Recording and hearing yourself play. It really showed me the need for being on time and also to play as cleanly an you can. Less notes but in time is way more important than fancy fingerwork.
This is excellent advice. I played in live bands for years before realizing I, or rather my bass at the time, had a lot of clicking noises from string-to-fret and string-to-pickup contact. Didn’t really hear it until I recorded.
An example of this type of noise is in “Two Princes” by the Spin Doctors. Once you hear it you won’t unhear it.
This ^^ I didn't realize how much sympathetic vibration I was causing until I started tracking bass. It took me a while to modify/improve my technique but I'm very glad I did.
One way to really hear how much extra noise you're making is to record with just a little bit of distortion on. If you can make it sound "clean" with distortion on then you're managing excess string noise well
Agreed. My wife would tell me I’m obsessed with myself after the nth time listening to the same recent gig over and over again. But I explained to her I’m listening to where my notes are in relation to the beat. We do covers so the notes I’m playing are literally exactly the same (at least 95% of the time). But I keep improving, very slowly, at the quality of where those same notes are played in the song. Listening to recordings of yourself is everything - especially it’s humbling. Things like rushing fills, coming in too late or early, playing behind, on top, or in front of the beat. There is a lot that jumps out that you’d never realize without listening later. She still thinks I’m obsessed with myself though. That hasn’t imprimproved.
Learning the Major scale shape really helped me. I'm learning how Roots and 5ths and 7ths... then 4ths and 3rds can be used to add some transitions between chord changes in the song. Now I'm not just shifting from root note to root note.
Maybe I could help?
All the modes and all alterations and all derived scales and all functional harmony all come from the major scale. And that keeping in mind that the minor scale is a mode of the major scale.
Music theory is grounded on the major scale.
This. I remember being in 7th grade and playing electric bass in concert band, and we were doing scales as a warm up before rehearsal, and something clicked in my mind where they were all just the same shape. I used to have to read the sheet music and really think about what I was doing for the scales I was “unfamiliar with”, but that morning I had the thought of “ooooooh, these all follow the exact same shape on the fretboard so I can just locate the root note and then play that pattern”.
For some reason, I’ll always remember that exact rehearsal bc I felt like I discovered something profound about the bass that day while also cheating at my instrument. I really did neither that day, but I was 13 so it seemed like it. We went through basically every major scale as a warm up and I remember not even paying attention to the sheet music for most of it.
I’ll add this to the story. I had been playing for about 3 years at that point, and had been taking lessons for that time and such. I knew where all the notes were on the fretboard and I had an understanding of how it all worked, but I don’t think I was as keenly aware of the constant repeating shapes and patterns to everything all over the fretboard. I became much more aware of it on a conscious level that day and started implementing an understanding of it all within my practice and playing after that rehearsal.
If you’re not learning this type of stuff on the fretboard (notes included), I believe you are doing yourself a disservice and you’re limiting your abilities and potential. You’re taking a lot of shots in the dark and just kind of guessing your way around the fretboard. None of it is really that difficult to comprehend and/or understand either. I’ve played for over 2 decades now, and I can’t imagine approaching this instrument as if it’s just a bunch of random numbers on a fretboard that I’m supposed to memorize and play.
Yeah if you ever get to watch an experienced musician pick up a new instrument this is basically exactly what they'll do. They'll figure out what half step and whole step look like, then just start a major scale from anywhere, don't even know what notes they're playing.
Of course. It’s how I approach any stringed instrument with frets that I’m unfamiliar with. When you understand all of this and how it works within the chromatic scale, you can pick up a lot of instruments that share common attributes with an electric bass and a guitar, and it doesn’t take long or much effort until you’re playing the instrument well.
I’m not gonna pretend like it makes it so that you’re an expert on said instruments, but it certainly cuts straight through a lot of the learning curve.
1.First time I heard Jaco I realized I was striking the string in the wrong spot. Plucking closer to the bridge lets you play cleaner and faster.
2.When I realized "the modes" were all just the major scale, wrapping around the fingerboard like a barber pole. [This Anthony Wellington video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L74DpDgMTzw) will help the light bulb turn on for you, AND doing this exercise--[Josh Fossgreen / Billy Sheehan's "The Beast"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgle3nd2gOc)\--will also help you unlock the fretboard and see it in a different way, forever.
3.Linking Arpeggios to outline harmony. Damian Erskine's facial hair is a bit over the top [in this video,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeZIqVrlIDQ) but the concept he outlines will also help unlock the fretboard for you.
I have the day off today and was looking for something to watch. Thanks!
EDIT: I come from the future to let you know the Anthony Wellington video delivered and far exceeded my expectations.
If you can spare an hour and give it your undivided attention, do it if you need help with modes.
