LeftyBassist.com

what would it be? what do you wish you would have known back or had some body tell you?
mine goes as follow

"wait wait wait! don't smash that bass, yes the tuners break strings all the time and yes the sparkly brown color looks like something you would find in a care bear's toilet but in about 10 years you're gonna miss the feel of that neck and its a 24 fret P-j setup, something you'll lust over, just change the tuners and paint the body it's not that bad!"

"Learn some theory damn it, it won't stifle you're creativity Johnny is an idiot and you're an even bigger one if you're listening to him, Cliff knew theory, speaking of which, give the metal a rest a little...yea i know you still listen to the beatles and zep and cream but other then those three you're all metal all the time...You know you still love some Sinatra and Ray Charles that stuff is awsome, and so is jazz!! Miles Davis is probably the only person in the world who said Mother F*cker as much as you do, he was the original prince of darkness...oh and listen to this dude Jaco...I know Ronnie is a nerd but he's right about this one.....yea ok go smoke or whatever but get some more practicing in I mean really besides school what else do you HAVE to do? trust me I know its boring now but in about ten years you'll be begging for time to do it "

Invest in lessons, not in all that gear!
And stop buying guitars when the bass is what you really want to play!

Pay more attention to the snare drum. And just because you play the same kind of instrument as your idol, it doesn't mean you are going to sound like your idol, especially on their recordings.

Take lessons and learn how to play that piano you bought! Sell your Harley Sportster, stay in school and get your music degree, instead of riding it around trying to look cool, like Bronson! (If you know who that is, you're giving away your age/generation!)

my advice to myself

- stop talking it and start playing it

- for anything you don't understand the theory of why it works (or doesn't work), hit the books and take a college class (or three)

- take lessons early on from a skilled player who is also a gifted teacher

- learn to do all your own set-ups, and be able to totally disassemble/reassemble your bass so that you play with an optimal set-up, and because of this you don't develop bad physical playing habits (like clamp hand)

- despite the fact that you don't like listening to it, play some country more often and discover the incredible bass lines hidden behind that off key singing

all the best,

R

Big +1. For years I knew nothing about proper setup, neck relief, PUP adjustment, intonation, etc., and probably developed bad habits (and hatred for my instrument and/or lack of confidence) as a result.

My two cents:

- Don't just listen to bass or bassists, listen to all instruments and how they interplay and interact with a band. Drums/rhythm are a given, but Jaco developed his unique style and phrasing by listening to saxophonists and other brass soloists.
- Step away from the bass for a time. A few days, weeks, whatever it takes to get out of a rut or running through your same routine again and again. Go to the driving range and hit some balls, or engage in some other activities you might have neglected. You'd be surprised how exciting and refreshing your instrument is when you return to it with a clear head.
- There's always going to be somebody better or worse than you: striving to be the best you can be is always an admirable goal, but being comfortable in your own skin and respecting your unique voice on your instrument should be the ultimate goal. It's not a competition, it's about making music and finding your personal enjoyment in it. For years, I thought that perfecting flashy chops was the answer, and the more I focused on nailing those techniques down the less I found myself focusing on making music and finding my own strengths/voice. I like what I do now and I like the musician I've become. My bass playing goes hand in hand with my singing/songwriting, and that's the approach I've taken since I generally construct melodic lines to compliment my songs and my vocals which are performed simultaneously. Could I be better, sure, but nobody can do what I do, which is the best approximation of myself. If you want to be the best two handed tapper around, by all means go for it, but for god's sake, make music!

if it was possible to tell myself 25 years ago something, it may have been 2 things:

Don't play lefty and certainly not inverted.....

but as I DO LOOK back, despite all the cool righty basses I never owned because I didn't want to flip them, most importantly the fact that it never ever handicapped me in any way to play inverted OR lefty in all these years and all the bands I was ever in.

If I would have convinced myself to learn righty, I would never have become unique, and blending in with a crowd of rightys at jam nights would have made me as plain as the rest of them, and everyone remembers me for my playing lefty style, not my name.

I often wonder what kind of basses I would have ended up with if I hadn't been a lefty
When I started to really play the bass, I wanted a 5-string. And all I could find in stores in the Netherlands were a Cort Artisan B5 that I could afford, and an Ibanez SR885 and a Yamaha TRB5II that were just out of league. I ended up with the Yamaha, and from there on just started buying various stuff that came along on secondhand sites and eBay. Which I often sold again quickly, but it did give me a nice opportunity to try stuff out and develop my current taste in instruments. Would I have done the same thing if I were righthanded, and had far more options to choose from in the first place?

I wonder if righties get GAS as much as we do. I'd like to think the inaccessibility of lefty instruments makes the search all the more rewarding. It's taken literally over 20 years for me to find certain instruments. Collecting right handed basses is a hobby easily accomplished, funds permitting.

1.) Learn to play piano. I think piano is the most important instrument. Period.

2.) Play righty. Some people believe that people are supposed to play a certain way and that it can be harmful to go against what feels natural, but, either way, you still have to work hard. I worked my ASS off practicing and I can honestly say that if I put all the same work into playing righty as I did playing lefty I'd be just as good as I am today, and would most certainly have had fewer fights with my wife over my ridiculous GAS problems.

3.) Play using 3 or even 4 fingers on my picking hand. I get by fine with two, but... 3 is simply more efficient. It especially would have helped me a TON when I was doing the metal thing, but I can't see any reason why it wouldn't have helped me with everything else as well.

4.) Learn to play proficiently with a pick. I'm decent... but I could be way better.

5.) Learn how to sight read. I know mid-level theory, understand notation and can read sheet music if I sit and slowly work it out, but I never spent the time it takes to sight read sheet music. It takes A LOT of practice and I simply never spent the time on it.

6.) Less scales... more chords and arpeggios. I spent way too much time focusing on scales and mode "shapes" (thanks Billy Sheehan! ) and should have spent WAAAAY more time focusing on chord structure within keys and working on arpeggiated soloing over chord changes. It's what good bass playing is all about, IMO... all the best solo players I see work arpeggiation heavily into their solos. Learning scales is important... but it's very linear. Maybe if I would have been more of a "jazz guy" I would have figured this out sooner, but chords and arpeggios open the fretboard up a lot more and I'm just beginning to figure that out 20 years in.

7.) Don't ruin that late 80's MIJ Fender Jazz you had. It was awesome.

I agree! At some point the search itself becomes the real goal, instead of finding that bass you've been after for so long.

The younger me would never listen to anything an old fart like me had to say.

Completely agree on this. People think that I am crazy for calling around shops every time I travel for work, which is often. But honestly, the hunt in of itself becomes thrilling. If it weren't for the thrill of the hunt, the acquisition would not be as sweet. I know, I got my jazz bass because I hunted and called every guitar store in the LA and Phoenix metro areas when I was out there.

As far as GAS goes, I think righties don't get GAS as much as we do because it is not as difficult. My guitar playing buddy recently ran a search for an "acoustic bass" on ebay and came up with a ton of right options. When I told him to put the adjective "left handed" in front of the adjective acoustic and saw the results he wrote me a condolensce note and a highly satisfying.."I understand".

Don't only train your fingers, train your ear. Always stay in tune. Get good enough to realize when something is out of tune, whether it be your bass or between band members.

So true. "Youth is wasted on the young." - George Bernard Shaw