Bass Mistakes That Are SLOWING You Down

Stop wasting time in the shed - shave years off your practice by avoiding these 5 common bass mistakes.

You can’t unsee this lesson - by the end of it you’ll know how to:
- Stop repeating mistakes
- How to practice bass more efficiently
- Structure your practice to avoid time-wasting
- Stay out of panic mode on a gig
- Recognize patterns that help you remember songs and bass lines
- Learn songs at the right level for you

Gear used in the video (not affiliated):
2016 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz with Audere preamp
GruvGear SoloStrap Neo 4”
Noble DI
Audient iD 14

#BassMistakes #BassBuzz

[stephenbc]

Adding timestamps for my own reference (and maybe yours too!):
0:21 Mistake #1: Practicing Too Fast
3:18 Mistake #2: Starting with Noodling
5:34 Mistake #3: Not Planning Fingerings
9:33 Mistake #4: Not Knowing Theory
12:44 Mistake #5: Trying to Learn Jamiroquai Songs (JK Super Hard Songs)

Thank you for the quality advice as usual Josh!

[RaulRieraS]

Bonus tip: when everything else fails, don't forget to smile and move rhythmically as you play. Just remember that 90% of people doesn't even know how the bass sounds or would be able to identify it anyway

[julianthesmooshyhusky]

My old band director said practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes permanent. Always appreciated that advice.

[VideoGameStoryTime]

I love that not only do you teach bass, you teach learning. There are a lot of people on YouTube who think they can teach just because they know how to do something. You're the only online teacher I've found who not only know their stuff, you also seem to genuinely care about the learning process! Thank you!

[HollisJamison]

Even after B2B and practicing for 3 months I think this is the first video that made me realize "learning a song" is not about learning the notes and somehow hitting them in order, it's about memorizing one specfic sequence of finger movements to hit them the same way every time.

Excuse me while I go re-learn the few songs I've learned so far!

[iflifewaseasy]

I'm autistic and just picked up a bass 3 days ago. Thank you for explaining (while also showing) the "why" along with the "what" and then also repeating the same idea using different words. 🥰 Yours is the first music related YouTube video I've been able to finish. 🤩

[LovelyBozo]

I am a freshman in highschool and I started play bass about a week ago, I decided to take music theory at the beginning of this year and already having the experience with that class has helped me with understanding scales and the fretboard so much. Music theory is a huge help and I would recommend taking a class to anybody.

[iduncanw]

If you're reading these comments wondering "should I get the Beginner to Badass course"... YES, a thousand times YES. The course is awesome, you'll play heaps of styles and riffs and have a plethora of backing tracks to practice to.

Excellent video Josh 🤘😎

[xbjrrtc]

Fingering consistency is key. I also never struggled with BUT I recently injured my pinky and have been using just three fingers while it heals. I've straight up gotten the yips and forgotten how to play songs that I know cold, all because I tried to switch to a new fingering.

I'll be so glad when my picky gets back online! 😂

[rbrown]

Great advice (and humour) as always. I'd like to add something a music teacher told me years ago: there's two types of practicing. One is for technique where you stop and correct mistakes as you make them; the other is to practice performing where, come hell or high water, you keep in sync with whatever tempo and place in a song that a backing track requires (which is a lot more of a challenge than just getting back in time with a metronome). Performance practicing is surprisingly hard to do but it teaches you the skill of how to keep the music flowing, which is essential if you ever want to play with anyone else. It's the musician's equivalent of being a figure skater who's fallen down and they have to get back up and carry on--and not with the next step after the one they flubbed, but to get back in sync with the music that's moved on while they were splattered on the ice.

[ad_zira]

Your style of explaining makes things simple. Really loved the content

[plusmin]

Just some different perspectives on a couple of these points: While watching live footage of the bass player of whatever song you're trying to figure out is helpful, keep in mind that they aren't necessarily the epitome of technique just because they are in a band. Also, often times performers will compromise good technique while playing live for the sake of an entertaining performance.
Barring your finger is the last resort on bass! The chorus on Hysteria for example, would be more comfortably played with your index and then middle finger. Josh has bigger hands, so it's easier for him to barre. Barring is very straining for most people, especially across multiple strings on bass, and lower on the fretboard. Do what is comfortable for you.
Nice progress on your video content Josh! They feel much more refined and smooth

[nyx]

This video was really educational and fun to watch, and you did a great job with the editing. It's so exciting to see how much you've improved over the years! :D

[alexvthooft]

Understanding music theory massively speeds up my learning at the moment. I often find patterns whilst learning the bass because of it. That helps a lot and it helps me find my way about the fret board. For example finding the roots when playing/learning the minor pentatonic scale over the entire board

[BlackJackLopez]

Lots of thoughts in my mind right now. But this one might be one of the best, mind-blowing, mind-expanding videos I've seen to date. Honestly, as a 'forever beginner', I ENJOY challenge too much. Which doesn't mean I always succeed, and here you've just explained to me exactly WHY. So, thanks for this, it's an excellent guide to start correcting bad habits! I still have to learn how to play slap in a few weeks, so I'm still in deep dip, but now I know I can make a plan. And that's a start.

[transformationgeneration]

My wife caught me slacking off in here on You Tube but once she realized I was working on bettering my fingering technique, all was good. :) - that aside, you have the #1 best Bass videos on YT.

[harky]

You are very understandable for non-English speakers even without use of subtitles. Thanks for your lessons!

[stuff]

this is for everyone who says playing bAss is easy xD

[axelr]

I've been stuck on # 4 for a while now. I have a decent knowledge of music theory learned from watching videos and reading up on it - but actually applying it while playing is a whole different beast.

[lovelakland]

I have to stay that you are one of, if not the most humble teacher of bass and music that I've encountered on YouTube. Thank you sir. Keep on doing this for the music world. We need you.