Process
This has been an interesting experience to say the least. Learning bass has been a different experience to what was expected and was surprising at certain times. Now maybe it's time to keep going and keep learning at a steady pace to improve the skills and eventually get to more complicated music. it has been interesting to learn bass this year. Reflection I knew that the bass was going to be similar to the guitar but at the same time completely different. I knew somewhat of the differences of each instrument and how each complements another and that not all guitars are meant for the same musical purpose. Now I know even further inot the difference on how they work inot music and how bass is not meant to be the star in most cases although very well can be. It is mostly meant to be a background beat that keeps time and is mostly a single riff played throughout the song with little changes. That or that the bass piece is the main thing to be remembered about a song which gives it some of it's uniqueness that it can be both a backup and also in the spot light. A simple yet powerful way to drive some of the finer keys into the music and give the rest of the instruments more power even if it mostly goes unnoticed. I've learned from this to appreciate many different parts of what goes into music and how everything goes together to form one better orchestrated piece. It's been an interesting experience and what I've taken from it should help me understand more about music and perhaps give me better skills in learning new instruments in the future.
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Process
It's been difficult trying to learn new things in recent weeks. To hopefully solve this, it might be good to not focus on learning songs, but instead just try and make something else from the lessons already learned. It seems like a waste of time and effort to be stressing over trying to learn specific things with no sort of way to relax and make things up. Instead of focusing on each part individually and just going from section to section, it might be good to just try and learn a few things and then see what can be made with that if anything. Hopefully this will make it easier to maintain focus and just let the experience be more enjoyable. Reflection I realized that I had been going at it all wrong. Since I was just trying to learn everything bit by bit, there wasn't any freedom to go and do whatever seemed right. Instead it was very restricting in trying to learn everything at once. I need to be able to do whatever and then go on and make things out of whatever I learned before. Process
Finding new songs that are interesting to learn and to maintain interest in is becoming difficult. There are few songs that are interesting in the first place and it is becoming more and more difficult to find the few that are while also staying inside the same skill level. Mostly it is the issue of songs being too complicated to be able to sit down and go through an entire song and learn with in a few sessions since each part of a song is taking many many tries to get down and even then it is no where near perfect. The skill level limitations are the main thing causing the problems right now. It's all just taking time and focus to get through anything which becomes more of a burden trying to play, than something that is to be enjoyed. Reflection As the year goes on it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find new songs to learn. Mostly from the songs being either too boring or too complicated which I understand are complete opposites and that sets it up to be that every song could fit in those two places. Any Song could either be too basic or too complicated for my current level. I'm only able to play small portions of any song trying to learn and practice before it become too tedious and repetitive that it is no longer enjoyable. It's just that a lot of songs take a lot of focus which is something that can be difficult to maintain when doing the same thing over and over. I know it's just determination and continuing on to learn but that's easier said that done. Process:
Been quite a bit since playing which is an issue. Everything that was built up before has gone away and now it has to be built back up. Calluses build when you play a string instrument consistently and it helps to make the pressure and friction hurt less since the skin hardens and it does not break so easily. With a few weeks however, those can soften up and so longer be useful in helping with the pain which makes it very difficult to come back and try to get back into playing. It's been too long, experience has been officially lost and now the only thing left to do is build it back up and get moving again. Reflection: After a few weeks, I'm finding it very hard to get back into it. After having lost interest and then forgetting to come back, now it's becoming a chore to get back into it but I've got a few songs I'd like to learn or try and I've missed playing lately so it'll be good coming back to it. The only thing I'm worried about now is the callus issue since it is very helpful to have them when trying to play for a long amount of time and I had forgotten how easy it was to lose them. Oh well not much to say just getting back to it and just keep on getting back into it. Process:
Some of the videos for the bass have shown a different way to play the bass. The technique is called slap base and involves actually slapping the bass string with the thumb or palm area of the hand. This makes a far more interesting and springy sound for whatever note is being played. A lot of songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers use this form of bass playing which adds a funk style to the music. And while the sound in the songs is appealing and interesting to listen to, it is incredibly diffivult to replicate since a lot of the songs using it are faster paced songs. This of course means that each not will need to be reached and performed much sooner to get a good found out of it. Nonetheless it could be worth making an attempt Reflection: Right so slap Bass is a very interesting sound when done correctly. When not done correctly it can be not so good and end up sounding far worse than if the notes were just played in the normal style they are normally played in. Despite this, I still would like to try and improve and to learn since I do find it to sound so good when played correctly so hopefully improvements will be made and I will get better at it. Process: At this point it was time to start learning newer and more songs. Getting past all the basic things and normal progressions of a lesson style to learning an instrument, there needed to be other things. It was getting boring to just do the same things and not be able to play something familiar. There were a few things that people suggested which sounded interesting and meant it would be much more enjoyable. One of the songs was Under Pressure by Queen which is most likely the most recognizable bass track. Having it be very easy to follow and remember made it better and made the experience less dull to just the simple basic techniques. This was a perfect opportunity to now be able to play something and still practice some of the notes. Reflection: I am a big fan of Queen and so while thinking of what I could start doing in terms of learning actual songs, I immediately thought of under pressure for its simple and recognizable bass that plays through the majority of the song. It was fairly easy to become familiar with the notes and with the rhythm for picking, and very soon became something enjoyable because it meant I was playing something I knew and now could play. At fist, it was not so easy since it took some time to get the timing along with it just kind of sounding terrible and I wasn't sure how it would turn out but now I am able to do it alright. I still have some issues and hiccups since the strings are difficult to maneuver but we'll get there. It just takes time, and practice.
