Pressure to get better

[db59]

Where exactly outside Atlanta? I'm about 2 1/2 hours East off I-20. Maybe there's a possibility we could hook up....I'd be glad to help.
David

 

[Sarge79]

A lot of what you mentioned sounds like the line of thinking I have had too. It's a lot of what young males go through until one finds their niche. You'll be fine and you will be a great bass player. Just keep plugging away at it.

BTW I used to live in Valdosta. I liked it but way too hot in the summer time. I'm originally from Ohio and left a town with a pop of 1200 to join the military. That helped me a lot for me to get out of the small town rut. 25 years later I live in the Washington DC area.

 

[smeet]

Free videos on YouTube are great. Absolutely you should take advantage of those, and listen to many different teachers until you find some whose teaching style works for you.

But also, if you have a bit of money to spend, many top-level pros give Skype or zoom lessons. Especially when you are just starting out, even just one or two live sessions with a good teacher can help to quickly sort out what your weaknesses are, and how to approach fixing them.

 

[LiptonJigglers]

YouTube: Bass Buzz, Luke from Become a Bassist. Bass Covers with Tabs. Scott's Bass Lessons.

Create a list of songs you like.
Keep them simple to start with.
Pick one out and spend the time learning it.
Break down the learning of the song into 10 -15 minute sections.
It's better to do 6 × 10 min or 4×15 min chunks than trying to master everything in an 8 hour stint.

Move on to the next song.
Eventually you'll know your list of songs well enough to start looking for other musicians to play music with.

Music is good therapy.
You'll get there.

 

[Poobini]

hey @tzonline let's keep in touch. we're roughly the same age and it sounds like you've got plenty of the same reservations that I've had, especially recently - I'm not near you geographically, but I know some folks in your area that might be able to lend a hand to your practice/musical education. even then, just having someone to talk to that can help encourage you to play FOR FUN is huge. hit me up and let's push each other to get better (in a plethora of ways).

 

[MaidenVT]

I'm not really sure how to express my thoughts on this but here it goes. I'm 28 and I picked up bass in the beginning of pandemic. I've feel that I've fallen for this instrument. I want to be a bass player. Nothing in my life has ever interested me like this. I don't know if its a generational thing or I'm just damaged, but this pressure to become more skilled and progress to a level I can actually perform with others and be creative is debilitating for me.

My whole life has been bouncing from one thing to another wasting time and chasing things that don't matter. I have had good paying jobs but they just feel like a slow death. I feel so much guilt for the time wasted and what could have been. My family has a history with depression and ADHD I seem to have gotten some of it so I take medications for this. I workout often, I eat healthy, I keep my body in check, but nothing seems to help. I always end up back to this mindset. I know how stupid it is to think its over because I'm 28, but I just cant shake it.

Financially I'm stuck in a small town 2 hours outside of Atlanta with no community that everyone leaves as soon as they can. I cannot find a teacher to save my life, the very few times I've managed to find a couple people to jam with they just end up ghosting me. I have driven to Atlanta to attend open mics and try to network, I've been through craigslist a million times with no success. I use StudyBass.com and lessons from youtube but I feel that I can't grasp any of the concepts. Playing bass is the only pursuit that has ever given me joy and hope. I don't care about success and fame. I just want to live a decent life doing this in some capacity. I'm sorry if this post has been made a million times, but I just need some advice.

How do I stop putting this horrible pressure on myself?

I used to be like you and jump around to instrument to instrument. I finally found it and I can't put it down. I absolutely love the bass. You came to the right place everyone is real nice on this forum and they have helped me greatly. There's a lot of great videos on youtube. I would start with Ed Friedlands Bass method. I have been using it along with other books. But the most important is to learn songs. You can play along with. Youtube is another great resource to learn songs you can even slow them down.

 

[Qlanq]

Give this guy a shot.
I'm an old fart but I learned a lot from him:

 

[tzonline]

Thank you all again! I managed to meet a great guitarist, and I will be doing my first open mic monday. We'll be playing Red House, Tennessee Whiskey, and a restructured version of Dirty Diana so I'm currently diving into those. If anyones got some advice on nailing these I'd appreciate it. I'm taking it slow piece by piece, writing out the notes as I go, and doing my best to just actively listen to each section.

 

[pepj]

If its open mic, hope you get lucky with the drummer. Simple songs can be a trial if the drums are weak.
Make sure you understand the time signature of your songs and more importantly the drummer does too.

 

[smeet]

If its open mic, hope you get lucky with the drummer. Simple songs can be a trial if the drums are weak.
Make sure you understand the time signature of your songs and more importantly the drummer does too.

Also, although it may sound strange, try NOT to simply follow the drummer for time. You have your own internal clock so make that as solid and groovy as possible even without drums. Then you sync your clock to the drummer’s clock.