I cannot think musically, advice needed.

[Fergie Fulton]

Guys, I'm in a rut.

Tonight I set out to practice and within twenty minutes I had to quit out of frustration. It's not out of anything being too difficult per se it's just nothing is tying together and it's beginning to bother me a great deal.

I think it's tied in with how I approached music, in that I learned everything through tab. I can't sight read, I can't transcribe a song, I can't improvise (I can make riffs but if I want to through a fill in it's going to fall apart), and I don't know the fretboard completely, etc.

I practice scales and arpeggios but it feels like just a memory process that I quickly forget after a night's sleep. I can run through the C Major scale on my bass but I feel like it's not doing anything for be besides reinforcing that there's no sharps/flats in the key of C major. I've studied a great majority of the studybass.com website and yet I still feel like I'm not getting anywhere.

I'm just lost and frustrated. Can someone please give me a practice guideline that will start me on the path of being a musician? I'll follow what I'm told, it's just I'm very lost and cannot figure out how to advance musically at this point. I think I just need a solid practice routine.

Can't, can't, can't, there seems a lot of can'ts in your practice.
Understand you practice new ideas, what you are doing is going over wnat you know.....and you get bored because you know it.

What you need is to get out and play and play a lot. Also do less practice and get more playing and listening in. You need to engage your imagination....

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[repoman]

Maybe you just don't have it.
Not everybody can sing or dance or do algebra or swing a golf club or play a musical instrument.
Personally, I suck big time at algebra.
Everything else that I mentioned I only suck at a little.

 

[randyripoff]

Try some new genres. Learn some country. Learn some polka. Challenge yourself and play some jazz. Really challenge yourself and join a jazz ensemble--they're always looking for bass players. Even if you aren't a jazz fan, you'll learn a ton about technique, sight reading, notation, etc.

 

[imustscream]

Sounds to me like your thought process is holding you back, op. Improvising parts isn't something you learn from a book or vid. Its about hearing what the songs needs in your head and getting it to come out through your hands. The only way to get better at that is to play with other musicians and jam. Make up your own parts over radio songs, jam with someone at a music store or open mic. Just noodle around and try not to focus on running scales because that can make your parts sounds very sterile. Think about unique rhythms you can put into the mix that don't follow the guitar.

 

[bassinplace]

Maybe you just don't have it.
Not everybody can sing or dance or do algebra or swing a golf club or play a musical instrument.
Personally, I suck big time at algebra.
Everything else that I mentioned I only suck at a little.

Well, that's not encouraging at all. Everyone can play. We all progress at different rates, some slower, some faster, which is irrelevant. It's not a race. It's a journey with no end.

 

[kraigo]

My favorite is still the radio. All sorts of music you might not otherwise play. You have no idea what's coming up. You have the duration of the song to learn it, then it's gone. Play through the commercials as well. Scan for the next station when the music stops.

It's great ear training. If you want to specialize a bit more, put your MP3 player on shuffle. A song with no bass part? Make one up!

Good luck.

KO

 

[Shlogo]

The way I learned/learning my finger board is to watch some bass covers on the Tubes and learn a song that way.
I've found that the frets they are using dont always sound right on my bass, so I have to experiment and find the ones that do sound right.

Yeah, its takes longer at first, but the song sticks better, and you get to know your instrument better.

I find this is the step in between tabs and learning by ear.
Helps me a lot.

 

[repoman]

Well, that's not encouraging at all. Everyone can play. We all progress at different rates, some slower, some faster, which is irrelevant. It's not a race. It's a journey with no end.

...I thought I was going to be the next John Coltrane, until I realized- after 6 or 7 years- that I could not play a sax worth ****... just talking from experience (at sucking at things)
Wasn't trying to be a discouraging, just making a point. I've played trumpet pretty good, sax not so good...this here bass, well, we'll see....
But, hey, I still have that silly tenor laying around here somewhere, collecting dust.

 

[Art Araya]

Maybe you just don't have it.
Not everybody can sing or dance or do algebra or swing a golf club or play a musical instrument.
Personally, I suck big time at algebra.
Everything else that I mentioned I only suck at a little.

I disagree with this statement. I'm both a musician and mathematician. In my time in music school I encountered MANY musicians who thought that they just sucked at algebra and could never get it. After we spend some one on one time together, they all progressed and got the basics of it.

My wife, who is an artist, also says she sucks at algebra and I've been able to help her too. True, she may never take to it like I do but she can function in it without freaking out. I'm sure I could have helped you also.

the other things you mention can also be learned with practice.

Physical limitations are the only inhibiting factors - ie can't sing because tone deaf, can't swing a golf club because of health issue with arms or back, etc...

 

[ACalbass]

What I think you need is to go in another direction.
You seriously need EAR TRAINING !!!
Some people are born with it,some don't,and need a push in the right direction.
The idea of transcribing a song and not being able to hit the right notes ,while is frustrating at the beginning,IS THE RIGHT PATH YOU MUST FOLLOW.
You must keep on training your ear to understand the intervals ,since is obvious you can't at this very moment.

I would say you should start trying to "sing" with the bass,meaning you take a very well known to you melody,and try to play it.Never mind is in the right key or not,you should get to a point where you can sing with your bass any melody,might take you a few tries to get it right,but should eventually be close to the original.
By doing this for some weeks,your ear will get into the intervals environment and will be able to differentiate between major and minor melodies,to start with,then you should be able to understand what the bass lines are in the recordings.
This,also will make you understand what is being played in a song,should lead you to "see" what notes and licks and expressions can fit into the same song that are not bass related,but are "musically" related.

Seriously,it looks like you been playing for a while,and should be able to pick up what's being played,regardless you being able to play it or not.
Train your ear,this will lead you to enjoy your playing.(and other's playing)

 

[repoman]

I disagree with this statement. I'm both a musician and mathematician. In my time in music school I encountered MANY musicians who thought that they just sucked at algebra and could never get it. After we spend some one on one time together, they all progressed and got the basics of it.

My wife, who is an artist, also says she sucks at algebra and I've been able to help her too. True, she may never take to it like I do but she can function in it without freaking out. I'm sure I could have helped you also.

the other things you mention can also be learned with practice.

Physical limitations are the only inhibiting factors - ie can't sing because tone deaf, can't swing a golf club because of health issue with arms or back, etc...

see, that is where we disagree... I believe that some things are just beyond our scoop of capabilities. It has nothing to do with physical limitations- tone deaf, for example- I believe that some people can't "do" something because of the 6 inches between their ears and not their ears themselves.
I guess I should have recommended a psychologist instead of saying "maybe you just don't have it".
I truly believe that our mental state dictates are lives far beyond any physical "lessons" you may give it., to the point that "I just don't have it" is reality.

 

[repoman]

I should have added....

 

[wideload]

Maybe try looking at things backward. I've often played something, or learned something in a song, then gone back to ask "Why did that work like that?". It has opened up some doors I didn't even realize existed.

 

[pnut166]

I took the opposite approach. I started playing before the internet age. Music books and teachers were expensive. I didn`t know anybody that played. So I just went at it the hard way - taking "the 3 minute challenge". When I hit on a song that I lucked in to the root notes, I would listen & play over and over and over, fleshing it out with a note or two each time. Over time, as my ear developed, I got quicker & better at this process. To this day, I still don`t know scales, the fretboard, etc. But my ear`s good enough that I can play most stuff I attempt decently in a few runs through.