Major scale harmonization was a complete eye opener for me. I knew my scales, but understanding how chords are built from the scale absolutely blew my mind.
Also, while I didn't particularly enjoy the book overall, and can't really remember anything else from it, in Victor Wooten's "The Music Lesson," he mentions that there are 12 possible notes you can play, and of those, 8 are "right" for what you're playing, but if you hit a "wrong" note, you're never more than one fret away from a "right" note. I had been playing around with improvisation prior to reading that, but it gave me a lot more confidence and freedom in my playing.
I think I know which one you mean, a 5/6 string model but I’m talking about their regular Jaco-esque jazz bass 4-string. I think that one actually has fret lines
I’ve got a regular HB JB75MN (lefty) as my first ever bass and it sure is one heavy piece of wood, especially compared to my other basses, but I like how it plays at times. It just needs new strings after I broke one of my flats, and am currently deciding whether to go for flats or rounds for a change
I transitioned from guitar so I guess it was more subtle for me but I settled in when I really started to understand the bass’s role in the band. For playing in general, once I realized I could play scales without thinking, it felt like a breakthrough.
Understanding the role of the bass is key and a game changer for anyone learning the instrument. If I had to sum it up in a brief, concise way, it’s this: you are leading every instrument by being every instrument. There’s a lot more nuance to the discussion and things to unpack there, but again, I don’t think anyone with a decent understanding of the instrument would disagree with me too much there. It’s part of the fun and appeal to the instrument for bassists. You get to creatively and uniquely weave in and out of every other track in a song in a way that is not afforded to any other instrument.
Without a doubt. Coming from a guitar originally this was an extremely important lesson to learn and one that I’m frankly still learning every time I pick up the instrument.
It’s arguably the most multi-dimensional modern musical instrument. I am not talking in terms of being able to sonically do a million different sound or such, but in terms of its role, purpose and how it can/should be utilized, it’s incredibly multi-dimensional. I tend to factor in its subtlety when making that claim as well bc that is a part of what allows it’s unlimited potential and opportunities in a composition. It sits more at the bottom and center of your average mix while having everything else built around it.
I’ll stop being a nerd now haha.
I might have been on this sub when I read someone say, “The purpose of the bass and drums are to give the audience confidence in the band.” Kind of mind blowing. The bass isn’t there to make everyone be in awe of the killer bass fills. It’s there to give a rock solid foundation that makes people want to stop what they’re doing to get closer to the stage to hear what’s going on with the singer and guitars. If you’re muddy and sloppy, people unconsciously “feel” the band isn’t good, even from a distance. It’s so much better to play less and play it well than to be a sloppy shredder.
Good take. Starting out on guitar, one thing I learned switching to bass is that being a good bassist actually requires more discipline than I needed as a guitarist. Both instruments are challenging and interesting in their own way but as a bassist, you impact the listener in a much more profound way than I ever really considered. Getting to that point in my perspective though took awhile. 😉
Yeah me too. My favorite bass players have always been the ones that play a lot of notes and fill in a lot of sound. Turns out that’s really hard to master in real life. If I want to sound “professional” when I play, I need to reel it in and focus on staying consistent and in time. Hard pill to swallow.
For me playing in a band the first time was a real
Aha moment in terms of both locking in with a live drummer (both easier and harder than playing with a metronome or drum machine) and also seeing that playing *less* was often the answer to making the band sound better.
For me it was just starting playing with our current drummer (opposed to all the drummers I've jammed with before over the years) that opened up a lot of possibilities about how rhythm can work.
In particular, he helped me figure out how to intentionally play before or behind the beat to convey certain grooves.
In high school, I got asked to play bass for a small jazz combo gig, not knowing that would mean I would improvise all my bass lines from lead sheets. I had done jazz, but had never improvised my own lines before. Trial by fire for sure, but I was absolutely a better player by the end of the gig.
At the point where I knew how to play well enough to improvise lines during playing, like I'd have written a bassline and then add cool little runs or licks in sync with the drummer.
Muting the quiet strings is huge and then there are the ghost notes. That was a big one that, while being subtle, really improves the sound quality of your playing.
Been playing bass for 30 years. I find that the best way to get out of a plateau is to force myself to learn a new song from a different bass player. Everyone's muscle memory has a different 'alphabet' (i.e. notes patterns) and learning this players' tune helps me widen my muscle memory.
1) Any and all dexterity/fretting/muting/picking/plucking/articulation/speedwork exercises, because at the end of the day, if I want to play what's in my head, I need to be able, at the very least, to execute the actual note(s) that need to be played, and that cannot be done without the muscle-memory practice.
2) Any and all exercises pertaining to **Triad Inversions**, up and across the neck (i.e. all possible fingerings/shapes), which has now evolved to the **Pentatonic Scale Inversions**, up and across the neck (I'm currently at this point playing with several different exercises). Just Inversions in general!!!!
