Top 5 Bass Tips For Learning Songs! (For Gigs Or Practice)

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TalkingBass - Online Bass Lessons

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@backpackmusician 5 ай бұрын

I love the green screen, it’s infinitely better than the white background and it’s more easy on my eyes

@martinosvaldogorgazzi9525 5 ай бұрын

I prefer the light blue shade. Or even the rose one in the Cyborg 3 course.

@backpackmusician 5 ай бұрын

@@martinosvaldogorgazzi9525 anything but white, it really makes me lose focus and I actually feel like I’m learning less when I’m looking.

@talkingbasslessons 5 ай бұрын

@@martinosvaldogorgazzi9525 I’m experimenting at the moment but I think I might have found a good shade of blue and the right lighting. You’ll see on Friday.

@backpackmusician 2 ай бұрын

@@talkingbasslessonsyeah I love the new blue

@scottkretsch4887 5 ай бұрын

Absolutely agree with tip #1. Listen to the song with headphones over and over. Know the song like the back of your hand. I play in a cover band, and this sometimes is the issue. My band mates think they know how the song goes, but then we collectively listen to it and wouldn’t you know, the light bulb comes on. lol

@coryveilleux1357 5 ай бұрын

Yeah, this is what I do. I have a playlist of songs on our list and just listen to it all the time. 90%+ is when I’m away from my bass, and depending on the song I may have listened to it 50 times before attempting to play it. Sometimes it gets old, but I think there’s something to learning songs via osmosis and plain repetition.

@scottkretsch4887 5 ай бұрын

@@coryveilleux1357 yep; good habit to get into. I’m amazed at how many times I’ve listened to a song, or just randomly heard it on the radio, and hear something I didn’t hear while learning how to play it.

@jenniferpetrellicarslearni2265 4 ай бұрын

Can you tell me what the difference is listening to a song with headphones or not? Do the headphones enhance the sound?

@scottkretsch4887 4 ай бұрын

@@jenniferpetrellicarslearni2265 it enhances the ability to hear the bass guitar. Many times the bass is the hardest instrument to hear in the mix; hence the need for headphones. Try it and hear the difference.

@madamtransk 4 ай бұрын

@@jenniferpetrellicarslearni2265headphones do help with enhancing the quality of the audio

@bradami1234 5 ай бұрын

Speed is critical aspect as well. Slow it down and then increase speed as familiarity increases .

@zeedy1011 5 ай бұрын

@@bradami1234 the most important way to learn.

@bradami1234 5 ай бұрын

@@zeedy1011 im just learning and that is what everyone i have talked to says over and over slow and build.

@MrLGDdestroyer 2 ай бұрын

Great video, i need to get studying harmony and learn all the scales! Wish me luck! 🤘

@steveatfullmeasure 3 ай бұрын

Probably the best explanation of why theory is a powerful tool for learning tunes!

@romy1963 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for the useful information. For a beginner like me, it is a bit overwhelming but a good start. I got mostly the main idea and will practice the techniques which I think will be very useful going forward. These info guides me away from going all over the places without any guidance. I appreciate your help and time.

@Nanoamps 5 ай бұрын

Best music theory lesson I've seen in a while, let alone great Bass advice.

@scottkretsch4887 5 ай бұрын

Also, it’s a great idea to sing or at least hum the tune in your head as your playing the song. It helps with putting it all together and playing it cohesively. Rock on!

@sasquarez55 5 ай бұрын

💯 I'm a terrible singer but I don't really know a song unless I can sing it.

@BenD_Bass 5 ай бұрын

I learn songs fast by finding the sheet music snd programming the song in a daw and then i loop a section at 60bpm and once i can play it without hesitation, i increase the tempo. Mark has a great video talking about hesitation.

@FoxFavinger 5 ай бұрын

I once nailed an audition because I sketched out the band’s entire original song. Not the tab, just the structure and key changes, because it didn’t have a bass yet. The band didn’t like the bass lines I wrote, but they wanted me onboard because of the effort and good personality. I almost regret turning them down haha

@davidncw4613 5 ай бұрын

Thankyou! You save me from so much stumbling around in the dark. Discovering the practical application of theory is absolutely key.

@christee5772 5 ай бұрын

Excellent advice as always. I would definitely recommend listening to songs with headphones and also while practicing, using one of the plethora of devices that let you play along with the song (Tascam BT1) really helps. And don't trust online tabs, use them but always double check their accuracy.

@pretty040193 5 ай бұрын

Thank you, mate! No musician is too good to learn new things. I appreciate you sharing information that will propagate competent bass playing well into the future.

