Question:

>What do you do to enhance your child’s learning either before >s/he is in school or as enrichment when s/he is in school?

We did things that I thought would be fun to do, and went places that I thought would be interesting.  They were in a lot of activities, but not specifically directed at learning.  I took courses.  I taught various things.  Otherwise, I saw no need to do anything extra. I didn’t have any children who were academically challenged.  I tried to make sure they could read well.   My #1dd has a MA in math, #2 dd is a pilot with an engineering degree, #3 dd is a horse show judge with a math degree, and my #4 ds is working on his degree – took him a bit longer than the girls to decide to get higher education. grandma Rosalie

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> What do you do to enhance your child’s learning either before > s/he is in school or as enrichment when s/he is in school?

Take her to museums and other interesting places. Read with her (either listen to her read to me, or (less often these days now that she’s a good reader) sometimes read to her. Give her ‘pop quizzes’ to help her learn to use her math and logic skills. (Meaning, say, we’re at the store … she asks me to buy her something.  I ask her how much it would cost if we bought 3 of them.) Buy her computer games with educational components. Take her to the library. Encourage her to seek out information about subjects that interest her. Naomi

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Angel here > What do you do to enhance your child’s learning either before > s/he is in school or as enrichment when s/he is in school?

Before: Read, play easy games, travel, lots of different experiences. My kids have camped in 20 degree weather, and hundred and five.  They’ve gone to OB appointments and watched ultrasounds.  They’ve visited museums in three cities, traveled all over the country. They’ve spent weekends in the middle ages, and weeks in Old Siam (doing live theater is a blast) While in school: discuss lessons. act as a resource for anything they want to explore in greater depth, whether ghosts, calculus or growing rock candy crystals.  For my reader, "here, try this book."  "Here, try this website I found.  I thought it might interest you." (If it does, fine, if I’m wrong *shrug*) Keep steady rituals Jello jiggler eggs at Easter. Daughter does thanksgiving baking, and son makes the dressing (we’ve done this for 2 years) Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving.  Mom sets it up, and everyone hangs their own ornament. A gift on St. NIcholas Day. A gift on 12th night. Corned beef and cabbage on St. Patricks day. It soothes their year, and lets them be creative about adding things as well. Angel

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>What do you do to enhance your child’s learning either before >s/he is in school or as enrichment when s/he is in school? >Dorothy >There is no sound, no cry in all the world >that can be heard unless someone listens .. >source unknown

Read to them a lot!!  Read (for yourself) books that interest you–the fact that reading is something that YOU do, too shows that reading is a lifelong thing to do. Sing songs with them–listen to songs they like–make up new words–be creative with music.  Get them lots of arts and crafts supplies–crayons, markers, water colors, chalk-and different kinds of paper to draw on.  Glue and glittery things, safety scissors, ribbons, ricrac–old wrapping paper and wallpaper samples.  And let them CREATE,  It’s ok to do preset projects occasionally–but the act of creating enhances learning incredibly–because there is no right and wrong–there is just the experience of creating!  So many schools these days seem to be dropping the fine arts parts of the curriculum–but these are the areas that allow a child to expand their own universe and soar.  Oh, yes–it can be quite messy  (You should see our carpet!!)  but it is well worth the effort. And talk and listen to your children–endlessly.  They want to share their discoveries with you–something that you, as an adult, take for granted that ‘everyone’ knows is a new and wonderful discovery for your child.  As an example, some eggs hatched in the 8th grade classroom at school  on Monday. My 6 year old went over to the classroom after school to look at the new arrivals and was very disappointed that she couldn’t hold a chick.  The teacher had told her the chicks must be 24 hours old first.  I told her not to worry, she could hold them soon, but she didn’t seem much comforted.  On the way home, she said "Mom, how long is 24 hours anyway?"  She thought it was a very long time.  When I told her it was just one day, she was quite surprised!  She is at the top of her class in reading and math, and I had just assumed she knew that–doesn’t everyone? <G>  So let them talk and ask lots of questions–help them figure out–don’t always be the dispenser of information. I could go on for pages with this–it’s one of my favorite subjects–but I’ll stop for now. Linda

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> What do you do to enhance your child’s learning either before > s/he is in school or as enrichment when s/he is in school?

Let him pursue his own interests so that he learns that learning is genuine and fun. Chris

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> > What do you do to enhance your child’s learning either before > s/he is in school or as enrichment when s/he is in school? > Let him pursue his own interests so that he learns that learning > is genuine and fun.

I’m like you.  My kids are so interested and curious that all I have to do is support them in what they want to explore.

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>What do you do to enhance your child’s learning either before >s/he is in school or as enrichment when s/he is in school?

Talk.  Listen.  Question.  

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What do you do to enhance your child’s learning either before s/he is in school or as enrichment when s/he is in school? Dorothy There is no sound, no cry in all the world that can be heard unless someone listens .. source unknown

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> What do you do to enhance your child’s learning either before > s/he is in school or as enrichment when s/he is in school? > Dorothy

I did tons of stuff with my kids when they were little. Both went to preschool. But I taught them the alphabet off videocassettes, taught them to read, and to do some elemnetary math, using counters, candies, and egg-cartons….and a chalked number line. I also did handicraft type projects. Net result: One academic kid who emjoys school and is an absent-minded bookworm; one responsible kid who is always on time with homework, but doesn’t do extra stuff for fun, or read for pleasure. OTOH, that stuff was its own reward. We had a great deal of fun doing it all. I hope the good memories stay with them. They used to *fight* over who got the next math question on long car drives…. Rupa

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I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. Thanks in advance

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: I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. : Thanks in advance Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. Later, —     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett    /__ ) /  / /    /_/  /_    /     Hughes Information Tech. Corp.   /___) /__/ /___ /   /__   /      16800 E. Centretech Pkwy                                     Aurora, CO 80011

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> I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

Play songs that you don’t normally like or listen to. You’ll get some ideas from examining different perspectives on music. You’ll be amazed what some of the various styles of music have to offer. If they have them in your area, go to open jam sessions. The most popular types (around here, anyway) seem to be blues, country and bluegrass. Jumping on stage with people you’ve never met and playing songs you’ve never heard, or even songs you know that they’re doing in some off-the-wall key will sharpen you up pretty quick. Hope that helps, Dewayne "What key are we in?" Henson

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Hmmm…. I jsut started on bass last June. My first few times playing it wasn’t a nice experience cos my fingers became swollen for a few days. But the more I played it, the better it got for me. I used old tabs from magazines to play and practice on, which really really helped me read better on bass notes. I also used old piano sheets by playing the bass part. I suggest playing easy music  sheet so you can improvise better… it worked for me. Also, it would help to play scales or random notes just to get the fingers moving. I only know one blues scale, and I haven’t played that in a while. I have short fingers, so if yours are long, it prolly won’t be any difference. I once heard those with long fingers should be good on the piano. I don’t believe that anymore. But yes, long fingers would be an advantage to most people. =( -missW-

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 Ian <Ian> writes: >I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be >IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting >rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. >But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find >teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have >very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass >but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe >someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and >generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. >Thanks in advance

My experience has been that nothing can substitute for playing with people. There’s more going on than just plucking notes. Use your ears. Listen to what is going on as far as interaction between you and the other musicians. It takes time just like anything else, but if you truly love it like you say you do then time means nothing. (Except in beats per minute!)

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > : I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > : Thanks in advance > Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down > with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give > you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very > BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, > play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are > willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. > Later, > — >     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett

Kevin is right. The best way is get with other muscians. Another thing to practice alone is arpeggios and scales in keys you are weak in. And remember to have fun. Dwight McCartney

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> > I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

probably the greatest help to my playing was being in a band that did originals.  playing other people’s stuff is cool to start out with and to get a basic idea of technique, but i found that writing my own lines was about 1000 times better than that as an educational experience… plus, it’s easier to concentrate on improving your style if you know exactly what every note is… i’ve found that in the year or so since the demise of my band my playing has become a whole lot smoother, and i notice it mostly on the basslines which i wrote myself… hope that helps at all… Sarah "some world-views are spacious, and some are merely spaced…"

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I would say that jamming with other people might actually hold you back. First of all, doing so early-on might push you into a more traditional style of playing.  I’ve done very little playing with other people and have developed a very unique style because of it.  Up until recently, I was simply not good enough at playing this way to play successfully with other people in that style.  So, I think, had I been playing a lot with other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of development.  This might not be a bad thing, depending on your point of view, but it’s something to keep in mind. Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well.   Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way. If you don’t have confidence in your abilities (which is probably the case when you’re starting out, and rightly so) or if you are too concerned with embarrassing yourself, you’re probably not going to get much out of jamming with lots of other people.  I’d suggest just a few friends until you get some confidence. I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You know, push it to the extent of my abilities.  I make mistakes in doing this, of course, but those lead to improvement.  However, they make me less likely to do this when trying to sound good in front of other people. It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the hell out of my bass like that.  I tend to get into what I’m playing and improvise much better.  It’s tough to describe, but the result is that I improve not only technically, but compositionally as well.  If I’m holding anything back, or playing too deliberately, the stuff I come up with seems stagnant. As far a other suggestions go to get yourself out of a rut… Listening to new music seems to help me, even if it’s not bass-oriented stuff.  It doesn’t need to have Flea or whoever… it can still teach me about good music, if not mind-blowing bass.  Pay attention to the things you like about music you find yourself listening to, and then try incorporating those things into your own music.  You might even find some interesting stuff in music which is otherwise just crap, but I, of course, wouldn’t recommend listening to crap first if you’re trying to improve yourself. Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and not the stuff you don’t.  If you congratulate yourself for good playing, the bad stuff will eventually just work its way out of your system.  In some cases, it might be good to focus on some problem you have in order to get rid of it, but I think it’s better overall to concentrate on your successes. Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.  Try learning how to pick if you play fingerstyle.  Or try learning to slap.  Or try screwing around with effects pedals if you have them.  Putting down what you normally do for a little while can help. If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but it might be just me. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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> I’ve done very little playing with other people and > have developed a very unique style because of it.

So have I. And most other bass players who plays something apart from root. > So, I think, had I been playing a lot with > other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of > development.

