playing bass guitar

devereaux17

im so confused how to play it, i tried to play story of a lonely guy which is meant to be so easy using a youtube guide and i was so lost.

how do you advice me start learning?

and good websites to help me understand frets?

cedomination

Is this your first instrument? You should probably get lessons from a teacher.

Kersmash

Well the way I learned at first was to just learn how to read tabs, I picked a song I likes, and just dedicated myself to learning how to play it. I just kept larning songs, and only started delving into the theory and advanced techniques later. You could also just get lessons.

Rigsby

+1 for lessons. If you are starting from scratch, even two or three lessons to learn good technique, is time and money well spent. Once you learn this right the first time, you wont develop any bad habits early. A great book I'd recommend is "Bass Guitar for Dummies". Don't mind the "D" word, it's a great book that covers everything to do with the bass. It comes with a play along cd. After technique, try to learn where the notes are on the fretboard. Do a google search for "bass fretboard chart". There are lots of lessons on technique and theory on You Tube. I'd also advise getting a metronome to practice your timing. Be patient with yourself, and take it a step at a time.

A good web site is www.studybass.com

IluvGeeetar

go onto ultimate guitar and get tabs for songs, dont try work out the tabs yourself,, just mess about and do your own things with the strings and youll get the hang of it soon enough! :)Goodluck with it

Rigsby

I would not rely too much on tabs to be honost. They are ok to a point, but a lot of times they are wrong, and besides, it would be to your advantage to try to develop your ear by trying to learn songs just by listening to them.

setanta74

Rigsby wrote: »

I would not rely too much on tabs to be honost. They are ok to a point, but a lot of times they are wrong, and besides, it would be to your advantage to try to develop your ear by trying to learn songs just by listening to them.

Agreed, most of the tabs just have the basics and not the nice fills and runs between chords that you need or at least not the correct ones.

Just learn main note positions and then play along with your favourite tunes and grow from there and move onto scale positions. You will be surprised how quick you can pick up stuff by ear. Relying on tabs the whole time wont improve your playing or your timing.

A metronome starting out is also a must. I'd recommend using your fingers instead of a pick. You get a much nicer tone and gives you more versatility.