Learning to play Bass?

[i am sam2]

ok i actually play the bass as my #1 instrument...and id say obviously to lock in with the rythm and get a good groove going. but also, while what fatjack said is important, for knowing the theory behind it with arpeggios, etc. try making the bassline first from just what comes to you, without worrying about the theory. if it sounds good, then keep it. go back later and see what you did...ive been suprised at how things ive done that didnt seem to be correct "by theory" actually were.

also, youre an experienced guitar player, so it probably wont take you too long to learn the sounds of the bass, so that ear thing should come fairly easy.

remember: you arent in the spotlight and knowing what not to play is as important as knowing what to play

and dont bother slapping during an actual song with this guy. practice it, just to be better overall, and if something cool comes up that you guys can base a song around, keep that, but otherwise, dont slap. as said above, if not done very well, it blows

[fatjack]

ok i actually play the bass as my #1 instrument...and id say obviously to lock in with the rythm and get a good groove going. but also, while what fatjack said is important, for knowing the theory behind it with arpeggios, etc. try making the bassline first from just what comes to you, without worrying about the theory. if it sounds good, then keep it. go back later and see what you did...ive been suprised at how things ive done that didnt seem to be correct "by theory" actually were.

also, youre an experienced guitar player, so it probably wont take you too long to learn the sounds of the bass, so that ear thing should come fairly easy.

remember: you arent in the spotlight and knowing what not to play is as important as knowing what to play

and dont bother slapping during an actual song with this guy. practice it, just to be better overall, and if something cool comes up that you guys can base a song around, keep that, but otherwise, dont slap. as said above, if not done very well, it blows

yet another person who think that theory is supposed to be some sort of rules that have to be followed... totally not true. theory is supposed to explain, not dictate what you do. even if you go with what you think sounds good, there is going to be a theoretical explanation for it, no matter how much you try to fight it. this is also why i referred to idiomatic patterns. you'll start to see what fits and what doesn't fit with or without any knowledge of theory

and the part you said about knowing when not to play is very important. the bass is supposed to create consonant support for the rest of the music. don't be too flashy or you will end up disregarding that role.

[i am sam2]

yet another person who think that theory is supposed to be some sort of rules that have to be followed... totally not true. theory is supposed to explain, not dictate what you do. even if you go with what you think sounds good, there is going to be a theoretical explanation for it, no matter how much you try to fight it. this is also why i referred to idiomatic patterns. you'll start to see what fits and what doesn't fit with or without any knowledge of theory

and the part you said about knowing when not to play is very important. the bass is supposed to create consonant support for the rest of the music. don't be too flashy or you will end up disregarding that role.

i didnt say that and i dont think that. if i implied it, i didnt mean to. i am ALL about not letting theory dictate what i do. and my sentence about "ive been suprised...." was directly supporting what you said "there is going to be a theoretical explaination" i was just saying how suprised i was when i first realized this

[Brock]

ok i actually play the bass as my #1 instrument...and id say obviously to lock in with the rythm and get a good groove going. but also, while what fatjack said is important, for knowing the theory behind it with arpeggios, etc. try making the bassline first from just what comes to you, without worrying about the theory. if it sounds good, then keep it. go back later and see what you did...ive been suprised at how things ive done that didnt seem to be correct "by theory" actually were.

also, youre an experienced guitar player, so it probably wont take you too long to learn the sounds of the bass, so that ear thing should come fairly easy.

remember: you arent in the spotlight and knowing what not to play is as important as knowing what to play

and dont bother slapping during an actual song with this guy. practice it, just to be better overall, and if something cool comes up that you guys can base a song around, keep that, but otherwise, dont slap. as said above, if not done very well, it blows

yet another person who think that theory is supposed to be some sort of rules that have to be followed... totally not true. theory is supposed to explain, not dictate what you do. even if you go with what you think sounds good, there is going to be a theoretical explanation for it, no matter how much you try to fight it. this is also why i referred to idiomatic patterns. you'll start to see what fits and what doesn't fit with or without any knowledge of theory

and the part you said about knowing when not to play is very important. the bass is supposed to create consonant support for the rest of the music. don't be too flashy or you will end up disregarding that role.

did you even read his post?

he said almost word for word the opposite of what you said he said....

[fatjack]

yet another person who think that theory is supposed to be some sort of rules that have to be followed... totally not true. theory is supposed to explain, not dictate what you do. even if you go with what you think sounds good, there is going to be a theoretical explanation for it, no matter how much you try to fight it. this is also why i referred to idiomatic patterns. you'll start to see what fits and what doesn't fit with or without any knowledge of theory

and the part you said about knowing when not to play is very important. the bass is supposed to create consonant support for the rest of the music. don't be too flashy or you will end up disregarding that role.

i didnt say that and i dont think that. if i implied it, i didnt mean to. i am ALL about not letting theory dictate what i do. and my sentence about "ive been suprised...." was directly supporting what you said "there is going to be a theoretical explaination" i was just saying how suprised i was when i first realized this

i know what you meant, but you are using words like "dictate" and phrases such as "correct by theory terms," which are things that really have nothing to do with theory. even if you don't think that theory "tells you what to do," using such langauge perpetuates the stereotype.

