this is for experienced bassists..

[kdash]

*revives old thread*

i think pretty much everything has been said, just want to reinforce the fact that we should never stop learning. once we say "i've learnt it all", we will never improve. to quote a chinese saying, "live until old, learn until old." also, be humble to learn and to guide less experienced people along.

benchmarks and milestones are a useful way of keeping track of your improvement and to see how far you have come in your playing. whether you have your own unique style, your hearing capabilities, your knowledge and ability to play different genres of music etc.

aim to match up your skills to your equipment too! not the other way around.

 

[bassinc]

<how does a bass player know that, he has mastered the bass?
is it when, he could play a complicated bassline really fast?
or, when he could come up with a bassline almost immediately?>

Hi there, hope this thread is still active. Well...Mr lightwan_sg, to answer your Q, i say you should know your instrument very well. If you are married, you should know your instrument much more than your beloved wife! Hope my Mrs doesn't read
this!You should be in control of your instrument not the other way round.

I started playing bass when I was 12 and now after 28 yrs of playing, I am still learning. After playing songs from all kind of genre, Its time for you to create your very own technique. Thats how I came up with the harmonics on my bass (altho its not me who created harmonics). Playing chordal harmonics on bass is really an achievement! You will be amazed that there are so much you can do on your 4 stringer! But don't forget to GROOVE, man! You can create all those Criss Angel, or David Copperfield-like technique, but if you can't insert the groove, you are left behind, totally! Victor Wooten's Bass Nature Camp will not make you be another Victor Wooten. He is a myth, you are the reality!
Years ago, i was a sales staff in a music store where i met this black guy who always turned up early during the operational hours. He was so eager to learn the finger slap technique from me. Which i did. Always on the lookout if my supervisor is not around, i will give him an impromptu lesson. Of course, he can't do it overnight. For two weeks, he turned up at the store, just to learn the technique. Until one day, he told had to go home. Back to San francisco. He promised to call me once he got that technique, he will give me a call no matter the time difference was! Which he did! yes!.....I was busy replenishing some new stock when my colleague said i got an overseas call!
Hey man! Its him! He told me to hold the line and the next minute i heard from him was the same technique that I showed him. He actually played it on his bass! Now thats another achievement! So touching.....but I hate myself for not remembering his name!

"Those who have had success in realizing their own vision have a duty to help others in their struggle to emerge" - Stanley Clarke

 

[kdash]

that's a nice story, bassinc! inspires all the bassists out there to just keep trying, and never lose the passion for bassing!

i would beg to differ about the "knowing your bass better than your wife" part, though. dangerous :mrgreen:

 

[bassinc]

Yeah...kdash! Just like Melvin Wong used to tell me, spend money on mistress or spend your money on basses! hahahaha....
Ok, would like to touch a bit on creating your own technique. You will not get the slightest idea on creating a technique IF you plan to do it. What I mean is ideas DOESN't just pop in to your head in an instant. They would pop up even if you are busy with your business in the toilet! Thats why some songwriters always have something handy which they can jot down whatever struck their mind. I came up with my so-called Flamenco slap when i was so frustrated with some one. Feel like slapping that person! And it turn out to be a triplet slap with my knuckles. Then i realised that i have created something! So my advice is to play rubbish, you will never know that there are GOLD in it! Hahaha...

"Those who have had success in realizing their own vision have a duty to help others in their struggle to emerge" - Stanley Clarke

 

[DarkRed]

hey bassinc, nice post. good on you think you touched on some of the joys of learning bass, or in fact any instrument. teachable mentee, willing mentor and a bit of musical magic.

*warm, low frequency fuzzy feeling*

 

[bassinc]

Hi DarkRed,

Thanks for the kind words. If i can add more, i would like to share how i started playing the bass. Well, most bass players, i believe, don't really start playing the instrument because of some reasons;..."Unfortunately, the bass player didn't turn up so i have to play the bass". Sound familiar huh? Some of us are either drummers, guitar player or even vocalist. Just a handful of "pure" bass player that were made to be one. Of course, there's absolutely NOTHING is wrong with that.

I started playing the bass after listening to Iron Maiden a lot and till now i can still play some of their songs from the first few albums. Why is that so? Think its due to the muscle memory that was developed 28 years ago. Then i started to listen other genre after joining the music store which i mentioned in my previous post. That was when i stared to listen to Jaco, Michael Manring, Billy Sheehan, Stu Hamm, Victor Wooten and many more.
Once upon a time, I was at my friend's place and his big brother played a modified acoustic bass guitar. You know a classical guitar converted to 4 string bass. Hahaha...very creative huh!
So there he was, playing a bass line, and i somehow stole his licks. And when realised that, he turned around to prevent me from stealing more! YES BRO! he did just that! The next day, i went to his house again, pick up the guitar and played the very same licks. Obviously he heard it and rushed to me and said sacarstically,' Don't you have any other song to play? Stop copying me!! So every time when i turned up at his place, he will play the guitar somewhere in a corner. Since then, i used my ears a lot!

