What is wrong with me?

[SCMan88]

Hey.
I really love playing the bass,but sometimes I get bored.

I don't know if its because I don't find so many new things to play.

Most of the time I pick up my bass,open up the amp and play things I already know how to play(some Slap It! stuff,songs I like and such lol).
After a while I get bored(after a while could be about 15-30 minutes),and stop playing.

I have a bass teacher.
When I come to lessons I ask for new stuff,but most of it are some bass lines from bands I don't like,or he just asks me "what do you want to learn?".

I don't know any specific stuff I want to learn.
I'm more in the Jazz and Fusion zone.

I don't know how to get bass lines by ear,and most of the times if not ALWAYS,I don't find any written stuff of what I want on wbe.

I'm quite lame at soloing/making a bass line etc.
Well..Maybe not lame,but most of the time I just hate what I started playing.


I get bored too much(IMHO),and I'm fearing that I will quit bass playing.
I really love the bass,and I really love playing it,but sometimes I get really bored.
I can just listen to bass demos in Youtube over and over again.
I actually do that while I write down this thread.

I once almost quit the bass because I felt like I'm really lame(lol).

any suggestions?

Thanks very much TBers!

[Grateful]

Nothing is wrong with you. You just may need to get out of a rut.

Maybe try some stuff that you don't usually play.

Maybe learn and dissect some lines by the Masters like Jamerson, Ray Brown, Carol Kaye and others in the desired genre.

Go to an open mic night and jam along.

Can you sight read? If not, learn.

Got some theory down? If not, maybe work on that. It will help you construct bass lines.

After playing for a long, long time by ear, I am finally taking some lessons. In the lessons, we're not so much learning how to play a specific song, but rather (at my request) he's teaching me theory, scales and sight reading. Makes me feel like I''ve just picked up a bass for the first time. But when each little piece clicks, it's a very satisfying feeling and I want more. Note: Patience required.

[Testing_123]

Join a band, or at least arrange some jam sessions with other musicians.

Playing an instrument, while enjoyable as a solo exercise, didn't become really fun to me until I started playing with others.

The lessons, the self-study, and the learning of favorite tunes help you learn the language (music), but that isn't nearly as satisfying as having a conversation (playing with other musicians).

[Rocker949]

Well, bass is not a solo instrument. Getting in a band from time to time might be a good idea. BTW, I think this topic should be in another section.

[SCMan88]

The problem is there is almost no one that plays jazz or fusion where I live.
I'm sort in a band(not so active at the moment,and we're playing only covers).
The thing is,that I can get into 2-3 more of these.
I already been in to some other bands,but they all do the same:
At first,we play covers...Thats ok,no?
The thing is,EVERYONE wants to play RHCP(not my taste,even though Flea has some good stuff over there),metallica(so-so for me) and other weird rock bands.

Then,we are supposed to make our own music.
Funny thing is,that never happens.
I always get to play with guys that want to play only rock/punk/funk/metal stuff.

Its really annoying when every band I get into,they all want to play RHCP at first,so I won't feel like I don't get anything interesting to do and leave the band-since there are only 2 bass players in my school except me,lol.
Not only that,they always want to play the same songs!


So yes,I did have fun with some of these band when first played,but that really starts to make me angry when every band is the same ****.
I also play in my school band,its nice,but next year it probably will end.


I got my patience.
But I just don't find any new things to do.
My bass teacher doesn't let me play only bass lines by famous bands/players and such.
He also helps with other stuff like theory.

Edit:
Well,when I said that I'm lame at making a solo..just forget that I said it.
What I mean is,that I'm lame at making a bass line.
I see all kind of videos on Youtube of people demoing a bass,or just shows stuff of them selves..
And I don't know how to do such things.

[JxBass]

You could try getting a copy of Chord Studies For Electric Bass by Rich Appleman and Joseph Viola, Berklee Press. There's enough stuff in there to keep you busy for a year, and your teacher can help you through it. I agree that playing in a band will help greatly but this would be a good investment in any case, IMO.

[Basshoofd]

I would look for a new teacher. It seems like the current one doesn't inspire you at all. After that I would look around for different bands to join, or even just socialize with other musicians. Maybe even start your own band if that's your thing.

Everyone gets stuck in a rut now and then but if it takes too long you need to take action!

[SCMan88]

Originally Posted by Basshoofd

I would look for a new teacher. It seems like the current one doesn't inspire you at all. After that I would look around for different bands to join, or even just socialize with other musicians. Maybe even start your own band if that's your thing.

Everyone gets stuck in a rut now and then but if it takes too long you need to take action!

I don't know man...
My first teacher was a guitar player,that was also playing bass.
After a year I just switched to a different teacher(the current one),because the first one wasn't a real bass player,and was teaching me only theory and scales and such.
On one hand that is great.
On the other hand,I almost quit the bass for a few times when he was my teacher.
He said I shouldn't play by tabs(fine thing to say),and to learn only by ear,or by notes.
He didn't teach me any notes,lol-and I was playing for only 1 year-how did he want me to learn bass lines by ear?!

The current teacher is fantastic,he taught me how to play the bass,litteraly-the first teacher just said "You hold the bass perfectly",a thing that might be true,but true or not,he didn't teach me any technique on the bass.
The current teacher has tons of tabs/notes papers he can give me,I already learned Portrait Of Tracy and some of Continuum(still learning) by Jaco,thanks to him.

Originally Posted by JxBass

You could try getting a copy of Chord Studies For Electric Bass by Rich Appleman and Joseph Viola, Berklee Press. There's enough stuff in there to keep you busy for a year, and your teacher can help you through it. I agree that playing in a band will help greatly but this would be a good investment in any case, IMO.

Chord Studies?
What is there?
lol...

