When did you have your 'ah ha!' moment?

[kdiggity]

Hey fellow TB-ers,

Looking for some insight, inspiration, and maybe some good stories!

First, a little background info...

I first picked up an electric bass about seventeen years ago. After a few years of piddling around and not taking it seriously, I sold my gear and moved on with my life.

(if only I had kept at it!)

Fast forward to about two years ago. I woke up one morning and said to myself, "I want to try playing the bass again". I bought a bass the following week through CL, and haven't looked back.

(lovin' every minute of it!)

For those interested, it was an Ibanez SR305 DX. I still have it, it's my main go-to bass (out of several that I own), and I LOVE IT. Yeah, I 'started out' (again) on a five-er. Gotta love that low B!

Now, the current situation...

I play/practice daily, or close to it. I'm in a band (pop/jazz/funk), we play gigs and are generally well received. We aint breakin' new ground or anything, just having fun.

I'm not complaining about the direction that my decision to start playing again has taken me. I absolutely love getting up in front of people, or just sitting at home, and expressing myself through my rig.

But!

Finally, the question...

I am still waiting for that 'ah ha' moment. What I mean by 'ah ha' moment, is the time when you really feel like you know what the hell you're doing on these things. When you hear the sounds in your brain, and are playing them at the same time on your instrument.

I don't suck, but I watch some of the videos that you guys from TB (or anyone) posts on YouTube and I feel like such a noob.

I'll surely hear 'you can't compare myself to others', and 'even a pro can still be schooled'. I know all that, but it doesn't make it any easier.



So, when did it come to you? When did you have that moment when you realized that you could pretty much lay down whatever you wanted?

Were there any techniques or processes that you followed (besides: practice, practice, practice), that had a noticeable impact on getting you to that point, quicker?

I would love to hear about your own experiences.

-K

[Cloverfield]

First off...great sig.

Secondly (and more to the point), I want to offer what I consider to be some very valuable insight, which has become more and more apparent to me the longer I play:
Honing your craft as a bassist only leads to more to learn. That being said, when you ask "When did you have that moment when you realized that you could pretty much lay down whatever you wanted?" I think to myself, "The more seasoned I become as a bassist, the more my taste is cultivated as to what exactly I want to lay down." Does that make sense?

I hate to sound incredibly ambiguous, like I'm not directly answering your question or something... But as I get better, I may listen to what the music is telling me and really lay back in the groove (especially in a situation similar to what it sounds like your band is playing) and then unload a tasty lick once in a blue moon. But my ideas for such a lick are becoming more refined and are still/always stretching my ability.

That's just my two cents. Hopefully it helps. Maybe I'm a nutter.

[mongo2]

I guess for me it happened over 30 years ago when I realized I could play about half of what I thought I should play and still get paid.

[ridgeback]

for me i think it was when i coped on that i dont need to be better or faster than anyone else.there is always going to be someone better..its not a sport is just fun..
years ago i asked some guys i used to sit in with every so often why they called me and not other guys that i know that are much more tallented .."you turn up on time and your sober and learn the songs that will do for us"..

[JerBo]

Originally Posted by mongo2

I guess for me it happened over 30 years ago when I realized I could play about half of what I thought I should play and still get paid.

GREAT! haha! So true...

When you figure out how to stop playing all over everything, you'll start to figure out where you need to learn more.

It also helps to listen to what the rest of the musicians are doing

[jonathan_addams]

I had a break of nearly ten years from playing guitar and bass. During that time I was producing electronic music. Came back to playing, and realised that the theory i'd learned over the last ten years had helped SO much.

[MalcolmAmos]

.....So, when did it come to you? When did you have that moment when you realized that you could pretty much lay down whatever you wanted?

These three things were WOW's for me.
1. The major scale box on the bass fretboard is, a piece of cake and, can be moved where ever I need it to be. Each chord tone interval is always in the same place within the box just waiting for me. As a result of that I think in chord tone interval numbers. Not going to get into that being good or bad, it works for me.

2. The melody line and the bass line have to share some notes for harmonization to take place. That was perhaps the biggest WOW for me. Which chord and where became clear and melody became easier with that understanding. Now with the bass, how many of those notes are necessary in my bass line is the important item. The ole less is more works out best in a lot of cases.

3. A scale has four chord tones and three color tones. Look to the chord tones first. If you get the chord tones taken care of the 2, 4 & 6 are there for color should you need them. So --- chord tones rule. Pentatonics next.

[Hookus]

Like the above poster, mine was discovering for myself parallel modes and learning how they apply to chords. Boosted my playing and writing about a million percent. When I roll in, I can now look at a chord chart, and lay down anything I want to on top of it.

All those guys that say they never learned theory, well, don't listen to them. Not that you cant make it work, but it feels pretty good when you can nail a bass line off just the chord charts, hitting the RIGHT passing notes, improvising fills that sound RIGHT over chords.

[Michael Campbel]

Originally Posted by MalcolmAmos

These three things were WOW's for me.
1. The major scale box on the bass fretboard is, a piece of cake and, can be moved where ever I need it to be. Each chord tone interval is always in the same place within the box just waiting for me. As a result of that I think in chord tone interval numbers. Not going to get into that being good or bad, it works for me.

I've had this one. I haven't made the others, yet.

[steve_rolfeca]

Not one but multiple "ah ha" moments:

The first came over 30 years ago, at around the 5 year mark. It occurred after a couple of years of steady gigging and 2 semesters in a college music program, when I realized that I was finally fluent enough to cop any line I heard on the radio, and to play whatever popped into my head.

The second came shortly after college, when I realized that as a result, I was constantly overplaying. I had to unlearn some of that fluency, and to differentiate between what I COULD play vs. what was needed. Part of that lesson was to listen more attentively to what the rest of the band was doing around me. The process continues to this day...

