Are You an Intermediate Bassist? (17-point Checklist)

🎸 *If you struggled with anything in the video, here are some helpful resources:*
Learn to Tune - clip-share.net/video/MjyFJYcr6-o/video.html
Start Learning Your Fretboard - clip-share.net/video/tcok98Vk6uA/video.html
Fretting Technique - clip-share.net/video/ux-i7FWOLzs/video.html
Plucking Technique - clip-share.net/video/CR8yQCZX2HQ/video.html
Get Started With Scales - clip-share.net/video/2PzUVcDkjX8/video.html
Fix Your Bass Tone - clip-share.net/video/0KgB7wIyTUw/video.html
How to Play Bass With a Drummer - clip-share.net/video/PSw5uqkTPzs/video.html
Ear Training - www.musictheory.net/exercises
12 Bar Blues Basics - clip-share.net/video/tiloGr59WOg/video.html
Create Bass Lines - clip-share.net/video/lAMRqLNo6yk/video.html
Jam Skills, Learn to Read, Basic Rhythm, Syncopation, Basic Muting + More - www.bassbuzz.com/lessons/beginner

As a bassist who is apparently beyond "intermediate" according to the criteria listed in this video, I feel safe adding one more category that was very important in my development as a bassist: *can you play **_without_** a drummer?* In other words, can you, in a jam situation, be the rhythm section and really lay down the groove all by yourself with no drummer or other percussionist?

I started the checklist out of curiosity - now I'm using it as a sort of lesson planner - striving for perfection in all 17 points is definitely something to reach for.
Thanks again for a push in the right direction

In the theory section, I might add understanding the Nashville Number system. It allows you to play in any key without the bother of trying to transpose in your head when the singer decides the song is too high for them that day. (the struggle is real...) Also, when your band mate says 4,1,6,5 in Bb you know exactly what that means. If you know the root note you can play anywhere and start to see the shapes on the fretboard and not just the notes. It was honestly the best thing I ever did for my playing and understanding the instrument.

me: has been playing bass for a decade
also me: stoked I can actually do everything on the list

Hey! You probably wont see this comment but i just want to thank you for your helpful content! Before my parents bought me my bass, i was constatly watching your videos and practicing technique on ukulele. I got my bass two days ago and my dad (which is a musician as well) is amazed with how much unbelievable progress i did in such short time. Thank you so much

A lot of other guys on youtube seem to want to make you feel like you are a beginner so you will buy their course or sign up for their academy or whatever. That was an honest approach - loved it!!

Me : doesn’t play or own a bass
Also me : let’s see if I’m an intermediate bassist

While I confess to still being a beginner, I realized, after watching this video, that I’m a lot farther along to intermediate skill than I thought. Your teaching has certainly helped me in that regard. Thank you so much for sharing your gift.

My first full song practice routine was papa was a rolling stone. It's simple and only a few notes repeated for like the whole song but two things, it's like seven and a half minutes so it's an actual workout... And all the open space in it really makes me focus on listening and being in time. Even a simple line can walk away from the drums after seven minutes if there's nothing to play and you aren't locked in.

I suspected that I would fail the intermediate test and I was right. But at the same time I realized that everything on your list was achievable and would really help. The abbreviated ,music theory’ section was a revelation. Thank you!!

I am very much a beginner, but this video is very helpful for explaining the skill sets beginning bass players should be aiming for as they are developing their technique. I have a lot to learn and this gives me some guidelines for what to practice and how to improve.

Me: has played bass for over ten years on and off, played in a band that has been paid to play gigs, can pick up a bass at any time and jam.
Also me: I really hope I can do the things on this list.

I’ve been a beginner for over 50 years

That unbelievable feeling when you’re able to check every box in one of these videos is amazing!

After 8 months of progress, I can finally do all of these things. Joining my school jazz band really helped give me good practice with skills like sight reading and jamming. Best of luck to anyone else out there and dont give up!

Me watching this before my bass has arrived

I've had my bass for 10 months now, and have been playing it off and on. But for the past week I've been playing it more and have been noticing some major improvements. After watching this video, I'm so close to considering myself an intermediate player. I now know what I need to work on to improve my skills even further. Thanks man, maybe in a few years I'll have Davie504 fearing me. 😂

I can't believe i nailed it in every category. Even when i always say that i'm a terrible player. Thanks Josh for this lovely self esteem boost.

I'm very entertained by how well you can convincingly make yourself sound like a beginner player.

