.
- immediately begun researching, watching, studying bass maintenance to check the setup as-is measurements and to be prepared to try it on my own at my first string change.
Technical
- Don’t blame the bass first. Blame myself first. Learn. Figure out who or what is making those horrible noises and work shit out.
- When Josh throws out new techniques and then says, “don’t worry about it” with that little grin, go ahead and figure them out during the lesson.
- When Josh says, “don’t be perfect, keep moving forward,” then at least iterate through the lessons and practice sessions until I feel like I have come close enough to understanding to move forward successfully.
Also, related to time, there’s this activity split between bass and meta-bass. I’m doing meta-bass right now when I should be doing bass. This one is tough for me, but I know it’s there and am pushing myself toward bass every time I catch myself doing meta-bass. Ok, that’s all I’ve got for now. To the bass!
7 Likes
I started cos I needed a change from sitting behind the sound desk.
That was near 20 years ago and I have never had a lesson, but muddled my way through. so I would get lessons / a teacher from the start next time!
Can’t wait to start B2B course later this year! No time like the present.
(Wife has clearly stated I must finish the other course I am doing (not music related) before I start B2B! So I have some motivation)
8 Likes
The WHY was always clear for me, and you even addressed it Josh. The chances of a band needing a Bass player are very high. I‘m still pretty young and I haven‘t been playing for a really long time, but I think I should have focused more on theory as I progressed as a bass player. I found myself stuck in the trap of not learning it for no good reason. And I probably should have gotten Beginner to Badass by now, a worthy investment that I still haven‘t made yet.
3 Likes
I would tell myself to “sit down with your bass and randomly change the channel on the radio, try to play along with whatever song is playing, stick around on that channel for another song or two, then switch channels and do the same thing. This will teach you VARIETY and ADAPTABILITY and it’s a great challenge you’ll forever be learning from. Don’t get upset if you can’t nail the song, be happy if you can find the root notes or the lick, most importantly make sure you can sense the rhythm and the chord changes. That will make you a better bass player than any song or solo you think you may need to learn.”
5 Likes
Ha I think 1984 might be just around the corner
I prefer 1985:
2 Likes
Amen, brother…
1 Like
I wish I never started. I’m lost and disorganized and don’t feel I have anybody or anything to rely upon. The bassbuzz YouTube videos are more inspiring and motivational, yet I don’t feel the same left watching the d v d’s. I have a procrastination Problem… Instead of muddling through and powering on, I get hung up on and inevitably paralyzed. I froze in the middle of the third lesson. I’m more interested in being able to follow through on a lesson rather than becoming a great player, It’s not clear to me from the videos. How I should be holding the bass should be adjustingwith the strap, posture… I live in a small town. I thought I would be able to find somebody to give me some basic Direction on how to follow online lessons.
1 Like
Hey @vondoobie420 welcome. Don’t get hung up on trying to finish a lesson. A lot of folks skip around. And many many more go through the lessons multiple times. You’re going to hit a few bricks walls in your bass journey. You’ll struggle with where the bass should be sitting on your lap, or “when I’m standing is my strap too long or too short?” Etc… It’s part of the whole thing. I finally figured out that I like wearing my bass pretty high up when standing up and playing, but, I had a buddy that couldn’t play a bass unless it was almost down by his knees. lol.
I digress… I have found that sometimes I do better just watching something, then going back and trying to follow along a bit, and then if it’s not working for me, I move on to something else and come back. Gotta remember that you’re trying to teach your brain, your body, your fingers, and your ears all at the same time! That’s a lot of processing power. Sometimes, you gotta just sleep on it and come back to it some other time. You CAN do this!
7 Likes
Sorry you’re having so much trouble getting rolling! If I can give a bit of advice - the best thing you can do is just GO, play through the lessons and do your best. Even if you’re only 80% decent and 20% making crazy mistakes, you’ll still get infinitely further than if you stay stuck.
And I promise I cover all the basics as the course goes on! And you can always ask questions here on the forum or on the lesson pages.
9 Likes
And repeat. It’s a good boost of confidence to go back to a bit that was fun, and clicked quickly for you…and even more fun to go back and find something that used to be challenging, less challenging.
And even more fun, when just waiting for people to set up during School of Rock and warming up the fingers by playing some Billie Jean, and then having the drummer join in…and then a singer…who was really a guitar player for that song, working through some amp setup issues, but couldn’t resist singing…and then dancing. Which surprised us all.
And it all came from a bass buzz course challenge that I’ve stuck with over the years…
8 Likes
THAT is what it’s all about! Those random moments like that are the stories legends are made of! I used to also love playing songs with the rest of the band that really annoyed the lead guitarist when he was “dialing in” his tone. Moments like that are fun and keep everyone laughing.
2 Likes
My issue is getting inspired. Like you said in the video @JoshFossgreen “I’m too tired, my feet hurt” etc. I get home from work late and I’m just too tired to pick up one of the myriad basses I have (which I’m still going to cut down but I need to take pictures of all of them). And on the weekends, I find myself doing other things. BTW, have @John_E teach you saxophone 
2 Likes
Yes I would try at a young age to play like this >>> (2840) Billy Sheehan - Bass Solo - YouTube
1 Like
@JoshFossgreen It’s been several days since i first saw this video, and I have to say it just may have been on your finest video, especially since it wasn’t even a bass lesson per se. It was so inspiring, I had my wife sit down with me to watch it together. Now we are both inspired to embrace the suck.
It was the whole package, and I guess I was ready for this video because I was “that guy” on the sofa. Question Mark-ify! …and do the work!
So, I picked up my old Squier, and resumed “Do this 10 minutes a day” and even spent some time figuring out melodies.
Thanks Josh!
3 Likes