So now your style is so unique that you don’t have to limit yourself? Wow. Or does everybody you play with have to limit themselves so that *you* can play exactly what you want? Are you the bass-version of Steve Vai? (No offense, Steve.) Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a distinct style. You have to limit yourself in a band/orchestral setting anyway, so it is, in my opinion, better to start at both ends: Start developing that unique style of yours at home. In a rehersal/jam setting; start by limiting yourself and find ways to "sneak" your style in without pissing the rest of the band off. This way, you get more experience in playing with others (No matter how extraordinary your style is, I don’t think you’ll EVER get around locking in with the drummer) while you develop a style that is unique to you. Besides, if you’re ever thinking about freelancing, people that want to hire a bass player doesn’t usually look for someone to change their whole sound and style. You’ll have to be able to play meat-and-potatoes bass too. (Meat-&-potatoes bass, does anyone know where the hell that expression came from?) > Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are > thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more > importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well. > Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way.

Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream and boring you’ll puke. Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the stuff I know, don’t know, and ideas I have? Do I sound like a fucking grade school teacher? How do they get the ink into the pen? > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You > know, push it to the extent of my abilities.

Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your guts out, but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from the music. > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the > hell out of my bass like that.

Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out of a bass and creativeness? > Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and > not the stuff you don’t.

Don’t be to tolerant, though. That tendency to play in B when it should have been C can be quite annoying. Work on your good AND your bad sides. > Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.

Good advice, and it’s fun. Also, try new things to do with techniques you already know; like playing fingerstyle at different positions to get different sounds etc. Learning to play, say, walking bass lines if you don’t used it before also helps me. > If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique > or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of > time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come > back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I > think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but > it might be just me.

Try both ways, and find out what works best for you. – Kjetil Aavik

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: Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a : distinct style. Of course it doesn’t… but you have to admit that in most settings you’d be playing with people who want to hear something more or less traditional coming from your amp.  In that sort of environment, you can certainly come up with your own unique spin on more-or-less traditional playing, but playing very unconventionally will be discouraged.   Sometimes, this is good.  Sometimes, strange is just BAD, and musically useless.  However, sometimes what is strange and useless can be developed into something which is, well, really SOMETHING… but will this happen if it is rejected early because it hasn’t developed enough?  If I had played a great deal with other people early on, I doubt I would have developed along the rather unconventional path that I did; it would have been discouraged.  And as far as "sneaking in" your style goes, there are some things which you simply can’t sneak in.  Say your style depended on having the bass as a dominating force in the band.  Les Claypool couldn’t sneak his style in (not that that’s my style)… incidentally, didn’t he try out for Metallica (after Burton died) and get rejected? Admittedly, as I said before, it might not not be good to be too unique, depending on your point of view.  I’d have a hard time finding some existing group which would want what I play as part of their music, so I’m essentially forced to at least co-found any group I might be in.  I’ll never be a session bassist, but I don’t care.  A guitarist I know here at Washington University told me I should be going to Berklee or some similar place instead because I "have tons of talent and technical ability, and if you go there, you’ll get a job [in music] when you get out." I told him, "Yeah, I’d get job playing NORMAL bass somewhere.  I’d rather not play at all."  This is why I said it depends on your point of view.   I certainly think playing with a lot of other people will teach anybody to play more skillfully, but perhaps not quite as uniquely. : Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream : and boring you’ll puke. : Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the : stuff I know, don’t know, My comment regarding this was not centered around whether or not the audience liked the style, but whether or not the audience respected the skill.  I was saying that you can’t be worrying about whether or not people listening to you think you are any good, not that you can’t worry about what people think of your style (though I would, of course, agree with that, too, to an extent). : > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You : > know, push it to the extent of my abilities. : Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your : guts out  but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from : the music. : > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the : > hell out of my bass like that. : Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out : of a bass and creativeness? I was talking about pushing oneself, not about pushing the limits of bass-playing-as-we-know-it.  If one’s not able to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" yet, then it certainly doesn’t make sense to try ripping out a killer solo.  I was saying that if one holds ONESELF back when one is playing, one will not progress much.  If you can’t play "Twinkle, Twinkle," but you CAN play "Three Blind Mice" perfectly, don’t keep playing "Three Blind Mice" in order to avoid screwing up.  Go ahead and thrash away as best you can, and you’ll learn from the mistakes. This might seem pretty self-evident, but I thought it was worth saying, because, at times, I’ve found myself holding back… maybe because someone might be listening and I didn’t want to sound bad. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without taking lessons from a teacher? Thanks in advance, Robbert.

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I’d say buy some basic books and play a lot with recordings of music you like.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without >taking lessons from a teacher? >Thanks in advance, >Robbert.

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I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. Thanks in advance

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: I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. : Thanks in advance Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. Later, —     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett    /__ ) /  / /    /_/  /_    /     Hughes Information Tech. Corp.   /___) /__/ /___ /   /__   /      16800 E. Centretech Pkwy                                     Aurora, CO 80011

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> I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

Play songs that you don’t normally like or listen to. You’ll get some ideas from examining different perspectives on music. You’ll be amazed what some of the various styles of music have to offer. If they have them in your area, go to open jam sessions. The most popular types (around here, anyway) seem to be blues, country and bluegrass. Jumping on stage with people you’ve never met and playing songs you’ve never heard, or even songs you know that they’re doing in some off-the-wall key will sharpen you up pretty quick. Hope that helps, Dewayne "What key are we in?" Henson

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Hmmm…. I jsut started on bass last June. My first few times playing it wasn’t a nice experience cos my fingers became swollen for a few days. But the more I played it, the better it got for me. I used old tabs from magazines to play and practice on, which really really helped me read better on bass notes. I also used old piano sheets by playing the bass part. I suggest playing easy music  sheet so you can improvise better… it worked for me. Also, it would help to play scales or random notes just to get the fingers moving. I only know one blues scale, and I haven’t played that in a while. I have short fingers, so if yours are long, it prolly won’t be any difference. I once heard those with long fingers should be good on the piano. I don’t believe that anymore. But yes, long fingers would be an advantage to most people. =( -missW-

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 Ian <Ian> writes: >I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be >IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting >rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. >But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find >teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have >very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass >but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe >someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and >generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. >Thanks in advance

My experience has been that nothing can substitute for playing with people. There’s more going on than just plucking notes. Use your ears. Listen to what is going on as far as interaction between you and the other musicians. It takes time just like anything else, but if you truly love it like you say you do then time means nothing. (Except in beats per minute!)

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > : I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > : Thanks in advance > Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down > with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give > you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very > BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, > play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are > willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. > Later, > — >     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett

Kevin is right. The best way is get with other muscians. Another thing to practice alone is arpeggios and scales in keys you are weak in. And remember to have fun. Dwight McCartney

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> > I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

probably the greatest help to my playing was being in a band that did originals.  playing other people’s stuff is cool to start out with and to get a basic idea of technique, but i found that writing my own lines was about 1000 times better than that as an educational experience… plus, it’s easier to concentrate on improving your style if you know exactly what every note is… i’ve found that in the year or so since the demise of my band my playing has become a whole lot smoother, and i notice it mostly on the basslines which i wrote myself… hope that helps at all… Sarah "some world-views are spacious, and some are merely spaced…"

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I would say that jamming with other people might actually hold you back. First of all, doing so early-on might push you into a more traditional style of playing.  I’ve done very little playing with other people and have developed a very unique style because of it.  Up until recently, I was simply not good enough at playing this way to play successfully with other people in that style.  So, I think, had I been playing a lot with other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of development.  This might not be a bad thing, depending on your point of view, but it’s something to keep in mind. Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well.   Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way. If you don’t have confidence in your abilities (which is probably the case when you’re starting out, and rightly so) or if you are too concerned with embarrassing yourself, you’re probably not going to get much out of jamming with lots of other people.  I’d suggest just a few friends until you get some confidence. I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You know, push it to the extent of my abilities.  I make mistakes in doing this, of course, but those lead to improvement.  However, they make me less likely to do this when trying to sound good in front of other people. It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the hell out of my bass like that.  I tend to get into what I’m playing and improvise much better.  It’s tough to describe, but the result is that I improve not only technically, but compositionally as well.  If I’m holding anything back, or playing too deliberately, the stuff I come up with seems stagnant. As far a other suggestions go to get yourself out of a rut… Listening to new music seems to help me, even if it’s not bass-oriented stuff.  It doesn’t need to have Flea or whoever… it can still teach me about good music, if not mind-blowing bass.  Pay attention to the things you like about music you find yourself listening to, and then try incorporating those things into your own music.  You might even find some interesting stuff in music which is otherwise just crap, but I, of course, wouldn’t recommend listening to crap first if you’re trying to improve yourself. Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and not the stuff you don’t.  If you congratulate yourself for good playing, the bad stuff will eventually just work its way out of your system.  In some cases, it might be good to focus on some problem you have in order to get rid of it, but I think it’s better overall to concentrate on your successes. Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.  Try learning how to pick if you play fingerstyle.  Or try learning to slap.  Or try screwing around with effects pedals if you have them.  Putting down what you normally do for a little while can help. If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but it might be just me. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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> I’ve done very little playing with other people and > have developed a very unique style because of it.

So have I. And most other bass players who plays something apart from root. > So, I think, had I been playing a lot with > other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of > development.

So now your style is so unique that you don’t have to limit yourself? Wow. Or does everybody you play with have to limit themselves so that *you* can play exactly what you want? Are you the bass-version of Steve Vai? (No offense, Steve.) Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a distinct style. You have to limit yourself in a band/orchestral setting anyway, so it is, in my opinion, better to start at both ends: Start developing that unique style of yours at home. In a rehersal/jam setting; start by limiting yourself and find ways to "sneak" your style in without pissing the rest of the band off. This way, you get more experience in playing with others (No matter how extraordinary your style is, I don’t think you’ll EVER get around locking in with the drummer) while you develop a style that is unique to you. Besides, if you’re ever thinking about freelancing, people that want to hire a bass player doesn’t usually look for someone to change their whole sound and style. You’ll have to be able to play meat-and-potatoes bass too. (Meat-&-potatoes bass, does anyone know where the hell that expression came from?) > Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are > thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more > importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well. > Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way.

Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream and boring you’ll puke. Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the stuff I know, don’t know, and ideas I have? Do I sound like a fucking grade school teacher? How do they get the ink into the pen? > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You > know, push it to the extent of my abilities.

Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your guts out, but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from the music. > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the > hell out of my bass like that.

Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out of a bass and creativeness? > Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and > not the stuff you don’t.

Don’t be to tolerant, though. That tendency to play in B when it should have been C can be quite annoying. Work on your good AND your bad sides. > Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.

Good advice, and it’s fun. Also, try new things to do with techniques you already know; like playing fingerstyle at different positions to get different sounds etc. Learning to play, say, walking bass lines if you don’t used it before also helps me. > If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique > or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of > time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come > back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I > think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but > it might be just me.

Try both ways, and find out what works best for you. – Kjetil Aavik

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: Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a : distinct style. Of course it doesn’t… but you have to admit that in most settings you’d be playing with people who want to hear something more or less traditional coming from your amp.  In that sort of environment, you can certainly come up with your own unique spin on more-or-less traditional playing, but playing very unconventionally will be discouraged.   Sometimes, this is good.  Sometimes, strange is just BAD, and musically useless.  However, sometimes what is strange and useless can be developed into something which is, well, really SOMETHING… but will this happen if it is rejected early because it hasn’t developed enough?  If I had played a great deal with other people early on, I doubt I would have developed along the rather unconventional path that I did; it would have been discouraged.  And as far as "sneaking in" your style goes, there are some things which you simply can’t sneak in.  Say your style depended on having the bass as a dominating force in the band.  Les Claypool couldn’t sneak his style in (not that that’s my style)… incidentally, didn’t he try out for Metallica (after Burton died) and get rejected? Admittedly, as I said before, it might not not be good to be too unique, depending on your point of view.  I’d have a hard time finding some existing group which would want what I play as part of their music, so I’m essentially forced to at least co-found any group I might be in.  I’ll never be a session bassist, but I don’t care.  A guitarist I know here at Washington University told me I should be going to Berklee or some similar place instead because I "have tons of talent and technical ability, and if you go there, you’ll get a job [in music] when you get out." I told him, "Yeah, I’d get job playing NORMAL bass somewhere.  I’d rather not play at all."  This is why I said it depends on your point of view.   I certainly think playing with a lot of other people will teach anybody to play more skillfully, but perhaps not quite as uniquely. : Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream : and boring you’ll puke. : Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the : stuff I know, don’t know, My comment regarding this was not centered around whether or not the audience liked the style, but whether or not the audience respected the skill.  I was saying that you can’t be worrying about whether or not people listening to you think you are any good, not that you can’t worry about what people think of your style (though I would, of course, agree with that, too, to an extent). : > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You : > know, push it to the extent of my abilities. : Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your : guts out  but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from : the music. : > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the : > hell out of my bass like that. : Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out : of a bass and creativeness? I was talking about pushing oneself, not about pushing the limits of bass-playing-as-we-know-it.  If one’s not able to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" yet, then it certainly doesn’t make sense to try ripping out a killer solo.  I was saying that if one holds ONESELF back when one is playing, one will not progress much.  If you can’t play "Twinkle, Twinkle," but you CAN play "Three Blind Mice" perfectly, don’t keep playing "Three Blind Mice" in order to avoid screwing up.  Go ahead and thrash away as best you can, and you’ll learn from the mistakes. This might seem pretty self-evident, but I thought it was worth saying, because, at times, I’ve found myself holding back… maybe because someone might be listening and I didn’t want to sound bad. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without taking lessons from a teacher? Thanks in advance, Robbert.

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I’d say buy some basic books and play a lot with recordings of music you like.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without >taking lessons from a teacher? >Thanks in advance, >Robbert.

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I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. Thanks in advance

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: I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. : Thanks in advance Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. Later, —     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett    /__ ) /  / /    /_/  /_    /     Hughes Information Tech. Corp.   /___) /__/ /___ /   /__   /      16800 E. Centretech Pkwy                                     Aurora, CO 80011

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> I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

Play songs that you don’t normally like or listen to. You’ll get some ideas from examining different perspectives on music. You’ll be amazed what some of the various styles of music have to offer. If they have them in your area, go to open jam sessions. The most popular types (around here, anyway) seem to be blues, country and bluegrass. Jumping on stage with people you’ve never met and playing songs you’ve never heard, or even songs you know that they’re doing in some off-the-wall key will sharpen you up pretty quick. Hope that helps, Dewayne "What key are we in?" Henson

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Hmmm…. I jsut started on bass last June. My first few times playing it wasn’t a nice experience cos my fingers became swollen for a few days. But the more I played it, the better it got for me. I used old tabs from magazines to play and practice on, which really really helped me read better on bass notes. I also used old piano sheets by playing the bass part. I suggest playing easy music  sheet so you can improvise better… it worked for me. Also, it would help to play scales or random notes just to get the fingers moving. I only know one blues scale, and I haven’t played that in a while. I have short fingers, so if yours are long, it prolly won’t be any difference. I once heard those with long fingers should be good on the piano. I don’t believe that anymore. But yes, long fingers would be an advantage to most people. =( -missW-

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 Ian <Ian> writes: >I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be >IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting >rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. >But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find >teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have >very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass >but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe >someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and >generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. >Thanks in advance

My experience has been that nothing can substitute for playing with people. There’s more going on than just plucking notes. Use your ears. Listen to what is going on as far as interaction between you and the other musicians. It takes time just like anything else, but if you truly love it like you say you do then time means nothing. (Except in beats per minute!)

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > : I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > : Thanks in advance > Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down > with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give > you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very > BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, > play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are > willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. > Later, > — >     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett

Kevin is right. The best way is get with other muscians. Another thing to practice alone is arpeggios and scales in keys you are weak in. And remember to have fun. Dwight McCartney

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> > I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

probably the greatest help to my playing was being in a band that did originals.  playing other people’s stuff is cool to start out with and to get a basic idea of technique, but i found that writing my own lines was about 1000 times better than that as an educational experience… plus, it’s easier to concentrate on improving your style if you know exactly what every note is… i’ve found that in the year or so since the demise of my band my playing has become a whole lot smoother, and i notice it mostly on the basslines which i wrote myself… hope that helps at all… Sarah "some world-views are spacious, and some are merely spaced…"

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I would say that jamming with other people might actually hold you back. First of all, doing so early-on might push you into a more traditional style of playing.  I’ve done very little playing with other people and have developed a very unique style because of it.  Up until recently, I was simply not good enough at playing this way to play successfully with other people in that style.  So, I think, had I been playing a lot with other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of development.  This might not be a bad thing, depending on your point of view, but it’s something to keep in mind. Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well.   Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way. If you don’t have confidence in your abilities (which is probably the case when you’re starting out, and rightly so) or if you are too concerned with embarrassing yourself, you’re probably not going to get much out of jamming with lots of other people.  I’d suggest just a few friends until you get some confidence. I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You know, push it to the extent of my abilities.  I make mistakes in doing this, of course, but those lead to improvement.  However, they make me less likely to do this when trying to sound good in front of other people. It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the hell out of my bass like that.  I tend to get into what I’m playing and improvise much better.  It’s tough to describe, but the result is that I improve not only technically, but compositionally as well.  If I’m holding anything back, or playing too deliberately, the stuff I come up with seems stagnant. As far a other suggestions go to get yourself out of a rut… Listening to new music seems to help me, even if it’s not bass-oriented stuff.  It doesn’t need to have Flea or whoever… it can still teach me about good music, if not mind-blowing bass.  Pay attention to the things you like about music you find yourself listening to, and then try incorporating those things into your own music.  You might even find some interesting stuff in music which is otherwise just crap, but I, of course, wouldn’t recommend listening to crap first if you’re trying to improve yourself. Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and not the stuff you don’t.  If you congratulate yourself for good playing, the bad stuff will eventually just work its way out of your system.  In some cases, it might be good to focus on some problem you have in order to get rid of it, but I think it’s better overall to concentrate on your successes. Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.  Try learning how to pick if you play fingerstyle.  Or try learning to slap.  Or try screwing around with effects pedals if you have them.  Putting down what you normally do for a little while can help. If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but it might be just me. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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> I’ve done very little playing with other people and > have developed a very unique style because of it.

So have I. And most other bass players who plays something apart from root. > So, I think, had I been playing a lot with > other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of > development.

So now your style is so unique that you don’t have to limit yourself? Wow. Or does everybody you play with have to limit themselves so that *you* can play exactly what you want? Are you the bass-version of Steve Vai? (No offense, Steve.) Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a distinct style. You have to limit yourself in a band/orchestral setting anyway, so it is, in my opinion, better to start at both ends: Start developing that unique style of yours at home. In a rehersal/jam setting; start by limiting yourself and find ways to "sneak" your style in without pissing the rest of the band off. This way, you get more experience in playing with others (No matter how extraordinary your style is, I don’t think you’ll EVER get around locking in with the drummer) while you develop a style that is unique to you. Besides, if you’re ever thinking about freelancing, people that want to hire a bass player doesn’t usually look for someone to change their whole sound and style. You’ll have to be able to play meat-and-potatoes bass too. (Meat-&-potatoes bass, does anyone know where the hell that expression came from?) > Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are > thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more > importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well. > Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way.

Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream and boring you’ll puke. Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the stuff I know, don’t know, and ideas I have? Do I sound like a fucking grade school teacher? How do they get the ink into the pen? > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You > know, push it to the extent of my abilities.

Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your guts out, but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from the music. > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the > hell out of my bass like that.

Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out of a bass and creativeness? > Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and > not the stuff you don’t.

Don’t be to tolerant, though. That tendency to play in B when it should have been C can be quite annoying. Work on your good AND your bad sides. > Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.

Good advice, and it’s fun. Also, try new things to do with techniques you already know; like playing fingerstyle at different positions to get different sounds etc. Learning to play, say, walking bass lines if you don’t used it before also helps me. > If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique > or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of > time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come > back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I > think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but > it might be just me.

