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Making Peace with My Mediocrity
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
That's really all that matters. As long as you still get something out of it and it makes you happy, it's all good.
Given that I’ve never aspired to be a professional musician, i accept my limitations as part and parcel of that decision. Since i started playing with family as a child, i’ve always been content to be passable for that. It was my guitar playing brother who introduced me to the wider world of music outside our little family circle, which i found was more helpful with my abysmal social skills than it was an improvement in my monthly bank statements.
Where i am today is i’m pretty good at what i know on bass i just don’t know much outside of the few genres i know well. Since i’m not trying to earn my daily bread with a bass, the fact i’m miles from a well rounded pro who can walk in cold and sight read my way through a performance, is of no concern to me. I decided long ago that earning a living was little more than hitting the right marks at the right time, and when you think of notes played in any given song as those marks that must be hit at the right time, i can earn so much more hitting far fewer marks in so many nonmusical occupations, it seems like way too much work and dedication to put in if you want to make a good living as a musician. Freed from the pressure of comparing my skills to those who have put in the work to be pro players, composers, etc, allows me to continue to enjoy what playing i can do without the pressure to stack chips for my efforts.
Since i’m not in it for the money, i’m freed from that need to consider money first in deciding if i’m going to play. I am happy to drive a couple states away for a few days on my own dime if the music I’m going there to make is going to be good, but i wouldn’t walk across the street to play crap, or stuff i don’t like unless there’s money involved.
Money (to me) implies certain obligations if one is to receive said cash, and i prefer my music to remain a pleasurable pastime without any strings attached, unless i decide to attach those strings, something not always possible if your monthly nut depends on playing as your primary source of income.
Where i am today is i’m pretty good at what i know on bass i just don’t know much outside of the few genres i know well. Since i’m not trying to earn my daily bread with a bass, the fact i’m miles from a well rounded pro who can walk in cold and sight read my way through a performance, is of no concern to me. I decided long ago that earning a living was little more than hitting the right marks at the right time, and when you think of notes played in any given song as those marks that must be hit at the right time, i can earn so much more hitting far fewer marks in so many nonmusical occupations, it seems like way too much work and dedication to put in if you want to make a good living as a musician. Freed from the pressure of comparing my skills to those who have put in the work to be pro players, composers, etc, allows me to continue to enjoy what playing i can do without the pressure to stack chips for my efforts.
Since i’m not in it for the money, i’m freed from that need to consider money first in deciding if i’m going to play. I am happy to drive a couple states away for a few days on my own dime if the music I’m going there to make is going to be good, but i wouldn’t walk across the street to play crap, or stuff i don’t like unless there’s money involved.
Money (to me) implies certain obligations if one is to receive said cash, and i prefer my music to remain a pleasurable pastime without any strings attached, unless i decide to attach those strings, something not always possible if your monthly nut depends on playing as your primary source of income.
My thoughts exactly. My question to @Dr. Cheese, as I often ask myself, is this. Why are we interested in this song/piece/tune/exercise/etude/line/riff? Is it for a purpose, such as a show or recording session? Will it give us a technique or new knowledge with which to expand our language? Or do we 'connect' with it when played as a performance piece? If yes to any of these then I'm in. On the other hand, if it's to give me bragging rights on TB or to make me look good at Andertons on a saturday afternoon then I'm rather less inclined.
Over the decades also I've studied loads of classic lines and styles from some of the greatest (IMHO) players - Pino, Levin, Squire, Gunnarsson (ABBA), Gustafson, Karn, Egan, Osborn, Jamerson, Jones, East, Seligman, Miller and, of course, Jaco - to name just a few.
I also studies some of the greatest composers of all time, and one of the stand-out composers for bass was J.S.Bach. But not only that, he was a great scavenger. He re-used and re-purposed his own work (as well as drawing on that of others) over and over in hundreds of different ways. Somehow his music is instantly recognisable yet seemingly infinite in its variety. Discovering the background to this was a revelation for me.
So I became a scavenger. As of now, other than the stuff in the 'has a purpose' group above, I can't really remember more than a couple of dozen or so of the 100's of pieces I worked so hard on in the past. But I remember the study of the techniques, methods, attitudes and approaches that set me on the path to finding my own voice. At some point along that path I acquired the confidence to let go of the pieces and techniques that did not support the voice, such as mainstream slapping or playing with a pick.
