Anyone play bass?

[Ironbar]

After literally decades of wishing I had learned how, a couple months ago I finally pulled the trigger and bought my first bass. I started taking lessons as well, and I'm really enjoying it! I never had aspirations of playing in a band, but if I had known how much tang I could have potentially gotten out of it, I would have started a very long time ago!

So far I've just been learning some simple bass patterns- blues sort of thing. Eventually I'd love to be able to play more complicated stuff. Anyone have any advice?

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[GOG]

Practice, practice, practice.

I played bass for about fifteen years. Played Moose Lodge dances type of stuff when I was in high school. As I got older I played in bar bands. It was great fun and it really helped with the ladies.

 

[Ironbar]

Well, I figured that even if I never play a gig in my life, at the very least I went ahead and did something I always wanted to do, and I can cross it off the bucket list!

 

[GOG]

There ya' go.

 

[billyinfinity]

Learn a bunch of cover songs. Pick songs that are too hard for you and pick a diverse genre of music. I made the most progress in a cover band playing lots of different styles and being forced to learn several new songs every week. It made serious improvements on my own playing and style in the shortest amount of time.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Daddy does. And mamma plays tenor

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Good on you!

 

[salmonriverjohn]

I play Bass, Steelhead, trout, but mostly when I do I play Crappie
No, I'm more into six strings myself. I love the guitar and after all these years I finally figured out that its not me playing the guitar, its the guitar playing me. It calls, I come. You'll see, or perhaps you already have. Enjoy!

 

[teflon6string]

Whether you're starting a band or not, practice by thumping along with your favorite tunes on CD's, YouTube, iTunes, etc., stuff you're familiar with in your head. It's up to you if you want to take lessons, figure it out on your own, read tablature, or just play by ear. The better musicians I know do all of the above.

You'll need to tune your bass to various songs since they don't all tune to a precise 440A, especially older anaolog recordings done on tape, sometimes, sped up or slowed down to fit the singer's range or just get the right tempo. A lot of YouTube stuff is sped up a tiny bit (rendering it inexact) to avoid copyright problems.

There are a lot of super efficient small bass amps these days, so you don't have to buy a huge, heavy rig to haul around until you need the power to perform.

Like somebody said above, play all kinds of different styles so you don't become a one-trick pony. Congrats for taking on a fun bucket list activity. Have a blast!

 

[accessbob]

I play bass for our church worship team. I have fun with it. As teflon97239 wrote, you don't need a huge amp for practice. I bought a 15W Fender Guitar amp at a Pawn Shop for $30. Fits well in my bedroom and gives me plenty of power for practice.



And my bass (Epiphone Les Paul):


And, as has been said, lots of practice...

 

[ak56]

Been playing for over 30 years. Play 1-2 times a month at church. Only problem is the bass rubs against the hammer of my Ruger, and I've put small holes in several shirts. Need to either change position, or find an IWB that covers the hammer.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

40 years of playing here. I'm 53 now. Just bought my latest bass a couple of months ago. Always wanted an acoustic bass guitar, and found a used one locally at a good price, so now it's mine. It's great for sitting around on the couch and playing along with the stereo, which is about the extent of my musical wanderings these days. I've played in bands in 4 states over 35 years, just not into it at this point. I still have my Lakland, as well as my 4x10 speaker cabs, though I sold my 850w stage amp.

I also play guitar and banjo, though I just picked up the banjo a few years ago.

-- Sam

 

[Blitzkrieg]

My gal plays acoustic, electrical acoustic, steel string electric and I just bought her a mandolin she is struggling with

I took bagpipe lessons but concluded my Scot ancestors were the ones who fought while others played the pipes

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

The bass is (sorry, guys) a relatively easy instrument to learn. Now, MASTERING it will take a life time.

Play as much as you can in as many different styles as you can, and you'll soon learn that bass patterns are pretty easy to figure out, once you have the basics down. Playing along with the blues is a good start. Then, switch over to the late 50's early 60's rock and ballad songs. Major, IV, V pattern or Major, minor, IV, V pattern...once you know what key the song is, you can play hundreds of rock songs...easy money.

Now, having a unique style and sound is more difficult and one of the reasons the greats are so wonderful.

 

[salmonriverjohn]

My gal plays acoustic, electrical acoustic, steel string electric and I just bought her a mandolin she is struggling with

I took bagpipe lessons but concluded my Scot ancestors were the ones who fought while others played the pipes

I swear, the bagpipes are probably what drove my Scottish ancestors into battle, and I do mean DROVE them to battle. I made my wife and kids promise that bagpipes wouldn't be played at my daisy raising, anything but the pipes,, arrrgghhhh!

 

[Ironbar]

I have a nice Ampeg practice amp that has a CD/iPod input. What I started doing today was running the connection cable from my computer to the amp- found a Youtube channel called Random Jammer that has all sorts of backing tracks to play to. Been practicing mainly easy 12-bar blues stuff.

Anyone have any suggestions for finger exercises to strengthen my left pinky so I don't need to cover it with the ring finger?

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

About the only thing I can suggest is to "practice, practice, practice"...as much as people hate them, scales are probably the best thing, although if you have the Random Jammer going - just play along. Keep playing and playing and the pinky will get there.

squeezing a tennis ball also helps, and you can find hand strengthening toys at most good guitar shops.