Try both ways, and find out what works best for you. – Kjetil Aavik

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: Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a : distinct style. Of course it doesn’t… but you have to admit that in most settings you’d be playing with people who want to hear something more or less traditional coming from your amp.  In that sort of environment, you can certainly come up with your own unique spin on more-or-less traditional playing, but playing very unconventionally will be discouraged.   Sometimes, this is good.  Sometimes, strange is just BAD, and musically useless.  However, sometimes what is strange and useless can be developed into something which is, well, really SOMETHING… but will this happen if it is rejected early because it hasn’t developed enough?  If I had played a great deal with other people early on, I doubt I would have developed along the rather unconventional path that I did; it would have been discouraged.  And as far as "sneaking in" your style goes, there are some things which you simply can’t sneak in.  Say your style depended on having the bass as a dominating force in the band.  Les Claypool couldn’t sneak his style in (not that that’s my style)… incidentally, didn’t he try out for Metallica (after Burton died) and get rejected? Admittedly, as I said before, it might not not be good to be too unique, depending on your point of view.  I’d have a hard time finding some existing group which would want what I play as part of their music, so I’m essentially forced to at least co-found any group I might be in.  I’ll never be a session bassist, but I don’t care.  A guitarist I know here at Washington University told me I should be going to Berklee or some similar place instead because I "have tons of talent and technical ability, and if you go there, you’ll get a job [in music] when you get out." I told him, "Yeah, I’d get job playing NORMAL bass somewhere.  I’d rather not play at all."  This is why I said it depends on your point of view.   I certainly think playing with a lot of other people will teach anybody to play more skillfully, but perhaps not quite as uniquely. : Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream : and boring you’ll puke. : Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the : stuff I know, don’t know, My comment regarding this was not centered around whether or not the audience liked the style, but whether or not the audience respected the skill.  I was saying that you can’t be worrying about whether or not people listening to you think you are any good, not that you can’t worry about what people think of your style (though I would, of course, agree with that, too, to an extent). : > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You : > know, push it to the extent of my abilities. : Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your : guts out  but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from : the music. : > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the : > hell out of my bass like that. : Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out : of a bass and creativeness? I was talking about pushing oneself, not about pushing the limits of bass-playing-as-we-know-it.  If one’s not able to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" yet, then it certainly doesn’t make sense to try ripping out a killer solo.  I was saying that if one holds ONESELF back when one is playing, one will not progress much.  If you can’t play "Twinkle, Twinkle," but you CAN play "Three Blind Mice" perfectly, don’t keep playing "Three Blind Mice" in order to avoid screwing up.  Go ahead and thrash away as best you can, and you’ll learn from the mistakes. This might seem pretty self-evident, but I thought it was worth saying, because, at times, I’ve found myself holding back… maybe because someone might be listening and I didn’t want to sound bad. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

Response:

Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without taking lessons from a teacher? Thanks in advance, Robbert.

Response:

I’d say buy some basic books and play a lot with recordings of music you like.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without >taking lessons from a teacher? >Thanks in advance, >Robbert.

Response:

I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. Thanks in advance

Response:

: I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. : Thanks in advance Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. Later, —     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett    /__ ) /  / /    /_/  /_    /     Hughes Information Tech. Corp.   /___) /__/ /___ /   /__   /      16800 E. Centretech Pkwy                                     Aurora, CO 80011

Response:

> I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

Play songs that you don’t normally like or listen to. You’ll get some ideas from examining different perspectives on music. You’ll be amazed what some of the various styles of music have to offer. If they have them in your area, go to open jam sessions. The most popular types (around here, anyway) seem to be blues, country and bluegrass. Jumping on stage with people you’ve never met and playing songs you’ve never heard, or even songs you know that they’re doing in some off-the-wall key will sharpen you up pretty quick. Hope that helps, Dewayne "What key are we in?" Henson

Response:

Hmmm…. I jsut started on bass last June. My first few times playing it wasn’t a nice experience cos my fingers became swollen for a few days. But the more I played it, the better it got for me. I used old tabs from magazines to play and practice on, which really really helped me read better on bass notes. I also used old piano sheets by playing the bass part. I suggest playing easy music  sheet so you can improvise better… it worked for me. Also, it would help to play scales or random notes just to get the fingers moving. I only know one blues scale, and I haven’t played that in a while. I have short fingers, so if yours are long, it prolly won’t be any difference. I once heard those with long fingers should be good on the piano. I don’t believe that anymore. But yes, long fingers would be an advantage to most people. =( -missW-

Response:

 Ian <Ian> writes: >I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be >IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting >rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. >But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find >teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have >very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass >but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe >someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and >generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. >Thanks in advance

My experience has been that nothing can substitute for playing with people. There’s more going on than just plucking notes. Use your ears. Listen to what is going on as far as interaction between you and the other musicians. It takes time just like anything else, but if you truly love it like you say you do then time means nothing. (Except in beats per minute!)

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > : I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > : Thanks in advance > Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down > with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give > you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very > BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, > play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are > willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. > Later, > — >     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett

Kevin is right. The best way is get with other muscians. Another thing to practice alone is arpeggios and scales in keys you are weak in. And remember to have fun. Dwight McCartney

Response:

> > I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

probably the greatest help to my playing was being in a band that did originals.  playing other people’s stuff is cool to start out with and to get a basic idea of technique, but i found that writing my own lines was about 1000 times better than that as an educational experience… plus, it’s easier to concentrate on improving your style if you know exactly what every note is… i’ve found that in the year or so since the demise of my band my playing has become a whole lot smoother, and i notice it mostly on the basslines which i wrote myself… hope that helps at all… Sarah "some world-views are spacious, and some are merely spaced…"

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I would say that jamming with other people might actually hold you back. First of all, doing so early-on might push you into a more traditional style of playing.  I’ve done very little playing with other people and have developed a very unique style because of it.  Up until recently, I was simply not good enough at playing this way to play successfully with other people in that style.  So, I think, had I been playing a lot with other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of development.  This might not be a bad thing, depending on your point of view, but it’s something to keep in mind. Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well.   Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way. If you don’t have confidence in your abilities (which is probably the case when you’re starting out, and rightly so) or if you are too concerned with embarrassing yourself, you’re probably not going to get much out of jamming with lots of other people.  I’d suggest just a few friends until you get some confidence. I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You know, push it to the extent of my abilities.  I make mistakes in doing this, of course, but those lead to improvement.  However, they make me less likely to do this when trying to sound good in front of other people. It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the hell out of my bass like that.  I tend to get into what I’m playing and improvise much better.  It’s tough to describe, but the result is that I improve not only technically, but compositionally as well.  If I’m holding anything back, or playing too deliberately, the stuff I come up with seems stagnant. As far a other suggestions go to get yourself out of a rut… Listening to new music seems to help me, even if it’s not bass-oriented stuff.  It doesn’t need to have Flea or whoever… it can still teach me about good music, if not mind-blowing bass.  Pay attention to the things you like about music you find yourself listening to, and then try incorporating those things into your own music.  You might even find some interesting stuff in music which is otherwise just crap, but I, of course, wouldn’t recommend listening to crap first if you’re trying to improve yourself. Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and not the stuff you don’t.  If you congratulate yourself for good playing, the bad stuff will eventually just work its way out of your system.  In some cases, it might be good to focus on some problem you have in order to get rid of it, but I think it’s better overall to concentrate on your successes. Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.  Try learning how to pick if you play fingerstyle.  Or try learning to slap.  Or try screwing around with effects pedals if you have them.  Putting down what you normally do for a little while can help. If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but it might be just me. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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> I’ve done very little playing with other people and > have developed a very unique style because of it.

So have I. And most other bass players who plays something apart from root. > So, I think, had I been playing a lot with > other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of > development.

So now your style is so unique that you don’t have to limit yourself? Wow. Or does everybody you play with have to limit themselves so that *you* can play exactly what you want? Are you the bass-version of Steve Vai? (No offense, Steve.) Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a distinct style. You have to limit yourself in a band/orchestral setting anyway, so it is, in my opinion, better to start at both ends: Start developing that unique style of yours at home. In a rehersal/jam setting; start by limiting yourself and find ways to "sneak" your style in without pissing the rest of the band off. This way, you get more experience in playing with others (No matter how extraordinary your style is, I don’t think you’ll EVER get around locking in with the drummer) while you develop a style that is unique to you. Besides, if you’re ever thinking about freelancing, people that want to hire a bass player doesn’t usually look for someone to change their whole sound and style. You’ll have to be able to play meat-and-potatoes bass too. (Meat-&-potatoes bass, does anyone know where the hell that expression came from?) > Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are > thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more > importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well. > Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way.

Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream and boring you’ll puke. Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the stuff I know, don’t know, and ideas I have? Do I sound like a fucking grade school teacher? How do they get the ink into the pen? > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You > know, push it to the extent of my abilities.

Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your guts out, but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from the music. > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the > hell out of my bass like that.

Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out of a bass and creativeness? > Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and > not the stuff you don’t.

Don’t be to tolerant, though. That tendency to play in B when it should have been C can be quite annoying. Work on your good AND your bad sides. > Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.

Good advice, and it’s fun. Also, try new things to do with techniques you already know; like playing fingerstyle at different positions to get different sounds etc. Learning to play, say, walking bass lines if you don’t used it before also helps me. > If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique > or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of > time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come > back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I > think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but > it might be just me.