A third was when I modified my practice regimen to include running arpeggios in addition to working on scales, riffs, melodic passages and rhythmic issues. It made me more aware of where to play on the fingerboard for specific tones, made it easier to incorporate large harmonic leaps in my bass lines, and (finally!) freed me from having to look at the fingerboard.

The most recent one, was about musical snobbery, and playing simple music authentically.

Lately, I find myself playing a lot of worship music, in a style that basically resembles dumbed-down U2. It turns out that while I have no problem playing simple, repetitive parts in roots music, I have a real chip on my shoulder about playing like a bad Adam Clayton clone.

It wasn't until I decided to suck it up, and dig deeper into the note choices and placement (and even the gear) required to perform this material authentically, that I was able to come to terms with the gig.

Ironically, I've noticed that my playing in the other types of music that are my preference, has definitely improved as a result.

[chjohnst]

If I am working on a new song with my band, or attempting some new technique and suddenly in a rehearsal/jam I find myself using it. Thats usually one of those monments of "A HAAAA so thats how you do it". Or any time I learning new modes/scales and suddenly it just clicks and you find that you are using that mode with other keys without even really having to think about - I suppose thats muscle memory.

[somegeezer]

I'm nowhere near that point. Some people might be content is just holding it down and good on them. But I don't think I'll ever have that moment, because what I seek is perfection. An impossibility. I think once I'm able to hit that Tech Death style of playing, I'll be about half way where I want to be. =P

[nobodysfool]

The first "ah-ha!" moment for me was having the opportunity to sit and jam with Phil Keaggy in his home (we've been friends for nearly 40 years now), and as he watched me play, he suggested that I use my middle finger as the "anchor" from which I play runs (I had been using my index finger for that). It opened up the entire fretboard to me, and gave me a whole new way to approach what I played. One little change made a HUGE difference. Phil is underrated as a bass player, which he often does on his recordings, because he's such a huge talent on the acoustic and electric 6 string guitar. and he's recorded and played with some of the best bassists in the business, like Patitucci, Joe Osborn, and others...

The next "ah-ha!" moment was in the 80's when I played in Country bands to have steady work in my home area. I didn't know most of the songs, so every night, I was learning songs on stage, kind of like one-take recordings. It burned all the fear out of me, as far as playing in front of people. It was also when I learned to sing backup harmonies and play at the same time. That eventually led to singing lead on songs in my vocal range.

The latest one was when I joined the band I play in now. For years I had played in trios and was used to filling holes with extra notes. In this band, a 4-piece, 2 guitars, with one guitarist sometimes playing keys, plus a drummer and myself, my playing was too busy, and they told me so. I had to simplify my parts, and find the "right" notes, without stepping all over the others. It took me a while, but I've gotten to the place where I can add just a little above and beyond the basics, and it fits.

That being said, I'm still working on getting what I hear in my head to come out onto the fretboard. I have to battle with the effects of rheumatoid arthritis in my fingers, which has forced me to change some of my fingering style, and I have my good and bad nights playing. But I refuse to give up, and I still strive to improve, and to find lines that are just so "right" that the guitar player next to me just shouts "Yeah!" when I play them. He's a great guitarist, and if he likes it, I know it must be good.

http://www.backonearthband.com

[Philbiker]

I had an "ah-ha" moment when I tried to learn "Take On Me".

[mambo4]

I don't think there's one big "ah-ha" moment, after which you feel like you can play anything you need to. I look at it as a continuous journey where little "ah-ha" moments pop up as you "get" some previously elusive concept, riff, technique etc...I try to always be on the lookout for them.

[Cloverfield]

Originally Posted by mambo4

I don't think there's one big "ah-ha" moment, after which you feel like you can play anything you need to. I look at it as a continuous journey where little "ah-ha" moments pop up as you "get" some previously elusive concept, riff, technique etc...I try to always be on the lookout for them.

This.

He just said in one small paragraph what I tried to say in my small novel above.

[Mark Wilson]

My "ah-ha" moment was in a lesson with Chris Tarry.
I asked him about playing on top of the beat, and behind, cause i had a lot of problems with locking in.

He looked at me, then after a second he said "Well...when the cymbal goes 'ping', you go 'ping'"
And it just stuck with me. I feel like i've become a way better player after that lesson

[lowendblues]

35 years ago I was just learning how to play the bass, My guitard player at the time spent some time to help me learn "Come Together" by the Beatles. It just didnt make sense to me, and I struggled. About a day later, I picked up the bass and figured the song out on my own, My ears had woken up, and I realized the guitardist had the line completely wrong, I figured it out correctly. From then on I could "hear" the lines.

[Din Of Win]

I had a wicked 'ah-ha' moment just yesterday!!! I feel i owe a lot of it to TB, actually.

I've been, primarilly, a punk bassist forever. I started on Cello, but i switched when i was 15 to bass, but didn't translate much of the skills and technique to bass playing. While i got fairly technical playing in a mathy band from 03-05, but regressed to bassic punk bass afterwards.

Well, since my discovery of TB i've expanded my playing to a variety of genres, even though the bands i'm in can loosley be correlated to 'punk'.

On the way home from practice last night i was, for nostalgia sake, listening to some Operation Ivy. As always i was marveling at Matt Freeman's bass lines... but it hit me... I COULD TOTALLY PLAY THAT NOW!

So, i went home, looked up the tabs to 'the crowd' ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USgXfkkxnLE )... and to my own amazement, played it perfectly on the first try.

Ah-ha!

[JimmyM]

i never had an "ah ha" moment. i've had several "oh, i understand that" moments, but for every one of those moments, i get a "what the hell was that" moment immediately after. still, i keep hope alive. probably not getting that moment is what kept me interested in learning for over 30 years.