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I Stink, I Just Do

#41
I think you may have supplied your own answer, You need to play in a band on a regular bases (no pun intended).

I am a noob, only been playing for 2 years now, I am an older guy, not much talent, but I play in the church band 3 days a week playing newer church music.

The bassest is there to drive the band, get the groove going and keep it going Right? thats the main purpose of the bass playing, tie all the members together and drive them, I can do that and it makes me ok with my abilities. I cant slap, I can hardly do scales, but I can drive a band with my bass.

Its nice to have talent and do all that stuff, but I am not there yet, dont know if I will EVER be there, but as long as I can drive a band even if its just using roots with my bass I am ok with that.

Sounds like you need a group to play in, make yourself useful
and remember what the job is on the bass. Nothing wrong with being a bassasss on the base, but remember its primary job, KEEP THE GROOVE. :bassist:
 
#42
Maybe try picking up another instrument. I had a rut awhile back where my technique stopped getting any better. I have good time and manage alright but I'm definitely not going to be putting up an youtube videos.

I started playing drums about six months ago. I started out with a practice pad and some sticks, just getting the feel for it, and then splurged and bought an electronic drumkit. In that time I'm doing pretty damn good; I could hold my own in a band for certain (as long as it wasn't like a Rush tribute act). Being a bass player certainly helped because I already understand half of the rhythmic relationship. In fact, I recommend it for any bassist that never tried it. I play with earbuds in to a click track or, even more fun, jam with my favorite bands.

And when I pick up a bass I feel less conscious about how good I am and remember I'm a musician first and a bassist second. And your perspective changes as well. Maybe it's worth a shot.
 
#44
jsingles said:
i feel you man, take a breather for a few days, and I think you will pick a bass up again alot sooner than you think.
Click to expand...

+1

I'm on a breather at the moment.

Sort of enforced as I've just sold my amp (need something BIGGER!) , and I'm waiting for the right replacement to come along at the right price.

So I'm making the most of the opportunity to take a step back.

Can't wait to start playing again! :)
 
#45
I know how you feel, I tried to learn to play bass 20 yeas ago and quited, I started again 3 months ago, I have many problems triying to understand how to applies scales, I have learned some songs but because guitar pro or tabs, to me thats is kind of cheating, but I will try this time really hard, I love music, I love bass , I really want my kids growing lup looking at their daddy spending time triying to get something he loves, instead of watching me sitting in front of the tv drinking beer, maybe I will never going to be a good player but I will try to the end, and if I can see my kids or my grandkids playing any instrument in the future then all this work will be paid. Not everybody can be the next Jaco, but everybody can have fun as a wanabe
 
#47
Illbay said:
Sorry to blast this out onto the 'net like this with no provocation, but I'm so frustrated it's just brimming over...

I have been playing off and on for 35 years, and I just stink...

I give up, I really do.
Click to expand...


It took you 35 years to figure that out!!! :D

I played guitar for about 20 years. Picking it up and putting it down for years at a time (basically up without steady girlfriend down with one). I could play some decent stuff (Classical Gas to Rambling Man) but it never became a spontaneous language for me. It was all rote learning, even in songs I’d write. Lessons, theory, played some drums, and piano along the way, written lots of songs.

Switching over to bass a few years back, it’s still the same kind of thing. I can make up tastie bass lines but it’s not a spontaneous thing - improvisational jazz I don‘t think so. Intelligence, athletics, whatever - they are just different levels and some guys could practice every waking hour for years and not have the talent someone else may have after playing a couple years an hour a day. Some got it some ain’t.

But music is not about the musicians, it’s about the music. On bass, if you can play a quarter note in time, there are lots of great tunes out there you can play and enjoy the music that‘s gong on around you AND the part you play in it. It was interesting to watch McCartney the other night. On a few tunes he didn’t move his hand and seldom a finger.

Something I’ve done during times I can’t play with others is record portions of songs I’ve liked for years, attempting to capture all the major changes so the repetitive aspect is deleted out. That makes the tune real short but representative of the whole. I’ve accumulated like 60 songs from different genres that can be played in a couple hours that I’ve been playing for years now - and I never get tired of playing them. I add some periodically.

I’ve thrown some tunes in beyond my skill level at the time but over time I got them down. I Just stuck to the time of the tune and didn't get hung up on it. Sometimes there were short dead spots between recordings and I'd use those times to work on such riffs extra.

If you’ve been playing for 35 years, maybe it’s time to start playing where you’re at rather than playing to get somewhere. If you're not there by now, it probably ain't going to happen. Believe me it’s a lot more fun and basically no frustration to play where you are.
 
