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How do you know if you are good?
- Thread starter tomber
- Start date
"Good" is a slippery term, but when you listen to a recording of you playing and you don't recognize yourself, you know you are making progress.
LOL!! Whatever! What's it hurting? Besides, YouTube is a big place...there'll still be room for YOUR music video on there too.
Rockingbird said:
Right!
You'll know you're good if, while you're wanking away at a guitar store, all the other wankers stop wanking, set down their instruments, & quietly slink out the door in shame!
People are always telling me that I'm a good player, and it doesn't hurt the old ego at all to be told this. But there's always a little voice inside my head telling me I'm not as good as people say I am, and that's the voice I listen to. I hope you have the same little voice inside your head, and if you're smart you'll listen to it. That's how you'll get better (notice I didn't say "good"). 
You're good when:
You think you are.
You get the gig.
A good drummer tells you you're good.
You think you are.
You get the gig.
A good drummer tells you you're good.
I disagree with people that say 'if you think you're good, you're not' and stuff like being an egotist if you think you're good.
There sure is a difference between 'hmm, not bad' and 'damn, I'm so awesome!', and always making yourself think you're NOT good (maybe bad and inadequate even) can kill your motivation real fast.
There's nothing wrong with taking pride in your skills... just don't overdo it and always strive for progress. Those aren't mutually exclusive in my book, though.
Sorry, that won't help you OP, but yeah. I agree your friend is a prick.
There sure is a difference between 'hmm, not bad' and 'damn, I'm so awesome!', and always making yourself think you're NOT good (maybe bad and inadequate even) can kill your motivation real fast.
There's nothing wrong with taking pride in your skills... just don't overdo it and always strive for progress. Those aren't mutually exclusive in my book, though.
Sorry, that won't help you OP, but yeah. I agree your friend is a prick.
There's a pass fail line.
Getting the gig is a vote..
I've been blessed with folks who have walked up and given me a tip... I think this means they were drunk, not that I'm a master.
Tim
Getting the gig is a vote..
I've been blessed with folks who have walked up and given me a tip... I think this means they were drunk, not that I'm a master.
Tim
When other bass players ask you about the lines you wrote for your bands song.
I've been ask few times to help someone write a line for their bands song, or I get" Hey how would you play this song.
Really the only way to know if your good is to define whats good.
If you think there is nothing else to learn, then you suck.
I've been ask few times to help someone write a line for their bands song, or I get" Hey how would you play this song.
Really the only way to know if your good is to define whats good.
If you think there is nothing else to learn, then you suck.
HI there
Im not sure of your age or what not.. But if anyone dared to talk to me that way after ive spent my heart and soul in bass, well lets put it like this, they wouldnt say it to me and you need to be like this to. I started bass in orchestra in 1985..back then in my view there were much bass players who were great..the music at the time demanded it..i mean you would turn on the radio and it was filled with pino palladino... mark king...this is back when this music was new and i would sit there and think my god i wont ever be this good.
But if you love bass, find your self with lines stuck into your head to the point that if you dont play it your going to go postal...you will get better. I suggest you investing int0o some recording equipment...tascam makes a nice little mp3 player you can take anywhere with you and it slows down the parts for you so you can hear them play them back and work on your speed. And then there is the boss GT bass units that will loop your playing...I WOULD love one of those but i dont have one..
in this day and time there are all sorts of ways to improve yourself with technology availible...not all people can either find or afford a good teacher. It sounds to me this is a time to pull away and work on yourself...i myself was up to playing 20 hours a week last year and i was very good for a while..but bass playing to me is almost sport like..think about this...
your hands are full of tendons and nerves and muscles...if a person sat down and never stood up..they would not walk well..if you had a guy who walks 5 miles a night its nothing...same with your hands and arms...depending on your age..if your young or still growing...just take into mind that it just takes time...I HATED when people told me this when i was a kid but i hate to say it they were right...screw that guy who said this to you...work on your playing and technques..invest in some way to actually hear your self..and then come back in a few months and destroy them all...that would be my game plan! good luck my freind..
Damian from lakewood ohio.
Im not sure of your age or what not.. But if anyone dared to talk to me that way after ive spent my heart and soul in bass, well lets put it like this, they wouldnt say it to me and you need to be like this to. I started bass in orchestra in 1985..back then in my view there were much bass players who were great..the music at the time demanded it..i mean you would turn on the radio and it was filled with pino palladino... mark king...this is back when this music was new and i would sit there and think my god i wont ever be this good.
But if you love bass, find your self with lines stuck into your head to the point that if you dont play it your going to go postal...you will get better. I suggest you investing int0o some recording equipment...tascam makes a nice little mp3 player you can take anywhere with you and it slows down the parts for you so you can hear them play them back and work on your speed. And then there is the boss GT bass units that will loop your playing...I WOULD love one of those but i dont have one..
in this day and time there are all sorts of ways to improve yourself with technology availible...not all people can either find or afford a good teacher. It sounds to me this is a time to pull away and work on yourself...i myself was up to playing 20 hours a week last year and i was very good for a while..but bass playing to me is almost sport like..think about this...
your hands are full of tendons and nerves and muscles...if a person sat down and never stood up..they would not walk well..if you had a guy who walks 5 miles a night its nothing...same with your hands and arms...depending on your age..if your young or still growing...just take into mind that it just takes time...I HATED when people told me this when i was a kid but i hate to say it they were right...screw that guy who said this to you...work on your playing and technques..invest in some way to actually hear your self..and then come back in a few months and destroy them all...that would be my game plan! good luck my freind..
Damian from lakewood ohio.
It's pretty simple to tell if you're good or not. You're good when you can create/learn, functional bass lines that are in time and hold the material together. The timing is the most crucial aspect IMO. I don't care if you can play every technique under the sun and have the capabilities of Jaco, if you can't keep time, you suck as a bassist.
i think im decent.
i have had bands see me as unconfident or uncomfortable.
if you are confident and comfortable playing bass you will appear "good".
when you are unsure about somethng is when you are more likely to mess up and blow an opportunity.
i have had bands see me as unconfident or uncomfortable.
if you are confident and comfortable playing bass you will appear "good".
when you are unsure about somethng is when you are more likely to mess up and blow an opportunity.
I remember reading a quote from a respected bassist (I don't remember who, though), something to the effect that bass is an instrument that cannot be played timidly. I take that to heart. If I make a mistake, it's a big one.
Playing hip, virtuosistic is great but doesnt means good playing or good musicianship.
What makes a huge difference is when you are able to simple things good.
The good music is who makes the music sound good.
Tape yourself!
What makes a huge difference is when you are able to simple things good.
The good music is who makes the music sound good.
Tape yourself!
