my bass playing is boring and uninspired... what should i do?

[jazzbasser535]

right know, i feel like my bass playing is just a rip off of other bass players and it feels totally unoriginal. i would greatly appreciate any suggestions of what to do to improve my playing style.
thanks.

[Thunderthief]

Ahh.. everyone goes through this at one time or another (or at least i did) but.. i found salvation after narrowing down 2 or 3 bass icons and trying to emulate them at the same time. i chose the groove of john paul jones and the playing speed of billy sheehan, and the harmonics of jaco pastorius.

but thats just me. what bands do you like, or more specificly what bassists?

thats my advice

[jazzbasser535]

well, my bass heroes are pretty similiar to yours, them being jaco, victor wooten, and billy sheehan. as for bands... i like pretty much all kinds of music, but some of my favorites are the mars volta, the flecktones, weather report, primus, fountains of wayne, coldplay, dream theater, the decemberists, tom waits, and joni mitchell (particularly the stuff with jaco.)

[bass guy]

i would say the its more important to work out the best line fo the song not a distinct style
and wow it crazy how many people are influenced by john paul jones hes so talented

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by jazzbasser535

right know, i feel like my bass playing is just a rip off of other bass players and it feels totally unoriginal. i would greatly appreciate any suggestions of what to do to improve my playing style.
thanks.

If you're playing cover material, make a conscious decision to not play in the style of the bassist who played the part on the original recording. Experiment with a bunch of different approaches to playing the part that will still fit the tune. Let your instinct and your natural feel for the instrument be your guide - this isn't primarily about chops...

If you're playing original material, try to first free your mind of all pre-conceived ideas (i.e. cliches) about the type of part you should create. Listen to the demo and/or the other parts very carefully - without inserting your own ideas prematurely. Try to listen what the song is trying to "say" instrumentally. Then listen to what your instinct is telling you to play, in order to help release the essence of that tune. The best parts are often the simplest part possible that simultaneously state the essence of the rhythm, harmony and melody...

Discovering, then developing your own individual musical voice is one of the most important things you will ever accomplish as a musician. It's usually the result of the balancing act of absorbing as much as you can from the great players on your instrument - while knowing where to draw the line and allow your own voice to speak instead...

MM

[Robbiethebassis]

John Paul Jones...man...he should be a god or something. him and John Bonham...so amazing.

[Cristo]

Everyone is a ripoff of other bassists.

But to avoid sounding like one...

Something that has proved useful for me over the years is to listen/learn from other types and styles of music that you do not generally listen to for pleasure, or for "bass" reasons.

From the music you listed, it sounds like you are into a lot of "bass playerly" things with Jaco, Wooten, Claypool, etc.

That's all great, but try some other music. Reggae, country, metal, R&B - I don't know, you'll have to choose. The point is to expose your ears and "bass brain" to new sounds and concepts and ways of supporting the song.

A song may not contain the greates Jaco-esque bass wizardry, but it can still teach you something about music and/or bass playing.

Plus, somebody besides bass players might like it!

For example, I was relatively unaware of James Jamerson's bass work on all the Motown hits. Sure, I'd heard the songs - anyone with ears couldn't go through life without hearing all that stuff. But I had never listened to it from the position of "bass player".

Once I did (and got into Standing in the Shadows of Motown) I learned not only "bass stuff" but also appreciation for the music that I had previously for the most part ignored.

Eventually you can rip off enough things from others and recombine them in new ways that it becomes you and not them.

[Phil Smith]

If your playing seems boring and uninspired you can get inspired by playing with people that inspire you and that are better than you, that's the quickest way to growth but it all takes time. At the ripe old age of 15 you have plenty of time.

[vindy500]

all you have to do is find something that inspires you, then play less boring stuff

[patrickj]

I prefer to play in a 3 piece (+ lead singer). The biggest thing that helped me develop my style was to rewrite my basslines (assuming covers) to add fills and complete gaps were a 2nd guitar would usually play - a while still playing the bass line underneath. Chording, taps, fills, etc etc.

As an example, my band (3 piece + acoustic) is playing Coldplay - Fix You and I've rearranged the whole organ part (the slow walking line + the drones on top) onto bass during the intro verses (while singing).

If your playing is uninspired, start making it original. Don't play note for note what the original bassist is doing - rewrite it so that your bassline is better than the original.

[ToR-Tu-Ra]

Boring and uninspired... Maybe you should play guitar

J/K


Relax and let it flow

[morf]

Enjoy playing. If you dont enjoy it, put the bass down, listen to music, play a video game, watch a movie.

[fcleff]

As always, +1 on the Jamerson. I also agree with the idea of listening to music that you wouldn't typically listen to. Some of my favorite basslines are from country tunes (old school and older).

There are some really great lines on Waylon Jennings "Ladies Love Outlaws" (this is hard to find but has some really funky basslines on it, yes, funky). Also check out "'Ol Waylon" and "The Outlaws" with Willie Nelson, Jessie Colter, and Tompall Glaser. Check out Willie's stuff, too.

