Has anyone actually gotten "there?"

[TyBo]

I like that Casals quote.

I've been "there" several times, but then it starts to feel like "nowhere", and I start working again. When I first picked up the guitar, I learned to play the Day Tripper riff, and man ... I was there! I'll never forget how good that felt. Then a few years later I learned "The Yellow Princess" by John Fahey, and again I was totally "there". But I realized I needed to learn better how to play non-solo material, play with other people ... oops, lot more work to do. Got decent at that ... then I started playing bass. Still working at that, all these years down the road ... always more work to do.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

"If you're any good at all, you always try to get better." ~Lindsey Buckingham

It's all about the journey for me. There was some impatience in the early years, but I'm pretty happy with the way it's going recently... the pace is comfortable, and the experience is rewarding. After 27 years I've yet to play a perfect show - came darn close on a couple... but I try a little bit harder every time.

 

[fearceol]

once you're there.

This gets to the crux of the thread. If by "there" you mean that you reach a point where you know all there is to know and it is impossible to go any further....then obviously no one ever gets "there". It is merely an aspiration.

 

[brianrost]

I keep getting better but at 60 I don't have much more time to get incredibly virtuosic

Honestly, I never put in the time.

 

[Kmonk]

I can play anything that I have ever tried to learn and have been asked to join every band that I have ever auditioned for, and some that I haven't, so I feel like I am "there". I play in two bands, do a lot of recording projects and learn songs very quickly. I have toured, played in front of as many as 25,000 people and done music for television, movies and commercials for national companies. I am very happy with my ability. I've done more than I ever thought I would but it took a lot of practice and the willingness to take risks.

 

[RED J]

I think I've always been "there" in a sense. I'm me and I play like me and I have always been up to what was needed in the bands I have been in.
I don't aspire to be able to shred or play every different style there is, or be something musically what I'm not.
Practicing, getting better, learning new things, of course. But I am okay with what I bring to the table. Maybe not your table, but...

 

[SunnBass]

If one isn't constantly trying to better themselves, all is lost.
The moment you think you're "there", you've never been further.

 

[dgrizzly]

For my personal outlook, there is no "there" to get to, this implies that through some external means I can elevate myself, etc. The instrument is a tool and is used to bring forth the music, for me this is a mental struggle, learning how to get out of the way and let it happen, mentally becoming a non participant and letting the music come forth. This may sound like new-age mumbo jumbo, but its something most of the Jazz greats have come to realize. Again check out the two books I posted earlier, they will help change your approach and your way of thinking about playing and music in general.

I was basically also saying that there is no "there". In my context, though, this is because when you let yourself think there is a "there", you stop wanting to achieve / learn more once you've gotten "there". And if you're not progressing with your work, what's the point of doing it in the first place?

So, I guess in the OP's words, I am:

eternally doomed to chase the elusive next level.

But for me, that's 90 percent of the fun!

Good looks on the reading material - I'll definitely check it out!

 

[RunBeerRun]

if youre any good, youre sober and poor.

 

[TomB]

When I finish playing a song, any song, with other good musicians, and it went really well, and we were locked together, and there were some really nice moments, and the audience clearly enjoyed it and expresses their appreciation, then I know I am there. ...and I try to achieve that place as often as possible.

 

[Wandering Bastard]

Once I finally managed to play Runaway by Jamiroquai it felt amazing, but now I've just realized how much more there is to do! It's never it seems... Although, as a beginner, I don't have much say in that department.

 

[Slough Feg Bass]

i used to set goals for myself many years ago.
like the first time I learned to play the Lemon Song. check.
learn to play Faries Wear Boots. check.
learn Donna Lee. check.
Cherokee. check.
Satin Doll. check.

stuff like that.

but I still have so many songs I would like to learn, techniques to learn, fingering patterns, etc.

hell, I would love to be able to have the time to practice sight reading every day so I could try and get there.

sometimes I have a hard time making a bass part for my own songs. I often go back and forth between, "that is fine, it should be simple to stay in the groove."
and
"dammit I know I can come up with something super rad if I just keep trying!"

 

[Spaldo]

I got 'there' a few times....there have been times where I have practiced so hard and played so often that you just know you're improving. But the doubt is always there.

I've stolen cellist Pablo Casal's line a few times when I've been asked (berated even) why I'm practicing all the time....'I think I'm making progress'

 

[moody]

I'm not there, I don't think I ever will be, but I work well in a band, can lock in and have a good time and I work on the stuff that I am not doing so well on (at the moment that's a bass solo for when I'm introduced near the end of the show - if I soloed all the time I'm sure i'd be fine, 15 seconds a show I need to practice).

With two young kids and full time work I really can't practice regularly - so in terms of 'levels' I'm not going up any time soon.

 

[joebar]

I have all the theory knowledge I will ever need and how to apply it
I have a great ear, perfect pitch, and can play decently.
due to crippled hands, my technique suffers these days.
I struggle to play at all.
having said all of that, I am never satisfied where I am and am quite self-conscious about my ability although I can get it done.

 

[petrus61]

I think not getting there is the fun. It can be frustrating at times, but it just becomes a mundane 9-5 if there isn't always room to grow beyond what you're already doing. I think the dreaded "burnout" everyone talks about is often the result of a sense of hitting the ceiling of ones craft. If you reach the heights of your achievements in one area, do you move on to something else or file it away?

 

[Ewo]

I figure the "there" is like the horizon line, when you're out on the ocean in a boat... You just keep sailing toward it.

And that's the cool thing about playing music.

 

[troy mcclure]

I am about as far as I thought I would go.... as a teen I had very low expectations... play well enough to make money in a bar band. My kid had limitations and had toured in over 35 states and 9 countries by his 20th birthday.

 

[Mystic Michael]

You know, the place that we're practicing for. I'm divided between believing whether or not there is an actual moment of acceptance of one's self as a musician, or if you are eternally doomed to chase the elusive next level.

I don't accept the implied premise of the question: What's wrong with accepting oneself as a musician...AND being committed to the process of continual improvement - as a musician, and as a human being?

I'm troubled by your pessimistic framing of the issue, i.e. "eternally doomed" (drama much?), "elusive", etc.), and I really don't wish to validate it by engaging with it. I see music as a metaphor for life: If you're not progressing, you are by definition regressing - however imperceptibly.

So get hip to the way the game is played, and decide whether you want to win or lose. Either way, it's going to be a long and bumpy ride. So you might as well decide to enjoy the journey.

MM

 

[Nephilymbass]

You know, the place that we're practicing for. I'm divided between believing whether or not there is an actual moment of acceptance of one's self as a musician, or if you are eternally doomed to chase the elusive next level.

I don't mean to sound negative about it at all, I'm merely just curious to hear about everyone else's journey, and to see if people have actually made it to their destination.

Is say so. im happy with my playing ability. I'm no Victor Wooten or anything but I can play well enough to play the music that I want to hear. I think for me a lot me being satisfied with my playing was just from getting some praise from bass players who I really dig. When id get compliments from fans I never took it that seriously, but a little praise from musicians you have a lot of respect for can go a long way. These days I don't spend much time on technique, when I practice now it's working on song ideas or trying to get different tones with pedals. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it also. These days I'm more concerned with writing music than learning new "tricks"