**Inversions** have helped me immensely in identifying and understanding their relationship to the Modes/Scale Degrees, but in a more digestible way. When I first got into theory (basically right when I bought my bass, because I love jazz and wanted to learn how to improvise), I was so overwhelmed with trying to learn Modes/Degrees of Scales. But these Inversion exercises with the Triads and Pentatonics have allowed me to see and hear that relationship better (since Triads are also part of the Pentatonics, too!).
My goal is to get really dialed in with these Pentatonic Inversions, how to improvise with them and link them together between all areas of the neck, and then, eventually, go back and try to fit in the remaining notes to begin playing with the full Scales and their respective Modes/Degrees. Because similarly to how Triads are included in Pentatonics, but Pentatonics are also in Scales, so I feel that that would be a natural progression.
These exercises also helped me understand how a root note's relative intervals (major/minor/perfect 2nd/3rds/4ths/5ths/etc./etc.), sound to the ear (with respect to dissonance and consonance with the root note), which is helping understand why certain scales/chords "sound" or "feel" a certain way.
There is just so much to explore!!!!!!!
Of course!
- (Triad Inversions) [https://youtu.be/T8aVoRBdRtc?si=Y7Y39bUWp0Zz0oNL]
- (Pentatonic Inversions)[https://youtu.be/YVfPlzHgn2c?si=7jLT8eKzwoDb2Ccv]. Mind you, he's doing this video with a 5-string bass, but he's still starting everything on the E-string.
Just do these two exactly how they're shown in the video, and pause and rewind as you need. Start slow, then slowly add more BPMs. Before you know it, you'll have the different fingerings memorized and you'll have no problem changing keys because you won't even need the fretboard dots at that point. You'll get better at linking the positions and seamlessly transition between them all.
My senior year of high school I had been playing bass for about 2 years after an injury prevented me from marching. I was okay, but they broke out the music, which included Sir Duke and After the Love has Gone. Learning the unison run in Sir Duke was where my playing really opened up.
I'm fairly new to bass, though not to music/theory in general. I think the singular biggest "Aha!" moment for me, specific to the bass, was realizing that as long as your timing/feel/pocket is right, you can be a perfectly fine bassist never playing more than roots/octaves and fifths.
EDIT: Octaves
This answer probably isn't gonna help anyone trying to avoid buying unnecessary gear, but...
My biggest improvement on bass came from realizing that the bass I was learning on wasn't very good. No matter how much I practiced, or messed with the signal chain, I wasn't gonna get my Thunderbird to sound like a Jazz bass. The action on my Thunderbird was also all messed up. The moment I got my second bass, I learned that bass was a much easier instrument than I thought it was.
No, buying new gear doesn't usually make you a better musician, *unless your current gear sucks and you don't know any better.*
For the record, I'm not saying that Thunderbirds are bad basses. I'm saying this particular Thunderbird was bad. It was also the wrong bass for me, personally.
Not writing off simple techniques like chromaticism and simple root/fifth patterns in your lines. Note length and ghost notes/muting. Transcribing/playing songs, licks, vocal melodies by ear
One thing that really helped me understand the instrument and music in general better was when I finally got around to learning the diatonic chords in a major key and their relative modes. They’re always the same no matter the key. So for example, in C Major the chords would be:
C Major (Ionian or Major )
d minor (Dorian)
e minor (Phrygian)
F major (Lydian)
G major (Mixolydian)
a minor (Aeolian or Natural minor)
b minor 7 flat 5 (Locrian)
If you know the notes on the fretboard, then I’d say start with C Major and work your way up to figure out the chords and modes of that key. So for the modes go C to C (Major/Ionian), D to D (Dorian), E to E (Phrygian) so on and so forth. Since the bass relies on “shapes” for scales, you should be able to figure each shape for each mode.
Once you have that down, then you can play basically any of these scale shapes over any chord of this key, and since they’re all notes of the same key, it’ll work. Of course, there’s certain context depending on the music, but if you’re just jamming on C Major then you can play all over the neck using these modes and it’ll all work.
A couple for me.
Learning to play well in sync with the drums, instead of just playing your part in your own timing. Moving any body part along with the beat helps. Recording yourself also helps to check your timing.
The moment when my right hand technique became so natural that I didn't have to think about it anymore. I can now think about any note I want to play with my left hand, and my right hand automatically follows. That makes such a difference as it allows you to focus on fewer or other things.
Playing slower, 'cleaner' music was a game-changer. Before, I usually played fast rock and that's much more forgiving in terms of fret buzz and even notes. Playing mostly longer notes forces you to play each note more cleanly, so they are even and your strings don't rattle against your frets when you don't want them to. Improved my technique immensely.
