Help please

[Syneu]

New to the forums, but not new to the instrument (at least that's what I think). If this is in the wrong section feel free to move it where it belongs, an if their is a thread for this please point it out and I'll erase this one.

Well here is my problem, I've been playing bass about 3-4 years and I feel I can't go on without some help (tutor is out of the question). I can play with a variety of styles but they are not really amazing (also recently started tapping). A common situation is this one: I pick up my bass try to do a rift that I had in my head, but I then feel like i am missing technique, then I try imitating some of my idols and end up going back to what I already know and make no progress.

Any help will be appreciated.

And as for theory not really my fort I can read music and play it but that's as far as it goes.

[ilovethesechord]

I don't think you need an instructor. The best advice I have is to play with different people. Each person you play with will naturally bring different cards to the table, thereby forcing you to adapt your technique.

Or just try jamming with random music you wouldn't normally listen to. That should open some new horizons..

Whatever you do, (IMO), don't force a technique on yourself. To me, that's not what music is about. The more time you give yourself to figure out the instrument, the more it becomes YOUR OWN.

[Step]

get a teacher and learn some theory

if you want to play something thats in your head but cant translate it to the correct notes, theory and ear training is what you need, hence teacher/instructor

[VroomVroom]

I'm a big believer in learning to become a musician, not just a bass player. That said, you can always ease yourself into theory, harmony, composition, etc....take it as you can absorb and retain it. But the key thing is to make music with other people. Get out there and play! It's about the exchange of energy and ideas with others that will inspire you to become better.

[Warwick911]

Originally Posted by VroomVroom

I'm a big believer in learning to become a musician, not just a bass player. That said, you can always ease yourself into theory, harmony, composition, etc....take it as you can absorb and retain it. But the key thing is to make music with other people. Get out there and play! It's about the exchange of energy and ideas with others that will inspire you to become better.

Nicely put. Good call. Victor Wooten talks about being a musician more than a bass player. There is a Victor Wooten masterclass video on youtube. He invites someone onto the stage. He says something along the lines of: "you've been playing for 20 years, and you are still thinking about the instrument." IMO, technique is important to bring out different sounds, but really knowing the music, and feeling the groove is important.

As for theory...there are a ton of great people on this forum who will answer your questions, discuss ideas, etc. Myself included. I'm double majoring in Jazz Performance, so I would hope that I know a little bit about theory. If you have any theory questions, you can PM me.

Happy Bassing

[Syneu]

Thanks guys, well what some said about Victor Wooten that's what I try to do. Be a musician, but if you ask me I still have a couple of things left to do before I leave the instrument itself and move on to music. So with that I'll try out some of the things suggested.

[RedSubway]

Originally Posted by ilovethesechord

Or just try jamming with random music you wouldn't normally listen to. That should open some new horizons..

+1
This really forces you to change your style and how you think about the music you're playing. It doesn't have to be something harder, just something different, and it will open up new ideas. It worked for me anyway.

[bakeronbass]

Originally Posted by Syneu

New to the forums, but not new to the instrument (at least that's what I think). If this is in the wrong section feel free to move it where it belongs, an if their is a thread for this please point it out and I'll erase this one.

Well here is my problem, I've been playing bass about 3-4 years and I feel I can't go on without some help (tutor is out of the question). I can play with a variety of styles but they are not really amazing (also recently started tapping). A common situation is this one: I pick up my bass try to do a rift that I had in my head, but I then feel like i am missing technique, then I try imitating some of my idols and end up going back to what I already know and make no progress.

Any help will be appreciated.

And as for theory not really my fort I can read music and play it but that's as far as it goes.

I think that if you want to play whats in your head you have to train your ear.
There are a bunch of free programs. I like Ear master pro 5.
Interval training WORKS.

[Martin Bormann]

Originally Posted by Syneu

New to the forums, but not new to the instrument (at least that's what I think). If this is in the wrong section feel free to move it where it belongs, an if their is a thread for this please point it out and I'll erase this one.

Well here is my problem, I've been playing bass about 3-4 years and I feel I can't go on without some help (tutor is out of the question). I can play with a variety of styles but they are not really amazing (also recently started tapping). A common situation is this one: I pick up my bass try to do a rift that I had in my head, but I then feel like i am missing technique, then I try imitating some of my idols and end up going back to what I already know and make no progress.

Any help will be appreciated.

And as for theory not really my fort I can read music and play it but that's as far as it goes.

Why is a tutor out of the question? Too cheap to pay for one? I think, if you're really concerned about getting better you might want to sacrifice something from you daily life in order to come up with the resources to pay for the tutor.

As far as theory goes, it really doesn't have too much to do with reading music. I mean reading and writing in that notation is like just learning an alphabet for a language. Theory is more or less ideas of how and why.

You can make your first step in theory by looking up all the common intervals from a P1 to a +9. Also buy a copy of MacGamut (version 6 just came out) at http://www.macgamut.com It'll be worth the $50 investment (everybody who reads this should own this software or some sort of ear training software no matter what their level is) and work on the drills in the program.

[Rudreax]

There's a free interval ear training program on musictheory.net, I believe.

[Martin Bormann]

Originally Posted by Rudreax

There's a free interval ear training program on musictheory.net, I believe.

MacGamut isn't just interval practice first of all. But anyways that trainer on that site doesn't play the pitches out loud. That is very important. In fact it's more important than being able to identify them on a page.

[Rudreax]

Originally Posted by Martin Bormann

MacGamut isn't just interval practice first of all. But anyways that trainer on that site doesn't play the pitches out loud. That is very important. In fact it's more important than being able to identify them on a page.

I see. Well, that's what I get for not checking my own info before posting it.

[Martin Bormann]

Originally Posted by Rudreax

I see. Well, that's what I get for not checking my own info before posting it.

Why would you recommend something you never even looked at before?

[Rudreax]

I have been through the site already, and I did all the exercises that I could use, and read through all the info that I needed. But, that was a while ago, when I didn't know anything about music theory, so I don't remember everything on the site.

[Alejandro Lozan]

Originally Posted by Syneu

New to the forums, but not new to the instrument (at least that's what I think). If this is in the wrong section feel free to move it where it belongs, an if their is a thread for this please point it out and I'll erase this one.

Well here is my problem, I've been playing bass about 3-4 years and I feel I can't go on without some help (tutor is out of the question). I can play with a variety of styles but they are not really amazing (also recently started tapping). A common situation is this one: I pick up my bass try to do a rift that I had in my head, but I then feel like i am missing technique, then I try imitating some of my idols and end up going back to what I already know and make no progress.

Any help will be appreciated.

And as for theory not really my fort I can read music and play it but that's as far as it goes.

Don´t worry my friend take a look to these advices...

My 10 rules to erradicate this very common problem

www.alejandro-lozano.com
My web site very soon!