I can't get no

[Zerozeddy]

Many sources of advice/instruction/guidance say it is very important to set goals, and implement strategies to achieve them, if you are ever to make best use of your time, to learn effectively and to improve as a player.

This is a wise approach, so I have sat down and really tried to burrow down into the reality of what I want to achieve, in order to put it into practice (literally ).

However...

My result is "I want to play things I find satisfying."

I fear this is too amorphous and indefinable a goal to ever reach methodically, but there it is.

Suggestions on steps to get there, please.

[WillPlay4Food]

Do you hear satisfying bass lines in your head? Can you hum/sing these out and record them? Then figure out how to play them on your bass. Do this for a few lines you come up with that you find satisfying.

Then transcribe these lines. Figure out how the notes went together. Figure out why it sounds good. Then transpose the lines into different keys. Improvise on them. Refine it until it's the absolute best music you could possibly come up with that makes you feel good. Then record/transcribe/analyze again.

I'm just starting transcription this week as I've never done it before. It's been painful, as it took me about 3 hours to transcribe about 4 measures of music. This was using one of those Tascam bass trainer machines so I could slow down the music so I could figure out the rhythm (which was the hardest part for me). But in doing so I'm learning.

Do stuff that makes you learn. Do it with music you find satisfying.