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Bass playing and aging?

#41
My 20's and 30's I'd fill however much stage space you could give me. High energy, all over the place. 53, and despite having even better wireless I don't get more than a few meters from my mic stand. Feet, back, hands (major reconstruction on one 5 years ago), and shoulder.

I used to love the 4 hour casino or bar gigs - more time is more jam! Now, two hours in and I'm ready to wrap up.

But the big thing is tinnitus. Every minute of every day it's there. Harder to learn songs. Makes it more difficult to sing. Makes it difficult to carry on conversations, especially anywhere that there are multiple noise sources. It can somedays be overwhelming. Take care of your ears, they don't heal, and they can really diminish quality of life.
 
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#42
I'm 47. I Started mountain biking again to keep up my fitness. One thing I noticed is that after some down time I had a hard time moving my amp around. That's going better now. Also, with the purchase of my Gary Willis bass, I took the time to learn his style of high volume and soft touch plucking. Which increased my endurance by a lot.
 
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#45
74 year old here. In addition to the standard aches and pains (arthritis in left hand and right shoulder), I have problems remembering songs I haven't played in 30 years. I play less and less, because it hurts, and have lost most of my former abilities. I have 10 instruments, and feel like a fraud because I'm not really a player any more. Time to get rid of at least 5 or 6 of them; they've been taking up space for a long time.

Tom
 
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#47
They say age is just a number, however on a cellular level, the older we get the less our cells replace or repair as easily and in some cases, not at all.

Still, obviously diet and exercise become even more important the older we get. Gotta keep moving as much as possible.

But when injuries happen, healing is slower the older we are. Just a fact of life. I'm only 65 but a few falls on ice left me with two separated collar bones, a slightly torn rotator cuff, broken tooth, slight hairline fracture in my jaw, a concussion so bad it gave me amnesia (with possible long term issues with my nervous system).

Think I'd stop playing? Nope. I'm still pushing on and it just forced me to learn to play bass in a different way. My plucking hand is affected by tendonitis in my elbow and extending into my wrist and hand (tingling, numbness occasionally). I used to pluck with my fingers, but now I'm re-learning to play with a pick. Not just any pick, but a thumbpick, specifically Black Mountain thumbpicks because there are times I can't even hold a pick (without it turning in my fingers or dropping it).

I can pluck fingerstyle, but I can only confidently do that with only my index finger (ala - Jamerson).

Mark-PJ-pick-playing2.jpg


My rotator cuff/collarbone issues on my fretting side sometimes means reaching out towards the nut end of the neck is quite painful to my left shoulder. I bought a 6 string bass (mostly for experimenting with chordal work/writing/recording) but I found that it is an even shorter scale than a short scale 4 string because every note on my 4 string can be played between the 5th and 12th frets on my 6 string.

6String-new2.jpg


With regards to gear, I bought two Fender Rumble 100 combos (100 watts - 112) that can be used separately or chained together for essentially a 200 watt 212. Each combo weighs only 22 lbs.

There are ways around the issues we face as we age, including overcoming injuries as best we can. I know at some point I'll have to give it up, but I'm going to keep playing until I can't find a way to do it any longer.
 
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#48
Just turned 70. I can still get down. Getting back up? Well, that's a different story! :bored: Neo speakers and Class D amps are blessings! I don't really shop for basses by weight but I do instinctively gravitate to ones that I find to be ergonomic in some fashion. Arthritis, nerve twinges, fatigue, all that and more accompany me frequently. I'm actually quite happy with my playing and my progress of late. Note and rhythm choices, speed and accuracy, dexterity are all pretty good. It helps that I'm moving away from my very bad habit of playing harder to get more volume. A throwback to underpowered amps of the 60'/70's. I have amps that are more than up to the task.

BBB
 
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#49
Bar Band Bassman said:
Just turned 70. I can still get down. Getting back up? Well, that's a different story! :bored: Neo speakers and Class D amps are blessings! I don't really shop for basses by weight but I do instinctively gravitate to ones that I find to be ergonomic in some fashion. Arthritis, nerve twinges, fatigue, all that and more accompany me frequently. I'm actually quite happy with my playing and my progress of late. Note and rhythm choices, speed and accuracy, dexterity are all pretty good. It helps that I'm moving away from my very bad habit of playing harder to get more volume. A throwback to underpowered amps of the 60'/70's. I have amps that are more than up to the task.

BBB
Click to expand...
Yes, I too have found that it's easier to play in a more relaxed manner and let the amp do the work instead of digging in harder. But after 45 years, breaking that habit is harder than it seems!
 
