Fastest way of improvement?

[Leokoo]

Hi guys,

I've been playing the bass for 3 years in church, having come from a grade 5 piano background, playing competent though not flowery acoustic, classical and electric guitar. I also took a year of classes on bass, studying MI (Musician's Institute) material after completing basic bass foundation. Was actually slotted for a grade 2 or 3 exam, when work schedule took over, and I left it as that.

Just wondering how else could I improve? Would appreciate tips and feedback.

I've been
a) practicing with the metronome
b) working on the scales
c) Doing my note reading & self studying till I could find an accomplished bassist in PJ, Malaysia to teach again
d) starting to jam again at the end of the month (we're selecting the songs to jam with, so that we could have ample practice. Songs are by : Switchfoot, U2, Coldplay, Fourplay, Eric Clapton and an assortment of Christian bands like United Live and such)
e) been trying to listen to more genres of music, though some are a bit annoying


Hope to hear from you soon

 

[Yaz]

Hmm i'm no pro, but from what you wrote, i think you're doing just fine for personal improvement.

To go at it fast? Learning/improvement process never stops. Just do what you do at a steady pace.

 

[1mband]

Listen to Rush, listen to Geddy Lee.

 

[Liquidribs]

the fastest way is the hardest way.



but if u really want i got a beta technique
maybe playing, then going for 15 min nap, then waking up to play, then repeating the process 10x per day will be powerful?

heard that helps for studying. hahaha

 

[shinobi]

personally i find it quite effective when you practice with real live human beings, and not limiting yourself to metronomes, recorded audio etc.

i dunno, maybe one uses more awareness when jamming

 

[Resetti]

it actaully depends on what you want to accomplish for improvement. improvise? solos?

 

[Leokoo]

it actaully depends on what you want to accomplish for improvement. improvise? solos?

Yea, actually improvisation. Have been listening much to Smooth Jazz & specific bassist like Nathan East, Jaco Pastorius & the likes to broaden my sense of music & application of the bass.

Would appreciate tips bro!

p/s: Borrowed some books on improvisation as well last week.

 

[metaldude]

hey bro by looking at ur thread starter i think u're a better assist than many of us here hehe.maybe the only thing is that u should do more is to jam with other people and experiment with different sounds and genres.

 

[FourSling]

Sir, your passion for the bass shines through. I'll take the question in your post rather than your title, because as other posters have pointed out, improvement is lifelong rather as something that can be seen as "fast".

I'd only suggest two things:

Listen. To your other band mates when you gig and rehearse. You appear to have come over from many melody instruments such as piano, etc., and I can share from experience that while many pianists etc are superb soloists, playing in a band can be a very different experience for a soloist or lead instrument when crossing over to bass. One of the bass key roles is in controlling the dynamics of a song - pushing it, pulling and building tension, signalling changes, leading into phrases. This makes all the difference between a simple garage band pounding furiously at the notes; and The Who, for example.

The second is, Record your music - a cover or an original - and listen to yourself. Human ears can mislead, but the tape does not lie. You may be surprised what you can find you can improve. Watch for timing, expression, dynamics, evenness, unwanted fret noise from poor hand technique, and speed.

Musician's Institute: did u take the course in the US? Would be grateful to hear about your experience there. What was it like? What were the teachers and classmates like? Would you recommend it?

Could you maybe post about it some day when you have time?

 

[schmuardian]

practice scales, and don't be shy, dare to try! ^.^
just play along to a jam machine, or like Shinobi said, with a drummer and guitarist.
most important thing is to start improvising.

 

[lester_music]

well...results don't come overnight, what u are doing is obviously a route to a better bassist


But I am just curious, which genre makes you annoyed?

I love all kinds of music, from opera like Verdi's LA TRAviata,Iron Maiden(ROcK), SRV(Blues), Wishbone Ash(Classic Rock), TAylor Swift..hehe(Top 40)......Miles Davis(jazz) and countless...

So maybe i can tell you why...hehe..i guess

 

[yucki8aby]

if you really want to improve on your improvisation what i would recommend is practising scales, listening to alot of different songs, and getting to know your guitar well (bass guitar counts as a guitar too don't flame me pls). You should be able to know what each fret sounds like without playing it. then after that just have fun practising improvisation, a little music theory helps too.

 

[exopolitics]

The second is, Record your music - a cover or an original - and listen to yourself. Human ears can mislead, but the tape does not lie. You may be surprised what you can find you can improve. Watch for timing, expression, dynamics, evenness, unwanted fret noise from poor hand technique, and speed.

If I may ask, what do you use to record your music? Like those you practiced. Any special tools or computer software?