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Bass goals for 2023
- Thread starter tb-player
- Start date
I don’t do resolutions either, but for 2023 I’m going to focus on reading (Latin Bass Book, for starters), where progress/feedback is concrete, and arpegio studies for ear training and improving fretboard skills. And learn a few songs.
Happy new year!
Happy new year!
Well, since I quit the band I was in last week, my primary goals are as follows:
-Focus on using the bass more in my home studio recordings. I enjoy composing more on guitar and synths, so by the time I go to add bass, it always feels like an afterthought. Yeah, it’s probably because I write the bass line on the synths. It’s just how I’ve been doing it.
-Look for another band. I’ll have to be careful with this one. I truly enjoyed aspects of the last one (playing live, recording, meeting people, etc.), but I did not, at all, enjoy spending time with my bandmates. The singer was a good dude, but the other two guys? Nope. Worst bandmates in my 35 years of playing in bands.
-Focus on using the bass more in my home studio recordings. I enjoy composing more on guitar and synths, so by the time I go to add bass, it always feels like an afterthought. Yeah, it’s probably because I write the bass line on the synths. It’s just how I’ve been doing it.
-Look for another band. I’ll have to be careful with this one. I truly enjoyed aspects of the last one (playing live, recording, meeting people, etc.), but I did not, at all, enjoy spending time with my bandmates. The singer was a good dude, but the other two guys? Nope. Worst bandmates in my 35 years of playing in bands.
FullumMusic
Commercial User
- Oct 13, 2022
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- Audio/Music software developer, contracted with a company you've heard of and deving my own stuff.
Agreed New Year’s resolutions aren’t my thing at all. I do have some goals and objectives for the coming year.
Side note: my phone autocorrected “New Years” into “New Gear.”
Not sure if I should be scared or welcome our robot overlords and the new gear they bring.
1- Get a new fretless Maruszczyk Frog and get really good at playing it. Also get an amp & cabinet. Playing through my computer for the past 15 years has run its course. I’m over it.
2- I’m sitting on about 12 fully produced songs (solo electronic music) from lockdown that nobody has ever heard. I want to find a good way to get those released (not just dumping them on SoundCloud or doing a self-release that nobody will listen to.)
3- Put together some sort of live music project where I play my bass with other humans. Then either record some stuff or ideally play live. I miss being on stage. Playing original electronic material or DJing with my laptop ain’t the same as standing and playing.
4- I have a friend who’s an amazing and accomplished bassist and producer who’s been learning to be a luthier for a few years and he’s designing an ergonomic lightweight short or medium scale 5 string. I’m on the short list to buy one when he’s finally happy with his design. (Plus some modification ideas that I have.)
5- If the other goals are going well and the money is there for it, I want a Warmoth P bass to build. And stacked behind the Maruszczyk Frog Fretless, the Kuff 5, and the Warmoth P, I’ve been looking at a bunch of other basses that I want. But I’ll worry about that when I get there.
6- (this should be higher in my list but I’m not re-ordering) Get my digital bass fully programmed and build the proof of concept. I’m working on making a bass where the pickup goes directly into an onboard Raspberry Pi with an audio app with digital FX I’m developing. Then there’s a touchscreen mounted on the bass to control different FX parameters. I also have 3D orientation, 3D acceleration, and distance sensors that can be used to control FX parameters. Ideally the proof of concept can lead to a prototype and then who knows.
Side note: my phone autocorrected “New Years” into “New Gear.”
Not sure if I should be scared or welcome our robot overlords and the new gear they bring.1- Get a new fretless Maruszczyk Frog and get really good at playing it. Also get an amp & cabinet. Playing through my computer for the past 15 years has run its course. I’m over it.
2- I’m sitting on about 12 fully produced songs (solo electronic music) from lockdown that nobody has ever heard. I want to find a good way to get those released (not just dumping them on SoundCloud or doing a self-release that nobody will listen to.)
3- Put together some sort of live music project where I play my bass with other humans. Then either record some stuff or ideally play live. I miss being on stage. Playing original electronic material or DJing with my laptop ain’t the same as standing and playing.
4- I have a friend who’s an amazing and accomplished bassist and producer who’s been learning to be a luthier for a few years and he’s designing an ergonomic lightweight short or medium scale 5 string. I’m on the short list to buy one when he’s finally happy with his design. (Plus some modification ideas that I have.)
5- If the other goals are going well and the money is there for it, I want a Warmoth P bass to build. And stacked behind the Maruszczyk Frog Fretless, the Kuff 5, and the Warmoth P, I’ve been looking at a bunch of other basses that I want. But I’ll worry about that when I get there.
6- (this should be higher in my list but I’m not re-ordering) Get my digital bass fully programmed and build the proof of concept. I’m working on making a bass where the pickup goes directly into an onboard Raspberry Pi with an audio app with digital FX I’m developing. Then there’s a touchscreen mounted on the bass to control different FX parameters. I also have 3D orientation, 3D acceleration, and distance sensors that can be used to control FX parameters. Ideally the proof of concept can lead to a prototype and then who knows.
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To become competent enough at playing from jazz charts to be able to sit in with others.
