Lost the drive - will it come back?

[Waffles and Scotch]

A little background:
I've been playing since Halloween of 1999. In 2002 I joined my first gigging band - an original hardcore progressive metal band. I pushed myself harder than I thought was possible, and they pushed me even harder. After 3 years with them I called it quits as I never really liked the music, and decided to "find myself" (musically speaking). I've never learned theory and only taken *maybe* 10 lessons - I always just sat at home hammering away teaching myself (or as I've learned now, reinventing the wheel).

I spent 5 years imitating people like Victor Wooten, Stu Hamm and Billy Sheehan, teaching myself finger tapping, 4 finger strumming and some slapping. When I wasn't working on technique I was creating tons of original basslines, solos, etc and learning new patterns that sounded good together.

In February of 2010 I joined my first rock band (which I'm still a member of), and started learning how to play rock music. Only learned maybe 10-15 covers throughout my time playing, so I had to re-learn how to play in a rock format, but it was a fun challenge that I embraced.

Throughout the years one thing has remained constant - the absolute need to practice as much as possible, and the feeling like I was wasting time doing anything other than playing bass. Or rather, like I was running out of time - even hanging out with friends was irritating as I was making up music in my head and didn't have the ability to figure out and record it for future use. For that time (10+ yrs) I would practice every day - 2-6 hrs on weekdays, 4-12 hours on weekends, and often took 1-2 week vacations to do nothing but practice and create new music.

We played our first show in October, 2010, and it was amazing. Shortly after that I was diagnosed with Mononucleosis. Traced it back to early-mid summer, was diagnosed in December. Couldn't play much at all for a couple months.

In April we started playing shows again. In mid-June I took over the duties of booking/promoting and we've gotten into a ton of new venues, played some awesome shows, and are progressing much faster than I'd ever imagined. There's only one problem. I rarely get excited to play shows, have no (detectable) increase in adrenaline while I'm on stage, and I can't seem to practice for any length of time anymore. I still get "that feeling" - the butterflies in your stomach, nothing else in the world exists - feeling when playing sometimes, but it's rare. No matter what I do I just can't seem to get back to where I was for the entire time I played bass up until getting sick.

So my question is, for those that've gone through something similar, did you ever get it back? Did it slowly return over a period of time, hit you one day and you were back in the saddle, or just fade away, never to be seen again? Any ideas of what someone in my position could do to make it come back (if that's possible)? For years I was able to pull crazy basslines and tap solos out of my ***, and now that I'm finally on stage consistently playing the music I love I don't seem to have that ability anymore. It's affecting my stage presence and confidence knowing I could be WAY better than I am, and I just want to get that back. Any advice?

[lucas vigor]

My vote is for more practicing...and harder practicing! Two months is a long time to be out of practice.

[anderbass]

Originally Posted by TF Ghost

I was creating tons of original basslines, solos, etc and learning new patterns that sounded good together.

Is your current band performing any songs utilizing those bass-lines you enjoyed creating?
If not, I think that's a big part of your problem here...

[Phalex]

I remember the feeling. Like sitting in the front car of the roller coaster and waiting for the toothless carny to throw the switch and send you hurtling into space.

I get that feeling very rarely these days. Mostly in venues that shouldn't scare me at all. (Church mainly)

If anything my blood pressure goes down when I'm onstage with my band. More than one person has remarked to me how truly comfortable I appear on stage, and I really am. I do miss the thrill, but having the stage be a comfortable place, and being in my element is pretty darn cool too.



***EDIT***

I TOTALLY misread the OP! Guess that's what I get for eating a sub and surfing TB at the same time.........

[Waffles and Scotch]

Originally Posted by lucas vigor

My vote is for more practicing...and harder practicing! Two months is a long time to be out of practice.

Thanks! I'll try that. Now that I think about it, 2 months is a long time since I used to practice for at least 2 hours every day for 10+ years...

[Waffles and Scotch]

Originally Posted by anderbass

Is your current band performing any songs utilizing those bass-lines you enjoyed creating?
If not, I think that's a big part of your problem here...

Actually this is the first band I've ever been in that does utilize the stuff I come up with. Which is part of the reason that it's bothering me so much. Tuesday night at practice the guys wanted to work on a new song based on a really complicated finger-tapping piece I came up with, and I could barely play it because I just haven't had the drive to practice it a thousand times like I know I should. Which is what prompted me to start this thread.

[Russell L]

Put some flats on your bass and it will feel like a new world.

[Kwin Smith]

Try a fretless. It demands more attention from you.

[shirky]

My opinion would be different from lucas_vigor above. I would recommend taking a break from the bass for a while. If you've spent entire vacations practicing, then being away from it for a few weeks should rejuvenate you.

Good luck!

[garmenteros]

Force yourself to play. One day you'll get the feeling of regret that you put it aside for a while. And play different things. Pickup a different genre. I used to not stray far away from hardcore punk and a few bands like rage and the chilli peppers. it got tiresome after a while but I still forced myself to play harder songs and then I got into other music. Got into some megadeth and some old school sabbath and that brought the fun back. Then tried my hand at some sublime and 311.

If I were you I'd give a try to some crazy fast ska punk bands.
Break The Glass - The Suicide Machines (Album Version) - YouTube

ska-p verguenza - YouTube

[StKevin]

I used to go through spells of apathy towards playing or practicing. I think the longest break I ever took from playing was about 6 months. I barely touched my bass in that time. One day I just got the urge to play, dusted my bass off, and 8 years later I haven't put it back down. If anything I practice even more with each passing year. The better I get the better I want to be!

