Hey TB,
A few months ago, I lost all motivation to play bass. I realized I wasn't going to join a band (have no desire to), and lost the desire to become a good bassist, and at the same time playing bass just stopped being fun.
I have since hung up the bass, logged off TB for a few months, and used my spare time playing video games.
While out for a walk today and talking to my wife, I realized I missed it - or rather, I missed using my spare time to do something productive (playing video games is very fun, but I don't accomplish anything).
However, when I got home, I looked at my bass, thought about playing it, but then I didn't know what to do that wouldn't bore me, and I went and played the video game again.
I'm sick of playing the same old songs I know, I don't feel like learning new songs (my memory has become very bad lately - too many things happening at work which seem to be clogging my mind and I can't seen to remember how to play the song again the next day), and if I'm not going to join a band or write my own songs, then I don't see the point in working on improving my improvisation, chord tone/scale knowledge, ear training, or improving my chops.
Based on what I typed above, this post seems completely useless, but if any of you have any ideas on things that I can do that could rejuvenate my enthusiasm, I would love to hear it, honestly.
I know the #1 answer will be to join a band, but I'm just not interested. I don't have the time, I don't have any spare money to pitch towards rehearsal spaces, gear rentals, and/or marketing, and I also hate band drama. I'm dealing with enough drama in my life right now, I don't need anymore of it.
Thanks guys.
Excuse the length, but I guess I've been there so I have a lot to say about it.
For one, it sounds like you might be getting burned out. That's a feeling I know all too well with my own job. I haven't taken a vacation in about two years and I work in the tech industry on an engineering team. "Engineering" meaning we manage all the databases and hardware for a whole company. Our team is small and everyone relies on us when something breaks or to get data prepped on the back-end so we are always busy and overworked.
Anyway, I need a vacation and it sounds like you do too. To fix the burn out for myself I've thought about taking a Friday off now and then just to do whatever I want. I'd likely pick up a bass for a good stretch of time on a day like that just out of getting antsy and needing to do something after my burn-out was fixed by being lazy for a stretch of time. Maybe you would too?
As another observation : maybe you are depressed? Have you considered seeing a doctor about it? I've been in a rut before where I lost the drive to better myself or to create. At one point in my life I needed some meds to help out with that. At other times I needed to change my thought processes or what's going on in my life that is making me feel bad. A counselor or doctor can help either identify the problem or medicate it, respectively.
I don't really consider video games a complete waste of time. They do help with strategical and tactical thinking and they can help develop hand-eye coordination which has it's uses in the modern technology age. Further to that I would have never got into fixing my own technical problems or got into building PCs if it weren't for video games. It gave me an incentive to maximize my PC performance as well as cut costs on high performance by doing all the work myself. Also when your PC isn't working and you want to play a game, you have an incentive to figure it out yourself.
Like anything though, video games can be a problem if not done in moderation. I had a college room mate that would spend every waking moment (and would lose sleep) over World of Warcraft. He quit socializing except in the game, dropped out of college and quit taking care of himself. He lost the drive to better himself and to interact with society because he was too busy with his in-game friends and with bettering his character in game.
If you think video games are becoming a problem for you, perhaps consider picking up a board game hobby instead. At least then you're getting out and socializing with people. Board games are AMAZING these days. The designers are taking ideas from video games and applying them to board games. There is really a renaissance going on. Often you forget you're playing a board game and not a video game in terms of mechanics and story.
Also music can be it's own reward, you don't need to be in a band or make money doing it. You don't need to feel like the end-game is to be a professional or a virtuoso. Music just helps your brain stay sharp for one, and can trickle out into other things you do, like enhancing creativity since you are exercising your neurons and having them fire off in random patterns.
The brain is a muscle, and it gets more efficient the more you use it. Music is one more way you can exercise the brain. Productive people that do things other than music for their job often play a musical instrument on the side and you'd never know it.
Bass guitar also isn't the most fun instrument to play when you're alone. I think it is because I play like Flea does sometimes (though not as good) but not everyone likes that kind of music. Perhaps try picking up an acoustic guitar? You can play and enjoy it on the couch or around the camp fire. You can invite friends over and have an impromptu blues session while getting drunk. Who cares if you're good, just have fun with it.
If bass is really your instrument of choice, try getting an acoustic bass you play on the couch. Sometimes I don't have the motivation to get all set up and be tied to an amp for a long length of time. I want something easier and more relaxing. Sometimes playing bass while you're watching TV or doing something else can keep you going with your instrument. I used to play guitar on the couch for hours while watching movies or documentaries, and believe it or not, it still helped keep my chops fresh. In fact it sort of made playing more second nature since my brain was doing two things at once.
As another suggestion : Try buying some recording software/hardware and just writing music for the sake of it. Write crappy music for all anyone cares, all that matters is it fulfills you.
I write music with a four piece band over the internet. We don't gig anymore, though we did when I lived in Houston. We just decided we wanted to continue writing music because it's fun. We will record and send our parts back and forth using Dropbox.
We both have Studio One so we can also share project files, etc. Studio One is pretty good. You can get a Focusrite Scarlet Solo, which has pro quality Analog-to-Digital converters, for around 100 bucks as your audio interface. In Studio One you can also plug in other software like E Z Keys or E Z Drummer to fill in the sonic space without too much effort. I.e. you don't have to play drums or keys to make a song as a bass player.
One more, and final, idea : Maybe you don't have the right bass? Sometimes an instrument speaks to you, and sometimes it doesn't. You could try a 5-string bass tuned E-C and work on some solo melodies, or try a Fender Jazz bass or Stingray and motivate yourself to learn slap bass or something. Just try out a few basses and see if you find one that speaks to you more than what you have. It can be done in a weekend by visiting a couple music shops.
Do keep listening to music. Maybe after a while you may want to try a few riffs again. If you play along it's much easier to remeber a bassline. That's what I often do.
