Use these career boosting tips to improve your bass playing.  Each time I have used one of these tips, my career and abilities have taken a jump and the same will happen for you.  So whether you play for the pure love of this fantastic instrument or you are a pro, check out these tips:

1. Learn new material: I remember when I was younger and my friends and I would jam, it was more fun to play the songs or licks to songs that we already knew than to try and learn new songs.  But, it’s important to learn the whole song so when you do get an opportunity to play with other people you’re not just pulling out all the cool licks from songs and only being able to play about 8 bars of 20 different songs.  It would be more productive to play 10 songs well and all the way through.  I have observed this with too many guitar players playing every hot new lick on the radio but not being able to play even the most basic chord structure in a song and it’s just darned annoying.
2. Learn and Practice scales: When learning new material, don’t limit yourself to new songs.  I am a huge supporter of learning scales.  By doing this you are not only building dexterity in your fingers and creating muscle memory for each different key signature, you are also building a foundation on which you can pull from to create original bass lines and create awesome solos.
3. Practice with a metronome: Everybody seems to hate doing this because it is somewhat tedious, especially at first.  Start simple; pick a bass line or a scale or even a song you know.  Then, set the metronome to a slower speed than your ultimate goal. When you can play the passage or song you picked perfectly at that slower speed, gradually increase the speed until you hit your targeted goal.  As tedious as this seems, it is important to improving any level of bass playing as it helps you to internalize a steady tempo.  In a band, it is the bass player’s job to liaison between the melodic (lead guitarist) and the rhythm (drummer).  We do this by playing a supporting melodic bass line as well as holding the tempo steady with the drummer.  Practicing with a metronome will also bring you closer to playing in the pocket (which is another blog post coming soon).
4. Learn a new skill: This can be anything that will expand your knowledge/skill base.  For example, if you always use a pick (and I hope you don’t) then try playing without one.  Remember to alternate your index and middle fingers.  If you never use a pick, try playing with one.  If you primarily read music or use tabs, try relying only on your ear.  Usually, people learn using a combination of reading music or tabs and playing by ear.  If you are better at one than the other, then practice the weaker skill.  The stronger skill will improve as well.
5. Play more: Take your new found skills from practicing and try them out by playing music with other people.  There are numerous venues for every skill level to be able to learn from and interact with fellow musicians.  Some clubs or bars have Jam sessions-a great way to meet other musicians.  You could try Community Theater, often times they are looking for musicians to play in the ‘pit’ for musicals.  Put an article in Craig’s List and get together with other like-minded musicians. Be honest in your ad about what you are looking for and what your skill level is.  Praise bands at church are becoming very popular.  I can think of six or seven in the small community that I live in that have praise bands and often times they will alternate musicians.  Playing or performing music with other musicians as opposed to playing with recorded music improves your chops because you are relying on your own brain power instead relying on something that will always be 100% the same every time you play the recorded music.  When I learn cover tunes, I learn them pretty much like everybody else does; I listen to the song and copy what the original artist has laid down on the tracks.  I am relying on and can hear the bass lines that are already there.  When I perform the same cover tune live, the safety net is gone and I am relying on my own brain power to know where the song goes and to listen to what the other people in the band are playing.  If the lead singer starts singing the verse instead of a chorus, I must be able to hear it quickly and follow.  When the guitarist takes a lead, I must know the chord progression to the bottom does not fall out.  These are all skills that playing a recorded song over and over again can’t teach you.  The experience of playing live can be the best teacher.

Gig often, enjoy life and rock the bass guitar!