Self-taught bass?

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franzi
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franzi
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November 24th, 2005 at 10:50am
hiya.
i was just wondering if anyone had taught themselves bass, like from a book..
well if you have, do you have any advice on which book to get? or any adivce on anything else?

thanks
-franzi
thegirlintheband
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November 24th, 2005 at 12:50pm
i taught myself bass, but i had been playing guitar first. i think the best way to learn and write your own bass stuff is to listen to other bassist, and get tabs and stuff. then you can take different little riffs and put them together. thats what i did. i dont know much about th books tho, sorry!
franzi
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November 24th, 2005 at 01:34pm
thanks Very Happy
christie road
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November 24th, 2005 at 03:43pm
hm..... i got a bass a week before i started lessons .. but i taught myself in that week (of corse know a little guitar helped)

but i just got tabs (Green Day ones) and learned how to play those

but at you local music store you can get like lesson books and stuff
Gustavatron.
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November 25th, 2005 at 02:38am
Bass seems to be the most boring instrument to play without a band O__o
mike27562756
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November 25th, 2005 at 07:06am
I lernt from tab and i couldnt play guitar much before.
Holy Shite
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December 11th, 2006 at 10:24pm
Me too is a self-taught bassist, first i played guitar, and turn into a bass.
All i did was hear songs you wanna play, search the tab by yourself (not the internet or things) it should help you a lot with your instinct
Elvis Impersonator
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December 12th, 2006 at 06:49am
i'm a self taught bassist, without the help of a book or previous experience on guitar. dont know how, it just came naturally, and i went straight in for my grade 5 after about a year. my dad also plays, so that probably helps
ZootSuitRiot
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December 17th, 2006 at 10:00pm
if you see a book by someone called Dave Roberts, take a look at it. and sometimes when you get a starter bass pack from,say,Silvertone or SX, they will come with DVD lessons.
ZootSuitRiot
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December 17th, 2006 at 10:00pm
if you see a book by someone called Dave Roberts, take a look at it. and sometimes when you get a starter bass pack from,say,Silvertone or SX, they will come with DVD lessons.
xXAmagadXx
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December 19th, 2006 at 11:55pm
tabs my son
Zwitter
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December 26th, 2006 at 06:35am
hey................. i taught myself to play bass........... once i understood the tabs Very Happy
Robbie
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December 26th, 2006 at 02:29pm
Unless you are seriously dedicated to reading the books and learning, you will probably fail miserably as a musician when you choose to start writing original stuff, and even play more complex stuff.

There are so many things you could be doing wrong with nothing to stop you if you don't take at least a few lessons, including incorrect hand positions which in the long term can lead to serious injury. You'll also suck.

Thanks.
luscious
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December 28th, 2006 at 06:28pm
I more or less taught myself to play bass. i started on a friends. reading tabs isn't too difficult. although if you get ones that are a bit wrong in places it makes you think you,re doig something wrong. try starting with warning or something simple. and remember practice makes perfect..
Letterbombed
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December 28th, 2006 at 06:50pm
*shrug* i just sorta, picked it up... didnt need a book.
the vocalist in my band wants me to meat Victor Wooten
(his mom was on one of his CDs doing vocals so he met him)
Generation Terrorist
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December 29th, 2006 at 10:37am
I taught myself without a book or anything. But, I already knew how to play guitar, so there wasn't much to really learn.
luscious
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January 2nd, 2007 at 05:45pm
well how's the bass playing coming along. have you started yet. let me knowWink
~tre's_lost_nut~
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January 2nd, 2007 at 06:41pm
i just got my first bass today and i'm kinda freaking out cause my stepdad broke the How To Play DVD, and i can't afford lessons, and i can't read tabs, and i don't have any experiance.
but i am desperate to learn, i just don't have a freakin' clue what i'm doing. O.o
dysLEXIa
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January 3rd, 2007 at 12:21am
I taught myself as well. What I did was just learn how to read tabs, then borrowed a bass from someone and learned. Now that bass is mine and I've been playing well over a year now. =] Not the best, but I can play alot of music. I'm even substituting for a bassist for my school's battle of the bands. ^.^
LiamIsn'tOnFire.
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January 3rd, 2007 at 04:25pm
~tre's_lost_nut~:
i just got my first bass today and i'm kinda freaking out cause my stepdad broke the How To Play DVD, and i can't afford lessons, and i can't read tabs, and i don't have any experiance.
but i am desperate to learn, i just don't have a freakin' clue what i'm doing. O.o


I'll attempt to help you with tab...

G----------------------
D----------------------
A-----4-4------4-------
E-444-----02-2---4-2--

That above is the tab for the way I play the main riff of American Idiot. The letters represent the strings. E is the thickest and lowest-sounding string, G the thinnest and highest-sounding.

The numbers represent the frets you need to play on the according striing, and the amount of times you need to play it. The distance between the numbers normally indicates the time between each note.

So for the American Idiot riff, you start at the 4th fret down on the E/thickest string. Play that note three times. Then do the same on the A string with a slight pause between the notes. Move back to the E string and hit it without playing any frets, then again with the second fret, etc etc.

Sorry if that seems really dumbed-down or anything like that, that's how I explained it to my cousin so meh. I hope that helps, if not, feel free to shoot me. Shifty
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