... After just a week and a half of sitting down with the bass for an hour a day (usually a couple hours but at least an hour), it's a whole different ballgame. The fire is back.
And then I went and played a doo wop show today with Bowzer and 7 other acts from the 50's and 60's and used none of my revitalized wankery.
But I noticed that my solidity is improving, my concentration during the gig is better, and I'm making a lot fewer mistakes. I've always been solid, but the extra confidence just makes it that much more solid.
And I'm not just practicing fast stuff. I'm also practicing slow stuff. Can't always assume that you can play the slow stuff if you can play the fast stuff, you know? Slow stuff is important at a doo wop show. Got to hit those whole notes on the one in 12/8 time at just the right moment. Spent a good 10 minutes every session working on that as well.
...I'll just say that anyone can do it...all you need is to put in the time and learn the right things to practice to get the most improvement. And that's learning the fundamentals of reading and writing music, learning how chords work and how to move in between them, and studying the greats to get ideas for your own playing.