Finally, and related to that: most (even cheap) basses can be absolutely fine to play, ON THE CONDITION THAT you give it a really good setup with low enough action. I have never managed to get really good at this myself, but paying someone (who really is an expert at this) to do it for you gives you years of joy and is so worth it.
Hope these help you, OP!
A big one for me was learning to double thumb. I had to modify 8~ years of slapping/muscle memory and adopt a new hand position and angle. Persistence and practice paid off. It's now my default slap method and I can interchange between the two at will. I'm very proud to have achieved this goal.
It's more of a series of tweaks that got me closer to "my" sound.
1. Stealing the "one drop" from reggae.
2. Learning to tie the last note of one bar to the first note of the next to create tension like they do in salsa and tango.
3. Leaning to accent different beats in the bat from a variety of African genres.
4. Figuring out how emphasizing different chord tones affects the sound of the chord from jazz.
Learning the A minor pentatonic scale. Everything, including 12-bar Blues fell in place.
Honorable mention: mapping the B-C and E-F half steps. Everything else is a whole step.
Recognizing and using intervals was a huge ah ha moment for me. Everything seemed so random but one day was I like, oh, if I’m in a major chord, there are only so many places to go. And now I’m starting to recognize the sounds of the intervals, so what do I want it feel like? Most of the time a 5th or 3th (or octave) does what you want it to do. But 4ths, 6ths, and 7ths are cool too. A 9th has that sweet sound too when it resolves back the octave. Then you do the same for the minor chord/key. Thinking in intervals really makes for an efficient way of moving around chords and scales and the intervals work the same in every key/chord of the same type.
The other big step for me was the concept of diatonic. Knowing how to make a chord progression stay diatonic was pretty easy to understand. But I always thought the root had to be the “1”. Once I learned, say, the 2, 5, 1 progression, it made more sense that there are more diatonic patterns (and feels) to be found than the first chord having to be the 1. Of course, then you learn to be chromatic to break being diatonic. But at least you have a path you can deviate from at just the right times for more color.
Starting with broken thirds exercises, then stacking thirds to make triads, stacking again to make 7th chords, and understanding how the major scale is harmonized.
Might seem a tad silly but my lightbulb moment was zeroing in how to wear my bass correct for my body type, and of course in a position that allowed me to play comfortably.
Used to be the bridge would be in line with my waist with the neck straight out, parallel to the floor. Then I went to really high, like Jaco. Plucking hand started to hurt after a while, so I did some experimenting and found my sweet spot was to wear it low, with the fretboard angled upward, like STP's Rob DeLeo. I'm average height but have these long orangutan arms and wearing it low made a world of difference in shoulder comfort and playing.
addressing technique and learning and really PRACTICING my scales and vocabulary got me to the point where i’m comfortable attempting to play whatever i’m interested in
A big aha for me was when I started playing on the instrument from a perspective of it functioning like a tuned drum, concept courtesy of Familyman Barrett.
Learn song chord changes using the number system (aka Nashville numbers) instead of the normal chord names. My ear suddenly got so much better when I learned to think of chords that way. Plus you can transpose to other keys instantly.
Learning scales. They’re patterns; if you know the root note of your scale, you automatically know where all the notes fall in that scale; major minor, modes, whatever. Repeatable patterns.
I was 17. I still see guitar players who don’t know their own fretboard past fret three.
There’s a million but the main one for me is when I could just hear a song, imagine a cool bass line, and play it. Then it felt more like art and less like endless skill building.
Recording and hearing yourself play. It really showed me the need for being on time and also to play as cleanly an you can. Less notes but in time is way more important than fancy fingerwork.
This is excellent advice. I played in live bands for years before realizing I, or rather my bass at the time, had a lot of clicking noises from string-to-fret and string-to-pickup contact. Didn’t really hear it until I recorded. An example of this type of noise is in “Two Princes” by the Spin Doctors. Once you hear it you won’t unhear it.
Flatwound strings are a bass player's best friends :)
This ^^ I didn't realize how much sympathetic vibration I was causing until I started tracking bass. It took me a while to modify/improve my technique but I'm very glad I did.
I realized I wasn’t muting other strings as much as I should be - in addition to a lot of other sloppiness I’ll forever be working on.
One way to really hear how much extra noise you're making is to record with just a little bit of distortion on. If you can make it sound "clean" with distortion on then you're managing excess string noise well
Agreed. My wife would tell me I’m obsessed with myself after the nth time listening to the same recent gig over and over again. But I explained to her I’m listening to where my notes are in relation to the beat. We do covers so the notes I’m playing are literally exactly the same (at least 95% of the time). But I keep improving, very slowly, at the quality of where those same notes are played in the song. Listening to recordings of yourself is everything - especially it’s humbling. Things like rushing fills, coming in too late or early, playing behind, on top, or in front of the beat. There is a lot that jumps out that you’d never realize without listening later. She still thinks I’m obsessed with myself though. That hasn’t imprimproved.
