Double Bass At which point

[Andy Mopley]

did you think "I've got somewhere" in your playing? To put into context, when you are at school, you pass an exam; same when you get a driving license; maybe as a player, you get more calls/gigs or as a tutor, you start to pick your students, or maybe you have just nailed the impossible piece..so is there a specific turning point (on the journey) that you can recall being, shall we say a defined moment, in your playing?

Regards to all

 

[Michael Eisenman]

I don’t look at my fingers nearly as much as I used to. Doesn’t mean I’m always in tune, but I feel I can make the needed adjustments.

 

[dreamadream99]

[When] did you think "I've got somewhere" in your playing?

Tomorrow.

 

[Neil Pye]

I've always struggled with self-esteem, and I think it was really only after my Diploma (ARCM) recital in 1986 that I started to believe I might make a half-decent musician one day. I still believe that......

 

[csrund]

For me, it was when I developed acuity in sight-reading; being able to read entire phrases with dynamics, articulations, et al, rather than individual notes, and then proceeding to make it come out of the instrument accurately on the first pass. Also, the ability to improvise; hearing melodies and bass lines in your head and being able to instantly translate them into actions by your hands on the instrument.

After a 20-year sabbatical from playing, sight-reading was also the measure by which I realized, “I’ve lost a lot” in my playing. Five years hence, and I can feel some of those neural pathways have reconnected, but I’ll surely never be the player I was in my early 20s, when I was practicing six hours a day and focused entirely on music.

 

[robobass]

I would say it's not so much about your own playing, but when you can and do take a decisive role in an ensemble. Do you lead and contribute? Do you just follow? Are you even aware of the difference? For myself I would recall a certain rehearsal break where the concertmistress (yes, super hot) asked me to back off. We were doing a big choral work. The conductor was letting the tempo drag like sludge, just like most hobby/choral conductors do, and I was determined not to let that happen. On the first break she told me that I needed to lighten up. I said OK, and did so. On the next break, she came back to me, and told me to go back to what I had been doing in the first place. My point is that how you respond, and what you communicate to the musicians around you is what music is about. It is quite sad that that is not the measure taken when musical organizations seek new members.

 

[gnypp45]

I started four and a half years ago with double bass at the mature age of 43. My interest is 100% orchestral and I have averaged about an hour per day of playing after work. It has been intense and very fun!

I felt that "I've got somewhere" when I played Bach's Christmas Oratorio in a small setting as the only bass. The beautiful music and the responsibility, the venue and everything else made for two very memorable concerts.

The sense that I've got somewhere was even stronger just a few months ago when I was offered a paid gig (!) with an amateur symphony orchestra that needed a bass for a Haydn symphony (dress rehearsal + concert). Being a mere amateur myself, I prepared a lot for that occasion in order for everything to be perfect and to not let anyone down in the slightest.

 

[Andy Mopley]

Beautiful stories! Thanks for all contributing.

 

[Carl Hillman]

did you think "I've got somewhere" in your playing? To put into context, when you are at school, you pass an exam; same when you get a driving license; maybe as a player, you get more calls/gigs or as a tutor, you start to pick your students, or maybe you have just nailed the impossible piece..so is there a specific turning point (on the journey) that you can recall being, shall we say a defined moment, in your playing?

Regards to all

As I get older, I believe more and more that such "goalposts" are illusory. This is predicated on the fact that, if I skip practicing for more than a couple of days, things like intonation, time, and arco sound go away very quickly. (This is true with me even for sight reading ability.) Practicing may put the ability to play the bass "in the bank", but not practicing seems to withdraw it...with interest.

I often have to remind myself that there is no final summit to plant your flag on. Becoming the player you want to be is a process.

I like the story (whether true, or not) about a writer asking 83-year-old Pablo Casals why he still practiced 4 to 6 hours a day at his advanced age. His reply? "I think I am seeing some progress."

 

[matt holt]

My milestones have mostly been in retrospect: I started as a jazz guy, but about 10 years ago I decided I wanted to be able to play in orchestras as well. It was a long hard climb for me, but a year or so ago, while packing up after my umpteenth orchestra gig, I realized "wait, I'm gigging as an orchestra player; A few years ago, I couldn't do that. I'll be damned!"

 

[PaulCannon]

so is there a specific turning point (on the journey) that you can recall being, shall we say a defined moment, in your playing?

I actually wrote an article about this. You can read that over here.

I think the usefulness of having goals can't be overstated, for this exact reason. Music is such an abstract art form that it's generally very difficult to measure one's progress.

When I was a student, the ultimate goal was full-time employment as a player. It's one of the least ambiguous goals I could think of. The road to that particular goal was paved with much smaller mini-objectives and a few side quests. Medium-term goals were things like "get accepted to summer festival X" or "have a lesson with Professor Y" or "sub with Symphony Z". Those goals get reduced to "learn such-and-such piece" which reduces further to "get page 33 up to tempo 44." Eventually you're looking at micro-goals like "connect note A into note B flawlessly."

The vast majority of your time will be spent on those micro-goals. It's good to look up ahead from time to time to make sure you're still going in the right direction. Just don't get lost in the clouds.

 

[wathaet]

I actually wrote an article about this. You can read that over here.

I think the usefulness of having goals can't be overstated, for this exact reason. Music is such an abstract art form that it's generally very difficult to measure one's progress.

When I was a student, the ultimate goal was full-time employment as a player. It's one of the least ambiguous goals I could think of. The road to that particular goal was paved with much smaller mini-objectives and a few side quests. Medium-term goals were things like "get accepted to summer festival X" or "have a lesson with Professor Y" or "sub with Symphony Z". Those goals get reduced to "learn such-and-such piece" which reduces further to "get page 33 up to tempo 44." Eventually you're looking at micro-goals like "connect note A into note B flawlessly."

The vast majority of your time will be spent on those micro-goals. It's good to look up ahead from time to time to make sure you're still going in the right direction. Just don't get lost in the clouds.

Did PVE still make you fill out that page with goals in pencil at the beginning of freshman year?
Strange feeling, but since quitting my job and going freelance, I fulfilled the last two major goals I wrote down.
These two goals were working professionally with two specific players that were my idols while in college.
At the time, these were completely unobtainable goals..

Meeting your idols can be a real letdown, but as it turns out, these two are the nicest and most respectful musicians I have ever met.

So set your goals high, just put in the work to match your dreams!

 

[PaulCannon]

Did PVE still make you fill out that page with goals in pencil at the beginning of freshman year?

He ditched the form, but still talked about it. I think he even showed me a copy at some point. He still gives a big speech about goals, which I more or less plagiarized in my last post.