You know, I'm sure this could easily go in the Lessons, or the Resources page. Unfortunaly, no one reads there apparently, so I've taken it Upon myself to make this thread.
It seems like we get a lot of the same questions here in the Beginner Questions section of the bass forum. So I've decided to post some resources you may or may not know exist.
General beginner FAQ
http://www.peterduncan.net/bass_faqs.html
For Slaping:
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/article.php?a=35
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/article.php?a=49
For Double Thumping:
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/article.php?a=47
for Music Theory:
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/article.php?a=26
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/article.php?a=197
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/article.php?a=192
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/article.php?a=168
http://www.musictheory.net/
http://www.emusictheory.com/learning.html
For Purchasing an Instrument:
Http://www.musiciansfriend.com
http://www.music123.com
http://www.ebay.com
Tuning (I know, but we get this question a lot!)
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/article.php?a=64
Standard tuning of the Bass is (From highest to Lowest): GDAE for a 4 string, GDAEB for a 5, CGDAE for a 5 tenor, and CGDAEB for a 6 string, I guess for a 7 it would be FCGDAEB.
It's best practice to get a tuner, they're inexpensive and can help your ear ear out while still getting your bass in tune.
Cleaning Fretboards and Strings:
Personally I just wipe um down with a cloth with rubbing alcohol. If you don't want to risk it, there's fretboard cleaner you can buy at your local music store. If you feel the need to clean your strings, boil them in some water, let um cool, and put them back on your bass.
For those looking for Electronics of Amps explained:
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/article.php?a=32
Passive Verses Active:
http://musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=310023
You know that your bass is Active if it has a Battery in it. If it doesn't, then it's passive. The Active and Passive chanels on your amp corrospond with what kind of bass you have.
If you're looking for some good songs to learn:
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=234756
If you want tabs to a certain song, Please POST THEM HERE:
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174562
I think that's all for now. If anyone has ANYTHING else they want to see on here/ want to add to here, please feel free to bug me untill I do. If anyone has any questions you can IM me at SoPuAtZ . Christabber is another great resource and you can IM him at Chris18hi .
While i'm on that note. If you want to talk to an MXer that isn't Chris or I:
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255187
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247914
Ya, I hope this helps people a lot. Because it took me a whole 3 min to find all this information, and another 5 to write up this thread. And that's a freeking long time in my book.
Ok, i just remembered about this:
Practicing:
When you practice something, use a metranome (sp?). Seriously. It can be boring as watching paint dry, but it'll help. First, when you can't play something, slow it way down. To the point where you have no trouble playing the piece. aka (i know i'm drilling this, but man it's really hard to do) don't think you can play it, know you can. Even if the half note is 146 bpm, and you have to take the eighth note at 60 bpm, just do it. Then SLOWLY speed it up. That's a MAX of 5 BPM. If you find that you're having trouble at a certain speed, go back. It also helps to play it in half time, then double speed it. Hope that helps.
~~Art~~
PS, this thread is not the place to post questions unless it directly relates to something posted here! If you have a general question "I've looked everywhere but I still can't find ____ can you help me?" etc, start a new thread. thanks!