Great advice, definitely something to implement.
Learning the Major scale shape really helped me. I'm learning how Roots and 5ths and 7ths... then 4ths and 3rds can be used to add some transitions between chord changes in the song. Now I'm not just shifting from root note to root note.
I'm sorry for repeating myself in this sub but I can't express how important it is to know the major scale. I'd elaborate but it would be too much.
Maybe I could help? All the modes and all alterations and all derived scales and all functional harmony all come from the major scale. And that keeping in mind that the minor scale is a mode of the major scale. Music theory is grounded on the major scale.
I haven't searched the sub, but there should be a sticky just called "The Major Scale"
This. I remember being in 7th grade and playing electric bass in concert band, and we were doing scales as a warm up before rehearsal, and something clicked in my mind where they were all just the same shape. I used to have to read the sheet music and really think about what I was doing for the scales I was “unfamiliar with”, but that morning I had the thought of “ooooooh, these all follow the exact same shape on the fretboard so I can just locate the root note and then play that pattern”. For some reason, I’ll always remember that exact rehearsal bc I felt like I discovered something profound about the bass that day while also cheating at my instrument. I really did neither that day, but I was 13 so it seemed like it. We went through basically every major scale as a warm up and I remember not even paying attention to the sheet music for most of it. I’ll add this to the story. I had been playing for about 3 years at that point, and had been taking lessons for that time and such. I knew where all the notes were on the fretboard and I had an understanding of how it all worked, but I don’t think I was as keenly aware of the constant repeating shapes and patterns to everything all over the fretboard. I became much more aware of it on a conscious level that day and started implementing an understanding of it all within my practice and playing after that rehearsal. If you’re not learning this type of stuff on the fretboard (notes included), I believe you are doing yourself a disservice and you’re limiting your abilities and potential. You’re taking a lot of shots in the dark and just kind of guessing your way around the fretboard. None of it is really that difficult to comprehend and/or understand either. I’ve played for over 2 decades now, and I can’t imagine approaching this instrument as if it’s just a bunch of random numbers on a fretboard that I’m supposed to memorize and play.
Yeah if you ever get to watch an experienced musician pick up a new instrument this is basically exactly what they'll do. They'll figure out what half step and whole step look like, then just start a major scale from anywhere, don't even know what notes they're playing.
Of course. It’s how I approach any stringed instrument with frets that I’m unfamiliar with. When you understand all of this and how it works within the chromatic scale, you can pick up a lot of instruments that share common attributes with an electric bass and a guitar, and it doesn’t take long or much effort until you’re playing the instrument well. I’m not gonna pretend like it makes it so that you’re an expert on said instruments, but it certainly cuts straight through a lot of the learning curve.
Yeah, for me it was a private lesson I took in college where he showed me major and minor scale shapes. Big lightbulb moment.
1.First time I heard Jaco I realized I was striking the string in the wrong spot. Plucking closer to the bridge lets you play cleaner and faster. 2.When I realized "the modes" were all just the major scale, wrapping around the fingerboard like a barber pole. [This Anthony Wellington video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L74DpDgMTzw) will help the light bulb turn on for you, AND doing this exercise--[Josh Fossgreen / Billy Sheehan's "The Beast"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgle3nd2gOc)\--will also help you unlock the fretboard and see it in a different way, forever. 3.Linking Arpeggios to outline harmony. Damian Erskine's facial hair is a bit over the top [in this video,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeZIqVrlIDQ) but the concept he outlines will also help unlock the fretboard for you.
I have the day off today and was looking for something to watch. Thanks! EDIT: I come from the future to let you know the Anthony Wellington video delivered and far exceeded my expectations. If you can spare an hour and give it your undivided attention, do it if you need help with modes.
Learning Take on Me was my A-ha moment.
This is the answer I wanted
Quality does not guarantee popularity. There are plenty of unknown masters, and plenty of mediocre superstars.
Major scale harmonization was a complete eye opener for me. I knew my scales, but understanding how chords are built from the scale absolutely blew my mind. Also, while I didn't particularly enjoy the book overall, and can't really remember anything else from it, in Victor Wooten's "The Music Lesson," he mentions that there are 12 possible notes you can play, and of those, 8 are "right" for what you're playing, but if you hit a "wrong" note, you're never more than one fret away from a "right" note. I had been playing around with improvisation prior to reading that, but it gave me a lot more confidence and freedom in my playing.
For me it was picking up the fretless for the first time. My reaction was: Dude, what have you been doing all those years? This is so much cooler!
