Having a tough time

[chadhargis]

It could be worse.

Imagine you practiced daily (well, almost), took lessons, worked to learn all you could learn during every bit of free time you have.

Yet had no band. No friends who play any thing. No gigs. Nothing.

There are times I feel like my playing amounts to nothing more than musical masturbation. I enjoy it, it feels great, but what's the point? Where am I going with it?

Every now and then I think about giving up on my dream to play bass in a band. But I really, really, love playing. So I lowered my expectations and decided to let come what may. Until then, I'll keep on enjoying singing in my church choir as being the closest thing to being in a band I've got.

 

[tZer]

...It's funny you say that, my friend moved away and left me his 1960s Hammond ( no Leslie though ) that I've been playing with lately, since I learned theory on my bass I've been teaching myself chords and whatnot. Should have started on keys, makes so much more sense lol.

I 100% agree. Piano can explain music like no other instrument. Intervals are literal - not shapes. The relationship and function of the left hand and the right hand to harmony and melody is so obvious on a keyboard. Getting acquainted with Music via a keyboard changes your perspective any other instrument - for the better.

I've found that people can get tunnel vision when their experience with Music comes via instruments that 'obscure' the obvious. With the exception of a few other non-keyboard instruments like xylophone (obviously) and even trombone where the intervals between notes are so directly tied to the distance you move the slide - very few instrument 'describe' music and harmony as clearly.

Especially with guitar - but similarly on bass - harmony is described by shapes and patterns that somewhat obscure what's actually going on and people's understanding of Music comes in a non-transferable form - it only applies to those types of instruments - not to Music.

I started on piano and subsequently went through violin, trombone and upright long before I ever plugged in. I even took some music theory courses when I was in middle school, so Music (with a capital "M") has always come before the instrument for me and I've found that to be very liberating when it comes to running headlong into my own limitations on any particular instrument.

To your original point - I've found sitting down at the piano and 'pushing chords around' by experimenting with inversions and substitutions can be exhilarating. For a little while, bass almost becomes irrelevant as the nature of Music continues to unfold and expose itself to me. Finding out how little changes in intervals can significantly alter the sound of a song and realizing that the bass part is only one small piece of that puzzle is humbling to me as a bass player but enriching as a musician.

My advice is to fall in love with Music - and pursue it from as many different angles and instruments as you can. I believe that it does translate into noticeable improvement on any instrument you choose to pick up and play in the moment which translates into personal satisfaction.

Avoid the tunnel vision that playing a single instrument can create and play that B3! Crack open a theory text and experiment with chords, voicings, inversions, voice leading and all that jazz. Happiness will ensue, I promise.

 

[Drifta]

It could be worse.

Imagine you practiced daily (well, almost), took lessons, worked to learn all you could learn during every bit of free time you have.

Yet had no band. No friends who play any thing. No gigs. Nothing.

There are times I feel like my playing amounts to nothing more than musical masturbation. I enjoy it, it feels great, but what's the point? Where am I going with it?

Every now and then I think about giving up on my dream to play bass in a band. But I really, really, love playing. So I lowered my expectations and decided to let come what may. Until then, I'll keep on enjoying singing in my church choir as being the closest thing to being in a band I've got.

Well actually thats EXACTLY where I was for 3 years, from when I first got serious to now, where I've finally got the ball rolling where I want it and I cave under the pressure.

 

[diehard70]

When I get in a rut, musically, I find something to play that's out of my comfort zone. Playing to something on the radio helps me, too (if it's a song I'm not familiar with).

 

[chadhargis]

Well actually thats EXACTLY where I was for 3 years, from when I first got serious to now, where I've finally got the ball rolling where I want it and I cave under the pressure.

I think a lot of it has to do with who you play with. If they expect perfection, that's a lot of stress to work under. If they are tolerant of mistakes, and understand we are lifelong learners and have the hearts of teachers, then that would make it enjoyable.

 

[cnltb]

How do you pros stay on the grind? I have great respect for y'all. Were hoping to get a Tuesday house band gig which will add lot more on my table. I'm just so terrible with focus and time management, the love for the instrument is there though..

Got to pay the rent I'd say is part of the answer to the question.

