just want some general tips to enhance my performance

[asilaydying]

i've been playing bass for about 5 years now and right now and i've been teetering on the line between intermediate and advanced for a while now, how do i get that extra bump to get me over my next musica plateau

[ac1710]

Stop thinking about what you are doing. We always get bogged down thinking about our technique and this limits us.

After all you don't think about the technique of walking or talking you just do it. Why should playing an instrument be any different?
Get in to the habit of knowing that you are in complete control of your part.

The way i practice this is to imagine I'm playing the drum part while I'm playing teh bass part. At first you will make mistakes but your pocket and feel will improve greatly.

There always comes a point when your technique stops improving because mentally you are not in the right place

[Dave Muscato]

- Take lessons to identify your weaknesses and focus on them intensely
- Work on sight-reading and theory from websites like teoria.com
- Try Berklee's summer programs like Basslines - I have *years* of material to keep me busy from those 5 days (it's not cheap, though)
- PRACTICE
- Listen to CDs and learn the basslines by ear. If you can, transcribe them, too.
- Check out this thread:

What I learned from a week at Berklee

Hope this helps!

[JimK]

Can you play a basic 12-bar Blues?
Now, if someone asks "Can you play it in a Samba feel"...can you do it?

...or a Reggae feel or an old skool R&B feel or a Disco feel or a Swing feel, or a Country feel, etc.

More-
Play one of your favourite 1 (or 2) bar grooves/vamps...if possible with a drummer or a machine.
Now, with the same drum beat, can you displace your groove by an 1/8th note? (Example: If your groove starts on "1"...it will now start on the "& of 1").

Just food for thought....