I'm getting worse...need some advice

[B-Mac]

 

[Nev375]

Stop worrying. Slow WAY down and focus on clean perfect fretting and muting and the proper muscle movements. No herky jerky moves!
Play like you are practicing tai chi with your fingers. Speed does not have to be practiced. It comes naturally as a result of good technique.

 

[eukatheude]

Whatever you do, don't lose your confidence in your ability. I almost did that, and wasted two years trying to play what others expected rather than refining my way to make it work better.

 

[zofhbass]

Yep…

First it’s roses, roses, roses.
Then it’s thorns, thorns, thorns.​

It happens. Especially if you play fretless. I’ve been playing over 40 years and there’s times when something just isn’t happening. Or everything sounds off. It can be frustrating. But backing off a little or stepping completely away from it for an hour or even a full day, often works cure. At least for me.

There’s a book out by George Leonard titled Mastery that I found extremely helpful. Especially the first few chapters where he examines the the impediments to mastering a skill or task and the issue of ”plateauing” where you attain a certain level of competency only to become suddenly stalled and unable to make further progress.

I normally take a dim view of self-help books and programs. I’ve read through a ton of them and there’s maybe three or four I actually thought were worth the price of their paperback. But this little book is one of the very few good ones IMO.

Luck!

Thank you for the advice and the book suggestion! I will definitely check it out

@S.F.Sorrow yes it definitely is mental after all, I can relate a lot to what you said
Thanks!

 

[micguy]

It's entirely possible that the issue is not in your fingers, but in your head. Yes, they control your fingers, so you notice when your fingers are not keeping up, but the issue could be software (brain) rather than hardware (fingers). Try not to sweat about the fact that something didn't go as planned - as others have said, slow it down, get the technique right, and gradually ramp up the speed. My bet is you're just anxious about things, and that's getting in the way.

 

[zofhbass]

Whatever you do, don't lose your confidence in your ability.

I've always been generally a bit insecure to start with, so unfortunately it's easy to immediately start questioning my abilities, but I'm slowly but surely moving away from that kind of mindset. Thanks for the reply!

 

[zofhbass]

@Whousedtoplay I'm sorry I've missed your post

1. Your brain (your experience, your perception) matures faster than your technique. And your more advanced brain (with all that new information) does not like your lagging behind technical articulation, which was not an issue previously. And that hidden, suppressed “complex” sends controversial signals to your nerves.

This! I constantly feel that I'm overly aware of every single thing while I'm playing and I know exactly how that specific run/lick/whatever should sound like, exact duration of every note, phrasing, timing etc. so I'll repeat that part x amount of times slowly to a metronome till I get it absolutely perfect because I won't allow myself for it to sound any less than what I hear in my head so I probably end up overthinking everything all the time instead of just playing the damn thing.
But I also feel that without that kind of focus and practice, I won't get better but I understand that I'm 'overheating' my engine.

Thank you!

 

[Spent]

I keep this in my office.

 

[zofhbass]

That seems pretty accurate

 

[bassliner50]

Sometimes we must learn things by deconstructing lines into smaller manageable (learnable) snipits. Slow them down, become comfortable with the smaller licks, then string them together into a meaningful phrase and learn it again that way in the context of the tune. (yes to the metronome) Stressing out is counter productive and leads to unmusical approaches.

 

[Fender05]

Sometimes when I get in a rut like you are, it helps if I put the instrument down for several days. Don't touch it, don't worry about it, take a clean break for 2-4 days. I think every time I've done that, when I get back to it my playing has improved. I couldn't tell you why, but it seems to work for me.

Just my .02

 

[LBS-bass]

I'm going to take this from a different angle than most. You may be developing some physical issue that you aren't otherwise aware of yet. Could be small amounts of inflammation in your fingers, something like that. I would try anti-inflammatory meds and supplements like ibuprofen and turmeric as a place to start, to see if you get improvement.

I have an immune system problem and multiple environmental allergies and my hands are always a little bit swollen. It's why I tell people I will never be a technically fast player. I simply can't do it. But when I take anti-inflammatory meds and the stuff I need to keep the allergies in check, I'm ok. It's way worse when I'm not medicated. But even the players that I know who don't have those problems need anti-inflammatories to keep their game up as they age. Give that a try before worrying about anything else and see if it helps at all. Maybe it won't but maybe it will solve your problem.

 

[thebreakman]

Sounds like you just need to have some fun playing on the bass. Learn a couple tunes, jam with some friends and forget about the theory part for a bit and pick back up where you left off when you ARE having some fun

 

[rtslinger]

You're not getting enough rest. It isn't good to over doing anything and you are pushing yourself too hard to get the practice in. Take sometime off. When you get back to it make sure you're relaxed when playing. If you were able to play something before, muscle memory will quick in and you'll get it again. Stay focused and do not become frustrated. Good luck and let us know how you make out RTS

 

[Spent]

That seems pretty accurate

I’ve been in education for most of my life; attended public school, college (four degrees and counting), math teacher, public school administration, NAUI SCUBA diver, VFR cert. pilot, etc. None of this was easy but they were all important. Struggle and failure are necessary and underrated. In 20 years of teaching math I had exactly one parent ask if their kid was learning, the rest were only concerned with grades. Do you want the title or the ability? Calling oneself a musician is easy, being one takes work.

 

[ktedrow]

Maybe your setup changed without you noticing it. Check your string height. High strings can make it hard to play fast.

Another possible explanation is a setup change that would produce more finger noise which could have you working subconsciously to combat it. Changing EQ settings or strings can do this.

 

[Krisfield]

I would take a break. Leave the instrument completely alone for two weeks.

 

[nilorius]

Change your home practicing type and program, buy a different king of a bass.

 

[red_rhino]

Don't practice what you already know! Spend your practice time acquiring new skills, not repeating runs and fills that you already learned in the past. This should break you out of that rut and give you a feeling of forward progress again.

^^^^THIS^^^^

Plateauing is something that even elite athletes encounter. Overtraining actually leads to a decrease in performance. The key to moving forward in any discipline is periodicity (i.e. do something different for a while). It's often said that the best exercise for you, is the one you're not doing. Same thing applies to playing an instrument. Work on your weaknesses, not your strengths.

 

[TheReceder]

Someone up above said something about brain atrophy as we age....
I'm sorry... I forgot my point.

I guess I'll just smile, enjoy my time with my bass and accept that I'm never going to be perfect. It'll probably make me happy and result in my being a better bass player... or at least I won't scare the carp out of the rest of my band.