Ever get tired of playing ?

[Rakie]

Hey all. I've been on and off the forums since 2003 or so, this is my newest Screen Name, which I really like hehe.

But i've been playing since 2001, and now I'm just bored with it... I have NO intention of going out and playing with a band. I was told id be given gigs for projects in the studio by a good engineer I know, so I invested in better gear, I had to sound check and he was really impressed with my playing.

Got a nice bass, amp and cab (All for sale now, not a plug) and nothing came of that offer... Sad times.

Lately, I've just had no desire to play, every style I try and play, any song I try and learn, anything I try to write... It's like I'm bored with my own style / abilities.

I've come to the point where I'll most likely quit playing bass altogether, I just get no joy out of it. Not sure if I'm sick of bass, or just sick of playing (I've been playing since I was 7, im 23 in sept)

Anybody else get like this ? Did you get over it ?



Feels like such a waste to leave something I loved so much

[Mark Latimour]

Get together with some local guys and just start jamming to some music you like. Part of music is the interaction between musicians and finding those "moments" when you just connect with the other guys. You may find what you're lacking is the interaction of putting your musical ideas in amoung others.

[Mark Wilson]

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

Get together with some local guys and just start jamming to some music you like. Part of music is the interaction between musicians and finding those "moments" when you just connect with the other guys. You may find what you're lacking is the interaction of putting your musical ideas in amoung others.

Yep!!!
Exactly.

[pedroims]

I'm tired of practicing, specially today it's 4.40 am and I am practicing before go to work.

Just take a time off, learn how to play another instrument, get into new styles of music, take a new direction: production, enginering .

Things like this happen often buddy: get bored of what you doing for living, get boring from you wife, from your church, from your hobbie , etc.

Just relax

[machine gewehr]

Another idea that comes to my mind is,you may find a music teacher and start learning kinds of music you do not know.
I agree on the band thing too.

Also you may buy a Sadowsky and be possessed by its awesomeness and start playing for 10 hrs. a day.

[Mark Latimour]

Also, this thread is very emo. Just saying.

[dlloyd]

Originally Posted by Rakie

But i've been playing since 2001, and now I'm just bored with it... I have NO intention of going out and playing with a band.

***snip***

Not sure if I'm sick of bass, or just sick of playing (I've been playing since I was 7, im 23 in sept)

Confused by the arithmetic.

I'd say you're probably sick of playing bass in a sterile, irrelevant context. That's something I can relate to... before I joined the band I'm in right now, I hadn't played with other musicians for nearly a year... nearly drove me nuts.

[wazzel]

I've taken a couple of breaks during the time I have been playing (since 1983). Time off can clear the head and get you refocused. If you truly love the bass you will come back. If all you have been doing is "playing solo" at home that gets old fast. Find some guys to jam with, even if it is informal get togethers. You don't need to be gigging several times a week a good jam once or twice a month does wonders.

[Jonyak]

I have been playing since I was 12, I am now 28.

I took one extended break of about 2 years, when I sliced my hand open and had to work it back to a point where it was comfortable to play.

before that I was feeling the same way. I had hit a plateau and wasn;t getting any better.

after I felt refreshed and new and got back into it with a new zest.

don't worry, you are young. take a break. come back to it when the time is right.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I must admit that I only really play when in a band these days, just bores me otherwise, you need the interaction

[moomoocajoo]

I do sometimes get bored of it.

But seriously, find some friends to jam with and it brings back all the enthusiasm.

NOTHING like a good jam. Nadda.

[ubado]

I can't go a day without playing for at least an hour. When I'm on vacation .... I miss it .... like my day just isn't complete without my daily dose of the low-end.

[Wesley R]

Originally Posted by Mark Wilson

Yep!!!
Exactly.

I tired out once. packed everything away. a little bit later started seeing live acts, jammed witha few buds. Sold my then good bass and looked actively for a bass I would love, bought several and sold them all just about to hang it up and the next bass I tried, I fell in love with. Played it for hours.

[Rakie]

Originally Posted by dlloyd

Confused by the arithmetic.

I'd say you're probably sick of playing bass in a sterile, irrelevant context. That's something I can relate to... before I joined the band I'm in right now, I hadn't played with other musicians for nearly a year... nearly drove me nuts.

haha, I have played instruments since I was 7, only played bass since 2001. Sorry, should have cleared that up.

I used to play Flute, I played in all the school bands, Marching / Symphonic / Jazz and it was a lot of fun. My face became paralyzed, it was temperary, but it's like if your hands were chopped off and re-attached, they work... But they don't remember how to play.

So aftar a few years trying to get my playing back up to where it was, I had no luck and gave up. That's when I went to play bass full time.

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

Also, this thread is very emo. Just saying.

it is, I didn't want to make it at first but I figured id see what people have to say. Maybe id hear something interesting I didn't think of.

[kesslari]

I have NO intention of going out and playing with a band.

Why not?

I could definitely see getting bored of playing solo.

Bass is fundamentally an ensemble instrument (with respects to those artists who make it a solo instrument).
Much of the joy of playing bass, at least for me (and I think for many others) is the interplay between the bass and other instruments, and for that matter the interplay between oneself and other good musicians.

If I were a baseball player, and only did batting practice, never played on a team, I'd soon quit, no question about it.

[Rakie]

"irrelevant context"

Id say that's probably the case. I teach bass to a buddy of mine, he's been looking for a teacher since I had no time anymore... Every teacher he goes to is immediately flabbergasted by his Dingwall, the best response was some kid who said "why do the frets go like this *makes hand motions*"

Secondly, they tell him there is nothing they can teach him. There's kinda slim pickings in my area LOL, unless I drive up to LA, where im sure i'll get my ass handed to me, bass style.

[jrthebassguy]

Sometimes you just need some time off.

September of 2007 I quit my band. I was so burned out on the load in/play/loud out routine I needed a break.

This month they asked me to rejoin. I've had some time away from music, and now I'm ready to hop back into the fray.

[unclekebm]

quit! but don't sell your gear...you'll be back

[FL Knifemaker]

Originally Posted by ubado

I can't go a day without playing for at least an hour. When I'm on vacation .... I miss it .... like my day just isn't complete without my daily dose of the low-end.

Same here! Last time I went to MS on Business, I brought my little Ibanez and my Zoom. Having a bunch of basses keeps me from getting bored. I'm always trying different strings and playing around with effects. Sooner or later, I'd like to start recording. Not that I'm any good, just to hear what I'm doing

[Murder_Worship]

no