Great to have you here @Klaus !
I made the same mistake.
You will find B2B to be a class that makes you not want to put your bass down instead!
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Welcome @Klaus
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Welcome @Klaus
Have fun!
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Welcome @Klaus !
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Hi folks.
Iām new to this forum, although Iāve been following Bass Buzz and other YT bass channels for some time.
I have a bit of a dilemma. Although Iāve been playing guitar and bass for some time, (20+ years), Iāve always been self-taught and played by ear, rather than learning the core aspects of the instruments. Iāve decided to change that and go back to basic on a 4 string fretless Jaco copy Squire.
(Why fretless you may ask? Well, its because my target instrument is a 7 string fretless I acquired, that gives me the room to do the things I intend to eventually achieve such as extended range playing, two hand tapping, melodic and rhythmic variations, and some weirdness).
So back to the dilemmaā¦ I like a broad range of bass styles; Jacoās Weather Report funk, Stanley Clarkeās RTF fusion, Geddy Leeās early prog, any and all slap, but also really soulful and isolated ambience. My biggest influence was Claypool who opened my eyes to what a bass player could be in a band, whilst having a lot of fun.
So where do I start with the basics? I find beginner guides too slow and I tend to want to rush ahead. But I havenāt nailed the fundamentals to jump to advanced skills, and find I continue the bad patterns. I need to discipline myself for a few months to progress, but I also donāt want to lose interest. (My personal time is also at a premium).
Iām currently doing the 10 min daily workout, to get the feel of the fretless bass. I played a 6 string fretted Warwick before so this Squire feels like a toy.
If anyone has ideas on a sub-30 min routine that I can consider daily, then it will be helpful. Iām thinking right-hand finger work, slap/pop/muting, scales for muscle memory and some noodling for stamina?
Thanks in advance,
G
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Welcome @vegamorph
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Welcome @vegamorph
Have fun!
I started off as an absolute beginner on bass a year ago, so I donāt have a great deal of experience for suggestions. However, I enjoyed playing my fretted Jazz bass so much that I also bought a fretless (Squier Classic Vibe ā60s Jazz Bass) It is a joy to go back and forth between these two basses and having a wide variety variety of sounds.
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@vegamorph welcome aboard!
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Welcome @vegamorph !
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Welcome @vegamorph !
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Welcome, @vegamorph. If you havenāt taken the Beginner to Badass course, that is a logical place to start to learn the basics from square one. Virtually everyone on this forum has either completed B2B or is in the process of doing so. Josh has designed the course to take a student from zero to playing by using tunes from a wide variety of genres to introduce new techniques and music theory. The early lessons are very basic, but they are nonetheless valuable as refreshers for more advanced players. Each lesson is brief, so you can maximize your time and still learn/retain what Josh teaches. Plus, the course is fun. There likely will be some genre examples that are not your faves, but stretching past your comfort zone is how a musician grows.
Beyond B2B, Mark Smith offers excellent courses at talkingbass.net. You might be interested in this one he designed to teach fundamentals in depth: Bass Guitar for Beginners: The Best Online Bass Lessons
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Hello @vegamorph,
have you considered to find a teacher in real life?
Iāve just started the B2B course and like it very much so far. However, it sounds like you are much more advanced than a typical beginner and i would assume that the course therefore might be a too slow start for you.
A good teacher on the other hand could probably quickly help you to identify the areas you should focus your practicing on.
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Welcome @vegamorph
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I begged my parents for a Squire Affinity Strat in my teens and of course my younger brother had to follow suit and got a Candy apple red Fender Jazz bass. He never really took to it and I liked playing his nicer instrument so the guitar went away. Our church youth ministry band lost its bass player and I offered to fill in. Learned the chops there and kept with it playing my favorite songs until I started military service. Ended up doing covers and a gig or two on a Fender Aerodyne Jazz bass i picked up in Okinawa, Japan. I got into motorcycles after returning to the states and sold my rig. Iām just getting back into playing after 15 years with the hopes of having occasional shows with a tribute band down the road.
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Welcome, @TBird_Bryan. Glad youāre here. Enjoy!
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Thanks for comments. Yeah i tried locally and a guy was very honest and wasnt sure he could offer much over a couple of lessons. To be honest id prefer some direct support to help with thumb position adjustment (im a downward slapper) and other subtled things that are hard on video lessons.
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Welcome @TBird_Bryan
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Welcome @TBird_Bryan
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@TBird_Bryan welcome aboard!
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Welcome @TBird_Bryan !
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