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Can a new/different bass re-ignite the "passion?"
- Thread starter FishDub
- Start date
Flamenco is awesome. And if you pluck bass with your fingers then Flamenco should feel different and new at the same time in a good way, I imagine. You may need a 5 or 6 string bass if you're going to do Flamenco on bass. So that answers your original question.
There is Flamenco bass, apparently:
I feel the best thing to do is go see some quality concerts. Usually gets me going again. Wax and wane is a normal process
If the passion isn't really there, it will fade away again after a short time with the new bass. It's happened to me with many other instruments (guitar, mandolin, keyboards, drums).
Hard work is the answer. If you have 3 "very good" basses a new bass isn't going to get you over the hump.
Agree with this, been playing for many years and have concluded that gear is just gear as long as it's decent. What you do with it is what counts.
i've been playing for many decades .. being in that ' not to interested state ' has caused me to sell a few things that i'll always regret ... i don't think that blaming the 'mood' on the wood is accurate .. !
maybe learn something very musically different .? the challenge might help ...
try listening to some different than normal styles ... maybe you'll hear something you'd like to master . ?!
even when i don't feel like being creative , i know i need to keep my fingers moving ... !!! helps the arthritis at my age ... pushing 60 ... ahhhhhh ... started play at age 6 ..
i'll find a couple challenging finger type exercises and ' do them ' ... !! sadly , it's more like ' working out ' than music ... but it usually leads to some better technique , which is always a bit inspiring .. !!
maybe learn something very musically different .? the challenge might help ...
try listening to some different than normal styles ... maybe you'll hear something you'd like to master . ?!
even when i don't feel like being creative , i know i need to keep my fingers moving ... !!! helps the arthritis at my age ... pushing 60 ... ahhhhhh ... started play at age 6 ..
i'll find a couple challenging finger type exercises and ' do them ' ... !! sadly , it's more like ' working out ' than music ... but it usually leads to some better technique , which is always a bit inspiring .. !!
I've had that happen too. Stuff that was difficult for me to learn became really easy when coming back to it after some time. I guess we tend to over think things. Also if I lose interest playing my go to fretted 6, I'll pull out my fretless 5 and because it takes a little different technique, it re-sparks my interest in playing.
Usually, if I start getting GAS it's just a sign that I want to play. I remember a long time ago when I had aspirations of playing music for a living and was going at it hot n' heavy, I got burned out but felt guilty about it. I consulted a friend and he said "So stop playing" which floored me. Then he said "when you feel like playing, play. If you force yourself to play when you don't really want to, you'll run the risk of quitting forever.". I didn't understand it then, but I do now. I keep getting asked to play fill in gigs lately and I'm just not excited about them, so I'm not playing them. When I want to do them, I will. Using that approach I've gotten to open for some of my favorite artists and had a lot of fun. After playing bass for 20 years I went on my first tour. I got to play on NPR at Navy Pier in Chicago, and at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. There's nothing wrong with taking a break or being selective about what you get excited for IMHO.
Things that work for me:
#1 learn, really study, some new tunes. I don't need or want to switch genres, I love rock in most of its forms, but there are so many sub styles, so many different approaches to bass, that I can almost pick any random tune I like and get down to learning it note for note, and it will very likely teach me some new moves.
#1A join a new band, which forces you back to the above, plus adds a level of required commitment. However, be picky about the situation, particularly the people. I bail politely but quickly if there's no personality/situational fit for me.
#2 take a break. For me that's only a week or 2. I'm a lousy enough musician that I still find improvement from time spent playing, even if it's just noodling in front of the TV (see #4)
#3 switch instruments. I actually switched to bass, from guitar, 2 years ago and have learned something on the order of 125 new songs in 2 years (which relates back to #1), and made me listen to music completely differently as a guy in my mid 50's. Songs I've listened to hundreds of times, I'm discovering completely new to me things happening underneath (I'm looking at you, Led Zeppelin). The only reason it's not #1 is because I'm unlikely to go through this journey again with another instrument, ie., I'm not going to pick up drums or keyboards or something, but someone else might.
#4 buy a new piece of gear, but this applies mainly to instruments. I don't spend a bunch of time in the basement dialing in new pedals or amps, some but not much. But a new bass, I will sit in front of the TV playing it for hours and hours.
#1 learn, really study, some new tunes. I don't need or want to switch genres, I love rock in most of its forms, but there are so many sub styles, so many different approaches to bass, that I can almost pick any random tune I like and get down to learning it note for note, and it will very likely teach me some new moves.
#1A join a new band, which forces you back to the above, plus adds a level of required commitment. However, be picky about the situation, particularly the people. I bail politely but quickly if there's no personality/situational fit for me.
#2 take a break. For me that's only a week or 2. I'm a lousy enough musician that I still find improvement from time spent playing, even if it's just noodling in front of the TV (see #4)
#3 switch instruments. I actually switched to bass, from guitar, 2 years ago and have learned something on the order of 125 new songs in 2 years (which relates back to #1), and made me listen to music completely differently as a guy in my mid 50's. Songs I've listened to hundreds of times, I'm discovering completely new to me things happening underneath (I'm looking at you, Led Zeppelin). The only reason it's not #1 is because I'm unlikely to go through this journey again with another instrument, ie., I'm not going to pick up drums or keyboards or something, but someone else might.
#4 buy a new piece of gear, but this applies mainly to instruments. I don't spend a bunch of time in the basement dialing in new pedals or amps, some but not much. But a new bass, I will sit in front of the TV playing it for hours and hours.
I'm pretty sure that was a thread I started a month or so ago on that exact subject. In my case, it was more about not wanting to be weighed down by the gear I have, so buying a new bass wasn't even under consideration. It's a process; I've just yesterday re-upped my TB supporting membership so that I can start posting in the classifieds again. I still intend to sell off most of my gear.
Inspiration and motivation come and go for me, as I think it does for everyone. I can go days or even weeks without playing if I'm not in the mood. If you're not inspired to play, don't play. It will come back.
I've been in a very long layoff playing with people, two years at least. The woodshedding has been very productive, but I'm trying to get more active. Going to an open mic jam later today, which I am both looking forward to and dreading at the same time. Sometimes you've just got to put yourself out there.
This worked for me. After 15 years of composing and recording electronic music and collecting synths, I was totally dry. I spent two more years buying new synths, thinking I would find "the one" that would inspire me again. I ended up with a bunch of gear I haven't touched. Eventually I realized I didn't have to make electronic music or even record music at all, and decided to focus on drumming and singing with my cover band. Now I'm learning to play bass and can't put it down, and I'm already thinking about a guitarist friend with similar musical taste to form another band.
Sometimes I have periods when playing bass is like torture to me. Then video games kick in and i focus on them, and then after several days i want to play bass again. I found myself waking up late and picking up the bass sometimes during those periods, but i just cant play during day. I also lost touch for metal music for several days. I was experimenting with other, weird genres and found new and interesting stuff.
