advice for a newbie w/music background

Since you already know how to read then start with scales (boring, I know). Once you know your scales then you can look at sheet music and play away. You need to play scales to build strength, coordination and speed anyway. Learning the notes on a guitar neck may seem daunting to a piano player but you will pick it up soon enough. Just do it.

Just saying "hi" AuntBabe, and welcome! :D All the best with the bass. :wink:

I learned bass after drums and saxophone.

The problem with acoustic bass is no frets. I learned with frets, but I did meet a bass player who marked the neck where the frets would have been to help him with his hand position.

Then I would learn the notes on the lowest string first, since that is where the root of most of your beginning patterns will be. From the root, learn the position for 3, 4, 5, 6 and b7.

Then learn the notes on the next to lowest string. The patterns from there will be the same.

Also learn how to find an octave (two strings up in pitch - two frets up in pitch), and from there you have the entire bass.

Bass can be a lot of fun in rock and jazz bands, less in country since too many songs hang on the root and 5s.

Sorry, I don't know of a beginning bass book, but if you are a bass player, you need to visit one of the world's greatest bass players, Carol Kaye http://www.carolkaye.com/ - She has a lot of educational material there but I'm not sure how basic it is.

Reading music is more difficult on the bass or guitar than it is on the sax or piano. It takes a little longer to learn the neck than the black and white keys, but once you pass that hurdle, it will be just as easy. It simply takes a bit of time.

Good luck,
Notes

Our own David Hodge wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Bass Guitar:

http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=31414

Notes: fretted acoustic basses have been around for quite some time, so I don't think we can assume it's fretless (unless she said upright bass)

I will recommend a slightly different approach from the "immediately learn the scales" advice, as you already know them from piano playing. it's not going to take you long to translate that knowledge to the bass. I recommend practicing intervals and chords (arpeggiated), as committing these to muscle memory will get you playing songs rather quickly. also, after becoming competent on chording, connecting chord progressions with lines (from the scales you already know) will come quickly.

about bass in general: it is a premier rhythm instrument. many of the interesting bass lines (often chord based) have a compelling rhythmic components that really make the part and drive the groove.

Actually, I think you have an advantage learning the bass from the piano. It often takes a long time for beginning guitarists to figure out that the chords under their fingers are made up of notes. In addition, your piano sheet music is usually more accurate than bass tabs from the internet.

Here is a useful fretboard map. I think you'll find that you will learn it quickly, and you'll discover that how the relationship of the location of one note to another (interval) is consistent as you change keys and chords.

https://www.guitarnoise.com/wiki/doku.php?id=reading_bass_tabs_and_notes

One last consideration - a specific note can sometimes be played in different places. A 'D' can be the open D-sring, the 5th fret of the A string, or the 10th fret of the E-string. This provides options that can be useful or confusing. As noted in one of the lessons here, try to avoid open notes - play near the 5th fret when you can.

Have fun!

Sorry about the non-fretted assumption.

Learning a second or higher musical instrument is always easier and quicker, because the musician brings a lot of knowledge to the new instrument and simply learns how to apply it to the physicality of the new instrument.

Piano is perhaps the best instrument to have a background in because everything is both obvious visually and logically laid out. I learned drums first and quickly moved to sax. From there I learned bass, some rhythm guitar (barre chords), keyboards (small portable organs), flute, and wind synthesizer. Other than the flute and wind synth, I learned it from the other band members who played those instruments.

About two years ago, I finally decided to get serious with the guitar, spent 2 hours a day learning scales, new chords, and improvising leads with what I learned. Thanks to a year or so on the bass (plus a lot of doubling) and the musical baggage I took along from other instruments, I learned to improvise quite quickly on the guitar, and astounded my guitar playing friends with my quick progress. But they didn't realize that I wasn't learning music, just the mechanics of the guitar. They didn't witness me honking on the sax and learning applied music theory when I was in junior high school.

Why to I go into all this history?

To let AuntBabe know that it is going to be fairly easy to progress much quicker on the bass than a person who is learning the difference between a B and a Bb or a Whole and a Quarter note.

And I probably don't need to say this, but listen to the bass lines on a variety of pop music songs. The music must be in your head before it comes out of your fingers.

Insights and incites by Notes

Thanks for the tips, everyone! Yep, I have a fretted bass, the most basic model Dean sells.

gnease, David Hodge's book is my stocking stuffer from the husband, so once the crazyness of the holidays is over I"ll be poring over it and the 16-pages of comments on this Forum on his book. I've gone through some of his lessons on this site too.

Laz, thanks for the link, I've already been using that page as a reference as I'm learning. It helps to have the tabs and the notes together. I've learned as I've been doing scales about playing the same note on different stringss, I'm guessing it'll be fun later on trying to choose which note on which string to get the sound I'll want.

The husband has taken up ukulele (just bought a 'real' one from Mainland Ukes) so I'll have someone to jam with...I'm actually showing him how to do some of the more complex rhythms. We played a very halting version of 'here comes the sun' the other night (mostly because I had to find out where the notes were!)

I actually have always loved picking out the piano and bass lines in songs... I wanna grow up and play 'Lipstick Vogue' with Elvis Costello's band circa 1979. Or be Tina Weymouth. :)

D'oh, I think the board ate my last post...in brief, thanks for the great advice! I have David Hodge's book and will start after the holidays. I'll keep you posted!

More links:

http://playbassnow.com/
http://www.studybass.com/
http://wheatsbassbook.org/

The David's book is a perfect starting point.

Welcome to GN!

Or be Tina Weymouth. :)

David and I -- along with bandmates at the time -- saw the Talking Heads a couple times in the early 80's. As I recall, Tina even toured pregnant one of those years. we still enjoy doing the occasional TH and Elvis C covers these days -- often times with Nick, Laz and other GN members.

how do you feel about Kim Deal?

Yep, I have a fretted bass, the most basic model Dean sells.

Is it one of these, Dean Playmate EAB Acoustic-Electric Bass?

Fwiw, I hear they are good guitars. I considered it myself, but instead I went with an SX electric. Have fun with it. :D

Minotaur-

Yep, it's one of those, but I have the 'natural' wood finish. Sounds great plugged or unplugged!

Kim Deal: I liked her in the Breeders, but didn't get into the Pixies enough to appreciate them...

Thanks for the help and warm welcomes!

(I also got a gig bag for Xmas, so now I can actually take it places!)

despite knowing of the Pixies, I didn't really notice Kim Deal until she formed the Breeders. she's written some great bass lines for Breeder's songs.