Making Peace with My Mediocrity

[Single Coil]

I live in a small town, miles away from the nearest city.

I have achieved effectively nothing as a bass player.

I've been playing for 36 years, and have helped write/record several albums and played well over a thousand gigs.

I listen to Jaco, Michael Manring, and countless others and know I will never achieve their level of technical ability.

But...

I play in a band with some of my best friends and gig a couple times a month. I also play six to eight services a month at my church, which is fantastic.

There are many times when I play and I retreat into what I call my "hamster bubble." I am conscious of only two things: my fingers moving over the fretboard, and the percussion that I am helping to drive. In these moments, I am completely unaware of what is happening around me. If a group of clowns walked on stage, I would not know. It's like floating in the music, and I am not even thinking about the notes I am playing. I watch my hands as if I'm a spectator.

In those moments, I have no desire to play like Jaco, Davie504, or some little kid prodigy. They are all far more skilled than I am, but this is my gig, surrounded by people I love, and lost in the music that I am helping to create.

That is enough.

 

[minimalist freedom]

I live in a small town, miles away from the nearest city.

I have achieved effectively nothing as a bass player.

I've been playing for 36 years, and have helped write/record several albums and played well over a thousand gigs.

I listen to Jaco, Michael Manring, and countless others and know I will never achieve their level of technical ability.

But...

I play in a band with some of my best friends and gig a couple times a month. I also play six to eight services a month at my church, which is fantastic.

There are many times when I play and I retreat into what I call my "hamster bubble." I am conscious of only two things: my fingers moving over the fretboard, and the percussion that I am helping to drive. In these moments, I am completely unaware of what is happening around me. If a group of clowns walked on stage, I would not know. It's like floating in the music, and I am not even thinking about the notes I am playing. I watch my hands as if I'm a spectator.

In those moments, I have no desire to play like Jaco, Davie504, or some little kid prodigy. They are all far more skilled than I am, but this is my gig, surrounded by people I love, and lost in the music that I am helping to create.

That is enough.

People better than me keep wanting to play with me. That’s a good thing. I must be better than I think. I get better when I play with those better than me. That’s another good thing.

 

[Koshchei]

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.

This is a classic entity vs. incrementalist mindset. Rather than breaking the totality of your bass playing apart and focusing on incremental improvement where you need it (your alternating fingers for example), you look at the “whole” and what’s missing, and resign yourself to it. You’re cheating yourself by glossing over the detail.

 

[Altitude]

One of the challenges in all of this is that our ears get better the older we get. I hear things in music that escaped me in my 20s and even 30s. Our mind can process the music, understand it, and respond to it better than ever. We just don't have the ability to dedicate the time to it that would be necessary to optimize those abilities.

But at least you're still playing - that's way better than hanging it up.

My Dad was allegedly a bass player into his 20s. He gigged in jazz clubs around Denver in the 1960s. I even ran into an old cat a few years ago who remembered him. But all I have on that is my Dad's very few stories (and the one old cat). No tangible artifacts of any kind, and he never played at any point when I was alive. Which is weird because I or my kids eventually will have to come to terms with all the gear, music stands, cables, amps, and stuff in my house that he had none of. He didn't even have an old Real Book laying around. I have four.

I suspect there may be a story I don't know about why he stopped. But in any case he stopped and stopped completely. Don't do that.

 

[Bruiser Stone]

I live in a small town, miles away from the nearest city.

I have achieved effectively nothing as a bass player.

I've been playing for 36 years, and have helped write/record several albums and played well over a thousand gigs.

I listen to Jaco, Michael Manring, and countless others and know I will never achieve their level of technical ability.

But...

I play in a band with some of my best friends and gig a couple times a month. I also play six to eight services a month at my church, which is fantastic.

There are many times when I play and I retreat into what I call my "hamster bubble." I am conscious of only two things: my fingers moving over the fretboard, and the percussion that I am helping to drive. In these moments, I am completely unaware of what is happening around me. If a group of clowns walked on stage, I would not know. It's like floating in the music, and I am not even thinking about the notes I am playing. I watch my hands as if I'm a spectator.

In those moments, I have no desire to play like Jaco, Davie504, or some little kid prodigy. They are all far more skilled than I am, but this is my gig, surrounded by people I love, and lost in the music that I am helping to create.

That is enough.

I came here to say something insightful. And then I read all of that.