I've been playing the keyboards for 30+ years and now I'm studying bass, this is incredibly spot on. Especially #17: everyone should come to rehearsals with all the structures memorized (or written down). If you have to choose what to memorize between the structure and the chords, it should be the structure (provided that you can follow the chords in real time, otherwise memorize both!). If you write down chords, do not just write the different sections once, write the full structure and follow it. Know where changes are. The time needed to set up a song with the band will be 10 times faster and you will have time to concentrate on arrangements and sounds. In other words, rehearsals are not for learning the piece, but to arrange it. Should be obvious, but it's not for most amateur musicians.

I play Bass at my Church, and have been playing root notes, for way to long. Now listening to your U tub viedo's, I have become a better player. Taking notes and doing the teaching that your present on them. I am 70 years young and I believe it's never to late to start. Thanks so much for your engagement to teach us. BE SAFE and BLESSINGS

Josh, I'm a new bass player. I started watching your youTube videos and really enjoy your teaching method. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought your course! Like most people, I am home for at least a month and have decided to do your Hardcore plan. So far your course is outstanding! Thank you so much for making learning the bass a fun activity. For those of you who are on the fence about buying Josh's course, do yourself a favor and buy it! The course is very manageable and Josh makes it a truly enjoyable experience! And this coming from a guy who's been playing drums for 40 years!!!

Daily practice is massively important, but playing live with others is the fastest way to grow once a player is ready with the basics. My playing, understanding of music, ability to improvise, ability to lock in with our drummer, ability to adapt to changes on the fly ALL exploded once I was playing weekly and twice weekly with the guys. You don't need to have theory mastered, but if you want to be even decent, you need to at least learn the shapes of the modes on the fretboard, their names, and when they're applied.

I’ve been playing bass for 57 years. Never took a lesson. I play completely by ear. Depending on how complex a song may be I can usually figure it out after hearing it ~3-4 times. What’s crazy about this is I can almost visualize the chord progressions of a song. I can almost see in my minds eye the bass line. I never bothered to learn theory either. It was always hear the song play the song. If you’re thinking this is some kind of gift it’s exactly the opposite. I’ve been kicked out of so many bands because I didn’t have much patience to sit and wait while the other band members struggled learning their parts. It made me stop playing for years at a time. Enter COVID. I had to find something to do or go mad just being in the house. So I took my Alembic bass out and gave myself a project. Learn The Who Live At Leeds album. The extended one with Tommy. Took me about 6 months to totally nail it. Got a case of GAS and added a J and a P bass and now at age 72 I’m looking to join a band again.

"Can you tune in 15 seconds"
- FUUCK
"....using a tuner"
- Oooohhh

Josh,
These videos are absolutely killer! You're so fun in addition to being a gifted teacher.
If I could ask for one thing, it would be a set of videos aimed at young kids. Your energy and silliness would speak really well to elementary and middle school kids. :)
Thanks for the great content!

I've been playing bass on and off for twenty eight years. I was in a band that shared the stage with national acts, and we put out a full album and multiple singles. I still have impostor syndrome. The biggest compliment I ever received is when I told a bass player that I looked up to that "I'm alright, I'm no pro," and he handed me his bass to get my opinion of his instrument. I slapped out some junk, and he said, "Uhhhh... you sound like a pro to me." I think I will forever feel like I'm super sloppy. I consider myself an "intermediate" because I don't feel like I will ever live up to Les Claypool or Victor Wooten.

Great work. Love the execution and the production!

I watched this video when you published it months ago and it motivated me to improve, since then i've practiced a lot, i even bought a notebook to write the basslines i came up with and write down my overall progression, as a bass player i feel like i can say that my level is intermediate, mostly thanks to you Josh, please never stop what you are doing :)

I liked how you chose "Ramble On" as one example for legato. That was the first full song I learned on bass back when I started I was 13 and didn't want to learn any "simple" song. It took about 2 years for me to get that song to sound exactly right. I'm 29 now and still just consider myself an intermediate bass player, because there is so much to learn I'm hesitant to call myself advanced. Also due to wrist injuries on my picking hand it has slowed down my ability to play slap well. It was a fracture of my scafoid bone (between top of thumb and wrist) and it left me with some pretty terrible arthritis in that area.

Dude - never stop. Your content is always structured well, well humored and informative - thanks! Like how this gave me some new areas to explore and develop as well as help me appreciate how much I have learnt.

Awesome video. Can you also make a checklist for an advance level? Thank you so much!

I don't generally even consider myself a bass player because my main instrument has always been guitar, but what this video told me is that my bass proficiency is enough to be at least considered intermediate or better on bass. Amazing how easy it is if you already can read notes and play another string instrument. My biggest area I need to improve is my right hand technique, honestly. And that's mostly just because I haven't played bass as much so I don't have the right calluses on my right hand.

