Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
About consistency and playing without mistakes
- Thread starter Matt-bb
- Start date
There’s a story in the Duck Dunn book that he kept playing the riff into the chorus on “soul man” until beat 3 when he caught himself. Story goes that nobody noticed and it made it through mixing and production and that was the version that was a hit.
Moral is that he was grooving so well that literally nobody noticed.
if you are grooving, nobody will ever notice the wrong notes.
move played several live shows and later listened to my mistakes on the recording. Nobody else noticed any of them.
Moral is that he was grooving so well that literally nobody noticed.
if you are grooving, nobody will ever notice the wrong notes.
move played several live shows and later listened to my mistakes on the recording. Nobody else noticed any of them.
I tell my guitar player that I will miss a note. He occasionally misses a note, we just give each other funny looks and keep going!!
Thanks everyone for all the amazing answers: there is so much value in them!
Reading how everyone is at ease with his mistakes really helped me putting things into perspective.
Besides the many great advices on how to practice\play (some of them I was already doing, some of them I will surely embrace from now on), you made me understand two very important things:
-mistakes do not matter that much, but our attitude towards the mistakes can make all the difference.
-some time it helps to stop, and measure our progress by looking back at what we achieved rather then by looking forward to what we still miss.
I was stuck in the ‘I keep making mistakes, I am not improving’ state of mind. I now realize that initially my mistakes used to throw everyone off, or even stop the tune, but now not everyone even notice them. I used to get lost and take a couple measures to jump back in, now I am usually back by the next beat. Thanks for helping me understand that I am making some nice progress, and most importantly that mistakes will keep happening as I’ll improve even more. I will be working on staying focused and relaxed, and let those mistakes go the moment I notice them.
Reading how everyone is at ease with his mistakes really helped me putting things into perspective.
Besides the many great advices on how to practice\play (some of them I was already doing, some of them I will surely embrace from now on), you made me understand two very important things:
-mistakes do not matter that much, but our attitude towards the mistakes can make all the difference.
-some time it helps to stop, and measure our progress by looking back at what we achieved rather then by looking forward to what we still miss.
I was stuck in the ‘I keep making mistakes, I am not improving’ state of mind. I now realize that initially my mistakes used to throw everyone off, or even stop the tune, but now not everyone even notice them. I used to get lost and take a couple measures to jump back in, now I am usually back by the next beat. Thanks for helping me understand that I am making some nice progress, and most importantly that mistakes will keep happening as I’ll improve even more. I will be working on staying focused and relaxed, and let those mistakes go the moment I notice them.
Sounds like you’re on the right track. It can be easy to psyche oneself out by being overly critical of oneself. It’s important to be critical but it can be easy to go too far and actually hinder progress. You’ll be fine, just keep moving forward as you have been. Man, you should have heard some of the mistakes that I made this weekend. Yikes! You’d think that after a couple thousand gigs I’d have this perfection thing down.
I had 5 clams at a 4 set gig tonight but only 2 of them were noticeable enough for me and the drummer to look at each other. The other 3 were subtle enough for nobody else to notice...BUT I KNEW! Yes, I knew I flubbed and that's ok. that's ok. I've been playing bass over 40 years and playing live for 25 and I've had some flawless nights. Not very often but they occur.
I kind of lost track of what I was saying so I'm out.
I kind of lost track of what I was saying so I'm out.
I play in two originals bands, so there is less pressure to play any particular bassline “correctly.” I find that it helps to simplify, play fewer notes, and instead focus relentlessly on time and groove. One that’s established, then think about adding flourish. But even then, I find that bandmates are impressed less by flash than by lines that are groovy and sexy, even if they’re super simple
That’s one of the best things I have ever read on TB. Beautifully stated!
I don't think there's any correlation for me between complexity and likelihood of mistakes
. I can screw up anything!
Two things come to mind:
I once had a lesson with Roy Vogt. I did a certain figure, and he remarked 'I would try that HERE instead of THERE on the fingerboard, your odds of success are much better'. A window into the mind of a veteran master player, made me stop and think about where to play this or that. Of course I had more choices on a five than I did a four.
Also, on songs I know real well (or a chart in front of me), I do my best to know what I'm playing now while thinking several bars ahead to a key change, a left turn into the chorus or bridge, etc., than I'm ready. Think of driving down a street and know you have to turn left three blocks ahead. Same idea.
I once had a lesson with Roy Vogt. I did a certain figure, and he remarked 'I would try that HERE instead of THERE on the fingerboard, your odds of success are much better'. A window into the mind of a veteran master player, made me stop and think about where to play this or that. Of course I had more choices on a five than I did a four.
Also, on songs I know real well (or a chart in front of me), I do my best to know what I'm playing now while thinking several bars ahead to a key change, a left turn into the chorus or bridge, etc., than I'm ready. Think of driving down a street and know you have to turn left three blocks ahead. Same idea.
Reading ahead is the big secret to being a good sightreader. Great advice!
The big picture: Think about making music rather than wiggling your fingers.
Do you stumble when you walk. Hopefully not. The reason is because you have a deeply seated reflex.
You can build that type of reflex into your playing as well.
Don't look at your hands, and think mostly about the music and not so much about the fingers. It takes time to get to do this proficiently, starting with just playing melodies you dream upin your head. When you can play what you hear in your head, you will not scuff up very often.
Good Luck.
Do you stumble when you walk. Hopefully not. The reason is because you have a deeply seated reflex.
You can build that type of reflex into your playing as well.
Don't look at your hands, and think mostly about the music and not so much about the fingers. It takes time to get to do this proficiently, starting with just playing melodies you dream upin your head. When you can play what you hear in your head, you will not scuff up very often.
Good Luck.
I learned the answer to this in physics class in HS. Teacher said that an instrument of measurement is only accurate to 1/2 of the smallest unit it describes. So... what that means is that once you think you have something accurate, you can move to a finer set of measurements and find inaccuracies there. And the same applies with music performance. No matter how close you get, there is always a way to see that you should have been closer. Are you in tune, sure, I'm only 2 cents sharp (oh, well then, get a better tuner and practice). Do I swing enough? Yea, probably, but you don't swing as much as the drummer, or 1st trumpet, or guitar etc. How about my tone? Volume? Crescendos? Balance? Tempo? Did I put the note the right amount ahead of the beat... or was I supposed to be behind the beat? How about the style? Did I get it right?
The bottom line is that there always be someone ready to tell you how you messed up. And it's a good thing that asshat is there. That way you can quit beating up on yourself and play some music.
The bottom line is that there always be someone ready to tell you how you messed up. And it's a good thing that asshat is there. That way you can quit beating up on yourself and play some music.
