To make sure Yousician can hear you properly, it’s important to choose the right setup. Here are some options.
Use your device microphone
This is the simplest setup: you play your bass, and Yousician listens via the microphone built-in to your device (e.g. phone, tablet, laptop).
With an acoustic bass, place your device nearby and start playing. For example, put your phone on the desk in front of you, and Yousician hears you play.
With an electric bass, you need to plug it in to an amp so it’s loud enough for Yousician to hear. Set your amp to a clean sound at a low volume (about speaking level, not window-rattling level).
Tips
- Set your device volume to about half-way. If it’s too loud, it interferes with Yousician hearing your bass.
- Using headphones improves recognition. You can use regular wired headphones, or Bluetooth ones.
- If Yousician can’t hear you at all, double check that Yousician has access to your device microphone.
Connect your bass to your device
If your bass has a pickup, you can connect it to your device for the optimal recognition. This works for electric basses, and acoustic ones with a pickup. If you can see a small hole where you could plug in a bass cable, your bass has a pickup.
To do this, you need something between your bass and your device, called an audio interface. It changes your bass signal into something your mobile device or computer can understand.
There are lots of audio interfaces available, and the right one for you depends on the device(s) you’re plugging into. Check out the following videos, from the Yousician YouTube channel, to see some options.
Once you’re all connected, go to the Advanced audio settings in the Game tab in Yousician, and select your audio interface. Now, Yousician can hear you play crystal clear.
Tips
- Remember to turn up the volume on your bass!
- With your bass connected, adjust the Mixer from the in-song pause menu to hear yourself play.
If your audio interface does not show up in the Advanced settings, check these instructions from Apple Support if you are using a Mac. For PC, you can find instructions from Microsoft Support about adding a device and choosing the input device.
Next up: How the bass syllabus works