You covered it pretty thoroughly. I have been playing bass probably longer than you have been alive. I'm self taught, and I play by ear. I've neglected, and not really focused on some things I should have. I've lately been focusing on these neglected things. Some of the things on your list are so familiar to me, that I chuckled when you mentioned them. Other things, not so much. I have played professionally for years, but it's been a while since I've played in a band. I really enjoy hearing other musicians perspectives on playing. It gives me ideas, and opens my mind up to greater possibilities. Thanks for the video. I'm starting to work on these areas I have neglected, and videos like this one helps.

Josh, thanks so much for this video.
The skills you mentioned are the very things that get us called and invited to gigs and jam sessions that can result in putting money in our pockets. Appreciate you so much.

This was really astute.
BassBuzz really knows how to list the important stuff and to describe and demonstrate it in a tangible and clear way that holds my attention.
I like "Josh the Noob," as a great character for clearly demonstrating the contrast between successful performance of a technique, and not getting it right, which is important, although typically omitted from most bass lesson videos. I also like how he uses this gentle form of humor to illustrate what not to do.
Thank You--.

For the past eight years I've been the bassist for a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band. After having watched this video I now consider myself advanced intermediate. I can pretty much do everything he does in his checklist, some things a bit better, some things worse. The best advice I could give anyone who has his basics down and wants to progress is to form or join a band. You'll be amazed how fast you'll improve!

As a bassist who feels like they aren't intermediate, you definietly showed me i know a little more than i thought. And it made me wanna pick up my bass at that moment to practice haha.

Dude - you are king of the rumble. Thanks so much for the videos, which are an amazing harmony of fun and helpful. You really distilled the essence of playing into clear components. Keep on rocking!

This is super helpful. I've been playing Guitar for 18 years, and can play the likes of August Burns Red or Protest The Hero. But my bass knowledge really just takes the guitar behaviours and apply to bass. I'm still working on the stability/tempo of my alternate finger picking and i really loved your slap/pop video. Learning something so familiar yet so new. thanks! Excited to get going on RHCP and other recommendations.

That was fun. I'm an expert guitarist and play the bass in some of my oww songs, but never considered grading myself on bass as I've never actively studied it. So, yes I hit everything easily - even though I was thinking I might not be. It's easily transferable.

I'm a guitar player from Argentina. This year i made a jazzbass of a luthier for having un house to provide to my modest rehersal hall. The thing is that now i'm playing bass in a band and your videos make great help to become a bassist and not a guitarist playing bass. Thanks Josh

i guess i'm a better bass player than i thought i was. this video was a bit of a confidence boost, thanks man!

That was very enlightening and very entertaining! Thank you!

I've been playing for 10 months and I can say I'm pretty happy with all the things I can do from this list. (Thank you 2 year's of piano in music school for the theory part)

This video is really awesome. I'm just learning (40+) for the first time and your channel is my go-to learning source. I was NoobJosh about a year ago. Now I'm like 11/17 with a bass thanks mainly to your channel. Your teaching style is perfect for people like me as it is practical and real. I need to start learning more scales now.

It is so great seeing you with that Squier Jazz Bass. I'm a huge Squier fan and own 6 Squier basses and guitars. Oh, and the beginner to bad ass is a great course! Learned so much from you!

Just starting out, I really appreciate this video as it gives goals to aim for and in such an entertaining way. Thumbs up! Searching Clip-Share in general, one suggestion is if lesson videos can be numbered or grouped so as to know the progression of learning. At times I couldnt figure out whats beginner vs advance lessons, which at times can be a turn off when learning.

me: cool looks like I'm intermediate
music theory: I'm gonna stop you right there

Thanks for making me smile during your videos!!! I am still a beginner but you keep this fun! Laughter is the best medicine 😇

almost 2 years of playing bass and this channel definitely helped me out

Your videos are very educational and extremely useful!
You present every subject to the point, not missing out any useful information. The play-along sections of your lessons sum up the facts of each chapter and teach us the lesson in an educational and easy way! It's also admirable the fact that, with the play-alongs of famous songs, we can easily see that the things you teach us are already existing practices in music.
The way you show the major scale, the triangles, the triads, the blues box, etc., with the white and orange dots on the fretboard, is extremely helpful for the eye and very easy to understand and apply to one's playing. These pictures plus the "moving orange dot" while you play are really like no other!...
I also love the fact that you divide your videos in chapters. It makes learning so easy and practical.
The tabs you give (and for free!) are so useful!
Your videos are inspiring and fun! The idea of characters, such as "Noob Josh", "Science Josh", "French Josh", "Producer Josh", etc. is so smart and funny!
The subtitles you add are very useful and so fun!
You are doing an exceptional job. Better than many books I know, I must say.
I am sending you this message because I respect and love your work very much and to let you know what a great job you 're doing.
You are an admirable person.
Congratulations, Mr. Josh Fossgreen!

thanks for the boost of confidence...last played in 1980, started playing again in May, was wondering if I am wasting my time making a comeback at 64! got 16 out of 17, don't know all my pentatonic scales yet! Great Video..... been teaching 43 years, I train colleagues in distance learning techniques. Your videos are great because of your enthusiasm!

