Billy Sheehan: Clinic Session on Becoming a Better Bass Player

Here’s an insightful clip of Billy Sheehan giving a clinic for Guitar Center. The Mr. Big bassist touches on becoming a better bassist by learning cover tunes and focusing on your actual playing instead of gear.

My favorite line: “Just practice!”

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  1. Mark Scurrah

    What a guy. I’m a drummer and I loved hearing Billy (Mr. Sheehan) talk about this!

  2. Tim Maher

    To of been a fly on the wall during the recording of “Eat Them And Smile”. Every song on that album is great!

  3. David Hadley Ray

    I met Billy once, and he was the nicest musician I’d ever met.. Great insight..

  4. Blair Book

    That was great! I especially like the comment “It’s not the gear” while he is standing against a backdrop of numerous guitars. I wonder how happy Guitar Center was about it.

  5. Playing any instrument at knee level is an indicator to me, that you are a dumbass and not a musician! It does NOT look cool. And pull your damned pants up while you’re at it too!

  6. The most interesting, entertaining, honest, and valuable info per second of footage ever! You’re a great guy Billy.

  7. There’s a lot of solid points here. I am a solid GC customer myself, and so they know exactly what he’s saying when he says,”It ain’t about the gear.” Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten or Marcus Miller could take my old Precision and make it talk in ways I cannot. What seperates us? Practice. Innovation and a few other things but ultimately, what sound are you really trying to achieve? Sometimes it’s a trial and error thing. Will a $3,500 Alembic by itself make you a better player? I saw an 18 YO kid tear up a whole lotta players with a little Squier Jazz Bass. Costs less than $300 in most stores. I spoke with him. He got that way by doing exactly what Billy said. Discipline. Practice. Emulate first and then innovate. Ears first. Hands second.

  8. I have friends that put me down for playing “covers” but the original music they make is actually less original than mine,

  9. He’s an original… great player.

  10. Great video! Love the musician Billy Sheehan is from the day I heard him play on Eat ’em and Smile with Steve Vai. And now with one of my favourite guitarists Paul Gilbert. Your in my top 3 favourite bass players Billy, next to Jaco Pastorius and Sting!

  11. this man here just took “rock bassin'” to a whole nutha otha level!