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Beginners guide to bass playing

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They call me Five

PostPosted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:59 am


So, you've decided to play bass, but you're saying
"Man, I wanna play bass, but all I got is this thing in my pants!".
Well, obviously, you're going to want to go get a bass.
"But Five, what should I get? That Warlock looks super cool!11!!"
b***h, please. First rule of life is to stay the hell away from B.C. Shitch.
To start off, you'll probably need around 200-350 dollars, or whatever the foreign equivalent of that is.
DO NOT get a "bass starter pack" that comes with an amp and a bass. Odds are, they are complete utter s**t. You'll want to get a bass and amp (most likely a practice amp) separately.
My starter package consisted of a Kramer Focus 420S, and a Behringer BT108 practice amp. This was about $250, but you'd want to have your bass's truss rod and tech adjusted by a professional, or one of the people at Guitar Center.

As far as technique goes, anyone who tells you to use a pick is a complete tool, unless it's Jesse F. Keeler. The way almost anyone worth listening to would tell you to play, is to alternate using your index and middle finger. It's perfectly normal if you don't have the coordination at first, but please for the love of God don't always use your index finger. Always try to practice playing this way, at the minimum. Many of the very fast professionals use three fingers (index, middle, ring), but as a beginner, you probably don't have the dexterity bonus.

You've probably heard of P and J bass', but have no idea what the hell any of this means. Simply put, J=Jazz, and P=anything else. This isn't to say that you can't use a J bass outside of jazz, but that's were it's home supposedly is. It's sound is welcome just about anywhere.

Whoa big boy, you think you can be in a band? I don't give a rat's a** if bass players are in high demand, it's not worth playing if you don't know HOW to play. I recommend getting a bass teacher (or at the absolute minimum, a guitar teacher. Unless you're teacher has 40+ years of experience professionally playing music like mine does, try and get a bass teacher). I suggest learning some classic rock songs, because:
They're generally easy to play
A lot of the classic-classics utilize the first 6 notes on a bass (open E, 3rd fret, 5th fret).

The only bass mentioned in this thing beforehand is a rare example of a**-kicking at a low cost. What I didn't mention, even though you should be instantly castrated for not figuring this out yourself, is to but a pair or two of extra bass strings. I recommend Bass Blaster, or Ernie Ball, but that's just me.

Anything you guys can add to this? I just made it for the people over in the MF who are constantly asking how to play.
PostPosted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 12:09 am


My guide to bass playing:

1. Listen to Rush
2.????
3. Profit!

DerShtinktier


Touching From a Distance

PostPosted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 9:19 am


1. Join a screamo band so they can't hear you
2. Play whatever the hell you want to. They wont hear you.
3. Profit.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
I'm kidding. But that would work.
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