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11/01/2004 9:32 pm
Hey guys, I'm new to the forums, and to the whole guitar thing in general. Basically I'm finding myself with a lot of spare time, in which I spend countless hours playing video games and instant messaging... I've decided that beginning to play an instrument would be a great start and idea for me. I'm 15, and a friend of mine who has been playing guitar for years has a really nice bass guitar and amp...She says its mine for $100...And yeah i know its not some junk , were just really good friends and shes saving up for a better guitar for herself. So here i am, starting the bass...I've fooled around with it for an hour or so, just trying to get my self familiarized with hand positioning, etc. So, I've looked over all the notes and frets and what not, basically, out of reading all that I understand the treble / bass clef's, and kinda like the whole whole half whole whole whole half, and the G A B C D E F , i somewaht understand the sharps and flats...I've spent the last 3 hours reading, even 2 -3 times the same stuff...Basically what im gettin down to is , is all this stuff necessary ? Like I know im reading it but it seems to be going throuhg one ear and out the other. Im quite committed as i will be spending a MINIMUM of 10hours a week practicing, and my goals consist of been good enough just to maybe play in a band wiht my friends or something or beeing able to play songs of my favorite bands in the next couple years. So i was wondering just basically where to start...Should i just start practicing and fooling around, or reading all this note stuff over and over again till i get it into memory permanently or what. Cause alot of it i dont have any idea what it means, some of it i understand, but it seems the more i read it hte more confused i get...Please help me out here/....thanks alot
12/01/2004 2:23 am
How are you reading music?
tab:
G---3-0
D-------
A-------
E-0----
or reguar, the stuff that pianos and saxaphone use?
if not tab, i would reccomend learning that, its very easy to figure out
12/01/2004 3:52 am
If you want to be a versatile musician, then yes, all of that is necessary. The good news is that you don't have to learn it all at once. Whatever pace is comfortable for you is fine.
Like Jhon says, tab is a handy thing to be able to read. Standard notation (or dots), with the cleffs and note symbols is also extremely handy. Tab is nice because it shows you just where to play each note. Unfortunately, that's about it. Standard notation is a complete description of a song, but it doesn't tell you which fret to play at. Luckily, that's not usually important. When possible, I like to have both at hand. Tab makes it easy to find a note, but it doesn't tell you what to do with it (like length).
If I were you, I'd learn where the notes are on the neck. Maybe you could learn them on all the strings up to the fifth fret, and learn higher positions later. Try to get a basic understanding of intervals, that will stand you in good stead for a while.
The first thing to do is to slow down and play a little bit before trying to cram a bunch of music reading and theory into your head (unless you're one of those people who loves it). Get to know the instrument and experiment a little. That will serve as a kind of foundation for the rest of your learning.
12/01/2004 5:16 am
alright thanks a bunch guys...ill look more into the tab and experiment a bit first :D
18/01/2004 2:23 pm
Most people agre that the easiest way to learn music is to learn songs. So ask the girl who sold it to you if she would teach you some songs, and play them with you. You still need to put in the work to learn more about the bass, but learning songs is the fastest - and funnest - way to do it.
Good Luck!
Laz
20/01/2004 12:36 am
Yeah, agree with Laz on getting some input from your friend. The four strings on the bass are just like the thickest strings on a guitar, just different Octave. You could play single notes of a chord she is playing. I hope your friend has a good tuner, until you get one for yourself. Another suggestion for you as a bass player, get a metronome so your timing can get tight. Bass and drums are the rythym.
It is a small world for metal fanatics. I welcome you fellow musicians, especially the metalheads!