Yeah its been a blast so far, I have learned so much already with Josh, especially the note names on the fret board!
5 Likes
Thanks man! Thats all great advice! Ive been doing the billie jean notes as a warm up every day so hopefully when I go back to the workouts I will smash them.
4 Likes
Awesome! Yeah its sort of a good thing having the free time too. Thats great you wrote a song, what kind of music do you play?
4 Likes
Now I see two different questions in there because one would be the kind of music I like to play and enjoy and that’s mostly rock and ska but I tend to think that every genre has its place and want to be able to play different styles.
Then there’s the question what my song actually is and ummm… I’m not sure. Acoustic guitar drinking/tavern song I guess.
Inspiration came from Pen & Paper RPG as I play a bard and according to lore he has already written the song. So I wrote it. See more info and a faulty rendering of the song here - I did something wrong with the timings for the different “drum” beat in the chorus so it didn’t come out right. But the first verse and chorus should give you an idea of the style.
Lyrics including a dodgy translation
And recently I practiced my music sheet writing skills by actually writing my composition on a note sheet.
All links are to the same thread about original creations/compositions but the links are the exact posts I explain about the song, background and motivation in more detail.
6 Likes
… ?
… is that d&d turned upside down?
2 Likes
Well. My name is Jack and live in California. I have two grown children, five dogs, and lots of time on my hands. I picked up bass in 1994 from a pawn shop in town. I sat down and noodled around with it. I never learned any formal or informal lessons. I just tried my best to pick out notes. To spectacular failure. I stopped playing when I sold the bass guitar and my little porta studio to pay the rent 20 years ago. I would buy another bass, but that was sold again to pay the bills. Plus, I lost all creative desire when my daughter passed away on 2006. I did not do anything music-wise for 15 years, because I got into computers.
Fast forward to 2018, and got the music bug back. Over the course from then to now, I bought recording equipment again, and this time around, I have features and processing I could only dream of 15-20 years ago. Racks and racks of gear smashed into a small part of my hard drive. Everything I could wish for - right there. I am still blown away by the technology in a box.
So, I bought an analog mixer, an interface (when I learned about latency, which was absent in the analog gear), a MIDI controller, a nice condenser mic (I love the NT1A), and some low end monitors (Presonus 4.5’s). I have Studio One and Ableton Live 10 Standard. To help with grooves, I bought Superior Drummer 3. I bought EZ Bass, but it sucked, which made me pick up a real bass. I got a Music Man Sub Series, but that was waaaay too chunky for me, so I returned that, and got a Schecter Diamond. It feels really good. I dinked around, and remembered I cannot play - So I looked up online lessons to learn the proper way.
In the meantime, I still need to learn keyboard to work the MIDI and the drum machine. So I have a long, long way to go before I become a one man band.
13 Likes
Welcome @dprkforum!
Sorry for your loss.
Good you found your way back to music again.
Seems you are well equipped! @Kekec also has a keyboard background so maybe he has some tips for you regarding that topic. For bass you found the best beginner course I know of 
3 Likes
For piano, I went to Piano Marvel, which has sight reading from the gate. So that’s where I learned time signatures and tempo. I got frustrated with the complexity of the piano, so I took a break. I plan to go back to that again.
Which is why I was curious about music theory. Piano Marvel seems to be tech heavy. Classical based training. It’s not easy. At all.
Thanks for the warm welcome.
5 Likes
Beginner2Badass seems to ignore music theory and 3 modules later you get the theory explained behind what you played and it deepens your understanding a little bit more. The approach focuses on the practical aspect first and explains the theory behind it later.
While I understand that sight reading is a necessary skill for any piano player of average or above skill I don’t really understand/agree that it’s necessary to train from the start. There’s engough to worry about. Namely finger coordination and independence. But then again I am not a piano player and for sure no teacher.
3 Likes
Hello @dprkforum I learned keyboard 14 years ago, and that platform (as you probably know) is the best for music theory. You can learn all the theory for bass you’ll ever need ont he piano. All the theory is right out there on the staff. It all flows from there to all music, whether it’s voice, keyboard, or …the bass. Except in bass, I think much more emphasis is on rhythm, which is understandable. Being the weird animal that I am, I like melodic bass…and music theory! I want to arrange and compose one day.
6 Likes
I learn by demonstration. Once somebody shows how it is done, then shows the “why”, then it is easier for me. I have lots of questions regarding music and the “why”. Which is another reason why I am curious about music theory.
At the moment, I will take the technique advice first. I cannot play anything if I do not have that down. For instance, using all four fingers. Not having fingers fly off the fretboard, standing/sitting correctly, etc. Same with piano. No music theory will teach first position, etc. So yeah, you guys have a point.
6 Likes
Welcome Paul @leeky1958, glad you’re enjoying the course!
Welcome @williamtait4, good to hear you made it past Billie Jean alive.
Welcome Jack @dprkforum, fellow Californian here!
3 Likes
Hi Jack! Welcome to this maladjusted community of lowlifes. 
Sounds like a plan.
What Josh does is, he’s trying to find some middle ground between those who hate theory and compare it to math, rocket science and a thing that’s boring, and those who thrive on knowing the underlying fundamentals of what makes Geiger counters tick. And, first of all, he wants to make sure that his students, whatever their readiness to learn about the underlying principles is, consider making low frequency noises fun.
And then, when even the most theory-hating hooligans are actually having fun, he sneaks in bits of theory. Tiny bits at first, but before you know it, you’ll be learning about scales and intervals and rhythmic patterns and stuff.
Now, if you are a nerd like me, you will already have your appetite whetted and dived into specific music theory courses, which go deeper into the matter than Josh does – which will probably tickle your fancy more as they are less bass-specific. But B2B is a good place to start.
I’m pretty sure you’ll find your bearings!
5 Likes
Welcome @dprkforum. What part of CA you from?
I almost lost a daughter this year, but she pulled thru mostly complete, she had her right foot amputated, but I am very grateful to have her, so I sympathize very deeply for your loss.
I have a Music Man Sub series and a Schecter Diamond, plus a bunch others, but I don’t have all the recording stuff like you, so evens out.
Welcome to the forum, it’s time to finally tackle the bass, and you are in a good place for that.
6 Likes