Tips for playing bass

[chineseilusions]

I have just started out playing bass please post tips/pointers here to help me out

[darkmonth]

hold down on the strings and pluck...  

[Captain P?l]

yeah..... punk is a good way to start.... or just go straight to GNR... not that hard.. some parts are...  punk is easy.... i learned lots of offspring before i started on more rock music...  


oh, and dont mind all the skin fallin' of yer fingers..... its normal...  

[chineseilusions]

[oh, and dont mind all the skin fallin' of yer fingers..... its normal...   /quote]

Thanks I was wodering about that it's started to happen

[EM]

i think i'm going to buy a bass..

-em

[Captain P?l]

im buying a new bass to... my neck on my fender one is fucked up.... its like 1cm between the neck and the strings! (and it cant be lower!)

so im getting a thunderbird (epiphone)


what kinda bass you got?

[chineseilusions]

I got a bently it puts out good sound and it only cost 100 dollars

[EM]

Squier bass are actually pretty good.

-EM

[Captain P?l]

Squier bass are actually pretty good.

-EM

yeah... aint squire the official "copyer" of Fender? or did i make that one up myself? the bass i have now is a Ariel Proo II (Wildcat Series) it rocked when it was OK...  

[EM]

Yeah, they are the official copier..

-EM

[Butch Français]

it doesn't hurt to do stretching exercises on your left hand fingers (if your right handed), believe me, it will be worth it. cos in a while you're gonna want to play stuff where you have to make fast and long stretches, and that's a bitch if your fingers are not game

do you use your fingers or a pick?
I usually prefer to use the fingers

[chineseilusions]

I use fingers can't realy stand to use a pick what are some stretching exercises I cn do

[Captain P?l]

i use a pick for "faster" songs... but for slower songs i use my fingers....

oh, i have a finger trainer called "Gripmaster".... havent used it too much yet, but it really trains the strenght and endurance of your fingers! (im using it to train my little finger...)

[D]

i used a grip master when i started playin guitar, it helps

one thing is to try and have your own style, also when playing bass dont just pluck the root note when playin a song

i hate that a song goes g-d-c and the bass only hits g-d-c- now some songs that is ok but i play the bass or attempt to play bass like flea which makes a song very awesome

a big big thing to do is learn where all the notes are
 that speeds u up so much and say u wanna hit an A u already know where all the A's are so u dont have to search around


practice practice practice and it takes patience

u wont play like duff mckagen over night it takes time, so dont get down on yourself if your progression is slow

like anything else u will improve drastically then hit a wall where it seems like u arent gettin any better, just keep patient and u will become great

also never stop learning, never think u are great and know it all, nobody knows it all the bass or any instrument is a never conquering journey

so have fun, keep practicing keep us updated!

[chineseilusions]

Well here is a little update now I have almost mastered the opening of its so easy

[EM]

That's like the same note over and over..?

-EM =)

[chineseilusions]

That's like the same note over and over..?

-EM =)

Yeah But it's still cool

[Captain P?l]

That's like the same note over and over..?

-EM =)

Yeah But it's still cool

not exatly... its 2notes... its using hammerons!     and its so kick ass!  

[EM]

I think it's a joke!

[Captain P?l]

I think it's a joke!

the sweet child guitar intro is a joke.... (really, it really was!)  

[EM]

Lol yeah it was!

-EM

[mike13_11_86]

I got a gud tip..it mite sound silly..but it helped me. if ur tryin 2 learn a specific song an uv got the tab aswel, watch the artist/bassist playin it and see how he positiond his/her hands 2 play the song..it makes the song easier to play as most bass riffs are repetitive finger patterns..sorry if this makes no sense!

[twitcher]

I started playing bass about 3 months ago and played my first gig about 2 months ago (playing covers including Sweet Child ).  

