best advice you ever got from an experienced player...

[MrMyopia]

Told to me (as a young jazz guitarist) by the great Clarence Tonk Edwards, "You don't have to say it all in 8 bars. Let it go by"

The older I get, the more I recognize and appreciate that type of musical maturity in players.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

It's all about the vibe

 

[allenhumble]

Don't have sex with the drummers gf....

 

[brutuscheezcake]

"Friendly don't mean friends"

That hurt when I heard it. It's also correct.

Somethings are hard to say. Somethings are harder to hear. This was one of those.

Be careful out there.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Dont sleep with the drummers girlfriend

Nobody said anything about sleeping

 

[Pirate Captain]

"We call music a language. But we don't teach it that way. We don't sit kids down and start with the alphabet and then tell them to speak with other kids until they've 'paid their dues.'"
--Victor Wooten (...at a Barnes & Noble something like 8 years ago)

 

[Jim Carr]

The wrong note at the right time is better than the right note at the wrong time.

So true on many levels. I'd add being totally prepared as in "An amateur practices until it is right, a pro practices until it is always right."

I also like Jaco's yoda-like (supposed) admonishment that "No one reads just a little. You can read or you can't read, there is no just a little."

 

[bherman]

while I'm no stranger to pedals, ( I am a Prog player after all, till I either die, or can't play any more...) and have recently been very interested in flats... I can't afford $150 a pop for strings (I'm already stretching the budget with $30 Rotos every couple months)... though I am putting a Bass together specifically for flats, just haven't quite decided what brand/type ( ie. stainless, nickel, high/low tension... etc...) just gotta get a few more parts together before I make any serious choices...

Not sure where your information is coming from - I've been using flats all my life and I use the most expensive ones you can get (Pyramid Flats - about $75 a set) but they last 5-10 years. Don't mean to hijack the thread, but want to make sure that you have the right info on which to proceed.

 

[Kevin1960]

My uncle who taught me how to read music I remember, was asked if he could make a student "sound like Beethoven?" He played several pieces on his Hammond B3 and Leslie speaker he had at his home from Bach, Mozart, and then Beethoven and nailed every note perfectly. He said "I can show you how to play all of this and more but I can never make you sound any different than yourself"

 

[JusttheBassics]

This does not apply to pocket playing, but rather to improvisation. This came from my HS band teacher, who was also the band teacher for Karen and Richard Carpenter.

He said, "if you hit a 'wrong note', play a couple of good notes behind it, and go back and hit that 'wrong note' again. People will think you meant to hit that note the first time, and think they were wrong to question your choice. They will also think you're a trailblazer, and they'll be doing it too."

He also told us that if you get lost in a solo, start playing the chromatic scale until you find the chord again.

Best soloing advice I'd ever been given.

 

[LM Bass]

Here's my advice

 

[Rumble Thunder]

Great thread! I love reading these... I wish I could add something...let's see, my dad told me once that "you can't tell when a good musician is sick."

 

[DocShocker]

Something from a Stu Hamm video, but good advice, for me, anyway. "Always remember to breath." It's a simple statement, but in my case clicked. I had a bad habit of holding my breath through more challenging segments of song, and didn't even realize I was doing it.

 

[DenverKen]

I guess the one I come back to is to leave some space to let the song breathe...which has been said in a bunch of different ways already. Now I try to remember that on every gig, every tune.

 

[Nev375]

Nobody said anything about sleeping

Nobody said a lot of things and look where that got him.

I miss that old jerkweasel.

 

[Jim Carr]

Nobody said a lot of things and look where that got him.

I miss that old jerkweasel.

just no.

 

[BigEarl]

"You'll learn more in an hour on stage with a band than you will in 100 hours practicing alone."

Absolutely true. Play with others as soon and as often as you can. If you don't want to do that switch to guitar or piano or another instrument that works solo.

This is the truest statement you will ever hear!

 

[saltydude]

Subbed for posterity.. good night TB

 

[REV]

This is a bit long but it resulted in some really good advice. Hopefully others will benefit from it. When I first started playing, I got an offer to play with a local country band. They gigged every weekend. I didn't really like country music at that time but I wanted to work so I took the gig. The band had a revolving cast of musicians except the band leader and myself. The guy who played drums was about my age and was a real knucklehead, (lots of fills, lots of drums and poor time). I didn't complain and the band leader didn't seem to mind. One day when I got to the gig there was another drummer there. He was much older and all he had drum wise was a bass drum, a snare and a ride cymbal. His drums were really old. My first thought was "this is going to be interesting". I went over an said hi and he said hi back but that was all. When we started playing he was really simple and solid. It was a completely different band with him playing drums. It was my first experience of really locking in with a drummer. When we took a break he disappeared. I asked the band leader where he was but he told me the drummer didn't really hang with the guys. At the end of the night I felt really different about the music. It was like we played as a unit instead of four separate people. I went over and said I enjoyed playing with him and he said thanks but that was all. What he taught me I can't really put into words but I bet that some of you know what I mean. The best way I can put it is keep it simple and respect the song. This drummer never said this to me but he let his playing do the talking.

 

[madbass6]

Wow !! 4 HRS a day?
Very Cool!! Wish I had the time!

I've gotten many great advices over the years (to much to list)
some great & some questionable!
So instead i'll share the advice I gave a 13 year old kid and his dad who approached me to ask me a question as I was trying out a Bass at my local GC.


Kid says :
for some reason I just can't get this scale rite! Why ?
I asked what's the problem as I'm hearing all the rite notes as you're playing them!
(it was the C M scale)
I then noticed the problem wasn't the notes but the finger positions on his left hand!
after helping him out with his issue
I then said to him ..

"avoid bad habits during practice now as they are the hardest to break later!

The Kid smiled & said I'll never forget that! Thanks man, His dad then shook my hand & said thank you!