Try both ways, and find out what works best for you. – Kjetil Aavik

Response:

: Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a : distinct style. Of course it doesn’t… but you have to admit that in most settings you’d be playing with people who want to hear something more or less traditional coming from your amp.  In that sort of environment, you can certainly come up with your own unique spin on more-or-less traditional playing, but playing very unconventionally will be discouraged.   Sometimes, this is good.  Sometimes, strange is just BAD, and musically useless.  However, sometimes what is strange and useless can be developed into something which is, well, really SOMETHING… but will this happen if it is rejected early because it hasn’t developed enough?  If I had played a great deal with other people early on, I doubt I would have developed along the rather unconventional path that I did; it would have been discouraged.  And as far as "sneaking in" your style goes, there are some things which you simply can’t sneak in.  Say your style depended on having the bass as a dominating force in the band.  Les Claypool couldn’t sneak his style in (not that that’s my style)… incidentally, didn’t he try out for Metallica (after Burton died) and get rejected? Admittedly, as I said before, it might not not be good to be too unique, depending on your point of view.  I’d have a hard time finding some existing group which would want what I play as part of their music, so I’m essentially forced to at least co-found any group I might be in.  I’ll never be a session bassist, but I don’t care.  A guitarist I know here at Washington University told me I should be going to Berklee or some similar place instead because I "have tons of talent and technical ability, and if you go there, you’ll get a job [in music] when you get out." I told him, "Yeah, I’d get job playing NORMAL bass somewhere.  I’d rather not play at all."  This is why I said it depends on your point of view.   I certainly think playing with a lot of other people will teach anybody to play more skillfully, but perhaps not quite as uniquely. : Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream : and boring you’ll puke. : Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the : stuff I know, don’t know, My comment regarding this was not centered around whether or not the audience liked the style, but whether or not the audience respected the skill.  I was saying that you can’t be worrying about whether or not people listening to you think you are any good, not that you can’t worry about what people think of your style (though I would, of course, agree with that, too, to an extent). : > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You : > know, push it to the extent of my abilities. : Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your : guts out  but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from : the music. : > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the : > hell out of my bass like that. : Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out : of a bass and creativeness? I was talking about pushing oneself, not about pushing the limits of bass-playing-as-we-know-it.  If one’s not able to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" yet, then it certainly doesn’t make sense to try ripping out a killer solo.  I was saying that if one holds ONESELF back when one is playing, one will not progress much.  If you can’t play "Twinkle, Twinkle," but you CAN play "Three Blind Mice" perfectly, don’t keep playing "Three Blind Mice" in order to avoid screwing up.  Go ahead and thrash away as best you can, and you’ll learn from the mistakes. This might seem pretty self-evident, but I thought it was worth saying, because, at times, I’ve found myself holding back… maybe because someone might be listening and I didn’t want to sound bad. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

Response:

Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without taking lessons from a teacher? Thanks in advance, Robbert.

Response:

I’d say buy some basic books and play a lot with recordings of music you like.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without >taking lessons from a teacher? >Thanks in advance, >Robbert.

Response:

I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. Thanks in advance

Response:

: I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. : Thanks in advance Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. Later, —     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett    /__ ) /  / /    /_/  /_    /     Hughes Information Tech. Corp.   /___) /__/ /___ /   /__   /      16800 E. Centretech Pkwy                                     Aurora, CO 80011

Response:

> I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

Play songs that you don’t normally like or listen to. You’ll get some ideas from examining different perspectives on music. You’ll be amazed what some of the various styles of music have to offer. If they have them in your area, go to open jam sessions. The most popular types (around here, anyway) seem to be blues, country and bluegrass. Jumping on stage with people you’ve never met and playing songs you’ve never heard, or even songs you know that they’re doing in some off-the-wall key will sharpen you up pretty quick. Hope that helps, Dewayne "What key are we in?" Henson

Response:

Hmmm…. I jsut started on bass last June. My first few times playing it wasn’t a nice experience cos my fingers became swollen for a few days. But the more I played it, the better it got for me. I used old tabs from magazines to play and practice on, which really really helped me read better on bass notes. I also used old piano sheets by playing the bass part. I suggest playing easy music  sheet so you can improvise better… it worked for me. Also, it would help to play scales or random notes just to get the fingers moving. I only know one blues scale, and I haven’t played that in a while. I have short fingers, so if yours are long, it prolly won’t be any difference. I once heard those with long fingers should be good on the piano. I don’t believe that anymore. But yes, long fingers would be an advantage to most people. =( -missW-

Response:

 Ian <Ian> writes: >I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be >IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting >rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. >But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find >teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have >very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass >but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe >someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and >generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. >Thanks in advance

My experience has been that nothing can substitute for playing with people. There’s more going on than just plucking notes. Use your ears. Listen to what is going on as far as interaction between you and the other musicians. It takes time just like anything else, but if you truly love it like you say you do then time means nothing. (Except in beats per minute!)

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > : I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > : Thanks in advance > Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down > with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give > you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very > BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, > play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are > willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. > Later, > — >     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett

Kevin is right. The best way is get with other muscians. Another thing to practice alone is arpeggios and scales in keys you are weak in. And remember to have fun. Dwight McCartney

Response:

> > I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

probably the greatest help to my playing was being in a band that did originals.  playing other people’s stuff is cool to start out with and to get a basic idea of technique, but i found that writing my own lines was about 1000 times better than that as an educational experience… plus, it’s easier to concentrate on improving your style if you know exactly what every note is… i’ve found that in the year or so since the demise of my band my playing has become a whole lot smoother, and i notice it mostly on the basslines which i wrote myself… hope that helps at all… Sarah "some world-views are spacious, and some are merely spaced…"

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I would say that jamming with other people might actually hold you back. First of all, doing so early-on might push you into a more traditional style of playing.  I’ve done very little playing with other people and have developed a very unique style because of it.  Up until recently, I was simply not good enough at playing this way to play successfully with other people in that style.  So, I think, had I been playing a lot with other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of development.  This might not be a bad thing, depending on your point of view, but it’s something to keep in mind. Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well.   Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way. If you don’t have confidence in your abilities (which is probably the case when you’re starting out, and rightly so) or if you are too concerned with embarrassing yourself, you’re probably not going to get much out of jamming with lots of other people.  I’d suggest just a few friends until you get some confidence. I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You know, push it to the extent of my abilities.  I make mistakes in doing this, of course, but those lead to improvement.  However, they make me less likely to do this when trying to sound good in front of other people. It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the hell out of my bass like that.  I tend to get into what I’m playing and improvise much better.  It’s tough to describe, but the result is that I improve not only technically, but compositionally as well.  If I’m holding anything back, or playing too deliberately, the stuff I come up with seems stagnant. As far a other suggestions go to get yourself out of a rut… Listening to new music seems to help me, even if it’s not bass-oriented stuff.  It doesn’t need to have Flea or whoever… it can still teach me about good music, if not mind-blowing bass.  Pay attention to the things you like about music you find yourself listening to, and then try incorporating those things into your own music.  You might even find some interesting stuff in music which is otherwise just crap, but I, of course, wouldn’t recommend listening to crap first if you’re trying to improve yourself. Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and not the stuff you don’t.  If you congratulate yourself for good playing, the bad stuff will eventually just work its way out of your system.  In some cases, it might be good to focus on some problem you have in order to get rid of it, but I think it’s better overall to concentrate on your successes. Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.  Try learning how to pick if you play fingerstyle.  Or try learning to slap.  Or try screwing around with effects pedals if you have them.  Putting down what you normally do for a little while can help. If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but it might be just me. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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> I’ve done very little playing with other people and > have developed a very unique style because of it.

So have I. And most other bass players who plays something apart from root. > So, I think, had I been playing a lot with > other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of > development.

So now your style is so unique that you don’t have to limit yourself? Wow. Or does everybody you play with have to limit themselves so that *you* can play exactly what you want? Are you the bass-version of Steve Vai? (No offense, Steve.) Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a distinct style. You have to limit yourself in a band/orchestral setting anyway, so it is, in my opinion, better to start at both ends: Start developing that unique style of yours at home. In a rehersal/jam setting; start by limiting yourself and find ways to "sneak" your style in without pissing the rest of the band off. This way, you get more experience in playing with others (No matter how extraordinary your style is, I don’t think you’ll EVER get around locking in with the drummer) while you develop a style that is unique to you. Besides, if you’re ever thinking about freelancing, people that want to hire a bass player doesn’t usually look for someone to change their whole sound and style. You’ll have to be able to play meat-and-potatoes bass too. (Meat-&-potatoes bass, does anyone know where the hell that expression came from?) > Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are > thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more > importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well. > Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way.

Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream and boring you’ll puke. Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the stuff I know, don’t know, and ideas I have? Do I sound like a fucking grade school teacher? How do they get the ink into the pen? > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You > know, push it to the extent of my abilities.

Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your guts out, but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from the music. > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the > hell out of my bass like that.

Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out of a bass and creativeness? > Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and > not the stuff you don’t.

Don’t be to tolerant, though. That tendency to play in B when it should have been C can be quite annoying. Work on your good AND your bad sides. > Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.

Good advice, and it’s fun. Also, try new things to do with techniques you already know; like playing fingerstyle at different positions to get different sounds etc. Learning to play, say, walking bass lines if you don’t used it before also helps me. > If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique > or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of > time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come > back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I > think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but > it might be just me.

Try both ways, and find out what works best for you. – Kjetil Aavik

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: Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a : distinct style. Of course it doesn’t… but you have to admit that in most settings you’d be playing with people who want to hear something more or less traditional coming from your amp.  In that sort of environment, you can certainly come up with your own unique spin on more-or-less traditional playing, but playing very unconventionally will be discouraged.   Sometimes, this is good.  Sometimes, strange is just BAD, and musically useless.  However, sometimes what is strange and useless can be developed into something which is, well, really SOMETHING… but will this happen if it is rejected early because it hasn’t developed enough?  If I had played a great deal with other people early on, I doubt I would have developed along the rather unconventional path that I did; it would have been discouraged.  And as far as "sneaking in" your style goes, there are some things which you simply can’t sneak in.  Say your style depended on having the bass as a dominating force in the band.  Les Claypool couldn’t sneak his style in (not that that’s my style)… incidentally, didn’t he try out for Metallica (after Burton died) and get rejected? Admittedly, as I said before, it might not not be good to be too unique, depending on your point of view.  I’d have a hard time finding some existing group which would want what I play as part of their music, so I’m essentially forced to at least co-found any group I might be in.  I’ll never be a session bassist, but I don’t care.  A guitarist I know here at Washington University told me I should be going to Berklee or some similar place instead because I "have tons of talent and technical ability, and if you go there, you’ll get a job [in music] when you get out." I told him, "Yeah, I’d get job playing NORMAL bass somewhere.  I’d rather not play at all."  This is why I said it depends on your point of view.   I certainly think playing with a lot of other people will teach anybody to play more skillfully, but perhaps not quite as uniquely. : Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream : and boring you’ll puke. : Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the : stuff I know, don’t know, My comment regarding this was not centered around whether or not the audience liked the style, but whether or not the audience respected the skill.  I was saying that you can’t be worrying about whether or not people listening to you think you are any good, not that you can’t worry about what people think of your style (though I would, of course, agree with that, too, to an extent). : > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You : > know, push it to the extent of my abilities. : Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your : guts out  but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from : the music. : > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the : > hell out of my bass like that. : Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out : of a bass and creativeness? I was talking about pushing oneself, not about pushing the limits of bass-playing-as-we-know-it.  If one’s not able to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" yet, then it certainly doesn’t make sense to try ripping out a killer solo.  I was saying that if one holds ONESELF back when one is playing, one will not progress much.  If you can’t play "Twinkle, Twinkle," but you CAN play "Three Blind Mice" perfectly, don’t keep playing "Three Blind Mice" in order to avoid screwing up.  Go ahead and thrash away as best you can, and you’ll learn from the mistakes. This might seem pretty self-evident, but I thought it was worth saying, because, at times, I’ve found myself holding back… maybe because someone might be listening and I didn’t want to sound bad. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without taking lessons from a teacher? Thanks in advance, Robbert.

