Hey dudes (And dudettes!), i’m looking for advice on what and how to practice when it comes to hard rock/metal bass playing.
I particularly love the styles of Dave Ellefson and Jason Newstead, so I imagine I have to get really good at playing with a pick. advice on that and other stuff is appreciated.
I haven’t really been sure how to go about practicing this stuff since finishing b2b, it has felt kinda daunting.
Thanks for reading, and let me know 
Play songs that you like. Record yourself playing and post it in the “covers” thread. If you want to use a pick, start with songs that you already know how to play and play them with a pick. It’s really just putting in time playing songs.
I would contact Dave Ellefson and Jason Newstead directly and ask them.
Here is an interview with Dave. He talks about his influences.
As Paul_9207 says “Play the songs that your like”.
I believe like a any genre you’d like to become proficient at you listen to as much of that music as possible with particular attention to the bass lines and how they’re worked into the song then you emulate that in your own way.
Remember the objective of any good musician isn’t to sound exactly like someone else but rather to gather as much info as you can from others and use it to develop your own style for playing it. IMHO that’s how you get good at it.
He’s got an interesting track record on this so that might not be your best option? 
In my own anecdote, I would say think “doubling the guitar” is very common, “punchy notes” that try to cut through the drums/guitar.
Sometimes it feels more mechanical than musical, like I don’t even think notes or key its just frets and staying in time, especially for metal.
Someone may highly disagree with me, but this was my approach playing with a metal band as a noob 
PS: To answer your question minus my opinion of playing, think beyond the guitar and try to do something original with the melody/drums. Keep to the chord on the 1 beat but have fun in between if you are “comfortable” in that zone. - big music theory topic!!
To be good is pretty easy and very straightforward. All it requires is practice and more practice to develop techniques and muscle memory.
To be great and create their bass lines, well it takes a lot more than dedication.
Barney, I do not know what you mean.
I can empathise with this statement. I’m not into hard rock / metal, but I do have ambitions to play some stuff that (to my ear) is pretty complex. While I’m not there yet, my approach has been to play, a lot. I learn songs and tend to oscillate between songs that are easier and songs that stretch a little. The easier stuff is fun, can be learnt quickly and delivers an immediate satisfaction hit. The ‘stretch’ songs take longer, put push the envelope.
I’ve also found that even stuff at the easier end of the spectrum can help develop certain aspects of playing. For example, riding the root note, playing fast 8ths, it’s all about control, consistency, stamina. One note per bar? Timing is everything. The classic 12-bar, so many variations of what you can play… the list goes on.
I’d also say, mix genres. One thing that has intrigued me is that my one year bass journey has opened my ears to so much other music I would not have ordinarily listened too. By exploring across genres, you start to hear the commonalities, but also the differences. When I listen to a band like Metallica - admittedly, not too often - I’d argue some of their best songs are not your typical hard rock / metal, but songs like Enter Sandman.
The final thing is practice. I have a mate who is a pro guitarist. He is insanely talented, but he says he is not. He says he’s just been practicing a sh!t-ton for 45 years, and practices more now than he did as a beginner.
Here is a Jason Newstead interview. It all started with KISS …
Probably better that way.
Back to topic, Ian Hill of Judas Priest is a good bassist in this area. Not flashy, but good.
Probably his most iconic solo to date.
Perfect timing!
I’m working on a thing right now that gets right to this.
So, here it is in brief:
Best of luck.
This is the music that captured my heart, and it’s fun as hell to play, but not the most visible bassist genre. You’ll get a lot out of finding isolated bass tracks for these - I know I have.
Holler with any questions that may come up.
To give an example of this. Malcolm Young of AC/DC played rhythm guitar, and Malcolm would change his pick out after every song because he hit the strings so hard the pick would wear halfway down in just one song.
But the AC/DC sound is iconic. Big attack.
thanks for this geo! (and thanks to everyone else)
keeping a light grip on the pick is hard, i tried with the intro riff to enter sandman (haven’t bothered with the full song because i at least want to get my technique solid first)
either the pick falls out/turns around, or my fingers want to fall off lol.
i think i have to relax a little more and start slower.
and i also think about muting a LOT (from watching too much glenn fricker probably xD)
and im curious… do you use your palm, other left hand fingers, thumb over the neck, or all three?
and let me know when that thing drops… im intrigued haha.
You might experiment with different types of picks - they are cheap after all. I personally am happiest with ultex picks, but they come in many different materials and designs the comfort level can be very different.
Learning to palm mute is a must. I do use a combination but there’s a sound that comes from palm muting that is cool.
It’s not so much holding the pick lightly, as being relaxed. As you’re finding, too light a grip and you lose the pick. I sometimes have this problem, or it starts twisting and becomes the thing I’m concerned about, rather than what I’m trying to play. You have to hold it firmly, but keep your hand and arm relaxed. If your hand and arm is tense, it starts to burn and cramp really quickly, meaning you can’t keep the rhythm and tempo. Same with the fretting hand, to be honest. So relaxing becomes a very conscious thought, certainly while you’re trying to get a song learnt. I’ve learnt two over the past week where I’ve decided to use a pick. The first run throughs were cr@p, trying to get the rhythm, but getting tense … all over the place. I had to force myself to relax and feel the song. What was funny was that I recorded a video and my playing looked slow - I don’t mean dragging, but because I was using both the down and up stroke, it was like I was playing at half the bpm. That was another trigger to relax, look, this isn’t fast, just relax and play!
One other point, well two. The angle that you hold the pick at relative to the string (i.e. is the pick parallel to the string, or at an angle to it when it strikes) and where on the string you are playing (towards the bridge or toward the neck) makes a huge difference in tone. Experiment with that too. An angled pick, towards the bridge has a real attack to it and loses a lot of the bass tones, plus you hear the ‘scrape’. For some songs, this is exactly what you’re after. For other songs, it sounds awful! Play further towards the neck, with a pick that strikes parallel to the string, rounds out the sound. Moving around during a song is fun, just to hear and feel the difference.
This usually helps every single aspect of practicing.
And, yes, for muting - it’s everything.
All the hands and parts of the hands.
Everything you can possibly do to keep things clean.
But also - rule 1 = attitude.
If it’s jangly and messy, maybe that’s just how it is.
Listen to more isolated bass tracks by your favorite players.
That shit gets real messy with ringing and fret noise. It doesn’t matter. If you’re committing to the part and your rhythm is good, you’re probably fine.
I recently picked up trying to play “Slither - Velvet Revolver” as a challenge and even with a “playing style” I’m comfortable with, the notes and constant eighths are a challenge.
Learning to down pick every note and modulate the tension is a skill I now respect, when I listen to my playing against the recording you hear the pick so loud in the mix!
I’m a fan of the Beholden to the Riff Youtube channel. It’s based around heavy, doom, stoner, hard rock from Kyuss and Amenra to Alice in Chains and Black Sabbath.
Check out his Youtube channel and see if you dig his style. There are a lot of breakdowns to a bunch of great songs on there. I’m working on the solo from the beginning of NIB at the moment.