Again, time management will fall in place at some point...perhaps.
And so will proiritizing. This I have found extremely helpful and important.
Having daily "to do lists" might help you stay on focus and a well planned week in general.
I used to do daily's planned out by the 5 minutes.
Making it a routine which after a while may just start feeling natural.
It did work and kept a certain constant flow of energy rather than the much more stressfull(at least for me) "full on and off completely".
A holiday from time to time is also important I think ,to re-evaluate and obviously to relax.

 

[bassfuser]

When I start thinking that I'm not grooving, I try to focus more on the overall sound of the band than just focusing on myself. It's amazing that I'll play better. It's probably that I'm thinking too much about my part and playing it as something separate instead of being part of the whole sound.

It seems to work for me.

 

[averagebluesman]

Hey man I was doing the same thing too when I was playing straight blues for 2 months. I kept picking at myself. Then one day I realized this isn't fun so why am I doing it? Try different forms of music. If that doesn't work then take a break for 3 days.

 

[mambo4]

I realized soon after I started playing gigs that this is a fundamental skill :
how to screw up and keep going

I guarantee that nobody ever has executed a show 100% error free. The best pro players are just so quick and stylish at recovering that nobody notices.

Aim for perfection when you practice.The better you know the material, the faster you can recover from mistakes.

Practice stylistic exercises and scale/chord tone exercises to help you recover mistakes in a stylistically appropriate way.

But when it's time to play give yourself permission to make mistakes -because everybody does it.
If you hit a wrong note you need to let it go and focus on what's next.
The last thing you should do is keep thinking about about the mistake.
And certainly don't make faces , curse and otherwise act like something just went wrong.
Remember: your band mates confirmed that nobody is noticing your mistakes.
Audience ears can be surprisingly forgiving in this respect.

Playing live ain't about perfection: its about keeping the flow going in spite of the inevitable flaws. I suppose life is like that too.

 

[Skitch it!]

I realized soon after I started playing gigs that this is a fundamental skill :
how to screw up and keep going

I guarantee that nobody ever has executed a show 100% error free. The best pro players are just so quick and stylish at recovering that nobody notices.

Aim for perfection when you practice.The better you know the material, the faster you can recover from mistakes.

Practice stylistic exercises and scale/chord tone exercises to help you recover mistakes in a stylistically appropriate way.

But when it's time to play give yourself permission to make mistakes -because everybody does it.
If you hit a wrong note you need to let it go and focus on what's next.
The last thing you should do is keep thinking about about the mistake.
And certainly don't make faces , curse and otherwise act like something just went wrong.
Remember: your band mates confirmed that nobody is noticing your mistakes.
Audience ears can be surprisingly forgiving in this respect.

Playing live ain't about perfection: its about keeping the flow going in spite of the inevitable flaws. I suppose life is like that too.

+1 With this,

Everyone has they're 'on' and 'off' days musically imo, sometimes it can depend on other things you've got going on in life, take them in your stride.

 

[john_g]

I realized soon after I started playing gigs that this is a fundamental skill :
how to screw up and keep going

I guarantee that nobody ever has executed a show 100% error free. The best pro players are just so quick and stylish at recovering that nobody notices.

Aim for perfection when you practice.The better you know the material, the faster you can recover from mistakes.

Practice stylistic exercises and scale/chord tone exercises to help you recover mistakes in a stylistically appropriate way.

But when it's time to play give yourself permission to make mistakes -because everybody does it.
If you hit a wrong note you need to let it go and focus on what's next.
The last thing you should do is keep thinking about about the mistake.
And certainly don't make faces , curse and otherwise act like something just went wrong.
Remember: your band mates confirmed that nobody is noticing your mistakes.
Audience ears can be surprisingly forgiving in this respect.

Playing live ain't about perfection: its about keeping the flow going in spite of the inevitable flaws. I suppose life is like that too.

+1.

I took lessons for the first 3 years I played, 25 years ago. And one of the first things I remember my (excellent) teacher telling me is, "If you make a mistake, do not stop. Quickly find your way out and get back on track." I took it as the gospel at the time. These days I can say that I dont get every song perfect at every gig, but I can quickly get it back together and make it look like I just pulled off the greatest bass solo lol

 

[odin70]

Are you depressed? If so..maybe you should talk to someone.

