I am Josh Fossgreen, your trusty bass teacher. Ask Me Anything! (closes Aug 30th)

Oh, it really depends. There are a lot of tones I feel that way about. Jamerson, obviously. Tim Lefevbre’s more modern flatwound P bass tone - so good. I love Krist Novoselic’s tone on Nevermind with the Gibson Ripper!

And that Marcus Miller slap sound on the 70’s J bass always makes me salivate.

6’7"

Probably learning to shut up and play less notes, that took me a few years. :stuck_out_tongue:

Still working on my groove. I think it’s good, people like playing with me, but I’ve always got my eyes set on sounding more like Pino Palladino on the Voodoo record. :slight_smile:

I’ve got… I dunno, 10? It’s a mix of basses that I actually play, and basses that I mostly just use in videos. No Steinbergers. Headstockless basses weird me out. :stuck_out_tongue:

Never had a formal electric bass teacher. I took upright bass lessons with a woman named Karen Zimmerman, who played bass in the Santa Rosa Symphony, and I owe a lot of my attention to detail with technique and practice to her stern supportive style.

Not initiating anything myself, but a few of my sideman gigs have resurfaced. Still would like to be doing more!

Most of em, the ones that actually sent me the tracks when they were finished!

I liked playing with Lauren O’Connell a lot, here’s the most recent record of hers I played on -

Half my pedals. :crazy_face:

Yes! This

Ha, yeah, I think most people have. Sometimes you just have to say no to driving 4 hours to play in a grimy bar with a bad band for $50 where people won’t even be listening.

Playing live, so so much more. Recording is cool and I enjoy the challenge, but nothing like the rush of playing with a good band for a good crowd. Those are the moments that keep me going as a musician. Being in the studio is so dry comparatively - for me anyway.

Tons! Like any classic funk or Motown line, never gets old. Even the James Brown tunes I put in the B2B course, I’ve heard them infinity time but they only get better.

Nope! I don’t sell gear any more than I need to, occasionally I’ll ditch an amp or a pedal or whatever.

Lol… nope, never been to Russia, and I’m sure any actual Russians would find that video annoying, ha! That’s my sister, and a friend who also did the animation.

Groove! Play with drums, play with a metronome, record yourself, and focus on groove! Everything else is forgiven when you have good groove (and show up on time :stuck_out_tongue: ).

Classical Thump by a long shot, IMO. Depends on where you’re starting from though!

I make the same boring-ass smoothie every morning, so I don’t have to think about breakfast before work.
And for food to take to a gig, probably some rice and beans, or as most people on earth call it, “food.” :yum:

I don’t think it does! I think a lot of pop music sucks, but is still popular, for the same reason McDonald’s is - people keep eating it even though it has no nutrients. They wouldn’t make it if people started demanding musical richness and complexity!

Drums! Funk drumming and metal drumming would be my starting point, seems so effing fun.

Honestly, I am “between routines” right now, meaning it’s intermittent! A lot of my musical goals don’t have that much to do with the instrument specifically, so a lot of what I do is just listening and feeling new things in music, rather than specific finger drills and stuff. (already did some thousands of hours of that!)

African or European?
(EDIT: @EddieJones beat me to it)

Keep going! Don’t stop just because you hit a hurdle!

Sit idly by until the next course comes out. :stuck_out_tongue:

But serious, it depends a lot! Working on groove like I said above would be my best general advice.

I’ve thought about this a lot, and the answer is yes! I would present it a little better, make the challenge element more explicit and less WTF-y, and maybe put it a bit later in the course. But challenges are good.

I’m wondering the same thing! :stuck_out_tongue:

They’re both good, for different reasons. Yet another thing that gets drama-fied on bass forums usually, but really tips and pads both have their uses. Pads are great for muting (flattens out your fingers so they can cover other strings), and you don’t smash the metal string into your bones as directly. Tips are good at other times, for super clean/articulate/fast kind of stuff. Lots of room for personal choice though!

Done!

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Well, there we go then :grinning: I guess my search-fu was off today. Thanks!

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Ok, I’ll ask the question no one wants to….

You wake up tomorrow in a world with either flats OR rounds. You must choose which one you play for the rest of your days. You choose ______?

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Lauren Oçonnell sounds a little like Jewel imo.
Nice song :+1: , nice bass line, plenty of space and builds with the drums, very cool.
you should be playing in the NBA :rofl: :joy: :rofl:
Cheers Brian

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Because I have experience with only set of rounds and one set of flats, I’d go with the flats every time.