To help learn I downloaded Guitar Pro (www.guitar-pro.com 30 day free trial - even then it lets you use it after, but it just keeps popping up some messages saying "buy me, you cheapo"). It's really really helpful. Simply download a guitar-pro tab of the song you want and it shows you the tabs and a fretboard so it visually shows you where you should be playing and which notes are coming up. But the best bit is you can specify a particular piece to repeat and you can change the speed (e.g. starting slow, repeating and it can gradually increase the tempo - this was a real accelarator for me).

Also, the bass i bought was a Ibanez GSR200, really good value. check out some reviews for it. (about $200 including strap, (crappy) gig bag, digital tuner & video)

[Captain P?l]

I started playing bass about 3 months ago and played my first gig about 2 months ago (playing covers including Sweet Child ).  

To help learn I downloaded Guitar Pro (www.guitar-pro.com 30 day free trial - even then it lets you use it after, but it just keeps popping up some messages saying "buy me, you cheapo"). It's really really helpful. Simply download a guitar-pro tab of the song you want and it shows you the tabs and a fretboard so it visually shows you where you should be playing and which notes are coming up. But the best bit is you can specify a particular piece to repeat and you can change the speed (e.g. starting slow, repeating and it can gradually increase the tempo - this was a real accelarator for me).

Also, the bass i bought was a Ibanez GSR200, really good value. check out some reviews for it. (about $200 including strap, (crappy) gig bag, digital tuner & video)

let me give you a tip! if you dont use your calendar on you PC, just rewind the date... that way you wont have to bother about registering :p  that goes for all software that has a time limit! hehe.... im mean!  

[twitcher]

I started playing bass about 3 months ago and played my first gig about 2 months ago (playing covers including Sweet Child ).  

To help learn I downloaded Guitar Pro (www.guitar-pro.com 30 day free trial - even then it lets you use it after, but it just keeps popping up some messages saying "buy me, you cheapo"). It's really really helpful. Simply download a guitar-pro tab of the song you want and it shows you the tabs and a fretboard so it visually shows you where you should be playing and which notes are coming up. But the best bit is you can specify a particular piece to repeat and you can change the speed (e.g. starting slow, repeating and it can gradually increase the tempo - this was a real accelarator for me).

Also, the bass i bought was a Ibanez GSR200, really good value. check out some reviews for it. (about $200 including strap, (crappy) gig bag, digital tuner & video)

let me give you a tip! if you dont use your calendar on you PC, just rewind the date... that way you wont have to bother about registering :p  that goes for all software that has a time limit! hehe.... im mean!  

thanks, but i actually bought the softwaree anyway as i like it  

[Captain P?l]

whats the difference between the demo and the whole shit? i know you can save and make your own.. but thats it?

[twitcher]

whats the difference between the demo and the whole shit? i know you can save and make your own.. but thats it?

Yeah saving and printing I think that's about it.

I do make a lot of corrections or alterations to the tabs though so saving is good and printing is good for when we have a session, as I can print out tabs for band mates or myself if i still need them.

and those annoying pop-ups go away and you are supporting the authors of the software

here's a link for all the GnR songs in Gruitar-Pro format http://www.gnrsucks.com/download.php?view.17

I haven't tried this link so don't ask me any questions   just thought some of you may find it useful.

[blues_rock_axeman]

Why was the Sweet Child intro a joke?  

[slashman91]

i use to play bass and i was prety good pluck stasrt off with ac/dc it all about counting my first song was dirty deeds done dirt chep very easy then gnr and sometimes ledzeppelin byt stick with gnr

[Johnny Rattlesnake]

I bought a Gallien-Kreuger stack out of Musician's Friend in January of 2005 and I've blown the speakers out twice.  The first time I had it repaired; the tech said the soddering used on the wires going to the cone was substandard.  G-K was aware of this problem, so it's covered under warrenty.  I used it in one practice and one gig and I blew them.  The next time I played two gigs and two practices and blew them, so watch out.

[*Izzy*]

Anyone using the Guitar Pro demo should buy the real deal, it's worth it, you get to print songs and there are no bar restrictions when you are composin'?
I love the SCOM bass intro

If you plan on playing slap bass you're hands will bleed, no really they will

  Izzy?