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I don't feel like I'm getting any better...

S

SCMan88

May 1, 2011
215
2
#1
Hey.

I play bass for about 2 years,less or more.
I have a teacher whose a great,great person,awesome teacher and I've got no complaints about him at all.
At my school I have music lessons in which I learn the history of music,I learn how to read notes,I learn scales,how to build chords etc. etc.....

Basically,I have a 4 string bass now.
I've always loved the 6 string bass and the fretless basses.
My main inspirations for bass at the moment are Steve Bailey and Jaco Pastorius.
I have some others,but mainly them.

I don't know...I just feel like I'm not getting any better at playing the bass.

Because of the music lessons in my school,I'm also in some sort of a band of the class.
Its fun and all.
What I mostly listen to is solo bass,not so much of bands.
I love Jazz,Fusion...All those Rock,Blues,whatever-I don't like hearing these genres and I don't like playing them.
I've been in quite a few bands,so I know that I just don't like these.

I don't really find people to play with(I live in a small town) and if I do I just hate them for their attitude,and thats a big problem for me..

I wanted to buy a fretless 6 string bass so I can try and learn some Steve Bailey tunes(though it looks so hard with all those artificial harmonics!)...
I know some Jaco tunes,but I don't know.
I've lately found out that having a ramp on my bass is really helping me play faster.
I couldn't play any fast Jaco tunes on my bass,and as I played a bass with a ramp I just nailed those like I've been playing them for years.

And I don't know...I don't know what to do next.
Let me be honest with you...I don't like learning scales,chords,all those stuff.
As much as they are important.

I'm not so able to write my own songs now.
Don't have the experience nor the skills,hehe.


So I'm basically like...What should I do now?
I enjoy playing the bass,I really do.
Even though I currently own a 4 string bass(which is not what I want,but don't have the moneys).

I don't dig in to learning the scales and chords,and I just learn those at school.
Technique-wise,I don't like so much slap.
I used to love it,but that was for a short time.
No Tapping,no 4 finger playing(or even 3)..
Though I do want to learn Steve's 3 finger technique(1232),I don't want to learn all the other techniques.

WHAT SHOULD I DO?
At this rate I think I'm just going to get bored.
And I really love playing the bass,my bass teacher,the music lessons class teachers,people I know and don't know etc.,love how I play and want me to take it seriously,and so do I.

But how?....

Sorry for the ramble hehe...
 
#2
Well, I'll tell you one thing.

After a while on any instrument, you may feel that you're abilities have hit or plateau or are even getting worse.

USUALLY this is simply not the case. Most of the time, your ears and mind are improving to the point where you're more aware of your mistakes and errors. It can be very frustrating and hard to battle. My recommendation is to just stay with it, practice consistently, and try just have fun with it. After all, if you're not having fun, why are you playing anyway? I know this isn't much, but I hope it provided some sort of insight.

Keep it up! :)
 
#3
which jaco tunes do you play? you should put up a youtube video to watch. if you can play some of his stuff, go for the more difficult songs he plays. i cant play crisis(word of mouth) , but i wish i could. if you wish to make famous band , you will find putting together a good band is almost as hard as learning to play.
 
#5
First of all,thanks for the comment.

Look...
When I go to my bass,I just play some tunes I know.
If I see that I start to struggle with something,for whatever reason,I just start to work on it.
I sometimes change the speed of the tune,making it more funky/more slow and sad etc...

But thats it.
I currently don't have school(summer vacation-yey!) for about 2 and a half more weeks or so,and I don't have any lessons with my bass teacher at the moment because he's teaching in conservatory(hope I wrote it ok),and they don't work now.

I feel like I've started to develope my ears(as I also practice it at the music lesson in my school),but its not enough to get by ear tunes that I like.
And finding sheet notes/tabs for the stuff I like to hear is quite impossible.

...
Thanks :).


Edit:
staindbass,I know PoT(of course its in my sort of style,no one can play like Jaco),I've learnt a big part of Continuum,The Chicken,almost everything of Come On Come Over,and lately I started Teen Town-but its too hard hehe.

And I don't have so much money,I will get in a week or so a Squier fretless Jazz bass(VM),but like I said,6 string is what I love.
I don't have so much money,and if I'll buy a cheap 6 string fretless bass I might get a little bit bad feeling because of it,since its not the best quality(probably will get a Brice or whatever).

:(..
 
#6
SCMan88 said:
First of all,thanks for the comment.

Look...
When I go to my bass,I just play some tunes I know.
If I see that I start to struggle with something,for whatever reason,I just start to work on it.
I sometimes change the speed of the tune,making it more funky/more slow and sad etc...

But thats it.
I currently don't have school(summer vacation-yey!) for about 2 and a half more weeks or so,and I don't have any lessons with my bass teacher at the moment because he's teaching in conservatory(hope I wrote it ok),and they don't work now.

I feel like I've started to develope my ears(as I also practice it at the music lesson in my school),but its not enough to get by ear tunes that I like.
And finding sheet notes/tabs for the stuff I like to hear is quite impossible.

...
Thanks :).
Click to expand...

Oh, I didn't mean that you need to use your ears to learn songs. I meant that sometimes as your ears develop, you notice your mistakes more, and you feel like you're not getting better. But you really are getting better. :bassist:

Good luck!
 
#8
Yeah I know.
But I also meant in the way that I can't get tunes by ear so good.
I mean...I saw once a Steve Bailey video in Youtube:
Steve Bailey Song - Giovarron from clinic in Victoria, TX.wmv - YouTube

And I listened to it a few times..
A few days after I was like hmmm...I remembered those 4 notes that someone from the people there made up,and said lets try to get that,and in a min or two I found it on my bass.
lol,but thats the best I made till now,though I've never tried befor.
 
