Unfortunately it takes a good bit of time sitting around plucking away sounding not so good at first. You need to have discipline and play every day. No matter how musical your ear is or how great your ideas are or natural ability there is several areas to do much work in. Fortunately there is no music police who will beat you down for not doing it correctly but you have to work on several things at once in the begging to progress. My music teacher in high school said to me many times even Jimmy Page had to practice 4 or more hours a day for years to become the player and song writer he is. I just watched an interview with Jeff Beck and he said to the reporter he keeps a Strat next to his bed and still has to play every day. Even if it’s only 5 minutes I don’t ever let a day go by without playing. I have basses all over the house so there are no excuses. I don’t even practice plugged in that often.
You need to build strength in your hands, calluses, and endurance. Tons of simple hand and chromatic exercises to do. Doesn’t matter what you learn if you simply can’t play it because your hands are weak or you’re whining about a little blister, knowledge alone won’t get you home.
Your timing as a bass player is crucial so practicing with a metronome kind of sucks but a cheap drum machine is great. You can almost skate by if your bass is in tune and you can play the root notes of the chords if your timing is killer.
Learn how to play with a bass that is set up and in tune. You will develop your ear and know what notes sound like what. My first teacher also stressed knowing all the notes on the neck in every position.
Now I have been playing 25+ years and I have soaked up information from everywhere. Lessons, bass player magazine, DVD’s, YouTube and well the most effective means of learning for me was having some really great trained players around me and I asked questions. Being left handed has always been a blessing to me because when I face another bass player or guitarist who is right handed our necks mirror each other and you can match it right up. Playing with guys better than you will always push you and motivate you to get better and better if the guys are cool. Everybody sucked at one point so don’t worry about guys who are arrogant just ignore it and move on.
I never learned correct technique or theory till many years after I was already playing and had to work backwards for years so starting out with the right people will help you move along much faster. Bass playing didn’t come easily to me at first I sucked for a long time and had to really work at it but the one thing I have going for me is I absolutely love it. I read about Phil Chen who is one of my ALL TIME favorite bass players when he recorded with Jeff Beck and he felt he was totally out classed and had no idea what he was going to play on those albums with Jeff but man oh man they are some of my favorite bass lines of all time. You can feel the groove like a hammer to the skull. Wish I was good enough to do it for a living but that doesn’t even matter to me anymore. My delusions of being a rock star and making it big are all gone away but I’m still playing more than ever. If you love it stick with it. Music is the only form of communication that breaks all boundaries. No matter what language you speak or who or what you are if you can play music you can talk to anyone. Don’t let your bass get dusty that’s the most important thing stick with it and good luck.
Jeff Beck Blow by Blow wow what a recording..I toasted a few brain cells listening to that album...
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