We were not exposed to other kind of learning material except those cassette tapes that were easily available at City Plaza, Tanjong Katong Rd; Peninsula Shopping Centre or Queensway! Tabs? What is that? hahahha... ok, let me continue with my story. We are still friends. Recently, he called me for some lessons. Whoa! Of course...i'll be glad to share with him. Sharing doesn't make you ache! But memories still lingers on my mind!

"Those who have had success in realizing their own vision have a duty to help others in their struggle to emerge" - Stanley Clarke

 

[jesus]

brother bassinc...bass yoda to most of us....thats exactly how it really was then huh...really funny, difficult at times BUT we really trained our ears.
listening was the order of the day and the final test was playing along with them cassettes or records.
if you nailed it...yeah! if not listen again...and again....we played all them passing notes (did not know what they were then) ....D / F# bass....
i learnt to slap by watching charles goh ( he worked at the same store with you) and practised like hell at home....but thats where i stopped.
i never bothered about the new victor wooten technique...
but bro bassinc took it all the way....
i remember bro bassinc as the rhythm guitar player in rosli's band.....way back then

anyway, nowsaday the youngsters i think they are learning it wrong, they are too spoilt for choice as they can gather all the info they need from the internet/you tube.
i have seen many of these youths play garang slap, pop and tap on the bass, some can play like wooten but cannot play a descent song properly.
maybe it the hormones la...

all the best to you my bro, bassinc/bass yoda.

 

[shinobi]

the messiah is upon us... :shock:

 

[bassinc]

<brother bassinc...bass yoda to most of us.>
Whoa!...thank you for the kind words but i am a fan of all of you, bass players!

Speaking of Charles Goh, do you know where is he now?

 

[AZLiGATOR]

You pick up an instrument, start playing, and soon everyone stops, stays and watch.

wow.. I've been there. The whole band stops & watch me. Soon after, they asked "What the hell were you playing? We are all in minors damn it!" :mrgreen:

 

[FourSling]

Personally, I think it will be a sad world if any one masters anything, no matter how good they are - because that would mean there's nothing left to learn, explore and enjoy. Keep on bassin' !

 

[4BFC]

Well, i am not an expert in music, still trying to learn how to play bass. And I still learning more about guitar and drums which I had been playing for a couple of years. I guess, the best part about music is that there is always something to learn. Learning how to play the bass, learning how to write a song with it, learning how to improvise on the spot, learning how to fit in with the drummer, learning how to catch the groove of the song, learning how to interpret the song in your own style and add in your own feel. That is the reason I love music, the possibilities are endless and there are so many things to learn !

 

[4BFC]

By the way to the bassists out there, though I ask this question, I might be clubbed to death or shot or get knocked down by cars, I just feel very curious.
Can anyone enlighten me, is bass guitar consider a guitar or a different instrument that looks like a guitar ? Sorry, I know it's a stupid question but it somehow just bugs me. Thanks !

 

[e4t3n]

Haha.. Yes it is a guitar, which takes care of the lower frequencies

 

[4BFC]

Haha, thanks !

 

[tpiledriver]

Keep the learning never ends attitude man! haha

 

[maikalikong]

Mastering bass

Hi all,

I feel that it's not possible to fully master any instrument or anything but perhaps to reach certain benchmarks like what some of you posted in previous threads. I guess everyone will want to play like Jaco, Sheehan, Wooten, etc but I'm sure even they can't say for themselves that they have truly mastered the bass right?

For me I believe in practise (thought I haven't had much time to do so myself) and readin up on things that can improve your playing. I watch a lot of bass videos and study how they play and their technique. But ultimately it depends on how much effort you're willing to put into your playing and how much you want to improve. If you always practise the same songs that you're good at then that's not practising. Like Sheehan says; Practise what you suck at, so that you can improve.

Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.

Cheers,
Bird

 

[lordie]

practice! practice! practice! its a lifetime effort.

 

[schmuardian]

just to add my 2cents worth,

I think the best bassists play what is appropriate and nice. there's a time and place for everything... Some bassists too garang or too eager to show off and end up spoiling the song. For me technique is the means to an end... having better technique/speed/stamina etc will let me create better grooves and lines to add to the song. But I believe past a certain limit you'll be detracting from the song, and not adding to it anymore.

so yes i try and train all those "hard skills", but must always remember the "soft skills". some of the best bass lines are technically simple, but the genius is in writing it.

keep practising guys!

 

[Resetti]

not only practice but also need "feeling" lol

you practice this bassline, but on the spot if you feel like playing a different line, and if you think it'll work, then go right ahead!!!!