What's Your Bass Playing Ratio?

[pbasswil]

What is the ratio of your time and attention between:

a) Playing bass, and

b) - Thinking about bass;
- Thinking about/researching/G.A.S.ing bass gear;
- Buying bass gear;
- Upgrading/Testing/Adjusting/Optimizing bass gear, and finally:
- Talking about the above on TalkBass/in the music store/bar/school?

I figure I'm at about 1 to 5, a) to b).

[babebambi]

HAHAHA

I supposed your ratio is very good already, least for any TB'ers

I figure I am a lot worse at about 1:10

[pbasswil]

Originally Posted by babebambi

HAHAHA

I supposed your ratio is very good already, least for any TB'ers

I figure I am a lot worse at about 1:10

:^D

I bet the only ones who are down at 1:1 or better, are the top pros who are so busy getting from one gig to another that they just don't have time off to do anything but learn repertoire for upcoming projects.

But I'd be curious to see if anyone who's regularly on TalkBass can claim anything approaching 1 to 1.

[pbasswil]

Can anyone add their own data?

What do you figure your own bass-playing ratio is? (See post 1!)

[natw42]

Originally Posted by pbasswil

:^D

I bet the only ones who are down at 1:1 or better, are the top pros who are so busy getting from one gig to another that they just don't have time off to do anything but learn repertoire for upcoming projects.

But I'd be curious to see if anyone who's regularly on TalkBass can claim anything approaching 1 to 1.

I can't claim to be 1:1 but I definitely am around 2:3 (playing:GASing), which I think is pretty darn good. I'm not a pro, but I have a few bands and projects that keep me busy, and a lot of friends who like to just jam.

I used to be like 1:4 or worse years ago, but then I started playing with more people/groups, and am also pretty darn happy with my setup, so I'm relatively GAS free.

edit: btw, love the idea of the "TB ratio". Great thread idea.

[bluesdogblues]

I don't do much of what you describe in (b) except once in awhile checking TB apps in my iPhone which become a new habit for me since about few months ago when the first time I install it , and I can even do it while talking at someone at the same time, or in the middle of my bass practice time, or even when I'm working..hehe what a bad habit
I spend every 10-15 minutes available to practice my Hanon exercise on bass.
So the percentage time of playing bass (a) is much bigger than (b).


But actually in my musical activities, play bass is not my biggest time percentage (except that TB motivates me to routinely practice here and there).
I spend more time in producing, arranging and writing,.. Or even talk about music (business) with colleague.

I'm happy & proud to be a Bass Player, but I think I'm 'musician', more than 'bassist'.

Cheers

[agreatheight]

1:3, as of recently. I play for a minimum of 5 hours a week including recording and rehearsal, and I really probably spend a couple hours a day thinking about it / posting about it, so maybe 15.

[chuck3]

funny topic - it's skewed in my case by having a day job where I'm in front of a computer a lot and nothing stops me from reading TB or checking out ads for bass gear. If I could just get away from that pesky job, my ratio would be better!

[Infidelity]

.1:1

Yes, I need to quit this habit..

[redhed]

Oh maybe 1:5, but you know I can't stop thinking about BASS, AMPS, PEDALS - crazy bass lines!!!!

[pbasswil]

Thanks a lot everybody, for weighing in with your own playing ratio estimates!

Of course I don't mean for this to be like a contest. I don't think there's an incorrect or bad ratio; it depends on our lives and our priorities and our capabilities, etc.

But when I thought of it, I thought it put an interesting perspective on some of my own choices. So maybe the calculation of their own ratio will be useful to other TalkBassers.

Keep it rollin' -- step right up, sir or madam! :^)

[fourfinger]

I know one thing: when I am playing I NEVER think to myself, dang, I should be obsessing about gear.

But your 1 to 5 is about right for me, unfortunately.

[dtsamples]

I'll bet the real working pros are 10:1. I mean, how often do you think/talk about your job when you aren't working? They probably obsess over golf.

[PDGood]

I haven't given this ratio any thought at all.

But I have often thought about what the ratio is of time spent on stage paying close attention to what I'm playing compared to time spent thinking about the girls in the audience. I'm embarrassed to print my ratio.

[T2k5]

I haven't had that much interest in playing outside of band practice and gigs so my ratio is probably around 1:10 - 1:40. Too much other stuff to do when I'm not at work. I used to play 2-5 hours every day, recently it's been 0-5 hours every week.

[pbasswil]

After a bunch of responses, here's what I'm thinking:

In most cases, no one's sitting there dictating to us how much of our time we should be playing, right?

And there's no law against wanting basses and gear that sounds good, right? Or talking about your favorite music/musicians? That's not so terrible, is it?

Most of us enjoy the idea of being bass players. (Whether we're accomplished artists or hobbyist dabblers, or somewhere in between.) We all need function(s) in our lives -- roles that help us imagine who we are.

And that identity becomes a bit of an axle in our lives -- a fixed pivot point, that some other parts of our identity revolves around.

The role of Bass Player also becomes a large project in our lives, that spreads beyond the act of actually playing.
So yeah, we don't just play; we also network, listen to music, configure bands, equip ourselves -- and inevitably, dream of being perfectly, ideally equipped to make the sounds in our heads.
None of that is inherently bad, right?

And yet I see a bit of a pattern:

Regret
When we directly confront the amount of time we actually play, a lot of us feel wistful.

So I figure: we must have an idea in our heads of ourselves as dedicated, passionate players. But often, the reality of our habits doesn't quite match up.

Not that we don't all have our moments, huh?! We wouldn't be bass players, if we had never had periods where playing our instruments wasn't intensely exciting and all-consuming. It's just that: maybe those intense moments aren't as frequent as they were when we first got hooked.

Ok, that's plenty for one post. But this has sure got me thinking.

[turbo chicken]

do i have too ... as of late I've kind of fell off the practicing bandwagon. so my ratio is probably a

10% playing 90%screwing off here ...

then again most of my stuff here is done at work...

yeah... i need to practice more between band practices and gigs...

[pbasswil]

Yup, I sense a lot of regret, and even embarrassment, that we don't play and practice more than we do.

But listen: If every time we picked up our bass, we felt that magic -- that sheer joy -- that we experienced when we were first discovering bass,
do you think hell or high water could keep us from playing, every single free minute we had??

[K73]

I'm probably about 1:2 a:b, I'm spending increasingly more time actually playing and less obsessing over the next purchase.

[GizmoTheOne]

About 1:3.

Trying to get to 1:2, and eventually maybe someday 2:1 (who knows?)... I've come to find that gear is really important to me, but that in fact, the real thing is in my playing.

When I play better, I and others feel better about my tone even with crappy amps, no effects, etc. When I play sloppy, I don't sound good.

So, bottom line is I wanna practice more and more without thinking about new gear all the time. When I find something I like, I try to practice with it until I master it. Then, if the thing limits my abilities, sound-wise or playing-wise, I might consider a change.