Staying in the pocket

[bolophonic]

A lot of people will tell you that you need to drill down with 8th notes and a metronome until you just want to barf.

Others might think that after four years, if your progress has stalled to the point of frustration and second-guessing yourself, it might be time to roll up a doob, jam out to something completely different, and start trying to develop a style that incorporates your unique idiosyncrasies. It doesn't sound like you are in a band, so don't sweat it. I would say it took me 11 years to not be somewhat ashamed of my playing.

 

[bazcandotcom]

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement guys, really appreciate it.

I have experience playing in bands, currently in one right now and I am constantly playing with others. There arent a lot of complaints regarding my playing but when there are complaints its usually about me messing up a little too much for a bass player. I can never go through an entire tune without second guessing myself and feel completely locked in with the drummer. As a result most of the time I cannot provide the structure and solidity that every good rhythm section deserves.

Its a mental hurdle I have yet to be able to overcome. My mind is too noisy while I am playing and I have trouble trying to shut it down. The goal for me is to play grooves perfectly and in sync with the band without it feeling contrived. It is a really big challenge for me, I cannot play without forcing the rhythm out.

Serious question, OP:

Can you dance?

I have never been much of a dancer but I guess if I had to dance I would be trying too hard as well. I guess you could call me rhythmically challenged.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

I came over to bass from rhythm guitar. Years of strumming the chords to the rhythm of the song was ingrained in my muscle memory.

That happened by taking a strum pattern to the couch and while watching TV strum that strum pattern for one hour. After one hour it belonged to me. Yes I had about 5 patterns I could fall into. The time signature dictated which one. OK we do not strum....... so.......

Step one; get your generic bass lines into muscle memory so you do not have to think about what notes. Start with grooving roots to the beat. Then add the 5, R-5, then add an 8, R-5-8-5. That's generic and works for both major and minor chords. Grove an R-5-8-5.

See if that helps. IMO the groove will not come if you have to think about the notes.

 

[Jon Moody]

I have experience playing in bands, currently in one right now and I am constantly playing with others. There arent a lot of complaints regarding my playing but when there are complaints its usually about me messing up a little too much for a bass player. I can never go through an entire tune without second guessing myself and feel completely locked in with the drummer. As a result most of the time I cannot provide the structure and solidity that every good rhythm section deserves.

Honestly, I really didn't get the concept of "grooving with the band" as opposed to "playing with the band" until I played two summers at Cedar Point in the house band. I was playing the exact same bass lines 6x a day, 6 days a week, so it got boring fast. It wasn't until a couple weeks in that I thought "Hey, what's the drummer doing?" that I started listening to everyone else and hearing what they were doing. Suddenly, if I moved an eighth note just a little bit out, it locked in. And it locked in hard. After a couple days of listening and adjusting, my drummer came up and said "Dude! Whatever you're doing, DON'T STOP!!!"

So I would say to stop getting your head to confuse you, but use that to listen to everyone and start to lock in more than you think you would need to.

Epilogue to this was that the drummer from CP hired me for a gig this past November, based on our musical rapport from Cedar Point...which was 15 years ago. We hadn't played together since, but my attention to detail landed me the gig.

You can do it.

 

[BazzTard]

4 years is a long time to be playing off tempo, maybe bass isn't your thing,maybe you are a guitarist? No offence meant, you just may be a frills / embelishment player not a time keeping machine.

Maybe you just need to jam with a drummer, to get that 'feel' and interaction happening? Just you and a drummer, no one else.

Just some ideas to try and help

 

[mambo4]

It wasn't until a couple weeks in that I thought "Hey, what's the drummer doing?" that I started listening to everyone else and hearing what they were doing. Suddenly, if I moved an eighth note just a little bit out, it locked in. And it locked in hard. "

same here.
it's amazing what relaxing and listening can accomplish