Anyone have any huge bridges to cross?

[Squid-TEGH]

Saving up for a new bass/piece of gear, finishing a tour, starting a tour, getting better gigs, getting any gigs, or learning a new tune, I'm sure we all have huge bridges to cross that we're looking forward to getting to grips with.
For me, my first was simply getting a bass, then it was getting an amp, then it was learning my first song.
50 songs later, this is my new "let's get down to business and get something done!" moment.



I'm gonna have to play this thing more or less bar by bar, at least at first. There's stuff in there that I can't do at the minute, so to get to tne end of the song is going to require improvement in a couple of areas.
Which is why I chose it really. It'll challenge me, it'll improve me as a player, and I'll have learned one hell of a funky bassline at the end of it .

I'm kinda intimidated by it a little, but in a good way. I was intimidated about the idea of even thinking I could learn to be a bass player. Seven months later, here's where we are . So I think that's a good thing .

 

[Moving Pictures]

I'm kinda intimidated by it a little, but in a good way. I was intimidated about the idea of even thinking I could learn to be a bass player. Seven months later, here's where we are . So I think that's a good thing .

Every day forward is a good day. You are doing good.

Keep challenging yourself.

 

[shawshank72]

I live in a town of maybe 15,000 people and it seems like I'm the only musician in it.

 

[rufus.K]

I'm in the same town as Shawshank72, and I am the only musician as well.
;p

 

[1stnamebassist]

I've been in a job that I work 2nd shift for over 4 years now. 3:30 pm to 2am. I have 1 Saturday off a month. I don't have the ability to do much of anything musically. I'm hoping will that will change sometime before I retire!

 

[Marial]

Oh yeah. I've recommitted to the upright and I'm learning arco. I have a long path ahead of me.

 

[spade2you]

IDK, my 7 string has a a pretty big bridge.

 

[Squid-TEGH]

IDK, my 7 string has a a pretty big bridge.

And it's a hefty trek across it!
Also, why are the fret marks on the wrong side?

 

[spade2you]

And it's a hefty trek across it!
Also, why are the fret marks on the wrong side?

Parallax. On an unlined fingerboard this wide, it's easy to be a few degrees off from the side dot which can increase on the higher strings, especially when the margin for error is already much smaller.

 

[Squid-TEGH]

So I hit a brick wall the other day.

I started trying to learn the new tune, and I couldn't turn the numbers on the tab into anything that sounded like a bassline, no matter how much I tried, and I tried the same few seconds over and over.
"Oh well, I knew it'd be difficult, it'll just take time" I said to myself, and I set to practicing some of my regulars, tunes that actually fall within my ability.
But they didn't sound right either. I wasn't making music, I was just plinking strings and making noise. Bad timing, wrong notes, I guess my confidence had for the first time, been dented.
I gave up in a huff, and put the bass on its stand. Put the amp away and moved onto other things. I didn't touch the bass again for several days, whatever musical spark I had seemed to be hidden from me.

So I had a spare hour after studying, figured I'd give the new tune another go. The notes were still out of place and completely lacking in style, but they seemed to be the right notes. Encouraged, I moved forwards a couple of minutes to a part of the song that tried a different part of my skills, and found it easier than I had the first time. I went back to the start, and even if only for the first four bars, managed to sound closer to what the dude in the video was playing that I'd sounded so far. I repeated this a few times getting better and better each time. Still clunky and soulless, but at least the notes were mostly the right ones, and for the first time in several days I was again playing with a smile on my face as it occured to me that enjoying playing is as much about enjoying struggling with a hard tune as it is liking to be able to play an easy tune well.

After, I went to try a few tunes by artists I had already played songs to, and while I didn't nail any of them first time, I did add three new tunes to my "I enjoy playing these, I should play them more" playlist.

Long story short? Had my first little fall. Got up again though .

 

[Squid-TEGH]

Drunkenly surfing and got into a conversation that reminded me of a game I loved when I was 16* or so.
Didn't realise the end credits tune had such an awesome bassline .

It's cheesier than cheddar. It still makes me grin .

*EDIT: I was 13 when I bought the game, I did some checking .

 

[Squid-TEGH]

Drunkenly surfing and got into a conversation that reminded me of a game I loved when I was 16* or so.
Didn't realise the end credits tune had such an awesome bassline .

It's cheesier than cheddar. It still makes me grin .

*EDIT: I was 13 when I bought the game, I did some checking .

Update, many years later.

Apparently, Chance Thomas, the songwriter was "digging through old hard drives" and found the original.
As the author, he decided to upload the tune itself, in a high quality non-ripped version!