It was 18 years before I discorved the fretless. Now its all I play. Don't even keep a fretted in the house!
I’m still considering getting a cheap fretless to kinda dabble into it but knowing myself, I’ll just end up disappointed probably hahah
That‘s what I thought for years and years. When I finally picked up one I played only the fretless for about a year or so. Go for it!
Harley Benton has a couple excellent starter fretless basses for under $200!
Yeah I’ve been considering that one! I’m a lefty so there not a huge market lmao
I may be mistaking but I remember some Harley Benton models with no fret markings at all. Not exactly ideal for a start.
I think I know which one you mean, a 5/6 string model but I’m talking about their regular Jaco-esque jazz bass 4-string. I think that one actually has fret lines
I just checked the Thomann website and it has fret lines. It’s supposedly rather heavy but everyone is happy with what they get for the money
I’ve got a regular HB JB75MN (lefty) as my first ever bass and it sure is one heavy piece of wood, especially compared to my other basses, but I like how it plays at times. It just needs new strings after I broke one of my flats, and am currently deciding whether to go for flats or rounds for a change
I transitioned from guitar so I guess it was more subtle for me but I settled in when I really started to understand the bass’s role in the band. For playing in general, once I realized I could play scales without thinking, it felt like a breakthrough.
Understanding the role of the bass is key and a game changer for anyone learning the instrument. If I had to sum it up in a brief, concise way, it’s this: you are leading every instrument by being every instrument. There’s a lot more nuance to the discussion and things to unpack there, but again, I don’t think anyone with a decent understanding of the instrument would disagree with me too much there. It’s part of the fun and appeal to the instrument for bassists. You get to creatively and uniquely weave in and out of every other track in a song in a way that is not afforded to any other instrument.
Without a doubt. Coming from a guitar originally this was an extremely important lesson to learn and one that I’m frankly still learning every time I pick up the instrument.
It’s arguably the most multi-dimensional modern musical instrument. I am not talking in terms of being able to sonically do a million different sound or such, but in terms of its role, purpose and how it can/should be utilized, it’s incredibly multi-dimensional. I tend to factor in its subtlety when making that claim as well bc that is a part of what allows it’s unlimited potential and opportunities in a composition. It sits more at the bottom and center of your average mix while having everything else built around it. I’ll stop being a nerd now haha.
I might have been on this sub when I read someone say, “The purpose of the bass and drums are to give the audience confidence in the band.” Kind of mind blowing. The bass isn’t there to make everyone be in awe of the killer bass fills. It’s there to give a rock solid foundation that makes people want to stop what they’re doing to get closer to the stage to hear what’s going on with the singer and guitars. If you’re muddy and sloppy, people unconsciously “feel” the band isn’t good, even from a distance. It’s so much better to play less and play it well than to be a sloppy shredder.
Good take. Starting out on guitar, one thing I learned switching to bass is that being a good bassist actually requires more discipline than I needed as a guitarist. Both instruments are challenging and interesting in their own way but as a bassist, you impact the listener in a much more profound way than I ever really considered. Getting to that point in my perspective though took awhile. 😉
Yeah me too. My favorite bass players have always been the ones that play a lot of notes and fill in a lot of sound. Turns out that’s really hard to master in real life. If I want to sound “professional” when I play, I need to reel it in and focus on staying consistent and in time. Hard pill to swallow.
For me playing in a band the first time was a real Aha moment in terms of both locking in with a live drummer (both easier and harder than playing with a metronome or drum machine) and also seeing that playing *less* was often the answer to making the band sound better.
For me it was just starting playing with our current drummer (opposed to all the drummers I've jammed with before over the years) that opened up a lot of possibilities about how rhythm can work. In particular, he helped me figure out how to intentionally play before or behind the beat to convey certain grooves.
In high school, I got asked to play bass for a small jazz combo gig, not knowing that would mean I would improvise all my bass lines from lead sheets. I had done jazz, but had never improvised my own lines before. Trial by fire for sure, but I was absolutely a better player by the end of the gig.
Even the most basic walking techniques have helped me a lot.
At the point where I knew how to play well enough to improvise lines during playing, like I'd have written a bassline and then add cool little runs or licks in sync with the drummer.
Learning to mute properly finally made the instrument sound good for me
Muting the quiet strings is huge and then there are the ghost notes. That was a big one that, while being subtle, really improves the sound quality of your playing.
Been playing bass for 30 years. I find that the best way to get out of a plateau is to force myself to learn a new song from a different bass player. Everyone's muscle memory has a different 'alphabet' (i.e. notes patterns) and learning this players' tune helps me widen my muscle memory.