[bluesdogblues]

Hi.. Bored of our bass playing can be happen to anyone. I feel bored to my bass playing very often, but I just love to play bass so much that I'll keep coming back to it and/or find the solution not to get bored.

All advices here is good.

I'll add my suggestion:

#Try to listen and learn to appreciate other kind/genre of music, else from what you like now. And don't just listen to the bass, listen to another instruments too, the arrangement, the sound, the lyric, etc.

#try to learn something new (technique or whatever) on bass that you never thought that you'd learn.

#try to learn other instrument than bass. Maybe piano,... Or saxophone...drums... Anything.

just my two cents.
Hope it helps.
Good luck with the solution.

GBU

[Floyd Eye]

Are you sure not a closet guitar player?


I keed, I keed.


Find some songs you like, put the CD on and pick out the bass parts by ear.

[electracoyote]

You're not challenging yourself and you're not being challenged by your teacher.

Get outside the box, fast.

There are so many available resources in terms of method books, websites, instructional material, there is no reason for ever being "bored."

Don't get too wrapped up in only one or two specific styles.

Play live. Jam. Light a fire under your ass.

[SCMan88]

I listened to many genres of music,and I appreciate them all(except maybe boring Metal bands lol).

To be honest,when I first played the bass,I was listening only to Metal and Heavy Rock.
Then,abit befor I moved to my new bass teacher,I started listening to Jazz and Fusion.
Can't even remember why-just happened.

I listen to all instruments in a piece...
I really like Anthony Jackson stuff,so there are some really nice videos around Youtube,like when he played with Michel Camilo and the drummer Horacio Hernandez.
That was some amazing piece of art,and everytime I listened to it,I listened to all the instruments.
I even listen to it now,when writing .

I went over to the technique section in the forum.
I saw there is the 4 finger technique,and on Youtube I saw some videos about triplets when slapping.
But I can learn it-but don't know how to use it when playing.

I learned Classic Guitar befor bass,and didn't like it as much.
I really like Saxophone,but I don't have much budget lol.

[mdogs]

Well, as a 100% self-taught bass player in a family full of classicaly trained musicians, I can appreciate the issues at hand. As far as learning to play by ear, it is absolutely a necessity for a bass player to be able to do this. And, the only way to learn to do it is to do it and do it a lot! I have a 10 year old son who is learning to play bass, he takes lessons at a place that actually has 3 amazing teachers and 1 amazing teacher who is an ass. Anyway, it helps that my son can really play (not bragging, well not too much anyway), but all the teachers love him and all want to work with him. You need to find a teacher that wants you to suceed and not totally because they are your teacher, but more so because they want to develop amazing talents, get the difference. It also sounds to me like you are not sure what you want to be when you grow up, no slam. I never push my son in any direction other than to tell him that whatever he chooses to do he will do it at no less than his full ability. Maybe bass is not your thing. If you don't absolutely love playing bass, then maybe you really are destined for another instrument. Bass players are a unique breed, you have to really appreciate your role in the music and not care that there may be more praise for everyone else in the band. On the other hand, my paycheck is the same as theirs and I get the pleasure of knowing that I am the glue that holds it all together!!!

[Vakmere]

You're not bored. You're just not into working at it the right way. All the descriptors above in your opening post indicated you want chops to be there without much effort put into it. Lacking ear training, scale approaches, soloing techniques, reading, etc, tell me you do not put in too much of the right amount of training. It's a mental thing dude. You get bored because you dont know what to do next so you do the same stuff over and over until you get tired of it. Dont confuse boredom with monotony.

[BananaKing]

Originally Posted by SCMan88

I don't know how to get bass lines by ear,and most of the times if not ALWAYS,I don't find any written stuff of what I want on wbe.

Right here. This seems to be the biggest part of the issue overall.

Pick something you like (Something simple to start) and force yourself to do it by ear. As a matter of fact, get away from the computer and use an iPod or cd player or something and force yourself to transcribe. The more you do it, the easier it will get, and the easier the things you hear in your head will be to play.

Trust me on this.

[Gougedeye]

You are not alone. All good suggestions here, but I'll add mine to the mix. We all fall into a rut every now and then. When I get in a rut, I turn on the radio and try to figure out the bass lines to the song playing by the end of the song. Sometimes easy, sometimes not so much. Another thing I try is playing the whole catalog of some artist. Currently I'm working on Tower of Power. This has been both challenging and invigorating for my playing. Both of these strategies work for me. Good luck with your search

[MelodiousThump]

Play along with a drum machine.
Get a looping pedal and jam with yourself.
Playing with the radio like Gougedeye suggests is good.

[thombo]

Originally Posted by Vakmere

You're not bored. You're just not into working at it the right way. All the descriptors above in your opening post indicated you want chops to be there without much effort put into it. Lacking ear training, scale approaches, soloing techniques, reading, etc, tell me you do not put in too much of the right amount of training. It's a mental thing dude. You get bored because you dont know what to do next so you do the same stuff over and over until you get tired of it. Dont confuse boredom with monotony.

+1 on this...

also, i think you should quit, at least for a while... you are going through the motions. who cares if you can Portrait of Tracy? you don't seem to. you are asking for advise, and then telling making a case against it... just quit, the world has enough players who are motivated.

[HeadyVan Halen]

Sell me your gear.
Survival of the fittest.

[tangentmusic]

Originally Posted by Testing_123

Join a band, or at least arrange some jam sessions with other musicians.

Playing an instrument, while enjoyable as a solo exercise, didn't become really fun to me until I started playing with others.

The lessons, the self-study, and the learning of favorite tunes help you learn the language (music), but that isn't nearly as satisfying as having a conversation (playing with other musicians).

^ This ^ You gotta play with others to get that groove goin'. Nothing quite like that buzz.