@xpatsteve 5 ай бұрын

All good advice! In my mind, tip #1 is probably the most important. Back in the 70s & 80s, every band I was in learned and rehearsed songs from the collective memory of the band. If there was a new song out that we wanted to add, the heavy rotation of most radio stations meant we could we could hear it enough in a few days to get the song down without having to go out and buy the album or single. Today, things like KZbin and streaming services make that a lot easier. Knowing the song definitely makes it easier to learn how to play the song.

@thilobraun3440 5 ай бұрын

Great advice and that Bass looks cool by the way and sounds good. Thanks

@aibluefox4309 5 ай бұрын

The best tip is the paper chart - especially if you're in a band playing some covers infrequently. Keep them handy and a quick check on the chart pre or even mid-gig, and you're good to go again. I always write them with big enough characters to read on the floor. That has come in useful occasionally.

@coryveilleux1357 5 ай бұрын

Yeah, I’m been thinking of creating an alphabetical cheat sheet where each song is on a single line. We have a ton of cover songs and never have a set or even song list. If we did I’d just rehearse the songs we were planning for that gig and be all set. But we have near 100 cover songs that we play, many of which I don’t know and/or I’ve heard but haven’t learned or I know at a high level but have never played with the band. So it’d be too much of a pain to have a separate sheet for each, but I was thinking of an abbreviated cheat sheet with song name, a condensed section column (VCVCBC) and then the chord list for each section. Haven’t done it yet but I’m going to try. It’s just tough with the songs I don’t know by heart because we have a bunch of 145 songs but exactly where it goes to the 4 or 5 is slightly different, so I can have Big River in my head when we’re playing Folsom Blues and totally screw it up.

@dentoncrimescene 5 ай бұрын

Top stuff as usual, Marcus. I have used all of these and probably learnt most of it from you.

@brianh.5231 4 ай бұрын

love all your videos, they are all very helpful!!

@mikefairhurst6934 4 ай бұрын

This is very helpful -Thanks Mark

@CarlosMorales-th5dk 5 ай бұрын

Hola Mark, greetings from Medellin- COLOMBIA. **** This is the BEST advice / lesson / tip I´ve heard for my entry level. **** QUESTION: Some times you may not find a Bass Tab for a particular song. Would following a Guitar TAB would be precise enough? or is that a wrong approach? Thank you for your consistent approach that encourages NOT TO DROP the bass guitar. ENGLAND for the Euro Cup COLOMBIA for the America Cup

@charlesdoca7145 5 ай бұрын

Funny you should mention it, I'm currently learning Bohemian Rhapsody. I'm up to the rock section.

@daveweed2765 5 ай бұрын

Ya know bass? No one really pays attention to bass lines mostly. As a bassist you need to know the root and chord progression. Then you should be able to play around on the thirds fourths fifths and octaves. It is so important to learn every note on the fretboard of a bass. Then you have three fret walkups or downs quick. Slowly then 4th 3rd and 5th. Its the difference between country and rock genres. Chords follow the same notes. As a basdist you need to know all of this. What genre are you playing? I mean rock is a totalky different way to play than say souther rock, metal our country. That comes into the groove. But that groove still follows the beat of the drums and tones of the guitar/guitars. The groove is just as important as the tone. On bass you really tune into the drums, guitar riffs and vocals to get your movements from. A lot of peoplre seem to think Cluff Williams of ACDC is simple. Well ACDC is simple period. But making thier songs sound good sint so simple. Honestly both on guitar and bass for different reasons is not that simple. Mundane for sure on both but... so mundane you start second guesing yourself on both. The bass is even more mundane. 1 note in time with the drums. But in music everything has to be in time. Then on bass when you are pretty much going between drums on the verses and riffs on the guitars it your timing is totally different. Not a lot of tabs for bassists. And most on You Tube are wrong. Too basic. So much attitude you can ad on bass ftom slides down and up or up and down to ghost notes and if you play with a pick or plectorum how hard you pick. Another good example Hell's Bells by ACDC. On the recorded track right before the solo Cliff kerps the 8th notes going on an A with a ghost note on the first note. I like to slide an A ftom the twelfth fret down and play the solo a little harder for emphasis. So many things you can do as a basdist that no one really listens to. Bit they hear it even if they dont realize. Octaves are one. If the guitats go down you go up. Think Shook me. As long as you are in tune it sounnds good. Olay higher octaves. It sounds good and emphasizes the song. But definately one of the best bass videos I have watched.