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I’d say buy some basic books and play a lot with recordings of music you like.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without >taking lessons from a teacher? >Thanks in advance, >Robbert.

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I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. Thanks in advance

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: I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. : Thanks in advance Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. Later, —     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett    /__ ) /  / /    /_/  /_    /     Hughes Information Tech. Corp.   /___) /__/ /___ /   /__   /      16800 E. Centretech Pkwy                                     Aurora, CO 80011

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> I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

Play songs that you don’t normally like or listen to. You’ll get some ideas from examining different perspectives on music. You’ll be amazed what some of the various styles of music have to offer. If they have them in your area, go to open jam sessions. The most popular types (around here, anyway) seem to be blues, country and bluegrass. Jumping on stage with people you’ve never met and playing songs you’ve never heard, or even songs you know that they’re doing in some off-the-wall key will sharpen you up pretty quick. Hope that helps, Dewayne "What key are we in?" Henson

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Hmmm…. I jsut started on bass last June. My first few times playing it wasn’t a nice experience cos my fingers became swollen for a few days. But the more I played it, the better it got for me. I used old tabs from magazines to play and practice on, which really really helped me read better on bass notes. I also used old piano sheets by playing the bass part. I suggest playing easy music  sheet so you can improvise better… it worked for me. Also, it would help to play scales or random notes just to get the fingers moving. I only know one blues scale, and I haven’t played that in a while. I have short fingers, so if yours are long, it prolly won’t be any difference. I once heard those with long fingers should be good on the piano. I don’t believe that anymore. But yes, long fingers would be an advantage to most people. =( -missW-

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 Ian <Ian> writes: >I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be >IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting >rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. >But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find >teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have >very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass >but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe >someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and >generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. >Thanks in advance

My experience has been that nothing can substitute for playing with people. There’s more going on than just plucking notes. Use your ears. Listen to what is going on as far as interaction between you and the other musicians. It takes time just like anything else, but if you truly love it like you say you do then time means nothing. (Except in beats per minute!)

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > : I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > : Thanks in advance > Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down > with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give > you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very > BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, > play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are > willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. > Later, > — >     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett

Kevin is right. The best way is get with other muscians. Another thing to practice alone is arpeggios and scales in keys you are weak in. And remember to have fun. Dwight McCartney

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> > I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

probably the greatest help to my playing was being in a band that did originals.  playing other people’s stuff is cool to start out with and to get a basic idea of technique, but i found that writing my own lines was about 1000 times better than that as an educational experience… plus, it’s easier to concentrate on improving your style if you know exactly what every note is… i’ve found that in the year or so since the demise of my band my playing has become a whole lot smoother, and i notice it mostly on the basslines which i wrote myself… hope that helps at all… Sarah "some world-views are spacious, and some are merely spaced…"

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I would say that jamming with other people might actually hold you back. First of all, doing so early-on might push you into a more traditional style of playing.  I’ve done very little playing with other people and have developed a very unique style because of it.  Up until recently, I was simply not good enough at playing this way to play successfully with other people in that style.  So, I think, had I been playing a lot with other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of development.  This might not be a bad thing, depending on your point of view, but it’s something to keep in mind. Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well.   Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way. If you don’t have confidence in your abilities (which is probably the case when you’re starting out, and rightly so) or if you are too concerned with embarrassing yourself, you’re probably not going to get much out of jamming with lots of other people.  I’d suggest just a few friends until you get some confidence. I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You know, push it to the extent of my abilities.  I make mistakes in doing this, of course, but those lead to improvement.  However, they make me less likely to do this when trying to sound good in front of other people. It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the hell out of my bass like that.  I tend to get into what I’m playing and improvise much better.  It’s tough to describe, but the result is that I improve not only technically, but compositionally as well.  If I’m holding anything back, or playing too deliberately, the stuff I come up with seems stagnant. As far a other suggestions go to get yourself out of a rut… Listening to new music seems to help me, even if it’s not bass-oriented stuff.  It doesn’t need to have Flea or whoever… it can still teach me about good music, if not mind-blowing bass.  Pay attention to the things you like about music you find yourself listening to, and then try incorporating those things into your own music.  You might even find some interesting stuff in music which is otherwise just crap, but I, of course, wouldn’t recommend listening to crap first if you’re trying to improve yourself. Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and not the stuff you don’t.  If you congratulate yourself for good playing, the bad stuff will eventually just work its way out of your system.  In some cases, it might be good to focus on some problem you have in order to get rid of it, but I think it’s better overall to concentrate on your successes. Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.  Try learning how to pick if you play fingerstyle.  Or try learning to slap.  Or try screwing around with effects pedals if you have them.  Putting down what you normally do for a little while can help. If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but it might be just me. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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> I’ve done very little playing with other people and > have developed a very unique style because of it.

So have I. And most other bass players who plays something apart from root. > So, I think, had I been playing a lot with > other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of > development.

So now your style is so unique that you don’t have to limit yourself? Wow. Or does everybody you play with have to limit themselves so that *you* can play exactly what you want? Are you the bass-version of Steve Vai? (No offense, Steve.) Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a distinct style. You have to limit yourself in a band/orchestral setting anyway, so it is, in my opinion, better to start at both ends: Start developing that unique style of yours at home. In a rehersal/jam setting; start by limiting yourself and find ways to "sneak" your style in without pissing the rest of the band off. This way, you get more experience in playing with others (No matter how extraordinary your style is, I don’t think you’ll EVER get around locking in with the drummer) while you develop a style that is unique to you. Besides, if you’re ever thinking about freelancing, people that want to hire a bass player doesn’t usually look for someone to change their whole sound and style. You’ll have to be able to play meat-and-potatoes bass too. (Meat-&-potatoes bass, does anyone know where the hell that expression came from?) > Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are > thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more > importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well. > Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way.

Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream and boring you’ll puke. Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the stuff I know, don’t know, and ideas I have? Do I sound like a fucking grade school teacher? How do they get the ink into the pen? > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You > know, push it to the extent of my abilities.

Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your guts out, but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from the music. > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the > hell out of my bass like that.

Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out of a bass and creativeness? > Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and > not the stuff you don’t.

Don’t be to tolerant, though. That tendency to play in B when it should have been C can be quite annoying. Work on your good AND your bad sides. > Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.

Good advice, and it’s fun. Also, try new things to do with techniques you already know; like playing fingerstyle at different positions to get different sounds etc. Learning to play, say, walking bass lines if you don’t used it before also helps me. > If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique > or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of > time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come > back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I > think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but > it might be just me.

Try both ways, and find out what works best for you. – Kjetil Aavik

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: Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a : distinct style. Of course it doesn’t… but you have to admit that in most settings you’d be playing with people who want to hear something more or less traditional coming from your amp.  In that sort of environment, you can certainly come up with your own unique spin on more-or-less traditional playing, but playing very unconventionally will be discouraged.   Sometimes, this is good.  Sometimes, strange is just BAD, and musically useless.  However, sometimes what is strange and useless can be developed into something which is, well, really SOMETHING… but will this happen if it is rejected early because it hasn’t developed enough?  If I had played a great deal with other people early on, I doubt I would have developed along the rather unconventional path that I did; it would have been discouraged.  And as far as "sneaking in" your style goes, there are some things which you simply can’t sneak in.  Say your style depended on having the bass as a dominating force in the band.  Les Claypool couldn’t sneak his style in (not that that’s my style)… incidentally, didn’t he try out for Metallica (after Burton died) and get rejected? Admittedly, as I said before, it might not not be good to be too unique, depending on your point of view.  I’d have a hard time finding some existing group which would want what I play as part of their music, so I’m essentially forced to at least co-found any group I might be in.  I’ll never be a session bassist, but I don’t care.  A guitarist I know here at Washington University told me I should be going to Berklee or some similar place instead because I "have tons of talent and technical ability, and if you go there, you’ll get a job [in music] when you get out." I told him, "Yeah, I’d get job playing NORMAL bass somewhere.  I’d rather not play at all."  This is why I said it depends on your point of view.   I certainly think playing with a lot of other people will teach anybody to play more skillfully, but perhaps not quite as uniquely. : Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream : and boring you’ll puke. : Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the : stuff I know, don’t know, My comment regarding this was not centered around whether or not the audience liked the style, but whether or not the audience respected the skill.  I was saying that you can’t be worrying about whether or not people listening to you think you are any good, not that you can’t worry about what people think of your style (though I would, of course, agree with that, too, to an extent). : > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You : > know, push it to the extent of my abilities. : Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your : guts out  but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from : the music. : > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the : > hell out of my bass like that. : Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out : of a bass and creativeness? I was talking about pushing oneself, not about pushing the limits of bass-playing-as-we-know-it.  If one’s not able to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" yet, then it certainly doesn’t make sense to try ripping out a killer solo.  I was saying that if one holds ONESELF back when one is playing, one will not progress much.  If you can’t play "Twinkle, Twinkle," but you CAN play "Three Blind Mice" perfectly, don’t keep playing "Three Blind Mice" in order to avoid screwing up.  Go ahead and thrash away as best you can, and you’ll learn from the mistakes. This might seem pretty self-evident, but I thought it was worth saying, because, at times, I’ve found myself holding back… maybe because someone might be listening and I didn’t want to sound bad. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without taking lessons from a teacher? Thanks in advance, Robbert.

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I’d say buy some basic books and play a lot with recordings of music you like.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without >taking lessons from a teacher? >Thanks in advance, >Robbert.