 

[Drifta]

Are you depressed? If so..maybe you should talk to someone.

Probably, but who knows, might be manic tomorrow.

But anyways - yeah just got burnt out. The fact that lately I've been stepping out of my comfort zone as far as playing styles and lessons just getting a bit frustrated juggling so much info at once ( I'm a college student as well ) .

Day after I posted this thread I went into my bass lesson and told my teacher same stuff. He actually told me he was in bit of a funk too - happens to everyone. His advice echoed much that was expressed this thread. We got into some new cadences and theory to freshen up a bit. Had a great band rehearsal the other night working on new materiel aswell.

I just feel like I could always be playing something better, there's a better choice of notes available, if people like it I shouldjust be confident in that. One day I'll get the sound from my brain to the fretboard though..

 

[Big Brother]

It's not depression or anything like that, trying to look too deep into the reasons is exactly the wrong way to get out of a rut.

This isn't unique to music or anything else, this means you are simply stale and mentally tired, you've reached a plateau for this stage of your abilities and sometimes it takes a break or trying something completely different to break out of it.

I've run into these plateau's in sports too where I felt like I was swimming upstream and getting nowhere. It's actually a good thing because you are probably about to take a big step up - once you break out of this funk. Generally, when I faced these things I'd get more and more frustrated until I essentially quit trying mentally and stopped caring so much about it, then with the self-administered negative pressure holding me back removed, I'd instantly jump up to the next plateau of ability and stay there.

Rinse and repeat.

Just relax, once you shift your focus elsewhere and away from the self-pressure you are adding - your mind will come back fresh and good things will come.

 

[Soul Power]

Your playing is not representative of your self worth. You are basically convinced that if you don't sound good, you're no good. Just have fun with it.

 

[blakelock]

Playing live [is] about keeping the flow going in spite of the inevitable flaws. I suppose life is like that too.

sig'able

 

[HeadyVan Halen]

Beer.

 

[kr0n]

It could be worse.

Imagine you practiced daily (well, almost), took lessons, worked to learn all you could learn during every bit of free time you have.

Yet had no band. No friends who play any thing. No gigs. Nothing.

There are times I feel like my playing amounts to nothing more than musical masturbation. I enjoy it, it feels great, but what's the point? Where am I going with it?

Every now and then I think about giving up on my dream to play bass in a band. But I really, really, love playing. So I lowered my expectations and decided to let come what may. Until then, I'll keep on enjoying singing in my church choir as being the closest thing to being in a band I've got.

I started playing around the age of 18. Early days were difficult and boring as a I just couldn't put in the effort. After two years I decided to take it on seriously and for 6 months I kept woodshedding my ass off nearing CTS to my fretting hand. After that I constantly practiced, every day, ear training, theory, reading and jamming to drum tracks and mastering my technique. Now at the age of 25 I finally got a space for rehearsing and a few friends with drums to get me goin'. Now we're creating an originals only band and I'm developing faster than ever. I've never had a teacher. Wish I did have one nearby :/

Just hang in there, if I can wank home alone with bass, surely you can do it as well.

 

[Stumbo]

Probably, but who knows, might be manic tomorrow.

But anyways - yeah just got burnt out. The fact that lately I've been stepping out of my comfort zone as far as playing styles and lessons just getting a bit frustrated juggling so much info at once ( I'm a college student as well ) .

Day after I posted this thread I went into my bass lesson and told my teacher same stuff. He actually told me he was in bit of a funk too - happens to everyone. His advice echoed much that was expressed this thread. We got into some new cadences and theory to freshen up a bit. Had a great band rehearsal the other night working on new materiel aswell.

I just feel like I could always be playing something better, there's a better choice of notes available, if people like it I shouldjust be confident in that. One day I'll get the sound from my brain to the fretboard though..

Based on my experiences during the last 12 months, I suggest you look into taking some daily vitamins/supplements, especially D3(2k iu) and a super B complex.

If those are low, especially D3 during the winter, you can have exactly the feelings/thoughts you are having.

My memory has improved and my energy levels have increased quite a bit.

Make sure your food/sleep is good and you're drinking water. Dehydration can do that to you as well. Drop all the fast food and liquor for at least 3 months.

If you can see a doc, I suggest you get some lab work (include vitamin levels) along with a physical exam.