BASS FRUSTRASTION?!

Whether the greats had it or not is really secondary, but like anything else that people do for a long time, some burnout is to be expected after a while.

If you practiced one thing too many times, practice a different aspect of playing, such as sight reading or transcribe a new tune. If you feel dried up, give it some time, walk away for a bit, occupy your mind with something else, or listen to some new music that might make you think of the bass in a different way.

Hope that helps.

 

Try learning music outside of your favorite genre. If you are into jazz or fusion, learn some country stuff. If you're into rock, learn some classical stuff. What this will do is allow you to see things from a different angle, and hopefully you will then be able to improve. It's worked for me many times whenever I've been in the doldrums. Something else that I've found is that sometimes I put the instrument down for a little while. It always seems like whenever I take about a two week break on occasion, that I'm able to come back very fresh and it's then that I'm most creative.

Good luck!