For the last month, I've been obsessed with improving in bass and it was my number one occupation of all my free time. I still want to play and improve still but thinking of picking up my bass guitar gives me a sense of dread. Is this burnout? What steps can I take moving forward from here?
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Getting burnout from bass. What to do?
- Thread starter mysterial
- Start date
Stopping won't do any harm. You'll get back into it faster than it took you to get where you are now. If you feel dread, maybe it's a fear of slipping back if you stop. You won't lose anything you can't get back fast, so long as you don't injure yourself in a way that affects how you play.
A lot of people will recommend taking a break if you start to think you’re feeling burnt out. But not me. I say pick up your bass and practice regularly, regardless of weather you feel like it.
Why? Because when you have a gig , the show must go on. All kinds of crap can and will go sideways , and mess with your state of mind. Overcoming a sub optimal state of mind to execute the material well is a skill you can practice.
Why? Because when you have a gig , the show must go on. All kinds of crap can and will go sideways , and mess with your state of mind. Overcoming a sub optimal state of mind to execute the material well is a skill you can practice.
Walk away.
Forget about it for a while. Sometime from now, the itch will come back and you can resume playing. This will often do far more good than staying in there beating yourself up while painting yourself into a corner.
I did this a few times, and surprisingly played the stuff I'd dead ended effortlessly when I went back.
Forget about it for a while. Sometime from now, the itch will come back and you can resume playing. This will often do far more good than staying in there beating yourself up while painting yourself into a corner.
I did this a few times, and surprisingly played the stuff I'd dead ended effortlessly when I went back.
Yeah, keep playing...but maybe break away from focusing so much on the elementary stuff...like theory, scales, technique. Just relax, noodle, or play some of your favorite songs and have fun. You could cut back a bit...maybe limit yourself to an hour or two...then go out and watch a concert or something.
Whilst it's important to focus on improving technique on the bass, it can get monotonous if that's all you're doing.
Take a break from technique and just play.
Take a break from technique and just play.
Are you sure the dread is directly related to picking up your bass?
Good advice so far. I'd ask what exactly do you do in order to practice? Are you practicing scales? Learning new songs? Writing your own bass lines? There are lots of ways to play and practice and you just may be burned out on one of them. Practice another way.
If you're truly burned out on bass it can be fun to try another instrument for a while. I think it's good for every musician, regardless of their main instrument, to own a cheap keyboard. You can have a lot of fun and learn a lot from playing one even if you barely know what you're doing.
If you're truly burned out on bass it can be fun to try another instrument for a while. I think it's good for every musician, regardless of their main instrument, to own a cheap keyboard. You can have a lot of fun and learn a lot from playing one even if you barely know what you're doing.
when i get like that, i usually switch to a different instrument for a while, or put practice on hold and just riff out at full volume for a while. stepping away has never worked for me.
Take a break from bass to refresh. It won't hurt you. You can always focus on something else to keep your head in music. Maybe study keyboards or guitar or theory or voxs, etc - whatever will help you be a more rounded musician.
Just like an athlete, your skill plateaus. The way to grow further is to take small breaks. If you’re burned out mentally you simply cannot improve no matter how much you work. So step away.
One thing that works for me is play another instrument. For me that’s usually guitar. An added benefit of that is I rethink how I approach bass because of rhythm and space.
Other thing that works for me is listen. Enjoy music. Listen without critically analyzing the bass. Put on headphones and blast something that isn’t your main genre or let a bot pick for you.
Music is fun, sounds like you turned it to a chore. Good luck.
One thing that works for me is play another instrument. For me that’s usually guitar. An added benefit of that is I rethink how I approach bass because of rhythm and space.
Other thing that works for me is listen. Enjoy music. Listen without critically analyzing the bass. Put on headphones and blast something that isn’t your main genre or let a bot pick for you.
Music is fun, sounds like you turned it to a chore. Good luck.
You should talk to your bandmates so they know where your head is at. Maybe they’ll need a back-up for your upcoming gig? Other than that, take some time of, listen to some good grunge and maybe give the old Donner a good cleaning. There’s nothing wrong with doing other things if you don’t feel inspired.
I second picking up another instrument. That’s what I do when I find it difficult to get inspired to practice bass. I find it satisfying to pick up an Acoustic guitar as it was a somewhat natural transition being a stringed instrument. Also it’s nice to play chords and higher voicings, and is good ear training. Piano would be a great choice to.
As others have said, a break is a good and healthy thing.
Personally, I find that what helps me most during a break is to get entirely new music in my head. Pick up some albums you've never listened to before, or tune your daily driving radio stations to something way outside the norm. If you're a jazz guy listen to Taylor Swift and similar pop. If you're into blues go pick up some jazz. It doesn't even have to be music with a bass in it. Spend a week listening to hip hop and you'll come back to your bass with some different rhythms and phrases than you'd ever think of as an instrumentalist.
When you go pick up your bass after a break you will have different music playing in your head, which will likely translate to new ideas and some fresh approaches. You might even hear some new songs that you're actually excited to sit down and learn to play! You don't have to limit yourself to bass parts, either. Transcribe guitar solos, vocal lines, harmonies, horn parts, etc. Those can also get you out of a rut when you're only thinking about bass notes.
Personally, I find that what helps me most during a break is to get entirely new music in my head. Pick up some albums you've never listened to before, or tune your daily driving radio stations to something way outside the norm. If you're a jazz guy listen to Taylor Swift and similar pop. If you're into blues go pick up some jazz. It doesn't even have to be music with a bass in it. Spend a week listening to hip hop and you'll come back to your bass with some different rhythms and phrases than you'd ever think of as an instrumentalist.
When you go pick up your bass after a break you will have different music playing in your head, which will likely translate to new ideas and some fresh approaches. You might even hear some new songs that you're actually excited to sit down and learn to play! You don't have to limit yourself to bass parts, either. Transcribe guitar solos, vocal lines, harmonies, horn parts, etc. Those can also get you out of a rut when you're only thinking about bass notes.