#48
I played Bass in the mid to late 70's in a Disco band. I hated it and switched to playing guitar for the next 20+ years. I never told anyon eI played the bass, I never ever again wanted to pick up a bass, I was bad, real bad. Tehn I did and it was ok. The more I played the better I liked it. That was 3 years ago and I am in love with playing the bass and my guitars sit in the corner collecting dust.
Ask yourself why are you playing? What is it that you like about playing bass. I will never be a great bass player, nor a really good bass player, but I can keep the beat, get most of the notes right and I have fun. There is better bass players in my chuirch where I play and at first I was intimadated as ever with them watching me and listining to me. But I like playing and I am the main bass playing, every week they ask me to play. Ask yourself why you play and enjoy it, have fun with it. Play less note is sometimes better than trying to pull of a fancy riff. Our sound man told me this when I first started back up. Keep it simple and clean, nothing fancy, clean and simple. After threes years, I can do some fancy riffs and stuff but on a new song, I keep it clean and simple.
 
#49
This is exactly the thread I needed to find.... I've been in a massive rut the past 2 years after getting kicked out of the band that I loved. I've been trying since then to not give it up but I lost all drive and confidence in my playing. I just didn't love it how I used to. I FINALLY paid off my bass amp and then decided.. man maybe bass just isn't my thing, and thought I should sell it all to pay for a guitar rig and try that out. Thankfully I decided not to, cus that would be dumb. But the worst part is.. I've been watching my boyfriends band write the most incredible music and it makes me so sad that I'm no longer a musician, and part of anything but just an outsider.

But I'm changing that. I'm gonna start practicing everyday, even for just 20 minutes. I will get better... DOWN WITH SUCKING!! I know how you feel dude.
 
#51
Hi,
I been there, though fortunately not having to endure as long. So, if you think you suck that bad, what has kept you returning to that well of misery again and again for so many years? There must be SOMETHING about your playing that you do like - that has musical merit. Keep your eye (ear?) on that. The most important move I made that helped me live with myself as a bassist and then move forward into confidence/competence was finding people to play with. I mean, after all, what good is playing the bass at all if not in an ensemble? Man, did that help. It both improved my playing, and made my limitations less conspicuous. You'll learn that most of the mistakes you make really don't matter to anyone else, nearly as much as they do to you.
To me, the bass's most important function is to support the song; the bass is the floor that the music dances on... or the platter that the song is served on...
Most of the time, all that fancy stuff detracts from, rather than contributes to the presentation. Surprisingly often, roots, fifths, walks, arpeggios and conservatively delivered quarter note walking lines are the perfect, beautiful and musically justified contributions of the bass.
I think Duke Ellington said that it's the wise musician who plays what he can. It can be intimidating to jam with others. But it's well rewarding.
Making music with other people is an amazing high.
Find the fun again.
Bill
 
#52
Noteworthy and extending on my previous post regarding playing where you are. Some info I got off a Billie Sheehan player video.

He said he basically didn’t practice and learned to play on stage. His style evolved from his mindset and talent. He commented on having exposure to the concept of modes but he could never get it. Then one day on stage while playing the mode concept spontaneously hit him and he was off and running with it in his play.

The point being if you play where you are you will naturally evolve to your capacity of play whatever that may be.

That’s not to say that lessons, video’s, theory, various techniques, etc. are not worthy of exploration. They’re all pieces of the puzzle. If nothing else they expand your knowledge bass, increase your awareness, and your capacity to communicate with other musicians.

For example, I found playing other instruments positively impacted may bass playing, increased my appreciation for the other musicians, and provided a better understanding of the role the instruments play in the music. It helps me understand what a given song needs bass wise.

Some of the greatest musicians didn’t know any of this stuff. As Django Reinhardt supposedly said, “What key? Just start playing.

In the end, as a musician I'd rather be mediocre and enjoy myself than gifted and miserable.
 
#54
I know how you feel. I play bass now for at least 15years and I really, really do suck...I Guess I'm just still in the band I'm playing with because we all have become very close friends... [:D]
Anyways: There is just one thing that does really matter: I just LOVE making music, playing bass, interact with other musicians (who are by far better than me...). That's it! So, instead of being angry of how bad I'm on bass, I just enjoy what I'm doing, even though I still hope I might improve my bassplaying abilities...And so should you!
So, long story short: Don't ever think of quitting bassplaying- you would regret it!
And please excuse my poor English!
 
#55
RS said:
I know the feeling as well. Maybe put the bass down for a few weeks or months. If you have no real desire to pick it up again, then you'll know what playing bass really means (or doesn't) to you.
Click to expand...

:eek:
I would never be able to go any more than a day or two without playing either bass or guitar. Illbay, take a break. I don't think you will be able to go very long without playing the bass. Keep in mind that you play to have fun. If you keep beating yourself up, you'll never have fun playing. If you don't have fun playing you will not play to the best of your ability. From time to time, I am guilty of thinking that I suck. Yet, people keep telling me how great I am. It is just in your head. If you are not having fun, get a fresh start in the morning.

Get lessons and start performing. It will keep your playing sharp.
Most of all HAVE FUN!!!!;)
 
#57
Illbay said:
Sorry to blast this out onto the 'net like this with no provocation, but I'm so frustrated it's just brimming over.

