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How to become good... really good...

#21
I have seen teenage girls with shorter arms and much smaller hands then me who have no problem playing bass, so small hands are not a roadblock. Likewise, disregard all that hand strength BS you might hear about. It takes very little pressure to fret notes and pluck strings. Precision and motor skills are more important, and those come from practice.
 
#22
Felken said:
is there some predetermining factor that decides how good I could become?
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The foremost predetermining factor is how much self-motivation you have to reach your goal.

Felken said:
Does that condemn me to be not as good as him no matter how many years I play, and how much I practice?
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No. As long as you don't suffer a debilitating physical condition. Small hands don't count as one of those. Just look how far our President has come.

Felken said:
How many years does it take?
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That depends on what your specific goals are. "Being really good" is not specific enough to estimate how much practice it would take to get there.

Felken said:
iDoes everything depend on how much I play or am I already doomed to be average because of small hands?
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Besides how much inner drive you have, you also ultimately have to learn how to teach yourself, how to analyze what exactly are your weak points, and how to lay out a practice plan to overcome them. Not everyone can innately figure out how to efficiently teach themselves . Taking lessons from a competent teacher or enrolling in a music school can help you figure out that process.
 
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#23
MrLenny1 said:
My teacher had small hands, stubby fingers.
He played and taught DB at Berklee for 30 + years.
I asked him the same thing, what does it take ?
He said 4-6 years, 10 hours a day 7 days a week
being versed in all disciplines.
Good luck.
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I like direct answers but...

10 hours a day?? School takes up 9, sleep takes up 8 hours, homework at least 2. I don't even have 10 left!
 
#25
Felken said:
Learn to be a pro sight reader. Sight read classical. Working on that, but I'm terrible at it.

Start/join a jam/group with higher level musicians. I'm jamming with whoever I can find, there aren't many high-level musicians in my entourage.

Notate difficult bass recordings. Check!

Learn piano/synthesizer bass. Check!

Play melodies on your bass. Check!

Learn music theory. In progress!

Learn to sight sing. In progress

Learn to play bass lines to chords. Check!

Visit the DB side of Talk Bass. Learn jazz/upright bass. Learned the DB, I own one!

Learn piano. I try, but I'm a godawful keyboardist.

Take voice lessons. Sing harmony in an a Capella group. I'll do it when I have the money.

You can easily add 2-4 hours a day to your practice schedule and come up with a 10 year plan. 4 added hours a day over 10 years is over 14,000 hours. I'm a student, I'm doing what I can.

Oh yeah, and also record yourself on a regular basis and save recordings for critical analysis by you and trusted others. See if others agree on how good you really are. Every time I play a gig I record it.
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Keep up the good work, Felk! You're doing fine!
 
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#26
40Hz said:
May I offer something to consider? It's from the Zen story The Taste of Banzo's Sword:
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Classic story... you'll know you're good enough, when you can get the little green guy off your back...

images(13).jpeg
 
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#27
Felken said:
Sounds like something from the Tao Te Ching, I love ancient chinese philosophy.

Well, I have time. I'm just worried something might block my potential.
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Zen rather than Daoist. But similar in spirit. It's from a collection called 101 Zen Stories (Collection of Stone and Sand). They're all rather wonderful bits of instruction. You can find all of them Link Removed.

Quite a remarkable collection of wisdom, some dating back to the 13th century. Well worth a read.
 
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#29
# of years does not necessarily = "great player". Practice as much as you can play with other people...did I say play with other people? If I didn't then play with other people. Have fun, enjoy yourself...the other 99% is out of your control.
 
#31
40Hz said:
Zen rather than Daoist. But similar in spirit. It's from a collection called 101 Zen Stories (Collection of Stone and Sand). They're all rather wonderful bits of instruction. You can find all of them Link Removed.

Quite a remarkable collection of wisdom, some dating back to the 13th century. Well worth a read.
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Don't mean to brag but :rolleyes:... Tao Te Ching dates from the 6th century... BC.:cool:
 
#36
No shortcuts my friend. Takes years. I have found playing with others makes you a better player and gigging will make you practice and rehearse more. Learn every chord and scale and how to play it every single way. Listen to music that is outside of your comfort zone, and learn to play it, starting slow at first and working your way up to tempo. Learn to play by ear. Life will happen. Take breaks when it does, but never stop.
 
#37
Felken said:
Don't mean to brag but :rolleyes:... Tao Te Ching dates from the 6th century... BC.:cool:
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Most Asian philosophical sytems have a greater or lesser degree of Daoism (or Taoism if you prefer) and Buddhism at their roots. But they diverge in places. And Zen cheerfully embodies elements of Daoism and Buddism - and Confucian morality and ethics - without necessarily being purely any of them. Like all cultural and philosophical systems, there's a huge degree of cross pollination at work. So while debating which is older or "more original" might make for a fun party game among graduate students, it kind of misses the point of it all.

Out of curiosity, what is it you don't mean to brag about? You lost me with that one.

On second thought, don't bother answering that. Just concentrate on your music. That's all that's important here.

Luck! :thumbsup:
 
#40
Felken said:
I like direct answers but...

10 hours a day?? School takes up 9, sleep takes up 8 hours, homework at least 2. I don't even have 10 left!
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Sleep? What's that? Homework? Why bother you're a musician. School is 9 hours? Aren't you skipping classes to play bass, or compose, or transpose, or listen to Charlie Parker. How many keys can you play Donna Lee in and solo to (the lead not the bass part)? A couple of my childhood friends are freakishly good at guitar. High school was an afterthought to them and they would play until they bled. 10 hours day/7 days per week isn't really an exaggeration.
 

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