Sticking With It
How to keep going as a beginner!
by Matthew Brown
Many beginners find their first encounters with the bass
frustrating. The bass presents problems to new
players that can only be overcome by patiently dealing
with them head-on. In short, newbie bassists need to
develop strategies if they are going to develop more
musical experience. I’d like to help beginners who are
facing the instrument find ways to keep motivated to
play music.
Physical Demands
Many students find it difficult at first to handle the
demands the bass places on their hands. Mastering
the small movements required means using different
sets of muscles than we normally use. I have my
students work on physical exercises and hand position
at first, so that they can make quick progress at this.
Other than this, their frustration arises as much from
unrealistic expectations: we all want to play well as
quickly as possible. And even as musical
understanding grows, the hands often lag behind. So
the time spent practicing must be far greater than the
time spent in lessons and performance The grunt work
has to be done up front for beginners to make
progress. Jamming with recordings is fun, and it’s
time well spent. But physical mastery of the bass
requires exercise, just as with any instrument. We
practice scales and arpeggios more for our muscles
than our minds.
Listening
Students first starting on bass soon discover that bass
is hard to hear. The instrument’s range lies mainly
outside of singing range. And low pitches can be
difficult to hear well for physical reasons as well. One
excellent way of improving your pitch is to sing as you
play. Give yourself a note to start with, and pick out a
song that’s familiar to you from childhood. Sing along
with yourself. Eventually you can move from this to
singing along with scales, and then to singing harmony
with yourself as you play.
Playing With Others, Playing Alone
The irony of the bass is that you must play alone to play
with others. Most of your time is spent playing by
yourself, yet the chief role of the bassist is to
accompany others, no matter what style we play.
Working independently is difficult. So it’s a good idea to
get together with other players, even if not for a band
rehearsal. In fact, you can be working with another
player toward your mutual goal of including others.
Sitting in your bedroom playing with someone can give
you the motivation to spend the time you need alone for
practice. And in the short term, your partnership with
another player will give you direction as you work to
master a common set of songs or other musical
materials.
Really Wanting to Play…Something
A lot of newbies, especially teenagers, take up the bass
because they want to play music. The instrument itself
is secondary. It’s not unusual to play several
instruments before settling on the one that will be your
major focus. So if you’ve begun playing bass without
any particular attachment to it, or to its role in music,
ask yourself these questions:
Do I like to play a supportive role in most situations, or
do I prefer to be in the foreground?
Do I want to play an instrument that demands to be
played with others, or would I rather not have to play
with anyone else?
When I listen to music, is it the rhythm as much as the
melody that captures my interest?
Don’t I really want to play guitar?
Just kidding about that last one! But seriously, it’s not
that any instrument is more or less demanding, it’s that
each instrument has its own roles to play in music, and
its own demands. We should try to find an instrument
that puts us in a role we find comfortable.
Some Strategies
I said at first that beginners need to develop some
strategies in order to stay with the instrument long
enough to really enjoy it. Here are some
suggestions:
Find a good teacher, who is organized and has a good
grasp of the fundamentals and the role of the bass in
the ensemble.
Plan your time with the instrument, so that you know
what you’ll be doing when you pick it up.
Set time aside to play for frequent, short periods. Long
stretches of playing are hard on undeveloped
muscles.
Try to spend time each practice session with each of
the following:
o Warming up the hands.
o Physical exercises (scales, arpeggios, etc.).
o A new musical concept .
o Some music: a bass line to a song, a solo piece,
reading new pieces.
o Free play – just goofing off with the instrument in
your hands.
Vary you practicing so it doesn’t become too routine. If
it does, or if you cannot seem to master what you’ve set
for yourself, you know you’re stuck, and that it’s time to
seek help elsewhere. Good luck!
