I know some people are going to say EVERYTHING, but I'm asking for some specific suggestions. For decades, it was all about performing for me, that's what drove me musically. I got to a point, where for various reasons (where I live, financial reasons, medical reasons, etc etc etc) my days on stage are over. In fact, its unlikely that I'll ever have an opportunity to play with other musicians again. When I realized this, my playing really took a hit, and I lost interest in it. But I miss playing. I need something to get me back into it. I'm trying to think of something to play that is fun just for the sake of playing, but short of an upright (which I cannot afford), I can't think of anything. Any suggestions on styles of music that seem to be more fun to play solo than others?
Don't just play bass music. Get a classical fake book and play vocal lines from random opera arias, themes from symphonies etc. There should be at least a few of the cello suites there too. You can also do jazz standards - play the head, play a bassline, play the head again... If you want something more modern, play vocal lines and synth hooks and bass parts from pop songs.
Everybody has a different idea of fun. What type of music do you like? What is your background? I bought about a dozen of the abersold jazz CD's and a couple of fake books and play through tunes by myself. I also bought the transcribed Charlie Parker solos and play through some of those at the speed of a snail for fun. A little more information about yourself would help to provide better feedback.
There's plenty of classical music to work with. I've been playing around with Paganini, especially the 5th Caprice. I also have quite a few music books in standard notation that were not originally for bass. Most of it is guitar,piano, or even horns. I like to pick out the melodies and translate them to bass, see if i can make it stand on its own, as just a bass piece. Or I just look at the chord changes and challenge myself to write a whole new line. One thing about just playing for yourself is the freedom to explore whatever you want.
"Fappy Birthday To You" "Fappy Together" "Sing Halleluejah, C'Mon Get Fappy" "Fap In The Saddle Again" "When The Fap Comes Down" "Master Of Fappets"
Do you mean playing by yourself, with a recorded rhythm section, or totally solo? If you're into jazz, the above mentioned Aebersold play-a-long CD's are fun. You can also look into Band in a Box where you can remove the bass track of the MIDI files and play along. I find it's always fun to be part of a rhythm section.