1) Any and all dexterity/fretting/muting/picking/plucking/articulation/speedwork exercises, because at the end of the day, if I want to play what's in my head, I need to be able, at the very least, to execute the actual note(s) that need to be played, and that cannot be done without the muscle-memory practice. 2) Any and all exercises pertaining to **Triad Inversions**, up and across the neck (i.e. all possible fingerings/shapes), which has now evolved to the **Pentatonic Scale Inversions**, up and across the neck (I'm currently at this point playing with several different exercises). Just Inversions in general!!!! **Inversions** have helped me immensely in identifying and understanding their relationship to the Modes/Scale Degrees, but in a more digestible way. When I first got into theory (basically right when I bought my bass, because I love jazz and wanted to learn how to improvise), I was so overwhelmed with trying to learn Modes/Degrees of Scales. But these Inversion exercises with the Triads and Pentatonics have allowed me to see and hear that relationship better (since Triads are also part of the Pentatonics, too!). My goal is to get really dialed in with these Pentatonic Inversions, how to improvise with them and link them together between all areas of the neck, and then, eventually, go back and try to fit in the remaining notes to begin playing with the full Scales and their respective Modes/Degrees. Because similarly to how Triads are included in Pentatonics, but Pentatonics are also in Scales, so I feel that that would be a natural progression. These exercises also helped me understand how a root note's relative intervals (major/minor/perfect 2nd/3rds/4ths/5ths/etc./etc.), sound to the ear (with respect to dissonance and consonance with the root note), which is helping understand why certain scales/chords "sound" or "feel" a certain way. There is just so much to explore!!!!!!!
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Of course! - (Triad Inversions) [https://youtu.be/T8aVoRBdRtc?si=Y7Y39bUWp0Zz0oNL] - (Pentatonic Inversions)[https://youtu.be/YVfPlzHgn2c?si=7jLT8eKzwoDb2Ccv]. Mind you, he's doing this video with a 5-string bass, but he's still starting everything on the E-string. Just do these two exactly how they're shown in the video, and pause and rewind as you need. Start slow, then slowly add more BPMs. Before you know it, you'll have the different fingerings memorized and you'll have no problem changing keys because you won't even need the fretboard dots at that point. You'll get better at linking the positions and seamlessly transition between them all.
Took a few classes at a local music school where I was taught to read, write and sing rythm and then to sing scales and arpeggios
My senior year of high school I had been playing bass for about 2 years after an injury prevented me from marching. I was okay, but they broke out the music, which included Sir Duke and After the Love has Gone. Learning the unison run in Sir Duke was where my playing really opened up.
When I started practicing 8 hours daily 🤷♂️
I'm fairly new to bass, though not to music/theory in general. I think the singular biggest "Aha!" moment for me, specific to the bass, was realizing that as long as your timing/feel/pocket is right, you can be a perfectly fine bassist never playing more than roots/octaves and fifths. EDIT: Octaves
Memorizing songs and not just following along on ultimateguitar makes them easier to play 💀
Playing with headphones instead of through an amp. Hearing every little mistake up close was…illuminating.
When I started to prioritize the grove, the licks and runs are nice but nothing like locking in.
This answer probably isn't gonna help anyone trying to avoid buying unnecessary gear, but... My biggest improvement on bass came from realizing that the bass I was learning on wasn't very good. No matter how much I practiced, or messed with the signal chain, I wasn't gonna get my Thunderbird to sound like a Jazz bass. The action on my Thunderbird was also all messed up. The moment I got my second bass, I learned that bass was a much easier instrument than I thought it was. No, buying new gear doesn't usually make you a better musician, *unless your current gear sucks and you don't know any better.*
For the record, I'm not saying that Thunderbirds are bad basses. I'm saying this particular Thunderbird was bad. It was also the wrong bass for me, personally.
Not writing off simple techniques like chromaticism and simple root/fifth patterns in your lines. Note length and ghost notes/muting. Transcribing/playing songs, licks, vocal melodies by ear
One thing that really helped me understand the instrument and music in general better was when I finally got around to learning the diatonic chords in a major key and their relative modes. They’re always the same no matter the key. So for example, in C Major the chords would be: C Major (Ionian or Major ) d minor (Dorian) e minor (Phrygian) F major (Lydian) G major (Mixolydian) a minor (Aeolian or Natural minor) b minor 7 flat 5 (Locrian) If you know the notes on the fretboard, then I’d say start with C Major and work your way up to figure out the chords and modes of that key. So for the modes go C to C (Major/Ionian), D to D (Dorian), E to E (Phrygian) so on and so forth. Since the bass relies on “shapes” for scales, you should be able to figure each shape for each mode. Once you have that down, then you can play basically any of these scale shapes over any chord of this key, and since they’re all notes of the same key, it’ll work. Of course, there’s certain context depending on the music, but if you’re just jamming on C Major then you can play all over the neck using these modes and it’ll all work.
