advice for beginner

[Jacob C]

hi, my name is jake and im 16. i take lessons at my local guitar shop and ive really devolped a nack for it. pink floyd's 'dark side of the moon' is what ive been working on for a while. i have gotten the main riffs for 'money' and 'breathe' down. i am open for any suggestions on how to get better. i am not interested in the new stuff. please post cool riffs or anything that you think you would have liked to have known at the beginning. please and thanks, im glad to be here.

[The Golden Boy]

Welcome to The Gear Page!

The two riffs that changed my life were the run from Hey Joe and Sweet Child O' Mine.

Hey Joe was just too cool, and Sweet Child was good at getting me to "break 'the box.'"

As far as general playing advice- the biggest advice is LISTEN. Don't just listen to what you're doing; listen to what you're doing in the context of what everyone else is doing, and listen to what everyone else is doing.

[RickC]

check out what John Paul Jones is doing on Led Zeppelin II, in particular "Ramble On" and "The Lemon Song".

Ramble will open your ears to how a cool melodic bass part can transform a simple progression; learn it note for note.

Lemon will open your ears, period. Don't learn it exact, but steal some of the ideas and try to cop the groove and attitude.

/rick

[2 Loud 4 You]

If you're not playing along with the cd's then get a metronome to keep time. With bass you've got to learn timing to keep the groove. I learned to play bass by playing the 1st 3 Metallica albums and that whipped me into shape quick. Just make sure you keep it fun.

[Jacob C]

thank yall guys for your help, i appreciate it. 2Loud, ive been (tryin) to pay attention to my chord changes and listnin to pink floyd while playing along and it helps. thanks for postin those songs guys, im going to pick up the cds soon, meanwhile ill keep jamin

[rod horncastle]

If you haven't yet: Learn your Major / minor / Blues scales all over your bass neck. In every key. Learn the 3 note per string method. Then your ready to start creating music.
You have to know the rules before you can break them.

[Jacob C]

my dad has taught me the penatonics, and due to the fact that its a pattern instrument i usually move most of the patterns around, the major scale is where i usually wind up playing around though. minors and majors are confusing to me though. also i forgot to mention in earlier, i am taking up piano, im just beginning to study theory and reading music, ive read in other areas of the forum where yall say it will help alot in the long run, so i am eager to see the results. ive heard Victor Wooten say in a recorded video that someone who plays piano will have a differnt approach to the bass compared to one who plays drums... does anyone know that to hold true? and if so is it a bad thing, good thing, or just a thing?
thanks for the help

[walterw]

check out what John Paul Jones is doing on Led Zeppelin II, in particular "Ramble On" and "The Lemon Song".

Ramble will open your ears to how a cool melodic bass part can transform a simple progression; learn it note for note.

Lemon will open your ears, period. Don't learn it exact, but steal some of the ideas and try to cop the groove and attitude.

/rick

yes! led zeppelin II will teach you everything you need to know about rock bass, from blues to heavy unison riffing to melodic counterpoint to how to mesh with a creative drummer. when you can play that whole album note for note, you'll be a bass player!

[Jacob C]

ok thanks i just set up my itunes so i will try and get those songs. also, ive been looking through the forums for the strings i have, i have a fender jazz bass that was made in mexico, not the best but it has a good feel and it was originally my fathers who used it to record some tracks. as far as I know it has the same strings right out of the factory, and i have bought some GHS flatwounds because my teacher recommended them. i just changed back into the original strings and notice that they ring much louder than the GHS. ive searched for types of strings on the forums and i was wondering what yall thought would be best for an all around play. thanks guys for all of your help.

[Jacob C]

i was also wondering if it is ever nessecary for a bass to use a capo?

[Ishouldbeking]

i have bought some GHS flatwounds because my teacher recommended them. i just changed back into the original strings and notice that they ring much louder than the GHS. ive searched for types of strings on the forums and i was wondering what yall thought would be best for an all around play. thanks guys for all of your help.

Chances are the strings that came on the bass were Roundwound, most likely made by Fender. You were right to think they should be changed if they've been on there for a long time, roundwound bass strings tend to go "dead" after a while, meaning they lose most of their brightness and just generally don't sound as good.

Now the flatwounds you put on there will naturally sound more "dead" than the roundwounds, which is totally normal. Flatwounds are meant to give you a classic "thumpy" type of sound, and they aren't nearly as bright as roundwounds. Flatwounds can be great if that's what you're going for, but for most rock and roll I'd say roundwound strings make more sense.

Now within roundwounds there are 2 main varieties: stainless steel and nickel. Of the two, stainless will give you the brightest sound with nickel being more rounded. Stainless are also rougher on your fingers, and can eventually wear out your frets faster than nickel or flatwounds.

So. For you I'd recommend a "Regular" gauge Nickel Roundwound strings... something like Ernie Ball Slinkys or D'Addario XL's... both are relatively cheap, and totally decent strings. Good luck!

[mgrier1]

Get a good electronic tuner...:AOK

You will be happier and others will thank you... and you will know what all those scales, triads, and patterns are really supposed to sound like!

Best,

Mike

[Jacob C]

thinks guys, i got an electric tuner and i am going to pick the strings you recommended and give them a shot.

[teleman1]

JAke!! Another great tool is the Digitech bp-50. ITs inexpenisve, has a few usefull basstones,(for those special Pink moments). and iot also has drumbeats which like a metronome wil tighten your playin up.It may also have a tuner in it.