[mangold]

yet another person who think that theory is supposed to be some sort of rules that have to be followed... totally not true. theory is supposed to explain, not dictate what you do. even if you go with what you think sounds good, there is going to be a theoretical explanation for it, no matter how much you try to fight it. this is also why i referred to idiomatic patterns. you'll start to see what fits and what doesn't fit with or without any knowledge of theory

and the part you said about knowing when not to play is very important. the bass is supposed to create consonant support for the rest of the music. don't be too flashy or you will end up disregarding that role.

i didnt say that and i dont think that. if i implied it, i didnt mean to. i am ALL about not letting theory dictate what i do. and my sentence about "ive been suprised...." was directly supporting what you said "there is going to be a theoretical explaination" i was just saying how suprised i was when i first realized this

i know what you meant, but you are using words like "dictate" and phrases such as "correct by theory terms," which are things that really have nothing to do with theory. even if you don't think that theory "tells you what to do," using such langauge perpetuates the stereotype.

heh heh i just used perpetuate in another thread

[fatjack]

yet another person who think that theory is supposed to be some sort of rules that have to be followed... totally not true. theory is supposed to explain, not dictate what you do. even if you go with what you think sounds good, there is going to be a theoretical explanation for it, no matter how much you try to fight it. this is also why i referred to idiomatic patterns. you'll start to see what fits and what doesn't fit with or without any knowledge of theory

and the part you said about knowing when not to play is very important. the bass is supposed to create consonant support for the rest of the music. don't be too flashy or you will end up disregarding that role.

i didnt say that and i dont think that. if i implied it, i didnt mean to. i am ALL about not letting theory dictate what i do. and my sentence about "ive been suprised...." was directly supporting what you said "there is going to be a theoretical explaination" i was just saying how suprised i was when i first realized this

i know what you meant, but you are using words like "dictate" and phrases such as "correct by theory terms," which are things that really have nothing to do with theory. even if you don't think that theory "tells you what to do," using such langauge perpetuates the stereotype.

heh heh i just used perpetuate in another thread

you are such a homo

[i am sam2]

yet another person who think that theory is supposed to be some sort of rules that have to be followed... totally not true. theory is supposed to explain, not dictate what you do. even if you go with what you think sounds good, there is going to be a theoretical explanation for it, no matter how much you try to fight it. this is also why i referred to idiomatic patterns. you'll start to see what fits and what doesn't fit with or without any knowledge of theory

and the part you said about knowing when not to play is very important. the bass is supposed to create consonant support for the rest of the music. don't be too flashy or you will end up disregarding that role.

i didnt say that and i dont think that. if i implied it, i didnt mean to. i am ALL about not letting theory dictate what i do. and my sentence about "ive been suprised...." was directly supporting what you said "there is going to be a theoretical explaination" i was just saying how suprised i was when i first realized this

i know what you meant, but you are using words like "dictate" and phrases such as "correct by theory terms," which are things that really have nothing to do with theory. even if you don't think that theory "tells you what to do," using such langauge perpetuates the stereotype.

well i didnt say dictate in my first post, i just said in the response becuase you said it...and the "in theory terms" or whatever it is exactly...i said that as opposed to "theoretical" because i wasnt sure if theoretical was the right word because of how we use it in science...so thats why i said that...but whatever i see what you meant in your first response to my post, and i agree

[i like tictacs]

there is so much bullshit in this thread i can't believe mine own eyes.

what you want to be able to do is be solid, not slap and pop first. try slapping and popping in a band situation after you've been playing for years. you have to take a totally different approach to a guitar then a bass and vice versa. work on getting locked into the groove and staying solid. you might have to deal with sitting in the back being the unsung hero for awhile. listen to as many styles as you can, listen to the greats to see what they have for styles and try to slowly incorporate them into your SOLID playing.

[czech]

thanks for the advice guys. I guess when you are saying to follow the percussion and get in the groove all I picture is stephan rocking back and forth and kinda dancing with his arms up and down the bass. Wow that sounded gay.
so can you guys kinda give me a list of the most important steps in your opinion. It may sound dumb, but ive learned that learning something out of sequence can really fuck you up.
so appregios (dont know, need to learn i guess)
getting into groove with drummer (any advice? good practice methods?)
research and listen to other great bassists? (any notable names?)

thanks

[i like tictacs]

you dont need to learn 'arpgeggios first'. thats ridiculous.


spend time getting comfortable with the instrument and get comfortable locking into a groove with the drummer. this is while you are listening to bassists who groove like no other. marcus miller, victor wooten, james jamerson, there is tons of stuff out there. tons of bands. victor is extremely flashy but he is one of the grooviest around. what he does is just play a simple groove, then divide each note of the groove into fourths or 16ths or whatever with his thumb-thumb-pluck-pluck-hammer or something to any other degree. stefan is solid as hell. tony levin is awesome.

you don't need arpeggios to write a bassline, although they are a good tool to have in your bag. get comfortable with the bass, then just take a little theory at a time. knowing arpeggios won't do shit if you don't know how to apply them. you can play every scale forwards and backwards and in 6 octaves, but it won't matter if you don't know how to apply it to the music.

[i am sam2]

well for people to listen to...james jamerson yes(hes on a lot of the oldies stuff) i personally would say victor wooten and marcus miller are pretty flashy to get a groove feel because they are so talented they can add more complicated stuff in while keeping the groove...so be careful tryin to be like wooten.

stefan definately - great at playing off dave
mike gordon (phish) - great grooves
john paul jones (zeppelin) - not too complicated/hard stuff but cool lines nonetheless, even if some are mirroring jimmy
nathan watts (stevie wonder) - great lines that really support the song and lay a kickass backbeat
jack bruce (cream) - songs like White Room have a great rock groove and then a main-riff line like Sunshine of Your Love

[i like tictacs]

chris squire- yes

if you listen to some of vic's stuff that isn't the flashy stuff, it's amazing.