1. Start playing with other musicians again. Ready to rebuild that set of skills.
2. Share my playing more. It's really fun when you don't overthink it.
I was down on my playing after I got out of practice during grad school. But one real advantage of pandemic work-from-home is that I always had a bass within reach. Now I feel better than ever about my skills and most importantly I'm enjoying my playing again.
2. Share my playing more. It's really fun when you don't overthink it.
I was down on my playing after I got out of practice during grad school. But one real advantage of pandemic work-from-home is that I always had a bass within reach. Now I feel better than ever about my skills and most importantly I'm enjoying my playing again.
I have parts for a project bass that I'm putting together for 2023. The parts do not coordinate, so there will be some woodworking and repositioning of components and electronics. This is the last of the projects started during COVID-19 as I transition from 34-inch scale basses to mid scale basses as my fretting hand doesn't like 34-inch scale anymore.
Practice more and gig more. Shouldn't be too hard to accomplish the second one, I only had one gig in 2022. LOL
I have two goals for 2023: first to launch a new band I'm co-creating and the second is to record a 5 song EP with another band I've been in for a few years. I think both are achievable.
Back in 2020, when I picked up the bass again after letting it collect dust in my garage, I put a lot of focus on honing some fundamental skills - articulation, timing, speed, posture, etc. Since I joined a band and started playing shows, my practice sessions have largely consisted of running through our setlist to get it as tight as possible. I am pretty solid on those songs now so I feel like the new year is a good time to get back to polishing and improving fundamentals. I and my bandmates have noticed that I sometimes have a tendency to come in a fraction of a beat early on some notes, so I forsee a lot of metronome work.
Not a particularly sexy goal, but very essential to being a good bass player.
I'll let Mr. Samuel Beckett sum up my approach to learning:
Ever tried.
Ever failed.
No matter.
Try again.
Fail again.
Fail better.
Not a particularly sexy goal, but very essential to being a good bass player.
I'll let Mr. Samuel Beckett sum up my approach to learning:
Ever tried.
Ever failed.
No matter.
Try again.
Fail again.
Fail better.
First for me is practice. Some of the best progress I have made in my playing has come from challenging myself to learn a challenging tune. Obviously, "challenging" is subjective. For me, learning Sir Duke in 2022 was a satisfying accomplishment and there were techniques and skills needed to play it properly that can be used in other playing, thus improving my overall ability / proficiency. Now, I need to find a way to motivate myself to learn more and practice more.
Second is finding an musical outlet. My two steady gigs / bands both dried up in 2022, so on to the next...just need to figure out what that is.
Third is work on my own material. I have written 3 or 4 tunes that I am proud of, but I would like to really focus on this and create some more.
Second is finding an musical outlet. My two steady gigs / bands both dried up in 2022, so on to the next...just need to figure out what that is.
Third is work on my own material. I have written 3 or 4 tunes that I am proud of, but I would like to really focus on this and create some more.
More of a wish than a goal, but...
...get booked with my band to play a bunch of rock & dance covers for a few hours at the two-week-long victory party in Kiev this coming summer.
Goal: Do some serious work on the music course/materials I got for the holidays in case my band gets booked to play a few hours at the two-week-long victory party in Kiev this coming summer.
...get booked with my band to play a bunch of rock & dance covers for a few hours at the two-week-long victory party in Kiev this coming summer.
Goal: Do some serious work on the music course/materials I got for the holidays in case my band gets booked to play a few hours at the two-week-long victory party in Kiev this coming summer.
At age 70, if I could find a local gig would be nice. There is talk of the band I’ve been apart of for over 50 years ( about 8 hours away) going on tour down the east coast and midwest with 2 other bands for a couple of weeks.
Frankly, I’ll believe it when I see the contracts..LOL!!
Short answer.... "All of the Above". 
More specifically, I want to work on my sight reading. I can read standard notation at a 1st grade level, but I've never really gotten good at it because no band I've ever been in uses any kind of charts. When I do use chord charts or standard notation, once I've played something two or three times, I've got it and there's no longer a need for the chart. I'd really like to get good at cold reading standard notation.
I also want to resurrect using a pick. I was a decent pick player at one time, but I'm primarily fingers. There are just some songs that call for a pick, and I'd like to be more comfortable with that again.
Sell some gear? Buy some gear? Are those really resolutions, or just business as usual?
More specifically, I want to work on my sight reading. I can read standard notation at a 1st grade level, but I've never really gotten good at it because no band I've ever been in uses any kind of charts. When I do use chord charts or standard notation, once I've played something two or three times, I've got it and there's no longer a need for the chart. I'd really like to get good at cold reading standard notation.
I also want to resurrect using a pick. I was a decent pick player at one time, but I'm primarily fingers. There are just some songs that call for a pick, and I'd like to be more comfortable with that again.
Sell some gear? Buy some gear? Are those really resolutions, or just business as usual?
I'd like to:
Practice a little more
Record a lot more
Shop a little less.
My daughter is a singer and has been trying to get me to set up a home recording situation for us for a while; doing that is a goal. She's 16 so I don't have forever
Practice a little more
Record a lot more
Shop a little less.
My daughter is a singer and has been trying to get me to set up a home recording situation for us for a while; doing that is a goal. She's 16 so I don't have forever
