I'm going to start playing my Djembe more to feel the groove and feel the rhythm again. I play my acoustic guitar rarely.... Sometimes I work on the piano, too.Have you tried picking up another instrument, or perhaps buying a left handed bass?
I'm going to start playing my Djembe more to feel the groove and feel the rhythm again. I play my acoustic guitar rarely.... Sometimes I work on the piano, too.Have you tried picking up another instrument, or perhaps buying a left handed bass?
I'm in a band and we write originals. It's all jam-band stuff of various styles. We're on a huge latin(bossa) kick right now. But there's other genres sprinkled in. Blues, jazz, folk, etc....I only skimmed the responses, but I didn’t see you mention a goal of any kind.
What are you working towards?
Would being a better player help you make you happy?
I’ll admit that jazz school made me miserable. It didn’t seem like music at all, just relentless math that felt like putting Tetris shapes together.
I think you're right. I'm not engaged in the moment with many songs. Especially if I have no interest in the song on our list. This weekend, I'm performing songs I really don't like much at all. Makes it tough....If I get bored by 'simple' parts
I take it as it is a sign that I'm not listening carefully enough
which also means I'm not responding to the music in an authentic way
there is really no excuse for boredom if you are fully engaged in the moment
but many do not realize that that kind of mindset
- to be fully engaged in the moment -
is also something worthy of practice and improvement
You may also benefit from the perspective of Anthony Wellingtons "Four Rooms" allegory
Or as I prefer to put it, "when you can play something perfectly without thinking, do something new with it. Be spontaneous."Heck, mess up intentionally every once in a while.
Not to oversimply this, but let it all go for a bit and get back to the groove.
Knowledge is VERY valuable, but it has to take a back seat to the basics of groove and feel.
Load the content into your head, then get it into your heart and play from there.
I was playing a very basic line on a recording once and kept missing. The engineer was getting a bit annoyed, so I focused even harder on the count, the theory and all that head stuff. ...and it got worse. So then, I took a 2 minute breather and decided to REALLY get into the song. It was not my forte, but that didn't matter. I FELT the rhythm, felt the groove, got in sync with the feel of the song. Suddenly I was hitting the notes WAY better. I let the song get in ME rather then just in my head. It worked and I still do that today. Now I can focus on a technical part without losing the feel and the groove.
A loose quote from one of my favorite movies, Shine: Learn the notes first... then forget them.
It's found in this short clip (in English).
Quitting is not an option. I'm too obsessed.
My end goal is to gain admiration of the local pros. It's very much an ego thing.
There is more to life than playing bass.
Two steps forward one step backwards, is better than one step forward two steps backwards.I'm sure there are several threads in here here discussing the same woes I'm going through, but here we go. I'm at the point where playing isn't fun anymore. In-fact, the striving for perfectionism is eroding my happiness throughout the day. Conventional wisdom would say to put bass on pause, take a break, or even quit. Quitting is not an option. I'm too obsessed. I have too much high end gear that are once in a lifetime finds/relationships.
I played in high school and ver little throughout my adult life. I was the poster-child for Dunning Kruger Effect. But, at least I was confident, in the pocket, and landed my root notes.
I've been studying bass for the last 2 years now at an academic pace. Now, I struggle to focus, land root notes, and my timing (despite practicing with a metronome) is suffering. I keep hearing that this is just me getting better (or my ear is getting better), but these are not excuses for missing notes or lagging. What is going on here? Why am I getting worse? I'm not ruling out fear of failure, choking, or fear of judgement from pro players.
I already have a career that I've mastered, and it's boring to me now. Bass is a way to escape the boredom of life and gives me something to try and "master."
I know progress isn't linear, but how have I stumbled so far backwards.? I am legitimately, at newbie
Stop “studying” and go play with actual musicians. Not necessarily gigs, but at least some jams or find a start up with quality players. Ask your instructors for any leads for a gig maybe.
Personally, and I’m sure others feel different, but I think “practicing” is the worst thing a musician can do if they want to play music with other people. Playing music with other people who wanna play music with other people is the best thing for a musician who wants to play music with other people who want to play music with other people can do.
I didn’t mean to repeat myself so much but, hopefully it sinks in.
I'm sure there are several threads in here here discussing the same woes I'm going through, but here we go. I'm at the point where playing isn't fun anymore. In-fact, the striving for perfectionism is eroding my happiness throughout the day. Conventional wisdom would say to put bass on pause, take a break, or even quit. Quitting is not an option. I'm too obsessed. I have too much high end gear that are once in a lifetime finds/relationships.
I played in high school and ver little throughout my adult life. I was the poster-child for Dunning Kruger Effect. But, at least I was confident, in the pocket, and landed my root notes.
I've been studying bass for the last 2 years now at an academic pace. Now, I struggle to focus, land root notes, and my timing (despite practicing with a metronome) is suffering. I keep hearing that this is just me getting better (or my ear is getting better), but these are not excuses for missing notes or lagging. What is going on here? Why am I getting worse? I'm not ruling out fear of failure, choking, or fear of judgement from pro players.
I already have a career that I've mastered, and it's boring to me now. Bass is a way to escape the boredom of life and gives me something to try and "master."
I know progress isn't linear, but how have I stumbled so far backwards.? I am legitimately, at newbie level, after being able to just casually rip through songs like Dean Town. Again....what's going on?
Edit: I've been studying with College profs and bass instructors. Maybe I'm overloaded with too much information and it's overwhelming....