Response:

I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. Thanks in advance

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: I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. : Thanks in advance Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. Later, —     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett    /__ ) /  / /    /_/  /_    /     Hughes Information Tech. Corp.   /___) /__/ /___ /   /__   /      16800 E. Centretech Pkwy                                     Aurora, CO 80011

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> I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

Play songs that you don’t normally like or listen to. You’ll get some ideas from examining different perspectives on music. You’ll be amazed what some of the various styles of music have to offer. If they have them in your area, go to open jam sessions. The most popular types (around here, anyway) seem to be blues, country and bluegrass. Jumping on stage with people you’ve never met and playing songs you’ve never heard, or even songs you know that they’re doing in some off-the-wall key will sharpen you up pretty quick. Hope that helps, Dewayne "What key are we in?" Henson

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Hmmm…. I jsut started on bass last June. My first few times playing it wasn’t a nice experience cos my fingers became swollen for a few days. But the more I played it, the better it got for me. I used old tabs from magazines to play and practice on, which really really helped me read better on bass notes. I also used old piano sheets by playing the bass part. I suggest playing easy music  sheet so you can improvise better… it worked for me. Also, it would help to play scales or random notes just to get the fingers moving. I only know one blues scale, and I haven’t played that in a while. I have short fingers, so if yours are long, it prolly won’t be any difference. I once heard those with long fingers should be good on the piano. I don’t believe that anymore. But yes, long fingers would be an advantage to most people. =( -missW-

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 Ian <Ian> writes: >I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be >IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting >rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. >But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find >teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have >very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass >but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe >someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and >generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. >Thanks in advance

My experience has been that nothing can substitute for playing with people. There’s more going on than just plucking notes. Use your ears. Listen to what is going on as far as interaction between you and the other musicians. It takes time just like anything else, but if you truly love it like you say you do then time means nothing. (Except in beats per minute!)

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > : I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > : Thanks in advance > Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down > with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give > you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very > BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, > play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are > willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. > Later, > — >     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett

Kevin is right. The best way is get with other muscians. Another thing to practice alone is arpeggios and scales in keys you are weak in. And remember to have fun. Dwight McCartney

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> > I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

probably the greatest help to my playing was being in a band that did originals.  playing other people’s stuff is cool to start out with and to get a basic idea of technique, but i found that writing my own lines was about 1000 times better than that as an educational experience… plus, it’s easier to concentrate on improving your style if you know exactly what every note is… i’ve found that in the year or so since the demise of my band my playing has become a whole lot smoother, and i notice it mostly on the basslines which i wrote myself… hope that helps at all… Sarah "some world-views are spacious, and some are merely spaced…"

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I would say that jamming with other people might actually hold you back. First of all, doing so early-on might push you into a more traditional style of playing.  I’ve done very little playing with other people and have developed a very unique style because of it.  Up until recently, I was simply not good enough at playing this way to play successfully with other people in that style.  So, I think, had I been playing a lot with other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of development.  This might not be a bad thing, depending on your point of view, but it’s something to keep in mind. Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well.   Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way. If you don’t have confidence in your abilities (which is probably the case when you’re starting out, and rightly so) or if you are too concerned with embarrassing yourself, you’re probably not going to get much out of jamming with lots of other people.  I’d suggest just a few friends until you get some confidence. I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You know, push it to the extent of my abilities.  I make mistakes in doing this, of course, but those lead to improvement.  However, they make me less likely to do this when trying to sound good in front of other people. It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the hell out of my bass like that.  I tend to get into what I’m playing and improvise much better.  It’s tough to describe, but the result is that I improve not only technically, but compositionally as well.  If I’m holding anything back, or playing too deliberately, the stuff I come up with seems stagnant. As far a other suggestions go to get yourself out of a rut… Listening to new music seems to help me, even if it’s not bass-oriented stuff.  It doesn’t need to have Flea or whoever… it can still teach me about good music, if not mind-blowing bass.  Pay attention to the things you like about music you find yourself listening to, and then try incorporating those things into your own music.  You might even find some interesting stuff in music which is otherwise just crap, but I, of course, wouldn’t recommend listening to crap first if you’re trying to improve yourself. Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and not the stuff you don’t.  If you congratulate yourself for good playing, the bad stuff will eventually just work its way out of your system.  In some cases, it might be good to focus on some problem you have in order to get rid of it, but I think it’s better overall to concentrate on your successes. Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.  Try learning how to pick if you play fingerstyle.  Or try learning to slap.  Or try screwing around with effects pedals if you have them.  Putting down what you normally do for a little while can help. If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but it might be just me. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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> I’ve done very little playing with other people and > have developed a very unique style because of it.

So have I. And most other bass players who plays something apart from root. > So, I think, had I been playing a lot with > other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of > development.

So now your style is so unique that you don’t have to limit yourself? Wow. Or does everybody you play with have to limit themselves so that *you* can play exactly what you want? Are you the bass-version of Steve Vai? (No offense, Steve.) Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a distinct style. You have to limit yourself in a band/orchestral setting anyway, so it is, in my opinion, better to start at both ends: Start developing that unique style of yours at home. In a rehersal/jam setting; start by limiting yourself and find ways to "sneak" your style in without pissing the rest of the band off. This way, you get more experience in playing with others (No matter how extraordinary your style is, I don’t think you’ll EVER get around locking in with the drummer) while you develop a style that is unique to you. Besides, if you’re ever thinking about freelancing, people that want to hire a bass player doesn’t usually look for someone to change their whole sound and style. You’ll have to be able to play meat-and-potatoes bass too. (Meat-&-potatoes bass, does anyone know where the hell that expression came from?) > Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are > thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more > importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well. > Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way.

Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream and boring you’ll puke. Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the stuff I know, don’t know, and ideas I have? Do I sound like a fucking grade school teacher? How do they get the ink into the pen? > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You > know, push it to the extent of my abilities.

Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your guts out, but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from the music. > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the > hell out of my bass like that.

Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out of a bass and creativeness? > Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and > not the stuff you don’t.

Don’t be to tolerant, though. That tendency to play in B when it should have been C can be quite annoying. Work on your good AND your bad sides. > Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.

Good advice, and it’s fun. Also, try new things to do with techniques you already know; like playing fingerstyle at different positions to get different sounds etc. Learning to play, say, walking bass lines if you don’t used it before also helps me. > If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique > or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of > time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come > back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I > think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but > it might be just me.

Try both ways, and find out what works best for you. – Kjetil Aavik

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: Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a : distinct style. Of course it doesn’t… but you have to admit that in most settings you’d be playing with people who want to hear something more or less traditional coming from your amp.  In that sort of environment, you can certainly come up with your own unique spin on more-or-less traditional playing, but playing very unconventionally will be discouraged.   Sometimes, this is good.  Sometimes, strange is just BAD, and musically useless.  However, sometimes what is strange and useless can be developed into something which is, well, really SOMETHING… but will this happen if it is rejected early because it hasn’t developed enough?  If I had played a great deal with other people early on, I doubt I would have developed along the rather unconventional path that I did; it would have been discouraged.  And as far as "sneaking in" your style goes, there are some things which you simply can’t sneak in.  Say your style depended on having the bass as a dominating force in the band.  Les Claypool couldn’t sneak his style in (not that that’s my style)… incidentally, didn’t he try out for Metallica (after Burton died) and get rejected? Admittedly, as I said before, it might not not be good to be too unique, depending on your point of view.  I’d have a hard time finding some existing group which would want what I play as part of their music, so I’m essentially forced to at least co-found any group I might be in.  I’ll never be a session bassist, but I don’t care.  A guitarist I know here at Washington University told me I should be going to Berklee or some similar place instead because I "have tons of talent and technical ability, and if you go there, you’ll get a job [in music] when you get out." I told him, "Yeah, I’d get job playing NORMAL bass somewhere.  I’d rather not play at all."  This is why I said it depends on your point of view.   I certainly think playing with a lot of other people will teach anybody to play more skillfully, but perhaps not quite as uniquely. : Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream : and boring you’ll puke. : Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the : stuff I know, don’t know, My comment regarding this was not centered around whether or not the audience liked the style, but whether or not the audience respected the skill.  I was saying that you can’t be worrying about whether or not people listening to you think you are any good, not that you can’t worry about what people think of your style (though I would, of course, agree with that, too, to an extent). : > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You : > know, push it to the extent of my abilities. : Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your : guts out  but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from : the music. : > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the : > hell out of my bass like that. : Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out : of a bass and creativeness? I was talking about pushing oneself, not about pushing the limits of bass-playing-as-we-know-it.  If one’s not able to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" yet, then it certainly doesn’t make sense to try ripping out a killer solo.  I was saying that if one holds ONESELF back when one is playing, one will not progress much.  If you can’t play "Twinkle, Twinkle," but you CAN play "Three Blind Mice" perfectly, don’t keep playing "Three Blind Mice" in order to avoid screwing up.  Go ahead and thrash away as best you can, and you’ll learn from the mistakes. This might seem pretty self-evident, but I thought it was worth saying, because, at times, I’ve found myself holding back… maybe because someone might be listening and I didn’t want to sound bad. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without taking lessons from a teacher? Thanks in advance, Robbert.

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I’d say buy some basic books and play a lot with recordings of music you like.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without >taking lessons from a teacher? >Thanks in advance, >Robbert.

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I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. Thanks in advance

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: I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. : Thanks in advance Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. Later, —     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett    /__ ) /  / /    /_/  /_    /     Hughes Information Tech. Corp.   /___) /__/ /___ /   /__   /      16800 E. Centretech Pkwy                                     Aurora, CO 80011

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> I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

Play songs that you don’t normally like or listen to. You’ll get some ideas from examining different perspectives on music. You’ll be amazed what some of the various styles of music have to offer. If they have them in your area, go to open jam sessions. The most popular types (around here, anyway) seem to be blues, country and bluegrass. Jumping on stage with people you’ve never met and playing songs you’ve never heard, or even songs you know that they’re doing in some off-the-wall key will sharpen you up pretty quick. Hope that helps, Dewayne "What key are we in?" Henson

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Hmmm…. I jsut started on bass last June. My first few times playing it wasn’t a nice experience cos my fingers became swollen for a few days. But the more I played it, the better it got for me. I used old tabs from magazines to play and practice on, which really really helped me read better on bass notes. I also used old piano sheets by playing the bass part. I suggest playing easy music  sheet so you can improvise better… it worked for me. Also, it would help to play scales or random notes just to get the fingers moving. I only know one blues scale, and I haven’t played that in a while. I have short fingers, so if yours are long, it prolly won’t be any difference. I once heard those with long fingers should be good on the piano. I don’t believe that anymore. But yes, long fingers would be an advantage to most people. =( -missW-

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 Ian <Ian> writes: >I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be >IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting >rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. >But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find >teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have >very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass >but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe >someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and >generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. >Thanks in advance

My experience has been that nothing can substitute for playing with people. There’s more going on than just plucking notes. Use your ears. Listen to what is going on as far as interaction between you and the other musicians. It takes time just like anything else, but if you truly love it like you say you do then time means nothing. (Except in beats per minute!)

