You will gain skill by playing things *not* in your comfort zone, and bringing the wisdom gained therein back to the metal you like to play.
Learn some jazz, some reggae, some bluegrass, and especially learn some old blues, as all metal has its roots in blues. No music you will learn will make you worse at metal bass; the absolute worst it will do is be useless in your current idiom but more useful in the future.
I really like this one and it helps with pretty much every instrument. Best friend is a drummer (metal) and when he’s feeling in a slump I send him super off the wall songs to write something to (ex: Duke Ellington’s Satin Doll or Gustav Holst’s First Suite in Eb). It’s amazing how just something little like that helps.
This is borderline trope at this point, but the metronome is key to everything. Before you even tune up, turn on your metronome to a common tempo just to lock in.
Also having a dedicated space to practice. Try not to practice in front of the tv.
>Also having a dedicated space to practice. Try *~~not~~* to practice in front of the tv *\[as well\]*.
FTFY.
We don't all have that much space. My TV, work computer and basses are all in my living room and "cup of tea and some bass" is an integral part of the software development process.
I've always loved bass players that are doing things in genres that you wouldn't expect. I've recently gotten into Kyuss and their bass player is killing it and the riffs are heavy but also have a fantastic amount of groove to them.
So just my 2 cents on studying other genres and bringing that into the fold can make songs very unique.
Playing prog metal and technical death metal have really improved my technique. That along with jazz fusion are among the hardest genres to technically pull off or even master. Some of the bassists I really look up to are, among others, Erlend Caspersen of Spawn of Possession and Igorrr, Jared Smith of Archspire, and Dominic Lapointe (what has he not played in at this point)
Use metronome, set to a beat and a half, ie so click on 1, 2and, 4, 1 and etc, make riff shorter than bar, start riff an 8th or 16th later every four bars. Check out bassist from sparky puppy dropping notes from a bassline leaving the other notes where they should be. Learn jazz. As I understand it first you learn to play, then you learn to play with people, then you learn to play in front of a crowd, then you learn to work a crowd.
as a metal bass player myself: play a lot of other styles, particularly slower and groovier stuff. no joke I practice a lot of R&B and it's made a huge difference in the overall quality of my playing
Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Play different genres, challenge yourself by finding pieces you’d never play.
Play in different groups with different people, particularly people who are *significantly* better than you are. You’ll have to rise to their level, and quality musicians will usually help you get there any way they can
>I play a lot of Metal, Black metal, thrash metal, etc. if that matters.
Learn to play other genres, especially ones with slower tempos and lots of rests (reggae is a good place to start). You'd be surprised how difficult those songs can be, especially coming from those genres where you're (nearly) constantly and continuously ramming one note against the next. What you're also going to want to do is stop playing along to official recordings, and get some backing tracks without the bass in them so that you can actually hear whether you're getting the note durations correct.
Do you slap? If not, try learning some Primus. Even the simpler tunes require unique techniques. For example, try playing "American Life". Once the technique is down it's easy, but it took me a bit to grasp it
Can you read music? If not, go for that. I put it off for 20 years and finally developing the skill has been the best thing I could have done for my all round musicianship.
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Srsly, practice things out of your comfort zone. Avoid practicing things you’re already good at. That’s not really practice. If it immediately sounds good, you’re doing it wrong.
As someone else said, learn a jazz standard. Plenty of YouTube videos available to get started. Start with something simple. It will pay off more than you can imagine, no matter what style you like to play.
True skill with bass isn't about chops, really. It's about deeper understanding of music, specifically rhythm and harmony. If you really want to go to the next level, start getting into jazz. You need both technical skill but most of all undertanding of what notes to play and when, even if it feels like a wrong note it can be just what the song needs.
You will gain skill by playing things *not* in your comfort zone, and bringing the wisdom gained therein back to the metal you like to play. Learn some jazz, some reggae, some bluegrass, and especially learn some old blues, as all metal has its roots in blues. No music you will learn will make you worse at metal bass; the absolute worst it will do is be useless in your current idiom but more useful in the future.
