The Bass Player Association         

Practice

Practice makes perfect...perfect practice makes perfect. Think about that concept. If your practice is not done with care, the end result will not be acceptable. This will lead to frustration, which in turn, could lead to simply walking away and never experiencing the thrill and satisfaction of accomplishing something so difficult most people never consider even doing it in the first place.

Technique

This is the first order of business. Your hands must function together with the instrument in such a way that they let your mind guide them across the strings.  Ideally, you should not be thinking about how to position your hand, move your fingers or play a scale.  Starting with technique will serve you well. Continuing to practice technique will serve you even more.

Rhythm

Do you rely on the drummer to help you keep track of where beat ONE is...? How do you know if he/she is right...?

Doing the work to develop your counting skills is one of the best ways to improve your playing almost immediately and studying rhythm and how to count is a good way to get your playing to the next level. Use a metronome. Use a metronome. I'm not going to say it again. No matter what you are practicing, whether it is a song, a scale, or a technique exercise, using a metronome is the best way to keep your timing sharp. 

I like to use the electronic kind that does not have a bell sound on beat ONE, but has the same sound on each and every beat. That way you can just turn it on and begin, you don't have to wait for the "bell" sound from the metronome to indicate beat ONE. If you have one, use it always.

Ear Training

Have you ever sang the song "Happy Birthday"? I'm sure you have, many times. Ok, can you play the song on your bass? Try it. Then find another song you can sing without an instrument and try playing it on your bass, too. Pay attention to the notes you sing and what kind of pattern they form on the bass fretboard. You will start to hear combinations of notes that you sing and see the patterns they form on your bass. Eventually you will hear music on TV or the radio that has the same notes and you will immediately know the note patterns on the bass. 

This skill will allow you to "play what you hear". Imagine yourself being able to play anything that you can think of at any time. Then your playing will only be limited by your imagination!

Sight Reading

Can you read bass clef notation, tab notation or do you simply "play by ear"? How about chord charts or lead sheets? When you learn a piece of music, what is the method you use to learn it? These methods are what musicians use to perform their art. They are all valid and not everyone uses them all. Some of the greatest bass players do not know how to read music. But they do understand how to hear. Knowing how the bass part should sound for a given piece of music is sometimes enough.

When hearing a part is difficult, having the ability to read music notation provides a way to learn the bass part quickly. Here is a quick discussion about the lines and spaces used on bass clef notation:

Bass clef notation uses the notes A, B, C, D, E, F, and G (then the notes just start over at A again) and is unique compared to other clefs (such as treble clef). Notation is written using 5 horizontal, parallel lines that have spaces between them, with the note "G" as the line at the bottom, the next one above it is "B", the next above is "D", the next is "F" and the top most line is "A".  The lowest note on a 4 string bass is "E" and it is shown as a small, horizontal line that is below the 5 horizontal lines. The space above the lowest of the 5 lines is called "A". Notice that this letter falls between  "G" and "B". Each space above this first space is every other letter, ie; "C", "E", and finally "G". This is how notation is written for bass clef. For those they don't read, don't worry, it's really not that difficult and learning how to do it will expand your understanding of the instrument beyond your current knowledge and skill. Reading bass clef notation helps with pattern development, hand placement and rhythmic skill, among other things. The better you get at it, the more efficient you will become in your learning process.

Tab notation is another way to learn bass parts. It is best described as a graphical way to learn the notes of a pattern or song. The strings of the instrument are shown and the corresponding finger of the fretting hand is indicated on the string at specific positions and the notation is read from left to right. Tab notation is found in magazines about bass playing that describe current popular songs.

If you have ever heard of a "Real Book", you know what is meant by a lead sheet or a chord chart. Songs are written showing the chords that are played by a piano or guitar and include the measures (or bars) of a song and how chords fit the measures. A measure (or bar) in a song is defined by the number of beats, such as four beats per measure, then the next measure begins, for example. The chord "C" may be shown for one measure, then the next measure might be the chord "G", and so on. In a lead sheet, the chords are shown for each  measure along with notation to indicate the melody that is played together with the chords. That is how songs are written in a "The Real Book".

Finding out  more about "The Real Book" and bass clef notation, tab notation, chord charts and lead sheets is worthwhile and will increase your skill. Of course, there is always YouTube, as well!

Musical Knowledge

How well you understand the parts of a musical piece and how and why they fit together will enable you to use your technique effectively. 

Rhythm and harmony are the fundamental tools that a bass player brings to the table. Knowing how to use these tools will bring the guitars, keys and drums together to form the basis that a vocalist or soloist can then complete.

As a bass player, you should be able to play just the bass part and be able to hear the song. That's your job. Make the bass line the fundamental piece that keeps all the other pieces together.

It's a very complex and subtle process. Bass is the glue that holds the other parts together.  

Equipment

A bass is a very personal thing. Before buying a bass, it would be a good idea to actually play it in the same situation you plan to use it, before you actually hand over the money. A great way to test a bass out,  is to use it in a live playing situation. You will know by the time you are finished whether the bass will deliver what you need. Of course, don't rely completely on the bass you are checking out to carry the session, have your regular bass right there, in case it's obvious that the one you are testing is not working out.  But a live performance situation is guaranteed to show the strengths and weaknesses of the instrument.

Performance

It is very important that you find other musicians to play with.  The experience of playing bass in a live music situation will allow you to test all of the skills you have developed. Try not to limit yourself to a single musical style. Exploring different types of music will give you new skills that can be used for creating interesting and musical bass lines. Most importantly remember, playing bass is not a sport. There is no competition, except with yourself. With this idea, making mistakes is a good way to learn. The more you practice, the better you will get and the less you will feel that you made mistakes.