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What have you learned in the past year...

Joe Nerve

Joe Nerve

Oct 7, 2000
18,619
38,939
New York City
www.joenerve.com
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Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
#1
...that might be helpful to others??? any tricks, and new insights, discoveries?

few things I've learned.

contrary to some debate here a while ago, you can (or should I say I can) absolutely practice bass when I don't have my instrument around. when I'm learning new songs I can go over them while driving and practice till I get it right. i've started drives screwing up songs, and ended them with the ability to play them without mistakes. I gotta know the song first of course. then i can practice like that. just thinking it through.

as I just posted in another thread i started - If I want to land a gig then the goal is not to get the material right, it's to learn it till I never get it wrong.

entertaining an audience and making money in music have nothing to do with chops. and the only way your chops are gonna make any difference is if you're one of the top 10 players on the planet. and even then it's questionable.

ed friedland's book, walking basslines, is an excellent book to help add some color to yer chart reading.

the most important thing for me in any gigging situation where someone is paying me is learning to keep my mouth shut and smile. being on time goes without saying.

i've probably got lots more - but i want to open it up.
 
#2
I also often go through bass lines in my head. Usually just before I go to sleep, only problem is that I frequently get out of bed and go plug up if I feel unsure of something. I've also began recording everything I practice because I don't want to come up with a line and not be able to duplicate it later.
 
#6
Money driven bands are hard to keep going. Generaly money gets in the way

Make sure everything to do with money and how things are split is agreed by everyone before the gigging commmences.

Double thumping is hard.

I want a double bass

Playing more or less the same thing 3 nights a week for a year takes it's toll on your creativity.
 
#10
I've learned...

-Steel strings on an upright help me play better than the guts I was using.

-If I'm using an amp I don't like and I can't get a sound out of it, it's because of a failure in me, not the amp.

-I really don't want to hear anything else in my monitor except my vocal.

-I should stop telling people that I suck at guitar because even though I am very average, people seem to like my guitar playing a lot. So if I stop saying I suck, maybe I'd get more gigs.
 
#11
A few things...

Quality practice, rather than quantity.
Realize what your strengths are, but always keep learning
Confidence makes all the difference in the world
Take something from everyone, good or bad
And, always be open to constructive criticism
 
#14
to play less is often best in bass, keep it simple ... play it like you own it ... dynamics can make a simple part, a great part ... make use of the entire neck ... slides add great fill vs. a jumble of notes ... most importantly, pay attention to others tips on sites like this ... you never know where inspiration is going to come from ...
 
#16
There is nothing I can play on a 4 string that I can't play on a 7, but there is plenty I can play on a 7 that I can't play on a 4.

If I don't use my reading skills, they quickly disappear.

There is really no reason for me to use active electronics under any circumstance.

I'll never be in another band that is involved in drug use .... it's a useless addiction that leads to some terrible performances.
 
#20
Building my chops actually has practical use that can lead to different gigs that I didn't know existed before. Also, more importantly, they open up all kinds of new possibilities for expressing musical ideas.

My state of mind is, BY FAR, the most important determining factor on how my playing is at a given time. I need to spend more time and energy on the rest of my life outside of my bass playing -- it helps my bass playing!!!
 

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