Picked up bass in November so I've only been at it about 4 or 5 months, but I've been a drummer for 14 years, since I was a young teen, and my dad and brother are phenomenal bass players and even my in laws have amazing talent on strings, so I'm surrounded by people who I've had the privilege to jam with.
All that to say, I'm blessed to already have the ear and the groove for it to start, and i feel like im jusg aboit at the intermediage level, but this video has helped me identify the few things I need to work on to really get there. I'll be coming back to this video for those 5 scales for sure. Plus the only notation I read is chord charts and non-rhythmic tabs, but I do read rhythms well so I could syand to work on the gab example you showed.
Thanks for the video! Bass is a blast and I keep picking it up, just about every single day, continuing to improve!

More detailed video about 5 basic scales and how to learn them easily would be great! Thanks for your videos anyway! They are really helpful!

Thanks for the video. I picked up bass for the first time 22 months ago at the ripe old age of 55. I practice 7-10 hours a week. I got 16 out of 17 on the checklist. I do struggle with being able to pick out the key of a song by ear. Will definitely work on that. Also, I play mostly blues and classic rock, so I am not proficient in slapping or using a pick, but it is not really required in what I play...but I still want to learn.

You're awesome!!, please keep doing this videos, they has been really helpful :')

It'd be cool to see an Are You a Professional Bassist? video as well. I've been playing for 6 years now and the intermediate stuff seemed really simple to me, so it'd be cool to gauge just how far I really am.

You're great Josh! :D Really motivating me to play, but also make me laugh out loud sometimes :)
Thanks a lot for the videos!

Great checklist. If you can do these 17 you can play out with people, make some money and support your bass habit, and most importantly have some fun. The world always needs competent bass players.

me: gets a bass for christmas and learns a few songs by reading tabs and practicing scales without knowing how to jam or write my own basslines or even read sheet music
*also me: yeah i’m pretty much john deacon*

Thanks, man. I was an intermediate bassist (never a pro!), but after a decade away from the instrument I am definitely coming back as a beginner.

I love you Josh thank you I've just started playing bass but I know some of these already so thank you for the kind and wise teachings

Hey Josh, that was a real "grounder". I reckon I may just scrape in as an intermediate with some room for improvement in some areas and a plus score for the others. Love your teaching style man....always high value.

Only in dreams by Weezer is both a simple song and requires you to move your hands and stretch them out a bit at the same time. It's also a reasonably slow song as well. Happy playing!

Thanks homie! I've picked up the bass recently and this is a great checklist to go through for progression. I'm also planning to take your Beginner to Badass course in the next couple of weeks.

I'd say I passed the test. Took the full B to B course and have been in a band for two years with a gig this Saturday. I feel pretty intermediate.

Very well put together. As a guitarist taking up bass this has been very helpful. Thank you.

What you need to learn as a beginner to become an intermediate bass player. What a great breakdown.

I love these videos Josh. You are a great teacher. Do you have - or plan to make - content directed to intermediate players too? That would be awesome. 🤘

I would love to see an Are You an Advanced Bassist followup. Good stuff!

Really digging this channel after stumbling on it recently. Been stuck at lower intermediate for a decade. Going to try to bump that up with all of this new free time.

You are a beast, Josh. What you do to help people is frigging awesome.

Hi bassbuzz most of these list needs to be in a separate tutorial for us beginners so that we can achieve that intermediate skill. :) your teaching is so much better. Like your other videos. Thank you! More videos to come please. Hehe

I really love these vids! I have been able to learn and retain more from your vids than anyone else's. The retain part especially! These are the best tools I have found, thank you! I was suprised to find I'm farther along than I thought, but estatic to know what I should be working on to progress! Thanks for helping all us n00bz who need this kind of guidance!

It's quite weird, you know. It happens to me at times, that I am convinced that I have achieved all the 17 points you've mentioned and... one minute later, the chaos...i.e. I am completely convinced that I suck as a bass player. Maybe it's a matter of self-confidence. Btw, the lesson you delivered is awesome. It gets your brain down to work, Bravo 👏👏👏. Greetings from Argentina, 👍✌

Great video! I think improvising is also an important item to intermediate bassist.

i'm just getting my first bass at 26 years old, and watching this is very intimidating.

