Starting strong...part 1

Being a beginner at any given skill building activity is both challenging and exciting, learning to play an instrument is no different. However, with instruments that have been around for centuries and are full-fledged members in symphonic orchestras, performing long-standing pieces of classical music cannon etc, solid teaching and learning methodologies have been developed long ago, with music schools and similar options. But when you wish to play the instrument that has been around for less than 70 years and happens to be used mostly in popular music styles, beginners are not so fortunate when it comes to having a clear path of instruction available.

Most electric bass players, just like electric guitarists and drummers, are largely self-taught, especially if they never get into playing jazz. While only 20 or so years ago the main problem a beginner was facing could have been the lack of information on the subject, nowadays it is quite the opposite – with the spread of Internet it is the overwhelming amount of information that might keep the budding bassist lost and confused. Therefore, the mission of this post is to streamline the process of choosing instructional sources, so you can focus on practicing, instead of hunting for the right lessons. In absence of direct one on one instruction, here are my recommendations for several types of instruction – online courses, books, Youtube channels, and DVD/video lessons.

Having the beginner players in mind, I went for two broad categories: free and paid; but in the latter case I still had price as one of the important criteria.

FREE RESOURCES

Youtube is a major factor in all things tutorial, plus it is the go-to platform for all generations nowadays, hence starting our review with it. For the purposes of this article, I have selected two channels:

Music College TV

Music College TV offers a really nice playlist of excellent videos, presented in an orderly fashion, so it very easy to follow. Pretty much it serves as your lesson plan that starts with fundamentals of tuning and proper playing technique, covers all the necessary theory of scales and modes, and goes into playing over chord progression and developing funk bass lines. The main advantage of this channel is its clear progression that eliminates any guesswork regarding what to practice and in which order. Just supplement it with learning your favorite songs on your own, and there should be plenty of progress before you.

BassBuzz

BassBuzz takes a different slant on the subject.  The videos on this channel are not meant to be seen in any particular order, because that is to be found on their paid website with specific courses. Nonetheless, there is a lot of other important information that the beginners may not even know they need, and that used to be obtained through occasional advice of more experienced musicians along your development path. Considerations about tone, selecting adequate instruments and other gear, and even more importantly avoiding some of it, common mistakes, well or not so well known bassists to know… Just check their own playlists as suggested by the channel.

Online portals that are especially worth your time and attention are again – two:

StudyBass has been around for quite some time and happens to be a favorite resource to many players for a good reason. The lesson page is clear and organized by levels of instructions, each being subdivided into blocks. The content is presented as the combination of text, diagrams and occasional videos. All the important topics are there, technique, getting to know your fretboard, as well as the ever important matter of organizing your practice. A special plus is the early introduction of notation reading. The author of the course strives to put up a distraction free website, without annoying adds, and succeeds brilliantly.

                                       

TalkingBass may be better suited for those who prefer visual approach, i.e. video tutorials. The main portion of the free site consists of the videos that author has on Youtube, but they are organized into categories, so the users have easier time navigating it. You can join the website for free and get access to additional content in the Practice Room section, including drum beats to work with and advice on how to set up your practice. A special advantage of this portal is that the author teaches riffs and basslines from popular songs to incorporate some of the techniques and concepts shown in the lessons, so the experience is that more enjoyable for the learners.

Obviously, the categories such as books and DVDs are not exactly readily available for free, but here is the one that has been out of print for a considerable time now, and actually replaced by the publisher with a newer edition from a different author, to be reviewed below. I still like this version of the Hal Leonard method, because it is comprehensive, methodical and well-done overall.

Dan Dean Electric Bass Vol ... by Paulo Jorge on Scribd

Hopefully, the information presented here can direct you toward some good study right away, so you get to be better sooner.