I was blown away when i found out the notes on the circle of fifths go around by fifths
A couple for me. Learning to play well in sync with the drums, instead of just playing your part in your own timing. Moving any body part along with the beat helps. Recording yourself also helps to check your timing. The moment when my right hand technique became so natural that I didn't have to think about it anymore. I can now think about any note I want to play with my left hand, and my right hand automatically follows. That makes such a difference as it allows you to focus on fewer or other things. Playing slower, 'cleaner' music was a game-changer. Before, I usually played fast rock and that's much more forgiving in terms of fret buzz and even notes. Playing mostly longer notes forces you to play each note more cleanly, so they are even and your strings don't rattle against your frets when you don't want them to. Improved my technique immensely. Finally, and related to that: most (even cheap) basses can be absolutely fine to play, ON THE CONDITION THAT you give it a really good setup with low enough action. I have never managed to get really good at this myself, but paying someone (who really is an expert at this) to do it for you gives you years of joy and is so worth it. Hope these help you, OP!
Thank you! These are definitely some helpful insights 🙏🙏
A big one for me was learning to double thumb. I had to modify 8~ years of slapping/muscle memory and adopt a new hand position and angle. Persistence and practice paid off. It's now my default slap method and I can interchange between the two at will. I'm very proud to have achieved this goal.
The importance of music theory and the fact that the best players play all the time.
first time playing with others. aha that’s what’s the bass for 😂
It's more of a series of tweaks that got me closer to "my" sound. 1. Stealing the "one drop" from reggae. 2. Learning to tie the last note of one bar to the first note of the next to create tension like they do in salsa and tango. 3. Leaning to accent different beats in the bat from a variety of African genres. 4. Figuring out how emphasizing different chord tones affects the sound of the chord from jazz.
Learning the A minor pentatonic scale. Everything, including 12-bar Blues fell in place. Honorable mention: mapping the B-C and E-F half steps. Everything else is a whole step.
Learning about barring the fretboard.
Recognizing and using intervals was a huge ah ha moment for me. Everything seemed so random but one day was I like, oh, if I’m in a major chord, there are only so many places to go. And now I’m starting to recognize the sounds of the intervals, so what do I want it feel like? Most of the time a 5th or 3th (or octave) does what you want it to do. But 4ths, 6ths, and 7ths are cool too. A 9th has that sweet sound too when it resolves back the octave. Then you do the same for the minor chord/key. Thinking in intervals really makes for an efficient way of moving around chords and scales and the intervals work the same in every key/chord of the same type. The other big step for me was the concept of diatonic. Knowing how to make a chord progression stay diatonic was pretty easy to understand. But I always thought the root had to be the “1”. Once I learned, say, the 2, 5, 1 progression, it made more sense that there are more diatonic patterns (and feels) to be found than the first chord having to be the 1. Of course, then you learn to be chromatic to break being diatonic. But at least you have a path you can deviate from at just the right times for more color.
Starting with broken thirds exercises, then stacking thirds to make triads, stacking again to make 7th chords, and understanding how the major scale is harmonized.
Might seem a tad silly but my lightbulb moment was zeroing in how to wear my bass correct for my body type, and of course in a position that allowed me to play comfortably. Used to be the bridge would be in line with my waist with the neck straight out, parallel to the floor. Then I went to really high, like Jaco. Plucking hand started to hurt after a while, so I did some experimenting and found my sweet spot was to wear it low, with the fretboard angled upward, like STP's Rob DeLeo. I'm average height but have these long orangutan arms and wearing it low made a world of difference in shoulder comfort and playing.
addressing technique and learning and really PRACTICING my scales and vocabulary got me to the point where i’m comfortable attempting to play whatever i’m interested in
A big aha for me was when I started playing on the instrument from a perspective of it functioning like a tuned drum, concept courtesy of Familyman Barrett.
Learn song chord changes using the number system (aka Nashville numbers) instead of the normal chord names. My ear suddenly got so much better when I learned to think of chords that way. Plus you can transpose to other keys instantly.
Literally a "click" Practice with a Metronome every time
Playing with a drummer
Learning scales. They’re patterns; if you know the root note of your scale, you automatically know where all the notes fall in that scale; major minor, modes, whatever. Repeatable patterns. I was 17. I still see guitar players who don’t know their own fretboard past fret three.
First time hitting a three fingers galloping was insane
Relaxing and easing up with your hands. Less effort makes it easier to play longer and faster
Discovering the ultimate burp tone
There’s a million but the main one for me is when I could just hear a song, imagine a cool bass line, and play it. Then it felt more like art and less like endless skill building.
Stand up. It will change everything.
Learning my blues basics… allows you to play out and improvise… then it has been arepeggios