You might try looking into music theory. On the days I'm too busy to play (not at home for 16 hours) I can still tinker with new lines and compositions without my bass handy. If I start to feel like I'm in a rut playing, I usually discover some neat fact that I want to experiment with. It definitely helps me!

[dannoman]

Quick question, when was the last time you strapped on your bass and played music just for the fun of it? Not concentrating on Technique or thinking about when you'll be able to play whatever lick, but just play a song. Cover or original....

I wake up everyday and go to bed everyday with the same things going on in my head. Bass lines... I am constantly thinking music, technique, sound, gear, etc etc all day everyday except for when i play. When i play, the only thing that is going thru my mind is the song of that moment. If i start to think about all the other stuff i do not enjoy playing.

My suggestion, pick the 5 most simple yet moving (to you) songs that speaks to you and play it. Don't think about it, just do it. Do think about how many hours you put in practicing whatever you practice. just turn your head off and play...

Its all about the fun.

[Sneakypete]

Solo practicing is over-rated in my book. You must do it to reach a level of competency but for most of us there's a plateau (I reached mine after just a few years of playing) where you have to put in a massive effort for comparatively little gain and frankly, I found it boring. The better techniques to work on, I think, are to improve your role within the band - locking with the drummer, improving your sense dynamics and expressing that within the band. If you sing then work on that too. You can practice this sort of stuff to a limited extent playing along with recorded tracks but nothing beats a live situation. My advice would be to spend less time on your own and as much time as possible with other players - try to sit in with as wide a range of players as you can. Music, and bass-playing particularly, means being a part of something bigger.

[Waffles and Scotch]

Originally Posted by Kwin Smith

Try a fretless. It demands more attention from you.

If I had the $$ for another bass, I most certainly would...

[Waffles and Scotch]

Originally Posted by shirky

My opinion would be different from lucas_vigor above. I would recommend taking a break from the bass for a while. If you've spent entire vacations practicing, then being away from it for a few weeks should rejuvenate you.

Good luck!

Unfortunately we're playing out quite often, and my basslines are pretty demanding. If I don't practice, I can't play my parts accurately, and with us just starting to take off, I need to make sure I'm as close to 100% as I can get.

[Waffles and Scotch]

Originally Posted by garmenteros

Force yourself to play. One day you'll get the feeling of regret that you put it aside for a while. And play different things. Pickup a different genre. I used to not stray far away from hardcore punk and a few bands like rage and the chilli peppers. it got tiresome after a while but I still forced myself to play harder songs and then I got into other music. Got into some megadeth and some old school sabbath and that brought the fun back. Then tried my hand at some sublime and 311.

If I were you I'd give a try to some crazy fast ska punk bands.
Break The Glass - The Suicide Machines (Album Version) - YouTube

ska-p verguenza - YouTube

Originally Posted by dannoman

Quick question, when was the last time you strapped on your bass and played music just for the fun of it? Not concentrating on Technique or thinking about when you'll be able to play whatever lick, but just play a song. Cover or original....

I wake up everyday and go to bed everyday with the same things going on in my head. Bass lines... I am constantly thinking music, technique, sound, gear, etc etc all day everyday except for when i play. When i play, the only thing that is going thru my mind is the song of that moment. If i start to think about all the other stuff i do not enjoy playing.

My suggestion, pick the 5 most simple yet moving (to you) songs that speaks to you and play it. Don't think about it, just do it. Do think about how many hours you put in practicing whatever you practice. just turn your head off and play...

Its all about the fun.

Sometimes after I've had a few brews with the GF I'll put on Pandora and play along with some rap/hip-hop songs, or some dark piano music. Maybe I can find some songs from different genres, download them and learn them to mix things up a bit.

[Waffles and Scotch]

Originally Posted by StKevin

You might try looking into music theory. On the days I'm too busy to play (not at home for 16 hours) I can still tinker with new lines and compositions without my bass handy. If I start to feel like I'm in a rut playing, I usually discover some neat fact that I want to experiment with. It definitely helps me!

I have - I read through the "music theory for dummies" book and took a ton of notes, but my interest in this has also diminished since I got sick, and I never learned enough to put it into practice. Maybe lessons would help? Someone pushing me to learn new stuff and tossing some theory at me? Huh. I might look into that.

[Waffles and Scotch]

Originally Posted by Sneakypete

Solo practicing is over-rated in my book. You must do it to reach a level of competency but for most of us there's a plateau (I reached mine after just a few years of playing) where you have to put in a massive effort for comparatively little gain and frankly, I found it boring. The better techniques to work on, I think, are to improve your role within the band - locking with the drummer, improving your sense dynamics and expressing that within the band. If you sing then work on that too. You can practice this sort of stuff to a limited extent playing along with recorded tracks but nothing beats a live situation. My advice would be to spend less time on your own and as much time as possible with other players - try to sit in with as wide a range of players as you can. Music, and bass-playing particularly, means being a part of something bigger.

Yeah, I reached that plateau several years ago, but used to find the law of diminishing returns a fun challenge. It's boring sometimes, but it's also very exciting sometimes as well (or at least it used to be)...

[Kwin Smith]

Originally Posted by TF Ghost

I have - I read through the "music theory for dummies" book and took a ton of notes, but my interest in this has also diminished since I got sick, and I never learned enough to put it into practice. Maybe lessons would help? Someone pushing me to learn new stuff and tossing some theory at me? Huh. I might look into that.

Lessons are probably the best idea so far...and you came up with it.

[Russell L]

I'm with dannoman, quit thinking and just play. I don't mean stop studying, but just make sure you get enough time in just for the enjoyment of playing.