So, if working on 'River People' adds something to your language and your music that's great, but unless you have some burning reason to learn it all at tempo, just scavenge what you need from it in order to say what you want to say, then leave the rest behind. It won't make you any less of a player, but will make you less of a clone... And if you think that not being able to play a single given piece defines mediocrity, then I'm sorry Doc, that's just plain bollocks
I love River People and I love Jaco compositions in general learning Jaco properly is a real music education. I love River People because it is a wonderful human approximation of a sequencer. The technique and discipline to play it properly is something that really motivates me. I enjoy playing it whether anyone else likes it or not.
Well there's your answer. IME, mediocrity rarely outlives true motivation...
Bach figured bass is a beautiful thing. But not technically difficult. Harmonically, that's where the real differences are made. Bass is a state of mind.
As I posted earlier, I get the same feelings, too. I got into writing and arranging for a jazz combo some years ago at a local community college. I've been a "student" there for 17 yrs. Pretty cool mix of adults and regular students. We've been fortunate to have a very talented adult lady on vocals. Most of the tunes I've arranged have been vocal. The group is usually rhythm section, 3-4 horns, and vocals.
If you're not already doing writing and arranging, give it a try. Besides making you a better player you learn quite a bit about other instruments and making stuff work together to serve the song. Also pretty cool to hear your stuff played. If you have a school close by with a jazz program, enroll as a student to play in a group and/or for music studies.
I get a lot of fun from arranging especially taking a tune and doing it in a completely different style. I gravitate to Latin styles. I've arranged "Naima" and "Maiden Voyage" as 12/8 Afro-Cuban. The score of "Naima" is attached. Melody was removed to avoid copyright problems but it's pretty much the same as in a Real Book with a few rhythmic alterations. Hope it gives you some ideas for a direction. Keep on thumping!
If you're not already doing writing and arranging, give it a try. Besides making you a better player you learn quite a bit about other instruments and making stuff work together to serve the song. Also pretty cool to hear your stuff played. If you have a school close by with a jazz program, enroll as a student to play in a group and/or for music studies.
I get a lot of fun from arranging especially taking a tune and doing it in a completely different style. I gravitate to Latin styles. I've arranged "Naima" and "Maiden Voyage" as 12/8 Afro-Cuban. The score of "Naima" is attached. Melody was removed to avoid copyright problems but it's pretty much the same as in a Real Book with a few rhythmic alterations. Hope it gives you some ideas for a direction. Keep on thumping!
You are much younger than I am. I'll turn 71 in a few days. I too look to constantly improve but am not the bassist I would love to be. That doesn't make me unique. I am an SBL (Scott's Bass lessons) member and find the players path they offer a very useful tool in my effort to better my playing. There's a ton of useful courses as well. Find what works for you and keep lovin' the bottom end of music. Nothing replaces the feel of playing bass.
That is what is great about music. You will never be as good as you want to be on any given instrument as long as you live. I find myself hoping for reincarnation so I can have another opportunity to expand on what I learned the first time around. That said, not every player has to be a soloist. Most music does not call for virtuosity, just good time and the right note at the right time. The best session bassists I know are not about how many notes they can play. Just the opposite. It is about how many notes you leave out. Even if you can't count to four, you are still a better person for having tried to master an instrument. "Master and instrument"....impossible.
Jeff and I used to teach at the Bass Centre back in the day, and I know exactly how he would respond.....with harsh condescension. LOL. Love ya Jeff!
River People will just end up giving you carpal tunnel anyway. LOL.
I have been playing bass longer than many who post here have been alive. For years, I was mainly self taught, and was mostly a bedroom bassist. I have played in bands, and I have gigged a little. Mostly, I have played with choirs since the 1990’s. About five years ago, I started taking lessons, and I have really been consistent for the last three years. I can see the improvement, but it has become obvious to me that I have some ingrained habits that are very hard to stop at sixty. To be blunt, I do not think I will ever come close to what I might have been if I had started serious study at least thirty years ago. Ideally, I should have stuck to string bass in college. That would have given me a very strong foundation. I do not plan to quit lessons or serious practice. I just know that it is more for personal enrichment at this point in life.
At 67 the older I get the better I was....
but still enjoying the ride...
Just some friendly advice from someone who has been there. Do not think of playing that line as something that comes from strength. The key to playing lots of notes in time is not about strength, it is about relaxation. The minute you can let go of the concept that practicing is about building up physical strength, and more about NOT tensing up your muscles, is the day you will be able to play those notes in their entirety, and in time. That is the key my friend.
Don't worry, man, I don't slap either.
It's me, you, Jaco and Steve Swallow. Not bad.
I've always found that I am always happiest at whatever I am doing when I quit trying to be something and just be in the moment.
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