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Beginners Guide to Bass Guitar
#BASSNATION I get asked ALL the time by beginners where to start, what do I do first, etc. In this week’s lesson I’ll be going over the anatomy of the bass and give you some tips on things you MUST know right when you are first picking up a bass. Then I’ll dive into some techniques and tips to get you on the right track to help you really execute your bass playing for long term progress. If you learn these techniques and do them properly from the beginning (or fix your bad habits asap!) you can really excel your playing to the NEXT LEVEL!
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7 thoughts on “Beginners Guide to Bass Guitar”
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GM Daric! I enjoy listening to you play and appreciate your lessons. One of the things I struggle with is determining whether I should focus on chromatics to develop my left hand or the scales. I tried to practice both and suffered fatigue from working too much on exercises and not enough on music, if that makes sense. My doctor told me to be careful because too much can cause nerve damage. So I get confused, I hear so many musicians say they practice for 8 hours a day but as a beginner does that run the risk of injury? I would appreciate your advice concerning this, I certainly do not want to be one of those music lovers who feels forced to quit due to damaging my hands. Thank you for all you do.
Don’t get side tracked by other peoples routine, sometimes it’s not actual “practicing” as you may think. Most times it’s just spending time with your bass/noodling or playing to songs in your library. Don’t ever force yourself to practice. I had to learn the hard way. If it hurts too bad, stop. Like you said, you don’t want to damage anything permanently. The other thing is that it maybe a technique issue. What is the actual issue with your nerve, if you don’t mind me asking.
Hi Daric!! Thanks for responding. The problem with my hands is that is feels like I over work my left hand. When I practice I don’t get consistency. I may have a good day of practice and the next day I can’t seem to get going. I work on scales and chord tones, next grooves and then work on things to help develop my technique such as drills, etc. I’m retired now so I have more time to practice but I’m afraid I may be overdoing it. My left hand gets stuck in a curled position and doesn’t loosen up. My doctor told me to relax my hand more and after a day or two I can go back to practicing but it happens again. I had my had checked out and nothing seems to be wrong. I was told to change my habits but I feel like, wow I’m focused on the basics, what should I practice? I played for a long time but never developed like I thought I would so I decided to focus on studying the essentials. I don’t know what to do, I’m basically starting over to develop my hands. I hope I’m making sense to you. Again thank you for your lessons and inspiration.
good stuff, like the emphasis on the pinky. As you develop these beginner lessons. Could you do one that explains the difference between (riffs,groves,fill ect.)
absolutely
Hey Daric, i consider myself an intermediate learner but would like to go through all the videos at all levels. Is there any sequence you would recommend at each of the levels or are they sequentially progressive by the dates?. I thought i should ask about this because in one video where called ‘’joining the dots’’ is probably much easier for someone who has gone through the videos on modes. Let me know what you would advice. Thank you very much.
Hey good question, the way that you’re approaching it is fine. Just progress within the levels of skill. If there is a specific video to watch or to reference I’ll say that in the video so you can stay up to date. But the tutorials are split into categories very carefully so there wouldn’t be too much confusion.