How to Teach Yourself to Play Bass in 9 Steps

Hi everyone!

If you also wanna know how to SLAP bass, check out my other video here:

Even though I'm sure a lot of you are already bass maestros, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share my autodidactic bass journey with you all and hope it can help anyone who wants to start learning bass but isn't sure how to start!

As I've mentioned, I'm taking a break from full on bass playing so the nerves in my hand can heal. That is also another reason why I want to focus on some music theory this year instead :)

Also disclaimer, I'm not a bass pro by any means -that would be Charles Bethoud, duh! So if you're looking for more in depth or a PROs perspective, do check out his video on 'How to master any instrument'!

TIME STAMPS:
0:00 - Introduction
1:11 - Step 0: Get a bass
2:08 - Step 1: Listen
2:53 - Step 2: Technique basics
4:01 - Step 3: Learning with tabs
5:56 - Step 4: Learning by ear
6:26 - Step 5: Play a lot and record yourself
7:21 - Step 6: Jam and create
8:14 - Step 7: Building on your technique
9:57 - Step 8: Theory
11:23 - Step 9: Rinse and repeat

Mentioned in the video are some beginner bass tutorial resources and channels that I would watch/copy to improve my playing:
TalkingBass - Online Bass Lessons
David Caraccio

Audio Interface, microphone and headphones from Focusrite (Scarlett 2i2 studio)

[deppwaswho]

Hello everyone! I just wanted to clarify a few things I've seen cropping up in the comments:

1) Totally messed up the steps. Forgot about step 1 and instead there are two step 2s. My mistake!
2) Learning piano certainly accelerated the process but I truly believe even if I didn't have that background, I would've still gone through the exact same journey. I think it's alike learning Cantonese being a native speaker of Mandarin - you'd definitely learn it faster than a native English speaker but the process is largely the same, just condensed.
3) 6 hours a day was when I was in high school - I definitely don't have that amount of time at my disposal any more!
4) Learn theory, don't learn theory; use tabs, don't use tabs - it doesn't matter! This is just what I think is a relatively accessible method to learn the bass by yourself and the journey I went on to becoming a 'self taught' bassist. Having said that, I do think that having to teach yourself theory/musical notation on top of having to teach yourself a new instrument may be a little intimidating and act as a barrier to getting started. At first, all I really wanted to do was jam with my favourite tunes ASAP! But in the long run I'd certainly steer towards using ears/hearing and building a better musical foundation. Ultimately, you do you!

[wiggipedia]

53 year old here, taking up bass for the first time. I don't have to be concert level, just want to learn to play. Never too old.

[adriellejodoin]

I was getting a bit discouraged as a woman with small hands learning the bass when all the tutorials and lessons online feature men with giant hand spans effortlessly handling 3 frets at once. Its so epic to see a woman like me who taught herself the bass and is clearly lacking nothing in technique or execution. You're awesome and I hope to learn more from your videos on my bass journey!

[SamasakiXBL]

"Learning bass is a lifelong process."

I really needed to hear that. I've been playing bass for a year, coming up at the end of March. I think I was looking for shortcuts, watching all these advice videos and I think I found the advice I was looking for. As long as I keep playing, it's just time. Thanks for that. :)

Also 6 HOURS A DAY LOL I'll stick to my hour a day and random inspiration sessions

[Carlparishhonda]

I taught myself to play bass during the 1960s. I didn't play that fast style like you are playing now. We played music from the 1940s to the 1960s. Unfortunately the Vietnam War broke up our band. I remember playing in talent shows in Chicago with the Jackson Five, Earth Wind & Fire and Chaka Khan. We were all amateurs. However you play extremely well.

[tenbinzamt]

YOUR PINK BASS IS WHAT IVE BEEN DREAMING OF SINCE I STARTED PLAYING its beautiful omg

[sarahsmile]

I’m 39 and just started learning the bass. Never too old to learn something new:)

[shetakii]

Yep, she's officially my bass mom from now on.

[mihantan]

dude hearing people say they taught themselves how to play that instrument gives me soo much hope idk why

[endlesshope]

I honestly did not think being self taught in an instrument would take 5+ years to actually learn how to play like how I WANT to play
this is around my 1st year of learning the bass by myself and this video is very inspiring

[jenimichelle]

I’ve been telling myself for the past few years I’m gonna learn the bass, and I’m always so scared to just do it....this video definitely gave me the guts to just start playing. 🖤

[glickmpb]

Just saw this. Im 50 and have been playing since I was 15. I had ZERO knowledge when I started and couldnt even tune my bass. I bought a bass because I started listening to Iron Maiden and didn't even know what the sound was I liked, because Steve Harris is a monster. Anyway, I tried taking lessons and they got me nowhere. They were boring and the teacher even had be sitting in the room with another older lady who was learning how to play for her church band! Some of the guys I started hanging around with were already musicians so they kind of pointed me in the right direction. I started learning a lot of Iron Maiden by ear by just sitting there trying to figure out the notes, so you can say I am ear trained as well. I then started branching off to other music I liked and was playing with a band in bars at 17. Later on, I wanted to learn how to slap. I bought a book with audio record, thats RECORD, of a guy who was really good. It had all the notes written out but I got the most from the actual record. I went for some more lessons because I wanted to learn how to slap and brought a tape of that record with me. The instructor told me I was slapping and plucking way to hard and was trying to show me the "proper" way to do it. Once he kind of showed me the proper technique, I was listening to the tape I brought in and he left for a bio break. He came back, heard me slapping and was like, "was that you!?" The rest is history...

[hannahvandalen]

hi! im hannah and im 12 years old, i really love the instrument bass. the reason why i started playing, is because my dad plays guitar and i wanted to try it too! we went to a music and instrument store and i saw somone playing on a bass. it sounded really cool! i asked my dad ¨what instrument is that?¨ he said ¨oh, thats a bass guitar!¨ i said ¨this is on my christmas list now!¨ and they got me a real fender! since then i played every day and i saw this video! this really helped me and i belive i play much better now! thank you for these tips!

[bigo]

I'm 65, retired, and I have a bass, nothing but time on my hands, so watching your video was inspiring.
I know I'll never be on tour but I'm just hoping to carry a tune! My favorite bass player is Gary Thaine, of Uriah Heep!
I'm an oldie!
Rock on!
GBPT 🇺🇸🙏

[Duvstep]

"Learn simple songs"
*me trying to learn Korn's self titled album*

[Khangle]

As a classically trained guitarist myself, I recently decided to abandon the majority of what I've learned and just dive in blind into the world of bass guitar. I've been at it for about a year now and I resonate strongly with the advice in the video. Keep up the amazing groove, I look forward to your future videos.

[petermusto]

I'm 67, and I bought a brand new 1960 Fender American Vintage Series 11 Precision Bass . I am on a 'rest of my life journey to master the Bass. Your testimony inspired an old guy like me. You sound great!

[sonnenscheinsommer]

Buying good headphones is maybe also very important. I just bought me new headphones, not expensive at all but very good and I hear now details of bass lines, I didn't hear before because the headphones before on the one hand made nice sound and volume but didn't seperate sound elements so precisely, like the new ones. I hear now much more details.

[BassistClair]

49 year old here. Started playing and learning bass in April last year. I am able to play along with tabs, now practising speed and accuracy. Thinking about joining a band later this year.

[JazzyFuriousDestroyer]

"step 0: get a bass"

*my dad taught himself to play the piano by drawing keys on a piece of cardboard*

Edit: My dad then taught me and now I play jazz piano at the age of 16