Epiphany

Lecomber · #1 05-25-2010, 04:58 PM

This is my first post on talkbass, but I have been using for this site for about a year now. At first it was merely to see what equipment I should buy (pedals, amp, etc), but recently I have found myself on here pretty much daily, trawling through threads purely for entertainment, and I would very much like to thank everyone who's advice has contributed towards me being a better (aswell as more equipped!) bass player.

I used to be so wrapped up in trying to be a 'better' bass player than others. I spent far too much time analysing others and weighing them up against myself. Then, one day, I went on a week long course playing jazz. Now, I am very much a funk player, and it was on this course that I had a realisation. I met an awesome player, who had some amazing walking lines and could really nail alot of bop tunes. At first I was completely disheartened. It is silly I know, but this guy was about my age (17) and so much better than me.

But, towards the end of this course, I heard this guy trying to play a funk tune and the groove just wasn't there. He was not feeling it atall. Technically what he was playing was in time, but it did not fit the drum beat atall. It was at that point I realised that, although a little competition is important to better yourself as a player, thinking about things like that too much is stupid. Not only is it demoralising but music is so subjective that no one person is ever right. There are so many different grooves to master, so many different styles and feels. Art is not like athletics, there is no obvious winner. If music weren't so subjective then it would be nothing to do with personality and identity. The same song can mean many different things to different people, that is the beauty of it. What I see as good bass playing a metal bass player may see as boring, etc.

I think this is a realisation that every maturing musician should (and probably does) have, and I post this for two reasons. Firstly - I thought that after using this site for so long it was at long last time to get involved, and secondly - I wanted to share this realisation with the world.

P.S. Since going on this course I have spent a few hours a day picking random tunes from the real book and practicing improvising walking over them (I never said that competition was useless, just that you shouldn't let it weigh you down haha).

JohnMCA72 · #2 05-25-2010, 08:01 PM

Congratulation! You've discovered something at a young age, that many people never get at all.

It's pointless to compare yourself to others. For one thing, there's always going to be somebody better. Also, music isn't a competition, although the business aspects can get pretty competitive. Just about anybody can play something better than you (or I) can. If you can learn something from them, that's just a plus for you!