@robertbaker5156 5 ай бұрын

Brilliant advice!!! ✨✨✨

@davidbalan6571 4 ай бұрын

- Preparation First Thing First. You've got first Listen to the song. Over and over again. - FORM , After Listening to the song Loads. Just write out on the piece of paper the overall form or structure of the song. - Bass lines Types.

@martinosvaldogorgazzi9525 5 ай бұрын

Good lesson. 👍🏼 Only I would change the green background 👀 Seems like the stage setting for “Attack of the Dead Men” by Sabaton 😓

@R1zzo 5 ай бұрын

An Anecdote for Tip 5: I had a lead guitar player that would be able to learn a song incredibly quickly and they would get so comfortable with it that they could play AWAY from the original all day long. But when it came time to play the original? He hadn't instilled the discipline of playing it and it was clear to hear. Play away but always come back. When learning a piece, dont forget what youre trying to do!

@CalvinLimSH-ld5le 5 ай бұрын

When the bass guitarist plays, everyone hears clearly loud chord changes (Bass - root) and rhythm time (how many beats) of the song. As a singer and musician I pay close attention to what the bass guitar is doing most the time and followed the changes played along with the rest of the band members.

@M_EvoBass 5 ай бұрын

Quality! 😎

@matiasr4622 5 ай бұрын

thanks for the green screen!!

@obcmissions 5 ай бұрын

The sound on your E and A string sounds very strange. Are you using a harmonizer? It sounds like a distorted 1/5 is being played on single notes. From the C and higher it sounds ok. Good tips though-very good advice.

@talkingbasslessons 5 ай бұрын

@@obcmissions No. All direct and normal.

@obcmissions 5 ай бұрын

@@talkingbasslessons maybe something on my end. I’ll listen again with earphones. Thanks for your reply.

@MuhammadAli-vp7qt 5 ай бұрын

@@talkingbasslessons Hi, Mark is your courses "Theory for bass " a good start for a beginner bass player to understand all these concepts and to practice them and to understand how to seek out songs of interest.

@talkingbasslessons 5 ай бұрын

@@MuhammadAli-vp7qt The Ultimate Theory For Bass course is a DEEP DIVE into theory. When you say beginner, do you mean absolute beginner? I wouldn't recommend it for absolute beginners. It takes you from a 'beginner in theory' all the way to advanced degree level. But if you've only just started playing I would advise ignoring all the theory stuff and just get used to playing. Groove Trainer would be a better course for that level of player.

@davidhealy4534 2 ай бұрын

How do arpeggios differ from scales though?

@talkingbasslessons 2 ай бұрын

@@davidhealy4534 an arpeggio is a chord played one note at a time. A scale is sequential line of notes dividing an octave.

@davidhealy4534 2 ай бұрын

@@talkingbasslessons Got you 👍. For some reason I had it in my head all chords had to go back to the root note 🤷

@markbass354 4 ай бұрын

good video

@joeysocks5718 5 ай бұрын

I’m so old, I had to move the stylus on the vinyl over and over to learn a song hahaha

@TerryD23 5 ай бұрын

me too! 😂

@jenniferpetrellicarslearni2265 4 ай бұрын

Yeah but vinyl sounds great! I can honestly say that I never got as great a bass sound as I ever did with my old record player. The bass on Linda ronstadt's hasten down the wind album is amazing!!!!

@zeedy1011 5 ай бұрын

I just cannot figure out what bass that is. And I wonder how much post processing goes into recording it. 🤔

@talkingbasslessons 5 ай бұрын

@@zeedy1011 it’s an Enfield Lionheart. Used it on quite a few vids and reviewed it. Absolutely zero post processing. It’s direct into a zoom br16 audio recorder via a radial di box then simply dubbed onto the video in Premiere along with the vox.

@zeedy1011 5 ай бұрын

@@talkingbasslessons oh thanks! So it is indeed a carbon fiber neck. It's a remarkably good sounding bass, especially the slap sound is quite amazing. I was told that a great recorded bass sound was not possible without post processing. For example my USA Peavey Cirrus with headphones through a Katana 500 head or an audio interface sounds nothing like the reviews on the internet.

@helenkinsey2868 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for that! Have been asked to cover a bass player who is away. Great opportunity but have to learn 24 songs!

@talkingbasslessons 5 ай бұрын

@@helenkinsey2868 I’m going to release a lesson on how I learned over 70 songs in 3 days for a gig. Hopefully that’ll be of use to you!

@pretty040193 5 ай бұрын

I wish I had that problem! I've been following Marc for a couple of years now. His tutorial on sir Duke transformed my playing permanently and for the better. I am realizing that since I found talking bass, I groove and express emotions and don't think about the mechanics of playing much at all.