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Best/worst advice you've ever gotten

#42
Peepaleep said:
Funny - the best advice for some is the worst advice for others. :)
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HA. Yeah. Although I think you need to work on your weaknesses, some guys get caught up in perpetual "practice mode" and just struggle endlessly trying to be good at what they don't do well. Meanwhile, they don't exploit their natural abilities.

Imagine if Louis Johnson worked more on his walking bass instead of that crazy slap stuff? Or Chris Squire decided to devote himself to being a session player? Or McCartney spent most of his time getting his sight reading better?
 
#43
Best: Piles of information from my private bass teacher of almost three years, along with a few bits a pieces of wisdom from experienced sound engineers.
Worst: Just about every single piece of advice ever given to me by anyone who isn't a sound engineer or a fellow bassist.

Highlights for humour:
Best: "Ignore guitarists; if they knew how to play bass properly, they would."
Worst: "6 string basses are only for jazz."
 
#44
plangentmusic said:
HA. Yeah. Although I think you need to work on your weaknesses, some guys get caught up in perpetual "practice mode" and just struggle endlessly trying to be good at what they don't do well. Meanwhile, they don't exploit their natural abilities.

Imagine if Louis Johnson worked more on his walking bass instead of that crazy slap stuff? Or Chris Squire decided to devote himself to being a session player? Or McCartney spent most of his time getting his sight reading better?
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Who knows? They might have been even better...
 
#48
dvh said:
Who knows? They might have been even better...
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No way.

There also comes a time when you have to stop being a student and make your statement. Show creativity and contribute. That has value. Being a little better at something that other people do much better is pretty insignificant in the big picture.

Again, not that it's bad to do -- but some people get so caught up with it, they never find their own voice.
 
#52
Truth is, we don't know what Chris Squire works on when he's not recording or on stage. Louis Johnson could be a sight reading monster for all we know.

I think when you're those guys and you have boat loads of money coming in you might lose the drive to improve in all areas of musicianship. That's fine - they are geniuses at what they do and they have given us the fruits of their creativity. But some of us are not naturally creative people - we're more technical minded. That's why I spend most of my time trying to further develop my sense of melody and harmony. It does not come naturally to me, and I am thankful that I have put years of practice into trying to develop those senses. Now when I solo you might not be able to pick up that I don't know what I'm doing :) 20 years ago you'd have said "uh, Joe? Just sit in the back and play with the drummer - ok?"
 
#53
Best advice: When someone showed me how different the bass can sound depending on where you play it on the body between the bridge and neck. I was just beginning and had no idea how much the tone could change by changing positions within that span with my right hand.

Worst advice: That I didn't take BTW....... (1984) "Put on these (tights) because everyone does it"
You don't want to see me in tights with my bony legs and kneecaps underneath.
 
#55
Best advice: Play, listen, think and then play again. (Plus, you can try doing it like this!!!)

Worst advice: It's not done like this!!!

Let's not forget that experience is sth you MUST live it to know what that is (and its consequences), while maturity means extracting the knowledge provided and incorporate it in your next step when you need to take it.
 
#57
Souperman08 said:
Simple enough, what is the best and worst advice you've ever gotten related to bass playing? For me......

Best advice: Spend time messing around with you tone knob (On a P-bass), and pay attention to where you're picking (close to the bridge, close to the neck, in-between, etc)

Worst advice: "This amp has crappy lows and highs, so just play on the middle strings (A and D) and it'll sound good"


Lets hear what you guys have been told, I'm sure theres some funny stuff out there.
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Best from Mike Morangelli; Stop playing that bass like a folk guitar. Push your finger through the string into the space above it.

Worst, source remains anonymous; Set the EQ with a smily face, you don't want those mid-tones
 
#60
plangentmusic said:
No way.

There also comes a time when you have to stop being a student and make your statement.
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I totally disagree. It's very possible to be both. For example, Ph.D candidates are expected to both be students while, at the same time, contributing to their fields through research with faculty and their dissertations.

I do agree that woodshedding in your home studio for 15 years without producing anything or gigging probably isn't the most desirable scenario. However, some of the most accomplished jazz cats I've come across still take lessons.
 

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