#9
If you are playing you are improving, whether you can tell or not. The problem is that we don't often learn in giant leaps, we learn in small steps so it is hard to see the progress. Keep playing, your muscle memory will improve, your ears will improve, your theory will improve. It's all good! :hyper:
 
#10
:) Thanks.
I know that I'm playing much better than I played a year ago.
But I want to feel better and see more results,and in the last few months I don't feel like it.
Though when I played on a bass with a ramp I felt like I'm in heaven heee.....

And maybe I just want to make a good impression on the people who already love my playing(as simple as it is???),because they want to develope me and help me in my way of becoming a better bass player...

I don't knowwww lol.
 
#11
As far as not feeling like you are getting any better, you just have to keep going. Thats it. Everyone hit a rut every now and then, some harder than others just keep at it.

As far as playing with people. You have limited yourself. I'm not saying you have to play music you hate. But, to become a better player you have to step out of your comfort zone. If you say,"I only like jazz so I'm only gunna play jazz." or "I only want to play like Jaco." You are only gunna play with "jazz players" which in a small town really limits who you can play with. Or you are only gunna play with people who want to play Jaco stuff. Which will make it hard to play anyway because there aren't too many people who want to play in a band that plays solo bass stuff. Not that the bass player doesn't deserve to shine every now and then. You are limiting who you can be as a player. Use your influences but find your own voice as well. One of the best ways to grow as a player is to play with other people even if it means not playing your favorite kind of music. Try listening to other music. It lead instrument doesn't have to be a bass for you to learn from it. You can just as easily take a riff from a horn player or guitarist etc. and use it on bass for something within a song . Good luck.
 
#12
Look..
I've been already in about 4 bands in my town.
I don't there are more people who would need me to play in their band(because of course there are other bass players in my town).

All of them were a big FAIL because we had about 1 rehearsal,then I didn't hear a word from them about the band.
Its mostly guy from my school which I talk to them now and then.
In all of those I had only 1 rehearsel and it just feels like no one is serious.
I can play other stuff,but no one is serious.

And I can't play with people I don't like.
It just drives me crazy.

Give me a band to play in,no matter what genre...I'll play in it.
But in my town there are so many who asked me to join their band,and they are not serious.
 
#15
Some great advice here in these forums.
Like you, I've been in the same situation.

A few things I'd like to add are, one, try playing all kinds of songs from ALL genres, it will expand your playing style, and you'll learn all kinds of new things.

Another, is, funding permitting, pick up a new, different bass. Try something with a different neck profile, a different tone alltogether, or even a 5er or a 6er.

Oh, and HAVE FUN playing!
 
#18
improving... a couple of things you can do!

Progress is not something measured by a few days worth of work. Improving your ears and hands happens slowly and you are not likely to notice that you are getting better on a daily basis.

Record yourself. You will learn soooo much from listening back that you don't/cant hear when actually playing. Listen back 6 months from now, you will hear a difference.

Don't practice what you can already play. Practice what have not mastered.

Practice slowly, the key to playing fast is playing slow, perfectly. "Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect" - Vince Lombardi.

"Practice and learn something slowly and remember it for ever, practice and learn quickly and you will forget quickly" - Itzak Pearlman

I differ with Jeff Berlin with regard to the use of a metronome when practicing, I say "use it!" by having the metronome click on beats 2 and 4 only, will really help you swing and play with a good time feel.

Having a free summer to practice sounds like heaven to me. In the few weeks left, take advantage of every moment! ;)
 
#19
Dbassmon said:
improving... a couple of things you can do!

Progress is not something measured by a few days worth of work. Improving your ears and hands happens slowly and you are not likely to notice that you are getting better on a daily basis.

Record yourself. You will learn soooo much from listening back that you don't/cant hear when actually playing. Listen back 6 months from now, you will hear a difference.

Don't practice what you can already play. Practice what have not mastered.

Practice slowly, the key to playing fast is playing slow, perfectly. "Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect" - Vince Lombardi.

"Practice and learn something slowly and remember it for ever, practice and learn quickly and you will forget quickly" - Itzak Pearlman

I differ with Jeff Berlin with regard to the use of a metronome when practicing, I say "use it!" by having the metronome click on beats 2 and 4 only, will really help you swing and play with a good time feel.

Having a free summer to practice sounds like heaven to me. In the few weeks left, take advantage of every moment! ;)
Click to expand...

I thoroughly enjoy how many times the word practice was brought up in this its inspiring really :cool: but practice is so many times mistaken for rehearsal or jam sessions, those aren't practice :eek: practice is composed of those things you need improvement on and are not so great on starting with fundamentals and moving ur way up :bassist:
good post and good ideas but also if u learn things on a bass with worse action or speed than one u usually "play" on u will learn alot faster and be able to hear alot more mistakes :D
 
#20
Thanks for the many comment guys :).

I mainly love Jazz and Fusion not only because how it all just sounds.
But also because the bass lines are more complicated and are not just root playing-which I hate.

I like playing stuff that are more than just simple root playing.
I hate the metronome(believe me,I tried to love it,or at least not to hate it).
And basically I have a good groove in my self lol.
My teachers said they see it on me when I play,and they love it.

I don't really practice the tunes I already know,I just play them for a while everytime because I love them..But sometimes it gets a little boring so I start to change them abit.

Maybe the new Squier fretless will be nice,but its not 6 string so I still can't learn any Steve Bailey tunes..
 

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