Process: After searching around YouTube and finding a video with some advise about the finger pain, it slowly went away after practicing the technique a few times. Thankfully I found someone since there had to be somebody with some sort of advise about chords causing less pain to the left hand. This video was very helpful in showing exactly how to figure out what the problem was and to try to make it go away. It show exactly how much pressure should be put onto the string in order to reduce pain while still getting a good sound. Even though it is not specifically for bass guitar it was still helpful in showing how to properly press down on a string,and has helped tremendously with bass playing. With this practice it has become easier to play and practice the chords regularly and without so much pain. Reflection: Part of it I'm sure was just me getting used to the chords but I do feel like this video helped on making me focus on where to put my finger on the fret and how hard to press down. After going through it and practicing not pressing down so hard I noticed a difference in the way my fingers felt after playing for an extended amount of time. Especially with the strings being so thick and being difficult to press down for extended periods of time, it was helpful to have this guide. The video I found was on YouTube but a link to the website was available. This link showed a bunch more lessons that could be helpful in the future. https://www.andyguitar.co.uk/online-lessons/05-my-fingers-hurt/ Still difficult to tell from the pictures but it is very different from the average strings as seen on a normal guitar. Much thicker, much harder to press.
Process: In order to have the string make just the precise and clean sound the chord is going for, it's got to be held down pretty hard so that it doesn't buzz. The problem with this is that the strings on a bass guitar are a little thicker than on a six string guitar and so it is more difficult to hold down the string, but not only holding it down, it also has to be in the correct spot on the fret so some of these chords can hold your hand in an awkward position for a long time, while applying pressure which makes the hand a little bit sore. The same thing happens with guitar but it is different as for a six string, it's actually the thinness of the string that makes the fingers hurt and the finger tips raw but on a bass, it's a work out just to hold the strings down. Luckily though, this can improve because more time played means that it will become easier and more comfortable to play even the more awkward set of chords and notes. Reflection: I've had the raw finger tips before and it's what I expected to have happen again on the bass but to my surprise, this is not what started to bother my hands, instead it was the force needed to press onto the string in order to get the desired sound. I know that much like playing the six string before, it will get better and more easy to play but it was surprising that the more I played the more I noticed my hand getting sore and that coupled with the awkward hand positions needed, is making it much more involving to play this instrument.
Process: The Buzzing has become a problem... Buzzing is what happens on a guitar when the finger on the string is not rested perfectly onto the fret, or it's just not pressing down onto the fret with enough force. With either, or both of these factors happening, it means that the sound made is less than ideal to anyone listening and a very obnoxious buzz sound is made. It happens with the six string, it happens with the bass, and it is probably the single most irritating thing when trying to learn because it will always happen. It happens because when the string in not held fully onto the fret, then the string can bounce and vibrate on top of the metal and make the buzz. The way to fix this problem is to put the finger down just above whatever fret is being pushed down, and then making sure that the string is fully held down in place to stretch the string along the fret and not just gently resting on the fret. It's not difficult, it just takes practice. Reflection: The buzzing is just like what I've dealt with on guitar in the past and it happens to everyone who is just learning how to play the instrument. It shouldn't be too difficult to practice and improve, the problem is the spacing between frets which makes it more difficult for me to get a firm plant with the string down onto the fret but with practice of course it won't be hard to get past and to avoid in the future. This isn't exactly what I was explaining but you can still see that the string has to be tight over a point for it not to buzz and if the string is able to lift, then it will buzz. In this example it is showing the end of the string near the head of the guitar and how the strings are tide off into the pegs.
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There are fairly few differences between the standard six string guitar and the four string bass, first one obviously being the difference in string count but one that was surprising to find out and one that wasn't expected was that there is significantly more space between frets on the bass when compared to the six string. This discovery has made it a bit more interesting when learning the riffs and trying to get to certain chords on the guitar and has made the learning curve a bit steeper. One thing to work on now is trying to get the separation and reach for each fret in the chord so that it's easier for the more complicated ones. Reflection: I knew that the frets were going to be further apart and it would be a little bit different but some of these riffs are much more awkward to manage when the frets are so far apart. Picking it up the first few times wasn't too bad but that was only because I was trying get familiar with all the numbering systems and remember how the tabs worked. So after all that and getting it tuned, it was a shock to find out this was going to be harder than I first thought and it would take getting used to in order to accurately hit some of the chords in these riffs consistently. Bass Frets: Guitar Frets: |
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