I have been playing off and on for 35 years, and I just stink. It's not that I'm not "musical," or have no ear, or whatever. I just seem to have a physical limitation. I'm not fast, or smooth, whatever. I make mistake after mistake.

Learning to slap? I forever SOUND like a guy learning to slap.

Playing fast riffs? "Sweeping"? My MOTHER sweeps better than me.

At this point I just feel like flinging every single axe out onto the street and letting the garbage pickup collect 'em tomorrow morning (can you imagine driving by and seeing an Alembic neck sticking out of the garbage can?)

Part of the problem is finding anyone who wants to play, and has the same level of interest I do. If I were a bad golfer, at least I'd find SOMEONE to play golf with (in fact, I'd probably be popular).

But who the **** wants to fool with an over-the-hill spastic bass-player?

I give up, I really do.
Click to expand...

Send your gearlist and your address and help will arrive..

:D

No but dude, do you want to play the bass? If not, just don't, but if you want to, don't compare yourself to peeps who might have spent loads more time than you could ever imagine practicing, giging etc.

If you really just feel stuck, get a book, or a teacher, or both, and take it from there. Or maybe start a band for a hobby, just get some dudes together and form a hobby-band with no intentions to get "big" etc. ie. for the hell of it.

Giving up is the last resort, unless you really have decided that you are bored of it and want to start collecting stamps or something.

No one in the audience ever remembers the bass player anyway....

hehe

D.Don
 
#58
Try learning a difficult song. I suggest something like Trippin on a Hole in a paper heart or High Ground.

These songs are quick, and fast paced, but not entirely out of reach.

You see, at least with me, I find that learning songs is a way of measuring success. About every six months, I try an older song I learned, and find out I play it much better. I find out that "Hey, I couldn't do that before".

Thats why I love playing. It is one of the few things that Every few months I try something and realize that I can do it.

Also, A lot of people think that speed is playing good. I disagree. There is a certain skill of picking just the right notes with just the right rhythms making everything sound OK- even making sure you play on time.

Something else that helps-- try turning your amp up. I find that if it is too low, I find myself digging in to hear myself play, which makes me play worse. By turning it up, it requires less effort to make the same volume sound.
 
#59
I haven't been "shadowing" my own thread, but I have read most of the comments, and appreciate their upbeat nature.

Many of the things that have been suggested I am already doing, such as "taking lessons" (not in bass-playing, but in Jazz music theory, as it happens). I have set up a nice little "woodsheddin'" area at the house, to make it convenient to practice. I wish I had more time to do so on a consistent basis, but it is difficult to find that time (esp. now that Little League baseball season is here, and I've got two grandsons right in the thick of it).

My "band" is now officially on hiatus, so I guess I can use that time to sharpen up.

I do wonder how "typical" my attitude is, though. Honestly, some days it's all I can do even to LISTEN to music, because it seems to taunt me: "ha, this band you're listening to is playing these notes, and YOU'RE NOT!!!"

Some days are diamonds, and some days are stones. I'm not gonna give up, but I've got to get a better, more consistent practice routine. As well as concrete GOALS.

What would be some reasonable goals, think you?
 
#60
Illbay said:
I haven't been "shadowing" my own thread, but I have read most of the comments, and appreciate their upbeat nature.

Many of the things that have been suggested I am already doing, such as "taking lessons" (not in bass-playing, but in Jazz music theory, as it happens). I have set up a nice little "woodsheddin'" area at the house, to make it convenient to practice. I wish I had more time to do so on a consistent basis, but it is difficult to find that time (esp. now that Little League baseball season is here, and I've got two grandsons right in the thick of it).

My "band" is now officially on hiatus, so I guess I can use that time to sharpen up.

I do wonder how "typical" my attitude is, though. Honestly, some days it's all I can do even to LISTEN to music, because it seems to taunt me: "ha, this band you're listening to is playing these notes, and YOU'RE NOT!!!"

Some days are diamonds, and some days are stones. I'm not gonna give up, but I've got to get a better, more consistent practice routine. As well as concrete GOALS.

What would be some reasonable goals, think you?
Click to expand...

Decide that you are going to practice 15-20 mins every day, set a time approx. like "before dinner" or "when I get up from bed in the morning" or such, and then make sure you keep that. Take your next free hour to setup a practice program, as in "this, this and this am I gonna work on for x weeks" etc. and when you reach your goal, you make new plans, and so on. Then use your minutes every day to practice parts of your "program", I am sure you see where it's going here and understands how to do that.

If you can't really give yourself those minutes every day, well, then make it 15-20 mins 3 days a week to start with then, and try to plan what days, and again, when during those days approx.

By doing this, you actually schedule your practice into your life time-schedule, and it gets the importance it seems to deserve.

;)

Good luck m8!

D.Don
 

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