There is also an album (relatively recent) by Bruce Robison called "Country Sunshine". The basslines are, by and large, really simple. But they fit the mood and really make each song work.

The Bob Wills stuff can give you a workout, too. Try 'Miss Molly', 'Big Ball in Cowtown', and 'Bubbles in my Beer'.

[steveb98]

Many bass lines are similar there are only twelve different notes and for bass only a few are typically used in bass lines. So maybe you just need to spend some time focusing on other aspects of your playing. How good if you time? How well do you work with drummers, are you someone they recommend because you make each other sound good. What about you technique/tone, how's your muting each note clear and no fret rattle or string squeak. How is your ear the keyboard/guitar player you play with throw a different change into a jam and you can catch it. Can you analyize the bass lines you play already if you can't how can you come up with new ideas. Study some theory and get some new ideas.

Listen to some music, some music you normally don't listen too. An old friend of mine was a top session player on hundreds of albums and many hits. When he felt his playing got stale he would listen to nothing but Beatles for weeks until he felt his creative juices were flowing again.

There is always something to work on. You haven't ripped off another player unless you have the time and feel down.

[phxlbrmpf]

I recommend getting some music that's a bit different from the music you usually listen to, I mainly played in top 40/funk/80s/alternative rock bands so far and felt listening to ska, reggae and some old video game music helped me create a more unique style. I didn't really find a use for the Jazz/Fusion stuff I listen to occasionally, but that day may come, too.

[fcleff]

Originally Posted by Joshua

1 word: get a teacher.

2 words: get a good teacher.

[Kickin'Fruit]

Originally Posted by patrickj

I prefer to play in a 3 piece (+ lead singer). The biggest thing that helped me develop my style was to rewrite my basslines (assuming covers) to add fills and complete gaps were a 2nd guitar would usually play - a while still playing the bass line underneath. Chording, taps, fills, etc etc.

As an example, my band (3 piece + acoustic) is playing Coldplay - Fix You and I've rearranged the whole organ part (the slow walking line + the drones on top) onto bass during the intro verses (while singing).

If your playing is uninspired, start making it original. Don't play note for note what the original bassist is doing - rewrite it so that your bassline is better than the original.

So this is perfectly acceptable for bands doing covers? And if it's decent my band will like it? Because I know on some covers I do I like to change it to sound better to fit the playing style of my band or if it is a little too difficult to play. This isn't "against cover band etiquette?"

[patrickj]

No idea! Depends on your band mates really and their personality types. The casual people listening won't care much (or know the difference).

My whole thing with covers is to make them memorable. Everyone and the radio plays the same songs the same way, so I say do what's gotta be done to make it distinct and memorable - otherwise it's real easy to be forgotten (and that's not good when bass is $$).

My background is a lot of jazz and punk, so rife with remix and improve.

$.02

[Ed Fuqua]

What are your goals as a musician? What and how are you currently practicing? How much of a foundation in the fundamentals of music do you have? Who are you working with to deepen your understanding of those fundamentals?


GOALS - I want to be a better musician/more interesting/whatever sounds like it ought to be a goal, but it really isn't. You need to focus on what you really want to acheive, both in short term and in the long term. You need to be able to objectively assess your strengths and weaknesses and AVOID playing to your strengths and working on your weak areas until you are strong in those. Playing a musical instrument involves a certain physical approach, but over and above that it requries a certain understanding of what's happening intellectually AND the ability to hear with enough clarity that you UNDERSTAND what you are hearing. After playing at a professional level for more than 20 years, I have found it MUCH easier to maintain focused, progressive momentum by working with a teacher; somebody who has been through all of this before and has the ability to give me the tools to develop the skill sets I need to get to my own, personal voice.

PRACTICE - there are 3 components to becoming a musician - the physical, the intellectual and the conceptual. You need to be able to make music WITHOUT your instrument being an obstacle. You practice technique so that you develop an elegant, stress free approach to playing the music you hear internally. You work on understanding the fundamentals of music so that you have some clarity about how all these sounds fit together. You need to get yourself free of ALL the ideas of what you SHOULD sound like, all the tricks you've come up with to make it SOUND like you can play and listen for that voice within you, that is uniquely yours. That is the voice that turns everything you play into a sound that is truly yours.

And the skill that ties all of these disparate elements together is a trained ear. Being able to hear with enough clarity that you understand what you are hearing and are able to reproduce it on your instrument is what gets that little voice out of your head and into the world. Being able to get it out there without the instrument being an impediment, being able to put THAT VOICE into the musical conversation that's going on around you....THAT'S what being a musician is all about.

You don't listen to other people talk so that you can swipe pieces of it to put in your own conversations, why listen to other players with the idea that you can swipe what they're doing to make you more interesting? Listen to other people play because you like what THEY have to say, but realize YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TOO.

[charic]

Usually if im uninspired i turn off the lights sit sumwhere comfy and just play around the neck till i find the NOTE then i just forget EVERYTHING i ever knew bout bass and play. Gr8 fun although it can b annoying when u write sumfin gud and cant remember it. Dont bother tryin to record it you wont relax

just my £0.02 (slitely better than your $0.02 )