Jump to content
aberdeen-music

Bass


the evil cheese

Recommended Posts

and I was wondering if it's possible to teach myself' date=' or if it's worth forking out my cash for lessons. [/quote']

both. sorry not very helpful but it's true. it's entirely possible to teach yourself (although if you don't have a friend to show you the very basics then a cheap tutorial book would be advisable to start you off just to save time and frustration) but it's also a great idea to get some lessons to set you on your way and maybe even take you through advanced theories and techniques once you're ready.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

both. sorry not very helpful but it's true. it's entirely possible to teach yourself (although if you don't have a friend to show you the very basics then a cheap tutorial book would be advisable to start you off just to save time and frustration) but it's also a great idea to get some lessons to set you on your way and maybe even take you through advanced theories and techniques once you're ready.

True *thumbs up*

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sure there is a big guitar shop on Argyle Street... But I might be completely mistaken. Anyway, teach yourself. If you buy like a starters kit bass, like a Squier or something (About 150-180 maybe) they will usually have a little tutorial book with it. I seem to remember that being the case when I got my bass.

Failing that, for some unknown reason, in my flat we have an unopened video entitled "Beginning Electric Bass with Mark Epstein". Both of us can play fine so the video is a bit useless.

Actually, I have no idea where this video came from. A gift from above perhaps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The best thing to do is look for something second hand, because you can get a better bass for less money. If you buy a new bass, don't buy a Squier as someone was saying. The things are shite compared to other bases of that price range. It's always worth checking Yamaha out. Warwick do really good bases, although I don't know what they've got in the starter range. Encore did really good starter guitars, so it's worth checking them out to see if they do the same range for bases. If you buy new, mail order it (always cheaper). Buy a copy of Guitarist and check the adverts there, or check out the websites for The Guitar, Amp & Keyboard Centre - http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/ and Thomann - http://www.thomann.de/thoiw2_index.html (this company are especially cheap and their own brand is always high-quality German stuff). I think there are a few other websites, Coda & Flying Pig come to mind, but I don't remember the addresses for them.

I wouldn't bother at all with lessons. Get a wee book or something to show you what the notes are, then just play along with your CDs. The bass is relatively easy to pick up as an instrument.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest texjamm

I agree with looking for a second hand bass as you will tend to get more for your money than buying brand new. However if you don't know much about basses then take along someone who does as its easy to buy a bad bass 'cos it looks nice!!! Been there, done that, found it hard to sell it on to some poor punter........

As far as lessons go I would say....YES, YES, YES, YES etc. etc. I know a lot of people have taught themselves and can play well but in my personal experience you will pick up things much faster by someone showing you the best way to hold the bass, fingering, scales etc. rather than trying to decifer from a book or even work out technique completely on your own.

I was totally self taught, for fifteen years. (I already could play several instruments so I wasn't completely new to some areas of theory.) I then decided that I would try bass lessons. My teacher showed me several correct / new techniques and helped me breakdown some of my basslines and explained how they were built up and why they worked over certain chords. The light went on! :ding: It all started to make sense. You could hear the cogs starting to slowly grind together after so many years.....Until then my bass lines tended to be built on "best guesses" and ripped off riffs that I knew worked. Now I have the tools to be able to explore more and try out many new ideas that I probably wouldn't have done or it would have just taken me longer to get there.

Cheers,

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My main drawback about lessons is the regularity of say, every Tuesday you have your bass lesson. I'm quite happy to practice in my own time, but as soon as I have to practice something for a certain date, I can't be arsed doing it. I also found a lot of times, when I've learned an instrument through lessons, I've always ended up playing music I didn't like (put me off the piano for years and I remember getting shit from my sax teacher for learning Zappa stuff instead of the stupid songs in the teacher's crappy wee book). I've never had guitar/ bass lessons though, so I don't know how they tend to be styled.

Texjamm, with what you're saying about the reasons your lessons have helped, I know what you mean. However, all the new stuff you've learned about construction etc have still came from other songs. I reckon it's just the same old thing again that the best musicians are the ones who try and learn as many different styles of music as possible. Lessons are probably good if you don't have access to a broad range of music.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

as has been said, there are benefits to both but i strongly recommend picking up some lessons early on because once you master basic things like finger technique and scales and stuff, you can develop your style to become whatever you'd like it to be.

even if you get a set of 5-10 lessons then spend a fwe months on your own with books/cds/videos and work stuff out for yourself before going back to more lessons for some more advanced techniques later.

good luck tho.

spoons

/x

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been playing almost 16 years, never had a lesson, it probably shows, I dunno.

Anyway, get yersel doon the barras at the weekend. I haven't been for a while, but I'm sure there are places there, or wee shops around the periphery that sell cheapo instruments. If not, check out the Guitar Store, McCormack's or Sound Control (if its still there).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i would say a few lessons when you are starting out is a good idea at least, just to get you used to the instrument and how to play it, and to try and stop you picking up bad habits

one thing is you need to find the right teacher, its useless if you get a teacher who wants to teach you to read notation and learn to play along to jazz improvs when all you want to do is play motorhead. so you want someone who is at least in the right ballpark for what you want to learn/do

for beginner basses, squier seem to have been improving vastly over the last few years, and some of the newer guitars at least are getting some pretty great reviews (from actual players too, not just musicians) i would have a look at yamaha's, a friend of mine started out on one and it was a solid bass, and the pacifica's are supposedly great value for money and quality, which bodes well for the bass lines, i would also have a look at corts, great quality for not much cash...

David

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The best thing to do is look for something second hand' date=' because you can get a better bass for less money. If you buy a new bass, don't buy a Squier as someone was saying.[/quote']

i actually disagree with this, my freind has a special edition squir p-bass, and it sounds great, better than my freinds fender j

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i actually disagree with this' date=' my freind has a special edition squir p-bass, and it sounds great, better than my freinds fender j[/quote']

I got a barely played G&L L2000 for 600 second hand. My dad bought a Les Paul Custom for 750 second hand and a Yamaha SG2000 for 300 second hand. The deals are there if you look for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...