How long did it take you to play with a refined touch and get that refined sound?

morf · #1 08-10-2006, 01:03 PM

I was wondering how long it took you personally to get as comfortable as possible when playing, and get that really "easy going" touch which gives such a nice, refined "look ma no hands" sound that so many professionals have?

Its hard to be clear on what exactly I mean, but I guess at least the ones who have what I'm talking about kinda understand what I mean.

Let me know cause thats all I'm working on lately and I'm starting to get some results

BrandonBass · #2 08-10-2006, 01:04 PM

Ive been playing for like 3months and my right hand technique has improved alot since i started and I think still hav more room for improvement...but im not sure what it means by refined touch...:-/

morf · #3 08-10-2006, 01:16 PM

I mean pros tone

This is a question for those who make a living playing bass and can live on that money, or anyone who thinks they have a sound thats compares to what I mean.

morf · #4 08-10-2006, 01:17 PM

And dont worry I'm nowhere near that level yet, its something that, I think, takes alot of experience to achieve. I'd like to know just on average how long it took people to get there.

zac2944 · #5 08-10-2006, 01:22 PM

Well, I've been playing and gigging for the last 17 years. That's about how long it has taken me.

I think I know what you're talking about. When I was a kid just starting out I would see older guys that just blew me away and made it look so easy. It take years for most people.

Just play as much music as you can. Gig as much as you can. And never stop playing. You'll get there.

morf · #6 08-10-2006, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zac2944

I think I know what you're talking about. When I was a kid just starting out I would see older guys that just blew me away and made it look so easy. It take years for most people.

Thats exactly what I mean

I will, no doubt about it (in my mind anyway), I'm just curious about how long it took others to pull it off. time and effort is all it takes I'm sure, but this is just a curious matter, not a "I just cant pull it off so please make me feel better by telling me it wont take too long" thread

I'm seriously interested in knowing the average time for bassists out there.

tonedeaf · #7 08-10-2006, 01:25 PM

What zac2944 said. I'm nowhere near what you're talking about, but the times when I've felt like I was closest to getting there have been the times when I've been practicing, jamming, and gigging on a regular basis. The only way to get good at playing is to. . . play; as many different ways as you can.

As far as time, I've been playing for almost 10 years, and it wasn't until the last 2 years or so that I even started to feel close to the "easy going" feel you're talking about. That feel has definitely suffered this year, as I haven't been playing near as much. I desperately hope to do so more often in the very near future.

morf · #8 08-10-2006, 01:30 PM

Ok, so its more of a "play everyday" thing which goes away if you ever stop playing for awhile. Good to know.

tonedeaf · #9 08-10-2006, 01:47 PM

Well, for me it has been. I don't know if its a universal truth. I do know that stories about most music legends (and sports legends, and so on) have them practicing every day.

Steve Clark · #10 08-10-2006, 01:53 PM

It's a play every day thing. It's also looking at other technique and attempting to bring that into my playing. I love watching players with economical technique, 1 finger per fret, even tone on the right hand. But sometimes hanging a thumb over the top of the neck fits as well.

Eminentbass · #11 08-10-2006, 01:55 PM

I think one thing that helped me was making an effort to keep my hands relaxed. Gradually easing into playing faster rather than
forcing myself to play faster than I was ready for made a huge difference along with limiting movement and trying to keep both hands close to the instrument. I tend to lose it if i can't hear myself and play harder as a result. A delicate touch definitely makes a bass sound smoother, to my ears at any rate.

I've been playing for about fifteen years now and can't remember when i actually got it right but I do recall that it was something a guitar teacher made me aware of pretty early on.

MikeBass · #12 08-10-2006, 02:02 PM

One day you'll notice that it just "works".
I've been playing for 21 years and I feel that in the last 6-7 years I really developed "my sound" and my touch.
I've played more gigs than I can even recall and that alone I say really helped it along.
Just the function of playing with other musicians IMO will help you make the most progress.

Sure a lot of shedding alone to develop the concepts in required. But the "in context" aspect of it is where things start to flush themselves out.

The refined touch/sound is much more than alone time working it out. It really is.

Disclaimer!!
I'm not saying I'm really in that group of "pro players" that your speaking of. But I feel that things really work for me now. I have in the past made my living playing, I just don't do it full time right now.
You can judge for yourself by checking out my MySpace pages.
The Chrystal Groove one is my fav BTW!

