is it just me or nobody is listening?

[redname]

i'm not a good player and tend to make mistakes everytime i play my bass.

I'll always feel bad about it and just "complain" about it with the musicians who play with me but recentlythey would will say things like "is it? i think you did quite well"

so i'm just thinking am i being too hard on myself to wanna really play well or that actually nobody gives a dam about what I'm playing. another way might be that they are just being nice

[champbassist]

For me, my opinion and satisfaction regarding my playing matters as much as (if not more than) another's opinion. I can't see how you can play without being satisfied yourself. Also, if you are really making mistakes, it'll catch up with you sooner or later.

[kb9wyz]

From many years of playing many different instruments, I have learned one thing: bass is awesome. Especially when it comes to mistakes.

I make mistakes every single time I play. No fail. Is it because I'm a bad player? No. But things happen. I play at church a lot and usually play on some amount of sleep deprivation and/or over caffeinated. So things can get a bit rough sometimes. The biggest lesson I have learned about mistakes is that if you react like it was on purpose, people think it was.

Heck, I'm sure not the only player here who made a mistake early in a song and then kept playing the mistake through the song to make it look like it was on purpose. Also, I love me some chromatic tones, too. So I tend to view those notes as not a big deal.

The only real thing to worry about is stabbing a song in the face. If I do this (which is a blissfully rare event) I just either hammer on the root to cover it up or I back my volume way off until I know where I am.

As you can see, mistakes don't ruin my love for the instrument. Especially when my bass players in the audience don't notice the mistakes either.

[Stumbo]

I suggest you stop talking about the mistakes you made at gigs with your band mates. Most likely they didnt' hear them if they said they thought you did well.

How about picking up one of those Zoom recorders and recording the band(and yourself) so you can hear how you really sound. Use it for rehearsal and home practice as well.

Maybe you just need to practice more or play simpler bass lines?

[dalahorse]

All musicians make mistakes. While some mistakes really are hard to recover from, most are pretty easy to play through. If you make an ugly face, shake your head, and stop playing for a while after you go for the wrong note, everyone's gonna know. If you work your mistake into the song or just play through it, it's entirely possible nobody will notice. Dealing with mistakes gets easier over time. It sounds like you're advancing more than you realize.

[erock0138]

I used to be really hard on myself too. But then I realized, how much BETTER you sound when you play confidently, practice tons, get to be comfortable, and go up, play, and be confident. You will sound alot better. trust me.

[iridiumrocks]

Mistakes are going to happen. I suggest two things when playing live:

1. Practice the songs until you know them by memory so you are relaxed and confident
2. No matter what you play (right or wrong), act like that's what you meant to play

Sometimes you can be too hard on yourself.

[bluesdogblues]

Yea.. Mistake is human.
I try not to, but don't worry much if i did.
I think it can happen to anyone, regardless they're good player or not.
And yes, bass mistake can be very obvius in a song (or may not).

Sometimes little mistake is unavoidable and actually is what makes a performance felt 'more lively', like in an impromptu jam session situations and alike.

Perhaps what I don't want to ever happen is "mistake by fool", usually by not being prepared etc. Also I don't want to do "mistake that ruin all the 'bigger picture' (song)".

But too bad, they did happen sometime to me. Don't worry, just put an innocent grin and act like nothing bad was happen, while at the same time promise myself that it won't be happen again
(Tho sometime I purposely did recreate the same mistake on the same repetition of a song to mask the first as cool as I could, so people really won't know that it was mistakes ;D

IMHO, the bad thing is if WE don't know that we made mistake..hehee

Oh and there's a different thing between mistake in a live (onstage) performance and in recording especially in overdubbing recording method (record instrument one by one). In the later situation it's better to admit it, stop, and re-record..

On stage? Nah, they won't know it...

[oldcatfish]

I've been told by some really good musicians that I'm a very good bass player. But, I still feel like a hack. I make frequent mistakes. Often they aren't very noticeable, but every once in awhile they are.

Unless you are playing a part where the bass is really out front, you are right...nobody is listening to the bass. Once, during a church service, my strap came loose, right before I was supposed to hit a note; I instinctively grabbed the neck of the bass which made a loud clunk through the amp. Then, when I got control of the falling bass and attempted to play, I got confused about where we were in the song...so I hit a couple of wrong notes before things went well. After the service, I made a comment to the soundguy about the "strap incident" and he seemed to not know what I was talking about. I also got several compliments from church members on my playing.

My point is this...most people won't notice any mistakes. Just relax, have fun, and keep going if you make any.

[Phalex]

There are no mistakes in music, just different interpretations.

[bluesdogblues]

Originally Posted by Phalex

There are no mistakes in music, just different interpretations.

Hehee yeah maybe including 'different interpretations' between brain, ears and fingers

[Art Araya]

others are not listening to you as closely as you are. you will certainly be more aware of your mistakes than they will.

bass is a pretty forgiving instrument anyway - with the notes being low and all, the wrong ones don't necessarily grab your ear.

if you keep the groove and time steady, you can mess up a note here and there and most won't even know.

[bluesdogblues]

Originally Posted by Art Araya

others are not listening to you as closely as you are. you will certainly be more aware of your mistakes than they will.

bass is a pretty forgiving instrument anyway - with the notes being low and all, the wrong ones don't necessarily grab your ear.

if you keep the groove and time steady, you can mess up a note here and there and most won't even know.

Yeah man.. I think mistake in keep the groove and time is worst than mess up a note here and there...

[bassbrad]

I would say you need to lighten up on yourself a bit, above everything else music should be fun. We all have to deal with the inner critic, on one hand it is good to strive for a higher ideal and perfect performance but we also have to accept where we are and take some satisfaction from our performance of today and appreciate the opinions of our band mates. Music is a team sport where we are all there to do our individual and collective best.

[jaywa]

More often than not the bass isn't high enough in the mix that anyone hears what you're doing anyway... good or bad. So as long as you don't let on visually that you screwed up, you can get away with a lot. An overpowering kick drum covers a multitude of sins.

[bluesdogblues]

Yes, sometime people just feel that something isn't good without knowing it's the bassist who made mistake....or sometime they don't even feel

[OPBASSMAN1994]

We are all our own worst critics, I think. I always rant about that ONE missed riff or that ONE screwed up note. The thing is, no one in the crowd notices, my band doesn't notice, and in listening to the recording later, I don't even notice. Just don't be so hard on yourself.

[Depth_Charge]

Originally Posted by OPBASSMAN1994

We are all our own worst critics, I think. I always rant about that ONE missed riff or that ONE screwed up note. The thing is, no one in the crowd notices, my band doesn't notice, and in listening to the recording later, I don't even notice. Just don't be so hard on yourself.

+1.
I play covers and like to learn songs note for note where I can (at least). Most times what I consider a mistake flies through everyone else ears fine. Sometimes, as the poster above says, I can't even hear my own mistakes on playback.

[Munjibunga]

I make at least one mistake in every song I play at every gig. No one notices them except me. Well, sometimes the drummer hears them, especially if he's cueing off me. I just try not to make the same mistake next time.

[pasta4lnch]

I sorta dont care if anyone hears my mistakes (unless they are REALLY bad) I do and that's enough - helps make me a better player