Shane asks this question in one of my other blog posts:

Now I play bass alone at home, just me and the ipod, any chance of a blog post on what us loners can buy to help us? Nice pedal with effects, recording, I use a Mac any advice really appreciated…

Firstly, can I just say thankyou for your support, Shane. It’s much appreciated!

Ok, what I’m going to say here is aimed at the Mac, but it can all be transposed to the PC with the right software.

I’m presuming you have a copy of I-life, Shane? With Garageband, etc? (I think you can download them for free, anyway). If you have that, there are lots of things you can do to help yourself. I like to open up I-movie (older version), or photo booth, and record myself playing. I pay no attention to the camera, ignore it and just play. After that, I watch the vid again, and take out the best ideas. The best riffs, and lines.

But you can use it to pay attention to your technique. Play a bunch of songs/riffs that you know, watch it, and pay attention to your technique. If it looks bad, go back and record it again until it looks good, and everything is fine. Be strict with yourself!

A few people have recorded a few vids of them playing, and uploaded them to youtube privately to me, so I can check their technique. No-one has to see the vid apart from me and you. You don’t have to speak, and I don’t need to see your face. Just fingers and fretboard. I’ll be quite happy to do this if you want. If not, just check your technique yourself, and be strict.

If you are a little more confident, upload it and show it to the guys on my forum. It’s a positive place, and people will try to give you positive feedback.

Open up garageband, (Pc users, use audacity, and then google free drum loops) put one of the generic drumbeats into it, and play along. Concentrate on your timing. Change the tempo, and do the same. Take riffs you already know, and play them super fast, and then play them super slow. Garageband is so simple to use, that all you need to do is plug your bass in, and you can record. Play some stuff, record it, and listen. If it’s out of time, delete it, and do it again. Just play with it.

I keep saying “be strict”. This is because when we don’t have a “proper” teacher in front of us, to keep ourselves in line, we can get sloppy. That’s why it’s so important to concentrate and be strict. Really focus. It CAN be done. I’ve never had a lesson in my life, and managed to do it (with a lot of discipline), so take power from that. Really annoy yourself.

Ok, recording…

For all my latest vids, I use this little puppy right here. Check the review I did of it, it’s brilliant. You can record it straight into I-movie, or garageband, using USB. Just plug in and play…

There is some stuff up there that might help you, but I could be off on a tangent. You may already use other software etc, so i’ll sit back and wait for any questions you, or anyone else may have! Hope it helps you a little….

This is an interesting topic, that others may be able to give insight into, so i’ll post it here, on my forum.

  • Share/Bookmark