I will add that the past 4 years have been rough on my spirit and well-being, and three of those years have also been me fumbling and noodling and striving to play with other people. God I love music. I’m a better writer than I am musician, and sometimes I wish I could exchange talents. But I’ll take mediocrity if for nothing else the therapeutic element in doing this. I would be satisfied to be a solid, pocket blues hack who gigs. Gigs seem so far away right now, but that’s really all I want, no competition, just joint energy.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

This is a classic entity vs. incrementalist mindset. Rather than breaking the totality of your bass playing apart and focusing on incremental improvement where you need it (your alternating fingers for example), you look at the “whole” and what’s missing, and resign yourself to it. You’re cheating yourself by glossing over the detail.

True, unless you are an absolute beginner, you get better bit by bit.

 

[teh-slb]

The moment I stopped worrying about how mediocre I was at the things I do (I hope that my boss doesn't secretly visit this forum), the more I started enjoying them. Yeah, reminders pop up from time to time, but I really have no time to feel sorry for myself.

Sorry that I can't commiserate with you this time, Doc

 

[turcmic]

Do you play golf @Dr. Cheese ? I only play 1 or 2 times a year, for business mainly, and the only reason I didn’t throw my bag away is for those couple rare shots when the ball goes where I want

Same thing with the bass. I’m fortunate enough to play +/- 15-20 well paid gigs/year (well, maybe not this year... I was supposed to play in a great venue tonite in Quebec City... cancelled) even if my superpowers are long gone. But I can still deliver the groove and insert a cool lick here and there that makes me smile with satisfaction.

Aim for those smiles and have fun!

 

[AlvaroOcampo]

We can't all be Jaco, can we? I picked up the instrument 10 years ago and it was only less than 3 years ago that i found a drummer to pair with and ever since then i got to play in many moderately sized stages (200 people). I get to play and have fun, i usually jump and shout to the crowd if i have a mic near me and that's the thrill of it for me. I'm not a bass virtuoso by any means, i struggle with some rock and roll lines but you know what? I've been a very reliable musician, never show up drunk or late to gigs or rehearsals and if i'm having problems with my chops i thoroughly exercise in home till i get the closest i can.
I had very few bass lessons and it wasn't until this year that i started to teach myself to read sheet music and learn proper technique with ed friedland's bass method... then i figured out i was missing out on a lot of basic stuff that wouldn't hold me back from doing beginner's and intermediate lines, but would be HUGE when trying to play the hard stuff. It takes a lot of time to correct those mistakes and you will have to work from the very foundations of your playing. Methods will get you there but it will be hard to self correct. It's up to you if that's what you aim for.

 

[rollie 55]

The important thing Doc is that you're still playing and you enjoy it. That's all that really matters.

EXACTLY

 

[Mike JV]

As others have said, as long as you enjoy it that's all that matters.

I'm 67 and started playing when I was 17. Played full time through 1982. Put it away for 12 years then played in a weekend band for 2 years. Put it away for 10 years then slowly started getting back into it. Started learning guitar around that point as well. Started playing at church in 2009 but that's been on hold due to the virus. Really don't know when that will pick back up.

I stopped worrying about things a long time ago. Fact is, I get a huge smile on my face when I see how great some kids today are on any instrument who've only been playing for a few years.

My greatest musical joy is in seeing what I can come up with for my own songs. I'm newly retired, haven't written anything in a long time but I've been slowly getting back into it. Got a few little idea's I've been working on. Not saying its great or even any good, but I love slipping into "my own world" to see what I can come up with even if no one else ever hears it. What I often do is to get a simple loop going and just jam over it. A lot of ideas spring forth from that.

Keep at it!

 

[markjazzbassist]

you have a PhD doc, you are an expert in your field of study and career. no need to feel shame or guilt for your level of playing a hobby. be proud of how accomplished you are in your career and that you even have a hobby!

 

[Jim Carr]

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.

You're still a young man, baby! Check my age.

Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, arguably as accomplished and gifted a musician as any who has lived, once said something that has stuck with me since I read it one day when I was a music major and feeling pretty low about my abilities. He was asked what music was for.

Quoting from The Bach Reader as best I recall, he said, "The final and ultimate purpose of music is the recreation of the mind and the glorification of God."

You are on the right track.

 

[bassdude51]

Making Peace with My Mediocrity

Me too!

I enjoyed reading your thread, Dr. Cheese! Very open and somewhat confessional. Very personal expression.

I've tried to make peace with my mediocrity too. I see and watch videos on youtube of other bassists and I see and hear their skills and their technique and I get really discouraged with my abilities. I feel like giving up the bass. Forget it. I suck!

But, I take comfort with the fact that I can play the bass and I can play almost 5 hours worth of songs that I know. They might not be the most impressive and complex songs but they are songs.

I am what I am and I can do what I can do. I must stop comparing myself to others. I must "make peace with my mediocrity".

Thank-you for your thread, Dr. Cheese!

 

[57pbass]

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.

