I didn’t mean to overreach, but you mentioned getting a really good teacher.
First, finding one is not necessarily easy. And, second, he/she will likely cost a pretty penny in a very short while. This would leave a student with a not insubstantial chunk of money spent for not a whole lot to walk away with.
On the other hand, B2B hooks up students with the very best teacher for beginners/self-taughters-looking-to-lose-bad-habits. And for a fraction of the cost of a lessons from a face-to-face teacher who might not be a good fit.
Anyway, just trying to offer some tried and true advice, from experience. Hope some is of interest or help.
Hello Mike. You did not overreach at all. You were just trying to give me your best advice, and I appreciate that! I probably should have been more clear. I was talking about hiring a teacher for 1 hour. One lesson only. Someone who could watch me noodle around, and give me what they think I need to practice on. A game plan, so to speak.
I could never afford weekly lessons or anything. I should also admit my oversight before posting. I should have taken a look to see what bassbuzz lessons cost. My finances can’t stay this way forever. Because they don’t go up with the economy yearly. Unfortunately it makes me have to find ways to work for cash under the table, even if it’s very hard on my body. So there will be opportunities going forward. I probably should take some time and search out some free YouTube video lessons. There’s millions. I may just be looking for validation to go forward . I’m getting to the point where I’m beginning to learn things by learning to play songs. And I’m finding just watching the video online, where my fingering has been wrong on the neck. I had my four fingers starting one too many frets toward the body. Of course that made me move my hand just to reach the next string up to catch the next note in order. So it’s really basic stuff like this even.
At least I know my goal… I want to sit on my couch and play Geddy Lee and Steve Harris. No pick. Of course, this could be my problem . I would probably be much better off starting with slower songs. I’ve always really admired how catchy Gene Simmons playing is. Regardless of the music, maybe I should start there. Whoa! This turned into a magazine article!
@Underitall As someone that pays for music lessons for my son, that I can sit in on and absorb, a one hour lesson won’t get you far. The B2B course would literally be several hundreds of dollars if paid for by the hour. A good teacher is 50-100 per hour; B2B is 197 for 30+ hours. Just some insight.
I improvise any lengthy 12 bar blues, for only one reason. My hands lock up if I play a long repetitive patern. I have a whole new respect for professional players that play that stuff regularly and perfectly. How in the funk do they do it? Also, how do they keep track if where they are in the song? In the begining sure, but after you’ve played the same repetitive song over and over, it’s starts to feel like one long ongoing single experience… lol
I’ve run into this myself. I’ll be learning a song and get so focused on getting the pattern right that I miss the change. Most recently I’ve been learning Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. Fun song! But very fast, lots of string crossing. And just as soon as you start getting into the main pattern it throws the walk down in.
Interesting I’ve been working on the outro for a little while now (it’s the only section of the song left for me to crack), but it is surprisingly tricky given how simple it is “should” be
I’ve been playing the open A exclusively with my index finger, and then using my middle finger to jump on to the D to play the fretted notes. But so far I start to come unstuck around 90% tempo - I’ll have to watch the video and try raking to see if it works any better (nice spot ).
See this octave shape Josh makes from Module 12 Lesson 2? I’ve been working up my speed on them, but I noticed something interesting. He always keeps his middle finger ‘flat’ across the E. When I reached out he said it’s beyond the scope of what’s in the lesson, but that it’s a good habit for pick/slap down the line (as your plucking thumb will be busy). I’m trying to emulate this shape, but my middle finger is really, really shaky even trying. I don’t suffer from flying fingers (much!) but this is different. It’s like I’ve never fretted an instrument before, either the octave shape is totally thrown off or the middle finger is nowhere near. Any advice?
Work up to it slowly; octaves are hard enough. What he’s doing is he is muting the E string with it while playing the octave. This is pretty advanced muting compared to the level really needed for the course.
So here my bass journeey begun with the Cort Action PJ.
And the first problem arose immediately - left arm. I can’t position it comfortably on the neck. I can stretch my fingers to cover for frets from 1-st to 4-th easily, like that:
but when trying to hold the neck correctly - can barely cover 1-st to 3-rd fret reaching the latteer only with pinky and with loooots of tension in the wrist and arm making any movemens almost impossible. The cituation is slightly better while standinn - less tension, more feeling that lowest frets are just out of reach.
For the record - I’m 6 feet (183 cm) tall with mid-sized hands (something like 19 cm from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger) and relatively long arms (something like 75 cm from shoulder to the tip of the middle finger).
With the right hand all’s OK. Just need to get used to the ergonomy of the bass
Your fingers will stretch with time and allow for more coverage, however, many folks don’t play 1 finger per fret across 4 frets, so don’t fret it (see what I did there?).
I don’t. Most times my index and pinky are together and i simply shift or micro-shift around.
My issue is when plucking with my middle finger it seems to pluck harder than my index finger and is considerably louder. How can I get consistent plucks from both fingers?
Also have an issue muting the D string by plucking into it. Do better when muting it with my finger but then get a bit of buzz from my E string if I am not careful.
In a world of instant gratification, getting good at something is totally opposite. It takes time, and, wait for it…practice. This is rote learning, over and over and over and over and over makes you better. There are no shortcuts. To get great at anything, this is the way.
@Alex_Hevari@davidnlori.moser For what it’s worth, I’m in module 12 and struggled with both the stretch (pinky strength/accuracy) and uneven plucking dynamics.
I still struggle with them but I can tell you that they have both improved over the course. You’re not alone and it does get better with practice.
. I’m getting to the point where I’m beginning to learn things by learning to play songs. And I’m finding just watching the video online, where my fingering has been wrong on the neck. I had my four fingers starting one too many frets toward the body. Of course that made me move my hand just to reach the next string up to catch the next note in order. So it’s really basic stuff like this even.
. I would probably be much better off starting with slower songs. I’ve always really admired how catchy Gene Simmons playing is. Regardless of the music, maybe I should start there. Whoa! This turned into a magazine article!
I’ve been working on the outro for a little while now (it’s the only section of the song left for me to crack), but it is surprisingly tricky given how simple it is “should” be 
).
