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Help me out before I hit my Guitard.

#41
i was with a guitard like that back then, and i listened and yes... it destroyed my playing.

while i can play the really fast stuff, get me to play along to Katy Perry's California Girls and i'll be stumbling on the tempo.

play something hard, but do not equate difficulty to speed.
 
#43
You want to hit your guitarist because he speaks truth. You're free to do whatever makes you happy, but if you challenge yourself you'll become a better bassist, faster. And I don't believe working at something beyond your abilitites will make you a worse musician. Slowing things down helps to keep stuff in the pocket, and there are countless ways to do that while learning and working on something. Rush might not be your thing, but I think he's right in pushing you to challenge yourself. Take a crazy ass bass part you like, and dig in. It's good to have people like your 'guitard' around. He'll help make you a better musician. Keep him, and start calling him your guitarist. Oh yeah, and you're not mad at him, you're mad at yourself. :)
 
#44
Man, I'm glad my friends aren't poo poo heads,

There is nothing technically easy about playing Shake your tail feather, ala Blues Brothers/Ray Charles style, I learned how to work my pinky finger in my left hand on that progression. It's a workout to say the least...

You being open to playing Blues Brothers tunes is a Solid in my book, the technique you will learn from emulating those bass lines will instill a solid foundation in your technique. And in turn make your bass playing better. There are alot of fundamental bass lines in that music.
 
#46
Dood, I love playing tech stuff, but I always say the best musician in the world is the one that's having the most fun. It could be the guy on stage in front of thousands of people, or the kid in his bedroom jamin out and imagining he is in front of thousands of people. Thats what its all about to me at least. And I'm not saying that because I cant play Dream Theater and stuff like that, I can, but I think it's important to remember why we play. To make us and others happy, and to find a way to express ourselves, in whatever that way may be.
 
#47
There are 3 spheres of music.

The first sphere is the stuff you can play. Like, blindfolded and with one hand tied behind your back.

The second sphere is stuff you struggle to play. You can see how to play it, but sometimes you nail it, most times you don't.

The third sphere is stuff you can't even imagine yourself playing.

You should only perform material in the first and occasionally second spheres. For practice, focus 80% of your time on stuff in the second sphere and 10% each on the other two. The aim is to constantly move songs, techniques, and skills from the second sphere to the first and the third sphere to the second.
 
#48
simple songs are sometimes hard to get tight as a band...

striving to complete a song above your abilities... will make you a better player if you do exercises that will help you nail the song, practice the scale/key/mode/chords/patterns/techniques used in the song ... that stuff will carry over to other things.

But it's that basic knowledge that you can apply elsewhere that will make you a better player... not just learning the song.

Like someone said... understanding what your playing why it's being played and how it's accomplished is what's important
 
#49
I'm with those that say your guitarist is half right. Your abilities WILL improve if you push yourself to learn some challenging songs.

At the same time, it's asinine to say that you "shouldn't" learn a song "because it's easy." Lots of great songs are easy. Audiences love them, and music is, after all, a performing art.

Also, it's one thing to say that you ought to work on something that's going to push your abilities, and another to say you "have" to learn a song that is way beyond what you're ready for right now. You'll just get yourself frustrated and probably mess up your technique more than you improve it. La Villa Strangiato would probably be stupid to take on at the moment. But there's probably something else that would push you but that's doable for where your skills are right now.

The thing to do is to divide your practice time between different goals; some woodshedding and exercises for sheer technique; some songs that your band is actually going to play, or might, and that audiences would be into; and a tune or two that you're doing just for the exercise of mastering them and stretching yourself.
 
#51
Have a T-Shirt made that says GROOVE RULES!
And stretch it over the top half of the bustiest girl
you can find, have her hang on your arm up close
& tight to your body, and then parade back & forth
in front of your jerk friend with a smug "knowing" look
on your face without saying a word.

That should take care of his ass!

Never abandon the groove! :bassist::D:cool:
 

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