Where do i go now

[angrygiant]

Im not particularly satisfied with my playing at the moment but still am not 100% what i could do to improve. i have started learning 6 finger tap (stu hamm) and claypool riffs but i cant improvise for **** i just end up trilling up and down a scale and putting in the occasional octave and then run out of ideas. i have learnt major, minor, blues scales and pentatonics and arpeggios however i cannot incorporate them into a song. i can tune (standard and drop d only) but i cant despite some effort pick out songs. i've been practising more for 2 years, and while my technical ability is alright my musical really isn't. i do get lessons 15 pound an hour and the guy is a good teacher and awesome bassist but im looking to speed up my musical growth as despite his help i still have no idea where to go now. help would be appreciated

[DudeistMonk]

I think we are in a similar spot ability wise. I have a whole plan mapped out at the moment of stuff I figure will improve my playing.

Playing a lot with a drummer (which I've been doing a heck of a lot recently) and has helped my improvisational abilities immensely, at least when its just the two of us, and I don't have to worry about a guitar player.

Recording everything I do with the drummer and listening to it at work...Wow I can't tell you how much it helps to be able to see back into a moment and go "damn that part was sweet", "I fudged that," "I need to do more stuff like that." "Where was I during this part, I wasn't locked in at all." "I need to alter my rhythms at the beginning of lines not just the end." ext.

Learning to compose Jazz walking lines, and all that entails, chord and mode work, inversions. (This is with my instructor)

Learning new songs (My instructor hands me sheet music sometimes, although not recently)

Trying to transcribe more songs when I have time...I tend to really suck at this. I'm thinking its cause I need to play my chords and scales and do more jamming for a few more months and get the sounds more connected to the fretboard. I am getting better at it I think, I can hear some intervals clearly now (5ths, 4ths, 2nds) without resorting to trying a bunch of different notes.

Continuing to walk the path of doing the band thing...I find this really motivating and it tends to shine a uncomfortably bright light on what you need to improve on.

Hope that helps.

[PocketGroove82]

AngryGiant,
I know how you feel because there were many years where I was right where you are at. You have some technique and the ability to play some nice stuff, but are really clueless about why the things you have learned work. It's a tough place to be, because you can play and sound good but when you have to practice the things you are bad at (for me it was reading) you end up sounding terrible, and get demotivated.

I found that going back and really working on my foundation, rather than practicing the things that I could already play well (stroking my musical ego), was helpful. I would find a teacher who really knows chordal theory (how scales and chords relate, and how they function in a key or tune) and begin to try to analyze why and how the sounds you like work. Add in some ear training, where you can grab the notes you want, work on reading music, start developing rock solid time, and don't waste your time learning flashy techniques when there are a million other foundational things to perfect.

It seems to me that many bass guitar hobbyist spend a lot of time developing techniques like slapping and tapping, while neglecting the study and development of core musical skills. It's fun to play impressive and flashy slap grooves and tapping pieces, but if you don't understand why tapping a C# over an open A string sounds the way it does, then you may be practicing things which aren't really helping you grow into a "Musician", and you run the risk of only being a "bass player".

Matt