Forum Discussion: Bass lessons TABBED!

Yup, our forum regular, Garth has gone ahead and worked out the other tabs for a lot of my lessons! What a legend he is!

Check the thread out right here!

Forum Discussion: Your body feels notes too.

Great one here from Protoplm!

Your body feels the notes too.

Treasure hunt!

Ok, in celebration of 100'000 visitors at my website, http//www.Dmanlamius.com , I have decided (well, fate decided) that I would create a competition for people to get a cool bass-related freebie! Enjoy...Oh, and those of you that want to see the inside of that place, there will be a video in the near future!

Bad, Bad online Bass lessons:

Now, i'm not one to bitch, normally. But i've been checking out other lessons online, to check if my standard is up to scratch, alongside other online teachers (something I never did previously, because I didn't want to be influenced by anyone).

I came across this brand new one, via my twitter account today. I really don't want to give them the backlink, but have to for you guys to see it!

Here.

The title of the "lesson" is "learn how to play bass guitar quickly". Hmm. There is no information there that helps the user to play bass quickly. Not only that, but the title itself is a bit of a ridiculous one.

The only way to learn how to play the bass guitar quickly is to go through the standard exercises, and you'll slowly build up the strength and dexterity. The only way to play quickly, is to practice hard! Also, playing quickly should not be the ultimate goal for someone beginning the Bass...

And then, half way through the "lesson" (I'm using that word very carefully) it goes into some odd sales pitch, that seems to be selling something that isn't there. Eh? What's that about? After that, the "lesson" (there it is again) goes into some odd rant about plucking...

There IS "some" good advice in this "lesson". But all in all....it's crap!

I'm going to stop researching other teachers now, because it's all made me a bit angry and annoyed. I am in no way a perfect teacher. I'm still learning, day by day. But some of the information out there is nothing but damaging, and makes us guys that are trying to do something positive, look like frauds...

Please stop!

What can I use to practice at home alone?

Shane asks this question in one of my other blog posts:

Now I play bass alone at home, just me and the ipod, any chance of a blog post on what us loners can buy to help us? Nice pedal with effects, recording, I use a Mac any advice really appreciated...

Firstly, can I just say thankyou for your support, Shane. It's much appreciated!

Ok, what I'm going to say here is aimed at the Mac, but it can all be transposed to the PC with the right software.

I'm presuming you have a copy of I-life, Shane? With Garageband, etc? (I think you can download them for free, anyway). If you have that, there are lots of things you can do to help yourself. I like to open up I-movie (older version), or photo booth, and record myself playing. I pay no attention to the camera, ignore it and just play. After that, I watch the vid again, and take out the best ideas. The best riffs, and lines.

But you can use it to pay attention to your technique. Play a bunch of songs/riffs that you know, watch it, and pay attention to your technique. If it looks bad, go back and record it again until it looks good, and everything is fine. Be strict with yourself!

A few people have recorded a few vids of them playing, and uploaded them to youtube privately to me, so I can check their technique. No-one has to see the vid apart from me and you. You don't have to speak, and I don't need to see your face. Just fingers and fretboard. I'll be quite happy to do this if you want. If not, just check your technique yourself, and be strict.

If you are a little more confident, upload it and show it to the guys on my forum. It's a positive place, and people will try to give you positive feedback.

Open up garageband, (Pc users, use audacity, and then google free drum loops) put one of the generic drumbeats into it, and play along. Concentrate on your timing. Change the tempo, and do the same. Take riffs you already know, and play them super fast, and then play them super slow. Garageband is so simple to use, that all you need to do is plug your bass in, and you can record. Play some stuff, record it, and listen. If it's out of time, delete it, and do it again. Just play with it.

I keep saying "be strict". This is because when we don't have a "proper" teacher in front of us, to keep ourselves in line, we can get sloppy. That's why it's so important to concentrate and be strict. Really focus. It CAN be done. I've never had a lesson in my life, and managed to do it (with a lot of discipline), so take power from that. Really annoy yourself.

Ok, recording...

For all my latest vids, I use this little puppy right here. Check the review I did of it, it's brilliant. You can record it straight into I-movie, or garageband, using USB. Just plug in and play...

There is some stuff up there that might help you, but I could be off on a tangent. You may already use other software etc, so i'll sit back and wait for any questions you, or anyone else may have! Hope it helps you a little....

This is an interesting topic, that others may be able to give insight into, so i'll post it here, on my forum.