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That moment you realized you probably really aren't very good...

G

glocke1

Supporting Member
Apr 30, 2002
3,474
5,046
PA
#1
Funny this...I always considered myself a fairly solid bass player...People seemed to like playing with me, I've gotten some fairly decent gigs over the years and overall have received mostly positive feedback in the main genre I play in (rock/jam band).

The past 6 months though I’ve been getting out of that comfort zone and am trying to get better at playing other things (jazz/Latin/blues, etc) and am just like “holy hell I suck”. Even the blues stuff I stumble on a little bit but that’s mostly because I play it so infrequently. Maybe once a year I’ll do a 12 bar blues with someone and than won’t think about the blues for another year.

I know I’m probably being way too hard on myself, but when you realize how much you don’t know/can’t do it’s rather disheartening.
 
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#3
Unless you are spending a lot of time practicing, it's really hard to pick up a new genre and keep it under your fingers. You really can't just play a 12 bar blues once a year and expect to be good at it.

Just my 2 cents, but I'd enjoy the things you are good at and work on the things you want to improve. I don't know many people that are good at everything.

EDIT - it's usually the guys that think they are all that and bag of chips that aren't good.
 
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#4
I think that realizing you have a lot to learn is better than thinking you know it all.
I was getting a bit cocky. I had a bunch of people telling me I was good, so I believed them. Then I got my job as FOH engineer for a bass playing band leader, and every night at work I realize how much I have to learn.
Pic- My boss last Saturday night. I went home and studied Hal Leonard book I, page I, notes on the E-string.
57485303_10157647797842223_7175583650765864960_o.jpg
 
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#5
That happens to me frequently. I like to challenge myself, I am well aware that I suck, and the only reason I get jobs is because I lock in like a pit bull. But I sometimes take jobs that are outside my comfort zone because I know it makes me a better player and then I have to work my butt off to get there.

The problem I'm having now is that I have too much material to learn and I'm not keeping my chops up for the harder stuff that I don't play out. I used to have time to challenge myself during practice time, now I'm finding most of my practice time is spent learning less challenging material that I need for a show. When I go back to the hard stuff, it's like I've never played it before.
 
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#10
Just a few weeks ago, at 31, I started playing drums. I play about an hour a weekday/two hours on a weekend day like I have 15 years to catch up on. Conversely, I'm 15 years behind.

Nah but really tho, just gotta keep pushing. Now that I'm playing bass for a group regularly, I'm seeing my weaknesses but also have the ability to strengthen them since we're a Dave-the-guitar-play-who-has-an-entire-jam-room-with-PA-drums-and-everything's basement-only act. I am bounds better than I was in August, and I thought I was okay in July.

We're all terrible, unless you're awesome. Keeping putting in the time, and there will always be something to learn.

...and don't forget the earplugs. Always earplugs, always.
 
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#12
glocke1 said:
...
I know I’m probably being way too hard on myself, but when you realize how much you don’t know/can’t do it’s rather disheartening.
Click to expand...

I agree! For me the worst is realizing that I don't have enough time left to get even close to where I want to be as a player. Like you, I feel like I'm "OK" (I'm a hobbyist/semi-pro), and I get compliments from random folks sometimes, which is cool, and even from musicians, which is way cool. But then I go listen to "serious talent" and I realize how very very far those guys are above me.

I think I mentioned this before, but I see this is as a kind of "Salieri Syndrome" -- In "Amadeus," Salieri (a court composer and the villain in the story) complains that god has cursed him by giving him just enough talent so that he could be witness to and appreciate the true genius of Mozart. So, unlike most everyone else, he is in a position to truly realize that Mozart is a genius, and to also realize that he, Salieri, is not. That hits close to home for me...

But I have one piece of advice for feeling better, especially as you're moving into new styles: record yourself, either solo, and/or with backing tracks, and/or with a band. Then, in a year or two go back and listen. I've been doing this for quite a while now, and it is encouraging to hear how I've improved. That helps when I get the Salieri Blues... :unsure:
 
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#14
most people are better than they think
most people aren't as good as they want to be
that's what makes us human, and what makes us want to strive to be better.


there will allways be someone that plays better, looks better, sings better, is in a cooler band, makes more $, better hair, whatever, than you. The trick is to be the best YOU there is.
 
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#15
Oh, about 5:00 every morning when my feet hit the floor....:meh:

Seriously, I get along OK and do my best to improve and am generally pretty comfortable in my bass skin, but there are two things that really push my inadequacy buttons.

One is when I try to really learn a song that is technically difficult - Footloose has been floated around recently as an example of this. I can't even begin to approach what the original guy did - and probably never will. I'm on my 4th version of what I can do with it, but even though I'm not a "note for note" cover guy, I always feel like I'm not doing that song justice.

The second is when I'm trying to pick up a new technique that just won't cooperate. I feel pretty useless when I encounter these struggles. I tend to grasp thing pretty quickly, but some things just won't fall under my fingers.
 
#17
About ten years ago, I used to be a very mediocre guitar player. I didnt do much lead stuff at all, but a lot of rhythm. I used to record stuff to those backing tracks you can get online. I did a bunch of songs once about 9 years ago and gave the CD to my parents for Christmas. I was pretty proud of it and they really liked it. Then I became a bass player when the one in our band quit. I totally threw myself into it and figured I was pretty good at that too. A couple of years back I found a copy of the CD and put it in and listened to it. I was like "Geez, I thought this crap was good? I was horrible!". I finally realized I had over-inflated my talent level. I figure now I'm probably doing the same with my bass playing skills.

BnB
 
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#18
Playing for me is this alternation of nights where I think "this is fun and awesome!" and "argh, how could I miss that change again, I suck!" The only thing that keeps me going is just that I like learning stuff. Is there some level (that I'll never reach) where you're a Real Pro, and you'll never do anything on stage unless there's a 100% chance of nailing everything? Does that get boring?

Like others I find recording helps even out those swings a bit, and moves me more into problem-solving mode. "Oh, nobody noticed that change I missed. What really stands out is that I was way too quiet on this other song. I can fix that!"
 
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#19
denhou1974 said:
We're our own worst critics. Most gigs I think I play like crap then listen to the recordings and think 'hmmm, sounds pretty good'.
Click to expand...
I used to have a teacher that said, "You're never as good as you think you are, but you're never as bad as you think you are either."

I agree with you, most of the time when I listen back to a tape of a gig it sounds much better than I thought.
 
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#20
glocke1 said:
Funny this...I always considered myself a fairly solid bass player...People seemed to like playing with me, I've gotten some fairly decent gigs over the years and overall have received mostly positive feedback in the main genre I play in (rock/jam band).

The past 6 months though I’ve been getting out of that comfort zone and am trying to get better at playing other things (jazz/Latin/blues, etc) and am just like “holy hell I suck”. Even the blues stuff I stumble on a little bit but that’s mostly because I play it so infrequently. Maybe once a year I’ll do a 12 bar blues with someone and than won’t think about the blues for another year.

I know I’m probably being way too hard on myself, but when you realize how much you don’t know/can’t do it’s rather disheartening.
Click to expand...
I realize how much I have left to learn every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Doesn’t bother me, though. It means I get to improve every day.
 
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