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#50
I started playing when I was 19. Played a bunch of gigs while in college, a bunch on the decade or two after that, and then...due to a wrist issue, I stopped playing completely for a decade. At age 52, I felt prompted to practice, but at that point I decided to really practice - all the folks I had run across in my musical life that I though were "naturally gifted", if you talked with them, long enough, they would admit that they practiced A LOT. So, I decided to do that. I may not be the most talented musician, but as I meander through my 60's, I am, by far, the best musician I have ever been and I have more gigs than ever.

Am I as fast as I was in my early 20's? Yes, but due to technique - I used to play (a la Jamerson) with one plucking finger. The wrist issue means that finger isn't as fast as it used to be, but after learning to play with 2 plucking fingers (that was harder than I would have liked, but I'm well through it), I can play as fast as when I was a kid. I have a much better familiarity with the fretboard - a lot of times, my fingers go on "auto pilot" - things happen unconsciously. People will sometimes ask me how I do something, and I have to say "wait, let's see" - I'll play something, and observe what my fingers are doing -normally all that stuff just "happens".... somehow. I didn't have that when I was young.

I do have light basses - having had back surgery, I want to stay as far as possible from anything that would aggravate my back. So far, that has worked - weight is not an issue (at least with the herd of basses I have).
 
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#55
Pdaddy1978 said:
The 2 big ones for me:
Stamina..... When younger, 3 one hour sets were no problem. Now? .. problem.
Hearing...... Really,really should have done a better job looking after my ears. My favorite answer to most questions these days is "What?!".
Click to expand...

Here in German-influenced northern Kentucky, saying "What?" is too crass. Instead, cultured semi-deaf bass players say: "Please?"
 
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#57
Injuries and general wear & tear. No more slap or pick for me due to the RH wrist injury which never healed properly, some 17 years ago.

Standing during a jam session - I haven't gigged in 30 years and have zero desire to do it again - is not an option either. My back starts complaining *very* fast regardless of the instrument that I'm playing.

On the brighter side, I've never been happier with my own playing. A lot of of mud that had been floating for decades finally settled and I like the direction in which I'm taking my music...or vice versa.
 
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#59
In a couple of weeks I will be X’46’ years old. For those of you who aren’t familiar with hex (i.e., hexadecimal), that means that I will turn 70.

When I was younger, playing stuff like “What Is Hip?” was no problem. I don’t know why, but playing extremely fast (think Al Dimeola) was easy.

Now I deal with severe psoriatic arthritis and my ability to play fast has all but disappeared. The price of the medicine I take is such that most wouldn’t believe it if I posted it. It’s all up to me since Medicare considers the medicine to be experimental. Moreover, it prevents me from taking the most common Alzheimer's medicine (another of the maladies that I have been diagnosed with) in as much as it is contra-indicated because of the arthritis medication.

As a result, I can’t play nearly as fast as I used to and I can’t memorize charts like I used to.

For any young people reading this, do not romanticize old age. Simply put, old age sucks.

Other than that, life is great!
 
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#60
65. I don’t play as fast as I once did, but I don’t need to. I play in a classic rock band, gig 2-3 times/month, rehearse once a week and usually play in a neighborhood Sunday afternoon jam.

The music I play does not require fast licks. I was nudged into rethinking my playing about 10 years ago when I was in a band with a very busy drummer, who was quite good. I started becoming more of a groove/pocket player. Unfortunately life blew that band up. In my current band we play a lot of Motown, stax/volt, etc. I can pull ff the few rock songs that require a busier bass line, but in general I lay back. One of the well known singers in the local scene calls me “pocket.” I don’t think she knows my real name.

But I have made many concessions to aging and health. Lighter gear all around. Markbass head and cab. Lakland HB-30. Short scale and lightweight. I sadly sold off most of my heavy gear. I still have my lakland J that is the best bass I ever owned. I play it sitting down at home sometimes.

I am also struggling with long Covid. The fatigue and brain fog are a challenge. Sometimes I will just hit the root on 1 and 3 until I figure out where I am in the set or in the song. I will be retiring earlier than anticipated.

But I still get to make music, play with other people and have fun at it. Also there is increasing evidence that playing music with others is probably the best brain exercise you can do, this is both a personal and professional interest —- I have a PhD and teach in a neuroscience program—- not mere social media speculation. My neurologist agrees, so much that in his 60s he has started guitar lessons. But more about that in another post
 
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