I've still got a long way to go. But, I'm starting to get a hold of things. Thanks for being a super big help

This is a really good video, and really funny ! Thanks for making me laugh ! And reassuring me about my bass level :)

12/17 on the cheklist. Honestly, I think that's enough for me to count as an intermediate! I started out learning basics with yousician, and now I pretty much learn full songs exclusively. I can play 5 separate songs on with easy to medium difficulty, and I'm beginning to pick up more by practicing with a backing track sooner. I've yet to learn the scales, like bar blues, major or minor, but that's also because I suck at remembering names for stuff. I can name the notes on my fretboard, they just take a minute because I'm also slow at maths.
Some of this has to do with how you learn TBH. Some stuff may be more difficult than anothers depending on ability. But otherwise, I largely agree with this list! I'd just put "creating basslines" as more advanced than intermediate.
Also, just because I'm super hyped to demonstrate what I've learned, these are the songs I can play so far
Space Dragon (from the game Night in the Woods)
Candlemass - Bewitched
Dio - Holy Diver
Judas Priest - Breaking the Law
The Romones - Blitzkrieg Bob
Devin Townsend - Bend it Like Bender
All relatively simple! The more complex ones I'm currently learning to play in time are "Flight of Icarus" by Iron Maiden and "Blood Bound" by Hammerfall.

I started to play bass since pandemic so it has been a bit more than a year now, it’s a process and I enjoy learning. I guess I’m a beginner for life. It’s very challenging and rewarding to learn something new. I’ve posted my progress here on Clip-Share from the start using my 6string classical guitar to a cordoba mini bass to a squire bass. To be a beginner for the rest of my life is fine, I just love to learn more and practice more. #learningbassguitarafter50 🎸🎸✌️

that was a load of good advice. thanks! take note at the end about full songs. its great to be creative and do your own stuff, but it is more important to play as close to the original recordings as you can.

Thank, this video made it clear I'm somewhere in between beginner and intermediate, the real hurdle to overcome. Gonna keep practicing Hysteria by Muse every day and work on my fretboard knowledge. It's time to step it up!

I’m surprised that I’m considered “Intermediate” even tho I feel like a beginner

been playing guitar for 15+ years, had my bass for 8 of those... i constantly feel like a beginner but now i can finally say i'm an "intermediate" bassist

Thanks for the checklist. I think I passed better than half of it but it also highlighted some areas I know I need to work on.

I am a guitarist who has been playing for 6 years and just bought my first bass today, and I'm officially an intermediate!

Ive been binge watching you're videos last few days, they've inspired me to practice a hell of a lot more. 👌✌

That was so helpful,looking forward to learn more from you

I've been playing bass since I was 13 (33now) off and on, and I'm still learning new things about playing the bass. I'm self taught and I know I have bad habbits I'm still trying to get rid of. I love playing the bass. I still consider myself a beginner.

After going through this checklist, and playing bass for 35 years, I can safely say that I'm an intermediate bassist. I still struggle a bit with playing legato and, sometimes, mute ringing strings. Thanks for an entertaining and helpful video.

I watched this videos to see what I should learn to become better but it turns out that I can check off a bit less than half of list😅 I can’t wait to get the whole list!!!

Me: Has been playing bass professionally for 8 years
Also me: Shocked that I'm an intermediate bassist according to this video 😂😂
I should really give myself more credit.

I've been playing guitar for several years (on and off, with other musical instruments and skills) and I've been on the market for a bass. This is a great reference, and I feel a lot more confident after seeing this!

Yay! I'm a solid intermediate. Currently working on learning to read standard notation, but pretty much aced all your other points. Thanks for a great presentation.

I am digging throu all your vids. Keeps me practicing hard and motivated. Thanks a lot Josh.

Hey Josh, just watched this video and I actually made it about halfway. I'm on my 3rd month of learning bass. I've looked at a ton of videos on bass, and I always come back to your page when I want to concentrate and learn. And if I think I'm getting too good, I can always rely on Noob or Robot Josh to bring me back down to reality. 😂. I have to say that your choice of Tshirt is cool, one of my favorite banjo pickers. Mr Fleck has been killing it for years. Anyway, thanks again for the help and encouragement.
Will

Bass players all have to start somewhere, and this checklist is a great way for an intermediate player to know what is expected and what to work on.
Also, I've always thought of chord tones as a basic for writing songs or improvising on bass.