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Before this blows up here, everyone but Josh should probably just use the poll for this religious debate.

Especially you flatwound heretics!

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If someone handed you a blank check and said you had to use it to buy any bass you want, new or used, what would you buy and why?

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Have you ever taken a gig you didn’t want because you think the connections are worth it?

How does that usually work out?

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What’s your guilty pleasure when it comes to music?

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The questions and answers in this thread are great.
What are pros and cons of 6 string bass vs 4 string?

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I just wanted to echo some others in saying I would love for you to produce some intermediate lessons.

You really have a gift for structuring a course and teaching over videos. I had struggled mightily with other online lessons and rocksmith. You have special talent for instruction, Josh. Cannot wait to see you put out more courses.

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Good plan. Don’t waste brainpower on trivial things!

This is true…

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When learning the bass I feel like any small amount of fret buzz is unacceptable, yet despite me doing my best I’ve noticed my bass still buzzing while playing. First question is 1 - When learning bass how much attention should I focus on the buzz. And 2 - What are some easy ways to get rid of it long term
Thanks Josh, love your videos and how you’ve been able to teach me such a fun instrument

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When I am fretting using my first and fourth fingers, how do I stop my second (longest) finger sticking up!

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Josh, What other instruments do you play, and which one (besides bass) do you consider yourself to be best at?

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Josh, do you plan to do any more step-by-step ‘how to play’ videos, like the awesome one you did for Hysteria? Perhaps for something juicy by Jamiroquai, since I think you mentioned them above?

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Singing and playing bass simultaneously is proving to be tricky. Do you have any practice tips or techniques to improve that skill set?

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What a terrible world it would be! I love both… I’d have to go rounds though, all flats for life would feel like living in a mud hut. Easier to darken down rounds than brighten up flats.

Ooh, a toss up between a really killer early 60’s P bass and an early 60’s J bass. Way more appealing to me than a super zingy boutique bass that wouldn’t be right for most gigs.

Mmm, maybe not exactly for the ‘connections,’ but I’ve definitely taken gigs that were a mixed bag of pros and cons. It’s all about the triangle of good music - good hang - good $$$. If all three are there, then life is good. If two are present, not bad. If there’s only one, it’s a little rough. And if there’s none… you should probably stay home!

I have no guilt, I like all kinds of things unabashedly! Random things I like that peeps around here might not know: Meshuggah, Amy Winehouse, Weird Al, the Frozen soundtrack… and I’m constantly singing either Mary Poppins or The Wizard of Oz. :stuck_out_tongue:

Really depends on context, to me. As a teacher of primarily beginners, I’m really on the 4 string bandwagon. Every string you add dramatically increases the difficulty of muting, string crossing, and learning the neck, and that’s all hard enough on 4 strings.

But also - if your heart tells you to play 5- or 6-string, then I say ignore me, but be prepared for some challenge!

Biggest con of 5- or 6-strings in a gigging environment: people think that they need to be ALWAYS playing the B string just cuz they have it. Ughhhh…

Eventually I’ll run out of beginner topics, lol! I think, anyway…

If it’s ALWAYS buzzing - you need a setup
If it buzzes sometimes - it’s a technique thing

The correct amount of attention to put on it is however much keeps you continually improving, bit by bit, without getting frustrated.

If the buzz comes while the note is ringing, you’re either letting up the pressure too much, or your action is too low.

If the buzz comes when you’re ending the note, you’re lifting your fretting finger off too slowly, and creating a rattly moment where the string bangs against the fret. Takes time to perfect, just keep at it!

Move your middle finger in conjunction with your pinky - if the pinky goes up, the middle goes up, when the pinky goes down, the middle (and ring) go down too. Like this:

I play a little guitar, even less keys, and even less than that drums, and I’m pretty crap at all of them!

I would like to, that was fun!

Yeah, it’s very hard! Much harder than singing while playing guitar, because the rhythmic independence is more full-on.

My move is to think of it like a grid system, here’s an example:


You need to know on every subdivision whether you’re starting a new note with your voice, bass, or both. The timing is the hard part. So I map it like this, either on paper or just in my head, and then go very very very slow, one subdivision (in this case eighth notes) at a time, and just try to make the right moves in the right order.

Once you map that out, you can relax on the bass end and focus on your singing more. Also, the more comfortable you are on the bass, the less you have to think about it, so there’s that element too!

Keep the questions coming, friends! Just a few days left before I retreat into my cave. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Any fun songs you’d play as a family growing up?

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