Dr. Cheese · #13 08-10-2006, 02:17 PM

I am not a great player by any means, but I have been at it for thirty years (thirty-one Dec. 25) and I have definitely developed a touch and a tone that is distinctive on whatever I play. That said, I have heard other players with truly lovely tones. A great player can usually be told in the space of one note IMO.

Eminentbass · #14 08-10-2006, 02:19 PM

Definitely agree with the MikeBass. The dynamic of sitting alone is totally different to the dynamic of playing in a group where the music or sound might make you feel the bass differently. I play a wide variety of music and I still have to concentrate on not digging in too hard in some of the heavier songs(unless I'm going for that sound).

morf · #15 08-10-2006, 02:23 PM

Yes I'm working on delicate touch and I think I got that pretty well now, I dont think I could play much lighter than I do today (except for slap/pop but thats another story). I have more a perfect timing problem these days, playin g perfectly into the pocket on songs with lots of notes is sometimes a bit overwhelming, but I get the hang of it the longer I play per session.

Mike: Yeah you're in that category I meant as far as I can tell from the few songs I've just heard. Definately a "chill" way of playing from you. I like chrystal groove by the way, nice band.

morf · #16 08-10-2006, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Clark

It's a play every day thing. It's also looking at other technique and attempting to bring that into my playing. I love watching players with economical technique, 1 finger per fret, even tone on the right hand. But sometimes hanging a thumb over the top of the neck fits as well.

Ok, I do the 1 finger per fret and my tone is as far as I can tell pretty even on right hand, so I guess I've been playing the right stuff.

But sometimes hanging a thumb over the top of the neck fits as well.

I like the way thats put. And its something I try hard not to forget. I dont want to be stuck into 1 "playing style" and have a tone that never varies. thanks for your input.

W()()D_()nly · #17 08-10-2006, 02:29 PM

it took me my whole time playing to look like i actually knew what i was doing and to sound confident and just put emotions into the sound

my teacher who is pro though helped me develope my hand technique alot

so about 8 years to get a really refined sound to the point it is.

SlavaF · #18 08-10-2006, 02:47 PM

Great thread. Most guys I've jammed with have given me that whole, "wow man, you're amazing!" treatment and while that does make me happy, I've definitely got a long way to go to get to the stage that you're talking about, and I'm the first to admit it

I feel like I'm getting there quicker though, because between juggling two (nearly full-time) bands, playing every single day comes easily! But I always keep in mind that I've only been playing for about 4 and a half years, and it takes most musicians a decade or more to get "there".

Also, after recording some tracks with my 3 piece rock band the other day, I'm actually really impressed with the results. I'll post em up here when they're all done.

Mike: I checked out your band Chrystal Groove, I really like your style - very chilled out and groovy. That's the kind of command of the instrument that I'm striving for right now. Nice solo too

SlavaF · #19 08-10-2006, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morf

Ok, I do the 1 finger per fret and my tone is as far as I can tell pretty even on right hand, so I guess I've been playing the right stuff.

But sometimes hanging a thumb over the top of the neck fits as well.

I like the way thats put. And its something I try hard not to forget. I dont want to be stuck into 1 "playing style" and have a tone that never varies. thanks for your input.

I used to be a strictly 1 finger-per-fret guy, but after watching my idols playing live (Geddy, Harris, Squire, Burton) the tone (and look) of the hanging thumb often fits much better. I agree, the more ways you can play, and the more sounds you can get, the better

disenchant · #20 08-10-2006, 03:02 PM

I haven't been playing long but my music theory teacher said it's not the length of time you practice but how often. Practicing for 3 hours one day and none the next is worse than doing just 10 minutes every single day. Every day that you don't practice you slip backward. I didn't know that.

Also, he said there is a difference between practicing and playing. Practicing is finding the things you can't do and finding ways to do them or doing them over and over until you can do them. Playing is jamming out to your favorite song. I guess a lot of musicians play instead of practice.

The other information that I want to share is once someone asked how good you have to be in order to be a so-called "musician." The answer-good enough to both play and communicate at the same time. I've seen technically perfect musicians play and not communicate AT ALL and it was soooo lifeless. And I've seen kids who can only play 3 notes and they communicated with those three notes and it was AWESOME! So I've thrown technical perfection aside for communication. I'd rather play the wrong note and be having the time of my life than be technically perfect and lifeless.