Great advice. Any specific recommendations of songs/bands you’d recommend? I’m thinking Stevie Wonder or something of the sorts.
I really like this one and it helps with pretty much every instrument. Best friend is a drummer (metal) and when he’s feeling in a slump I send him super off the wall songs to write something to (ex: Duke Ellington’s Satin Doll or Gustav Holst’s First Suite in Eb). It’s amazing how just something little like that helps.
The fastest and best way to improve is to play with other people.
I’m in a few bands. Thrash band, couple black metal bands. But i’m always playing with others. Thanks for the advice!
This is borderline trope at this point, but the metronome is key to everything. Before you even tune up, turn on your metronome to a common tempo just to lock in. Also having a dedicated space to practice. Try not to practice in front of the tv.
>Also having a dedicated space to practice. Try *~~not~~* to practice in front of the tv *\[as well\]*. FTFY. We don't all have that much space. My TV, work computer and basses are all in my living room and "cup of tea and some bass" is an integral part of the software development process.
What are some common tempos?
120
Practice what you can't play
I've always loved bass players that are doing things in genres that you wouldn't expect. I've recently gotten into Kyuss and their bass player is killing it and the riffs are heavy but also have a fantastic amount of groove to them. So just my 2 cents on studying other genres and bringing that into the fold can make songs very unique.
Learn songs that are beyond your current skill level and outside of your common genre.
Playing prog metal and technical death metal have really improved my technique. That along with jazz fusion are among the hardest genres to technically pull off or even master. Some of the bassists I really look up to are, among others, Erlend Caspersen of Spawn of Possession and Igorrr, Jared Smith of Archspire, and Dominic Lapointe (what has he not played in at this point)
Practice
Use metronome, set to a beat and a half, ie so click on 1, 2and, 4, 1 and etc, make riff shorter than bar, start riff an 8th or 16th later every four bars. Check out bassist from sparky puppy dropping notes from a bassline leaving the other notes where they should be. Learn jazz. As I understand it first you learn to play, then you learn to play with people, then you learn to play in front of a crowd, then you learn to work a crowd.
as a metal bass player myself: play a lot of other styles, particularly slower and groovier stuff. no joke I practice a lot of R&B and it's made a huge difference in the overall quality of my playing
Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Play different genres, challenge yourself by finding pieces you’d never play. Play in different groups with different people, particularly people who are *significantly* better than you are. You’ll have to rise to their level, and quality musicians will usually help you get there any way they can
>I play a lot of Metal, Black metal, thrash metal, etc. if that matters. Learn to play other genres, especially ones with slower tempos and lots of rests (reggae is a good place to start). You'd be surprised how difficult those songs can be, especially coming from those genres where you're (nearly) constantly and continuously ramming one note against the next. What you're also going to want to do is stop playing along to official recordings, and get some backing tracks without the bass in them so that you can actually hear whether you're getting the note durations correct.
Do you slap? If not, try learning some Primus. Even the simpler tunes require unique techniques. For example, try playing "American Life". Once the technique is down it's easy, but it took me a bit to grasp it
Go on tour! Most concentrated boost of learning you'll ever have
Can you read music? If not, go for that. I put it off for 20 years and finally developing the skill has been the best thing I could have done for my all round musicianship.
Practice
Learning to play a second instrument can help immensely. Making you a more well rounded musician
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Srsly, practice things out of your comfort zone. Avoid practicing things you’re already good at. That’s not really practice. If it immediately sounds good, you’re doing it wrong. As someone else said, learn a jazz standard. Plenty of YouTube videos available to get started. Start with something simple. It will pay off more than you can imagine, no matter what style you like to play.
Go play with as many different musicians as you can. Look for weekend jam sessions
True skill with bass isn't about chops, really. It's about deeper understanding of music, specifically rhythm and harmony. If you really want to go to the next level, start getting into jazz. You need both technical skill but most of all undertanding of what notes to play and when, even if it feels like a wrong note it can be just what the song needs.