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > : I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > : IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > : rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > : But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > : teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > : very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > : but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > : someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > : generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > : Thanks in advance > Can you play by ear?  If so, one good thing to do is to just sit down > with some of your favorite music and just learn it.  This will give > you more ideas as well as increase your repitoire.  However, the very > BEST way to improve is to get out and play with other musicians.  Particularly, > play with musicians who might be more experienced than you who are > willing to help you improve and to push you to learn new stuff. > Later, > — >     ___        ___       ___ ____   Kevin Burkett

Kevin is right. The best way is get with other muscians. Another thing to practice alone is arpeggios and scales in keys you are weak in. And remember to have fun. Dwight McCartney

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> > I’ve been playing the bass for a while now. But I don’t seem to be > IMPROVING! Always stuck with the same ideas and stuff. It’s getting > rather frustrating. I always hear people saying practice makes perfect. > But what do people mean by practice? What do you do? Get books? Find > teachers? Take lessons? All this need money! and that’s something I have > very little of. Can someone out there please help me? I love the bass > but I want to improve! and not stay on the same level forever. Maybe > someone can give a me a few tips on how to improve my playing skills and > generating more musical ideas? it’ll definitely save my life. > Thanks in advance

probably the greatest help to my playing was being in a band that did originals.  playing other people’s stuff is cool to start out with and to get a basic idea of technique, but i found that writing my own lines was about 1000 times better than that as an educational experience… plus, it’s easier to concentrate on improving your style if you know exactly what every note is… i’ve found that in the year or so since the demise of my band my playing has become a whole lot smoother, and i notice it mostly on the basslines which i wrote myself… hope that helps at all… Sarah "some world-views are spacious, and some are merely spaced…"

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I would say that jamming with other people might actually hold you back. First of all, doing so early-on might push you into a more traditional style of playing.  I’ve done very little playing with other people and have developed a very unique style because of it.  Up until recently, I was simply not good enough at playing this way to play successfully with other people in that style.  So, I think, had I been playing a lot with other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of development.  This might not be a bad thing, depending on your point of view, but it’s something to keep in mind. Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well.   Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way. If you don’t have confidence in your abilities (which is probably the case when you’re starting out, and rightly so) or if you are too concerned with embarrassing yourself, you’re probably not going to get much out of jamming with lots of other people.  I’d suggest just a few friends until you get some confidence. I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You know, push it to the extent of my abilities.  I make mistakes in doing this, of course, but those lead to improvement.  However, they make me less likely to do this when trying to sound good in front of other people. It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the hell out of my bass like that.  I tend to get into what I’m playing and improvise much better.  It’s tough to describe, but the result is that I improve not only technically, but compositionally as well.  If I’m holding anything back, or playing too deliberately, the stuff I come up with seems stagnant. As far a other suggestions go to get yourself out of a rut… Listening to new music seems to help me, even if it’s not bass-oriented stuff.  It doesn’t need to have Flea or whoever… it can still teach me about good music, if not mind-blowing bass.  Pay attention to the things you like about music you find yourself listening to, and then try incorporating those things into your own music.  You might even find some interesting stuff in music which is otherwise just crap, but I, of course, wouldn’t recommend listening to crap first if you’re trying to improve yourself. Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and not the stuff you don’t.  If you congratulate yourself for good playing, the bad stuff will eventually just work its way out of your system.  In some cases, it might be good to focus on some problem you have in order to get rid of it, but I think it’s better overall to concentrate on your successes. Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.  Try learning how to pick if you play fingerstyle.  Or try learning to slap.  Or try screwing around with effects pedals if you have them.  Putting down what you normally do for a little while can help. If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but it might be just me. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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> I’ve done very little playing with other people and > have developed a very unique style because of it.

So have I. And most other bass players who plays something apart from root. > So, I think, had I been playing a lot with > other people, I would have been forced down a more standard path of > development.

So now your style is so unique that you don’t have to limit yourself? Wow. Or does everybody you play with have to limit themselves so that *you* can play exactly what you want? Are you the bass-version of Steve Vai? (No offense, Steve.) Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a distinct style. You have to limit yourself in a band/orchestral setting anyway, so it is, in my opinion, better to start at both ends: Start developing that unique style of yours at home. In a rehersal/jam setting; start by limiting yourself and find ways to "sneak" your style in without pissing the rest of the band off. This way, you get more experience in playing with others (No matter how extraordinary your style is, I don’t think you’ll EVER get around locking in with the drummer) while you develop a style that is unique to you. Besides, if you’re ever thinking about freelancing, people that want to hire a bass player doesn’t usually look for someone to change their whole sound and style. You’ll have to be able to play meat-and-potatoes bass too. (Meat-&-potatoes bass, does anyone know where the hell that expression came from?) > Secondly, I find that if I’m at all preoccupied with what other people are > thinking about what I’m playing, then I play more poorly and, more > importantly, I tend to stick only to what I already know I can do well. > Needless to say, one doesn’t learn much that way.

Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream and boring you’ll puke. Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the stuff I know, don’t know, and ideas I have? Do I sound like a fucking grade school teacher? How do they get the ink into the pen? > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You > know, push it to the extent of my abilities.

Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your guts out, but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from the music. > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the > hell out of my bass like that.

Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out of a bass and creativeness? > Also, pay attention to the stuff in your own playing which you like, and > not the stuff you don’t.

Don’t be to tolerant, though. That tendency to play in B when it should have been C can be quite annoying. Work on your good AND your bad sides. > Fiddling with unusual stuff can help if you’re in a rut.

Good advice, and it’s fun. Also, try new things to do with techniques you already know; like playing fingerstyle at different positions to get different sounds etc. Learning to play, say, walking bass lines if you don’t used it before also helps me. > If you’re trying to master a specific thing, like a riff or a technique > or whatever, I find that it helps to really push at it for a period of > time, then leave it alone for a little bit and do something else, then come > back to it and really push at it, then leave it alone, etcetcetc.  I > think that might work a bit better than a constant level of practice, but > it might be just me.

Try both ways, and find out what works best for you. – Kjetil Aavik

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: Playing with other people does *NOT* prevent you from developing a : distinct style. Of course it doesn’t… but you have to admit that in most settings you’d be playing with people who want to hear something more or less traditional coming from your amp.  In that sort of environment, you can certainly come up with your own unique spin on more-or-less traditional playing, but playing very unconventionally will be discouraged.   Sometimes, this is good.  Sometimes, strange is just BAD, and musically useless.  However, sometimes what is strange and useless can be developed into something which is, well, really SOMETHING… but will this happen if it is rejected early because it hasn’t developed enough?  If I had played a great deal with other people early on, I doubt I would have developed along the rather unconventional path that I did; it would have been discouraged.  And as far as "sneaking in" your style goes, there are some things which you simply can’t sneak in.  Say your style depended on having the bass as a dominating force in the band.  Les Claypool couldn’t sneak his style in (not that that’s my style)… incidentally, didn’t he try out for Metallica (after Burton died) and get rejected? Admittedly, as I said before, it might not not be good to be too unique, depending on your point of view.  I’d have a hard time finding some existing group which would want what I play as part of their music, so I’m essentially forced to at least co-found any group I might be in.  I’ll never be a session bassist, but I don’t care.  A guitarist I know here at Washington University told me I should be going to Berklee or some similar place instead because I "have tons of talent and technical ability, and if you go there, you’ll get a job [in music] when you get out." I told him, "Yeah, I’d get job playing NORMAL bass somewhere.  I’d rather not play at all."  This is why I said it depends on your point of view.   I certainly think playing with a lot of other people will teach anybody to play more skillfully, but perhaps not quite as uniquely. : Don’t think about what other people think; you’ll become so mainstream : and boring you’ll puke. : Think for yourself: Does this sound good? If not, what can I do with the : stuff I know, don’t know, My comment regarding this was not centered around whether or not the audience liked the style, but whether or not the audience respected the skill.  I was saying that you can’t be worrying about whether or not people listening to you think you are any good, not that you can’t worry about what people think of your style (though I would, of course, agree with that, too, to an extent). : > I find that it’s good to really THROTTLE the bass when I’m playing.  You : > know, push it to the extent of my abilities. : Yes. But don’t focus entirely on technique. Chopmeisters may play your : guts out  but it generally sounds like there’s something missing from : the music. : > It also seems that I am far more creative when I’m really playing the : > hell out of my bass like that. : Are you implying that there’s a connection between playing the hell out : of a bass and creativeness? I was talking about pushing oneself, not about pushing the limits of bass-playing-as-we-know-it.  If one’s not able to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" yet, then it certainly doesn’t make sense to try ripping out a killer solo.  I was saying that if one holds ONESELF back when one is playing, one will not progress much.  If you can’t play "Twinkle, Twinkle," but you CAN play "Three Blind Mice" perfectly, don’t keep playing "Three Blind Mice" in order to avoid screwing up.  Go ahead and thrash away as best you can, and you’ll learn from the mistakes. This might seem pretty self-evident, but I thought it was worth saying, because, at times, I’ve found myself holding back… maybe because someone might be listening and I didn’t want to sound bad. —    I   A   N   P   A   T   R   I   C   K   M   C   D   O   N   A   L   D

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Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without taking lessons from a teacher? Thanks in advance, Robbert.

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I’d say buy some basic books and play a lot with recordings of music you like.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Can anyone tell me what the best way is to learn to play the bass, without >taking lessons from a teacher? >Thanks in advance, >Robbert.

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