How would I go about teaching myself to play bass? I guess first

It would be ideal to have a teacher, as they can show you what you are doing wrong, but I understand if you can't/don't want to. Tabs are fairly easy to learn, and there is plenty of material online, specifically youtube. Also MAKE SURE YOU LEARN MUSIC THEORY. It is important to learn it while you are just starting out, because it is very hard to correct bad habits later.

For tips, since you are going to be a bass player, you need to have a good sense rhythm and timing. Pay attention to the bass drum in songs and when it hits. Typically you want to play a note every time it does, and "sync up with it" but this is not required for all songs. Also you should get a metronome if you don't already have one.

Lastly, for technique, it might take a while for you to get comfortable playing. Start out playing slow, and then you will start to build up speed over time. Like I said there are plenty of resources out there: video tutorials, guides, and if you are into vidya Rocksmith is a good game for beginners. It is basically like guitar hero but with a real guitar/bass and has a bunch of helpful tools as well.

>>17679955

Thank you!

Learn to play normal guitar first, practice chords and finger agilitty.

>>17679900
I teach guitar and bass.

I started on guitar, and know all sorts of music theory, which is essential to playing bass. You need to be able to "see" the song on the fretboard, and know your scales. The major and minor scales are the exact same thing, they just start in different places. Learn them.

I would recommend finding some "jam tracks" for bass with the chords written down over tabs. It will teach you to play by ear, which will in turn make playing whatever you want much easier.

Avoid using a pick. A lot of the technical skills, like managing how each note sounds, are way easier when you can use your whole "picking" hand. Slap bass is a good example. Once I made the switch I've been having much more fun. Sure, it's a bit hard to play really fast, but I can be a lot groovier, and play octaves and jump strings way easier.

There a lot of good YouTube channels to teach you. There's this one guy named Scott, who's british and wears a glove on his left hand all the time, and this one, and there's another British dude who is a bit chubby and has gray spiky hair that's good.

>>17680203
I disagree. You'll be fine either way. In the end learning music theory is the most important part of being a good musician. Finger agility is easier to build on bass in my 10 years of experience. Agility in the picking/plucking hand is especially easy to build on bass.

>>17680203
I disagree. I had a guitar, but wanted to learn bass, and I hated playing guitar. When I switched to bass everything "clicked," and I enjoyed it a lot more. OP should learn on bass first if that's what he's interested in.
>>17680316
Idk about the no pick part. I have a more natural time playing with my fingers, and it comes easier, but I find it important and useful to know how to play with a pick as well. It gives it that brighter sound which is great for certain songs. It's good to know how to use both.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPzwuiJCSbs
Here is a great example of a very skilled use of the pick. It's good to know how to utilize both picking and 'plucking

>>17680397
I agree that using picks definitely have a place. I meant that starting out picking can lead to ignoring other methods.