DOC.. You get an A+ for your efforts. There’s always someone out there who is going to be better. Enjoy the ride. It’s great therapy for you and all your followers. I’m 62 and have never left the local scene but I love every moment. Guys like us keep this industry alive with our purchases and activity.
Rock on !

 

[moderatelyfunky]

This quote sums me up perfectly. I feel that I'm still pretty good, but like you, I missed out on a lot of untapped potential over the years, whether it was not taking lessons when I should, or poor practice habits, or whatever else I didn't do. I'm only 52, but I'm already developing arthritis in the fingers of my left (fretting) hand and the thumb of my right hand, and what used to be cake for me 20 years ago can sometimes be a bit of a struggle now. There are occasionally periods of weeks where my hands are uncooperative and I just can't play at all. It's kind of sobering to realize that my best bass years are almost certainly behind me now, but I can still find a degree of fulfillment composing at home on keyboards, which aren't nearly as hard on my hands.

Next up on the track list: "Losing It" by Rush...

That's the one Rush tune that I can play bass note for note.

 

[IamGroot]

Doc,

I will admit to being over 65.
I have found that getting results from practice are not impossible, but take a little longer and more focus.
During covid isolation, I found that I was not happy with my speed and sight reading. When I dug in deeper, I found that my rhythmic precision was off. So I dug in for two months working on getting absolutely crisp 16th reading and playing ability, both with and without the instrument. Heavy use of the metronome for speed drills. And I got the results I wanted.

Maybe it would help if you assess you playing, and work intensely on your biggest challenge for a few weeks?

 

[DaDo625]

Oh Dr. Cheese, Thank you for posting what is so often in my head...and many of our heads...
I started late, already 60 with no real musical experience and one day I had never picked up a Bass and two days later I had Rumble 25, cable, tuner, a borrowed 1976 Gibson Grabber and was sitting in front of my instructor.

I just wanted to try it, thought I would never get out of the bedroom blah blah.

Six months later I'm on the stage at a Blues open mic and the BL turns and I hear: "12 Bar, quick change in G" and I understand what that means...
and it was like the first time I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, back in the "on your own, no tandem" days...
So the whole "I wish I started earlier etc. etc." is always in my head.
I know that I will never be up to the potential of some very nice basses that I own. (as soon as I realized what a mint 76 Grabber, with original HSC and most of the candy was worth, I immediately drove it back to my friend who had loaned it to me)

The other day I was thinking that whole "what are you thinking, where are you going" thing...
And I happened to read that in 1547...when the average life expectancy was 45...Pope Paul III appointed Michelangelo (71) who had never been a builder/architect...to take over what was at the time the largest construction project in the world..St. Peter's Basilica.
He spent the next 17 years on the project that had already been underway for over 40 years...and at the time he took over would be described in modern terms as a full blow Cluster F-.
The results speak for themselves.

And I have noticed that unlike a lot of guitar players, many of whom believe they are (insert name of guitar hero here) Bass players tend to be more critical of themselves.
And the Bassist I have meet along the way has been helpful, supportive and encouraging.
Coupled with what we know about the positive effects of learning all through life...I'm going to keep at it.

And I don't have to build a Cathedral...
I'd be happy to be the back up Bass player at the local community church, Dad Band...whatever.
Focusing on the journey and the experiences along the way and less on the (every changing) destination....

 

[dbsfgyd1]

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.

Good post Doc!

Wow, that’s a fairly accurate description of my musical life. While I’m a much better player than I was 50 years ago (recordings don’t lie), being self critical, the worst part of my playing is inconsistency. Moments of sheer musical brilliance followed by “what in the world is he doing” due to having AADD.

I also have dyslexia, which makes reading charts a challenge, but that comes with a compensating factor of enhanced intuition which is how I survived as valued player. I’ve had more than a few drummers say “Man, it’s like you are in my brain” mainly because In a lot of cases, I can tell what the drummer is going to do before they do it.

IMO, as a player the more often you play with other musicians, the faster better you will improve. Add to that recording yourself playing as often as possible and review it. Don’t brood on the bad, learn from it, and pat yourself on the back for the good, but don’t gloat.

Recording is like a term paper. It’s the ultimate measure of your skills. There is no way you can remember how well you played each note of hundreds in a song. Couple this with a qualified instructor well versed in the type of music you want to play. Finally, learn to read, both charts and tablature.

 

[Mike Sorr]

I find that the kinds of music that have higher demands on musicianship are not the kinds of music I want to play anyway. I like to listen to some Jazz for example, but I've never wanted to play it. The same is true with some of the more intricate progressive rock. Sounds great, I enjoy it...don't want to play it. Maybe I'm just lazy, but that 1000 notes per second stuff has no appeal to me as a player.