Music?????

im a tuba/trumpet/piano/guitar player. i want to learn how to play the bass now. i am real good at music and at catching on on how to play new instruments, so i was wondering, instead of taking private lessons, do u think i would be able to just, get a bass book, rent a bass, and learn myself, or is there some things that i must have a teacher teach me?

Music?????
With all of your other musical experience, you shouldn't have any problem teaching yourself bass. Before even buying a book, I'd start searching online for "free bass lessons" and "tips for playing bass"... there's so many free newsletters and free lessons online that you can get a good start.





And then you just have to find the time to practice, practice, practice! :-)





When you do get to the point of buying a book or course, find one that has a CD (or DVD) that you can play along with as you learn. I do this for a lot of my piano students -- one of the best ways to learn to play without pausing and stopping is to play along to an audio track. Since playing bass is usually in a band, playing through mistakes is something you definitely need to know how to do.





Have fun!!
Reply:I think you can go ahead and learn yourself. What you should do is buy a book on it and then see if you can find someone really cheap to help you out with a few lessons, just to get you started. That's how I learned how to play the clarinet.
Reply:I have always believed you can learn anything, but that you always need help from some kind of mentor or teacher to some compacity. So take on a teacher. But hey Books are good to if you go on the independent. Gotta be self taught.