Where to pick back up after a few years off?

[jacksonev94]

Title sums it up. Played pretty much every day from 2008-2020 with lots of live experience, very inconsistently at home from 2020-2021, and not at all since. Want to get back into it, but picking up the instrument is very discouraging. I know what I want to play, but can't physically do it anymore. No groove or pocket presence either. Has anyone been through this?

 

[Pilgrim]

I can share with you the same thing my Tai Chi instructor tells me every week - practice it another 1,000 times at home and it will come faster.

Fortunately or unfortunately, nothing benefits you like reps and practice. And I say that while admitting that I have terrible practice habits, so my progress and re-learning after a 23 year layoff was slow...but I got a lot back.

 

[red_rhino]

I took an 8 year layoff after my daughter was born. Played at home, but not consistently; I was more focused on building my career. When I started back up, it was obvious my body had forgotten how to do what my brain wanted it to. The key is to simplify. All those chops you had aren’t there right now, so don’t even bother reaching for them. Everything you used to know how to play can be simplified. Find some people to play with, and go for simplicity and feel. It will all come back.

 

[Lobster11]

I don't have personal experience with this, but the first thing I would do is seriously examine your left- and right-hand technique. If you developed any bad habits previously, now would be the perfect time to correct them before moving forward.

 

[tolstoy21]

I played from about 1990 - 2000. Then I put my bass down and didn't touch it again until 3 years ago. My 11-year-old started playing drums, so I figured I'd dust off the old Peavy and jam with him as part of his practice routine. I was surprised by how much came back to me pretty quickly.

I just went back to familiar songs and started there, kind of re-learning/remembering them. The muscle memory was there; I just need to blow away the cobwebs a bit and oil my creaky joints.

It honestly didn't take me that long to get back into the swing of things. I don't play as aggressively as I did way back when, but that's fine. I'm much older now and would rather work on dialing back and refining my playing. Getting back into the pocket was really just a matter getting dexterity and muscle memory back into my hands.

My slap is garbages now compared to when I was young (was very into slap bass). But to be honest, I really haven't wanted to spend time focusing on it again. I've started playing with a pick for the first time and that's been an enjoyable experience and has given me a new way to think about the instrument.

TLDR -- give it a couple months. It will come back. Just go back to the stuff that was the mainstay of what you practiced and played. Get that back on track and go from there.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Jogobass]

I stopped playing for about 20 years. Started again 3 years ago. I'm doing better now than when I stopped back then. All the theory is still in my head, and I listened to a lot of great music while I didn't play. All I had to relearn was all the technique, but a fresh start made me improve upon that as well. Relearning bass with years of experience is a good effort to see what you really want from the instrument.

 

[ajkula66]

Welcome back!

My hiatus lasted ~15 years.

Patience is the key.

Challenge yourself, but go step by step. Use a metronome.

Good luck.

 

[Geepers]

Yep, know that feeling. What I had to learn was that you can’t step into the same river twice. What’s past is past … you can’t recreate it. You’re older now and everything’s different. What you can do though is find a new river and enjoy the new experience. Eternal beginner’s mind: the key to musical happiness!

 

[CryingBass]

It's like riding a bike. Except without the arse-burn.

 

[meisi]

I actually usually catch a breakthrough after an extended hiatus. You stumble first but come back better.

 

[dlstyley]

I just got back in reasonable shape after about 7 years of mostly cold turkey. For me it took about 9 months. I was really lucky that I fell into a weekly acoustic jam. Jamming with them and practicing the songs in between, i just played my first gig since restarting. I agree with the others - it’s an opportunity. I’ve focused a lot on ear and feel while playing much simpler, mostly improvised parts at first. My chops eventually started building as I tried to add more complexity without sacrificing feel. Also, previously I really only played originals, so I didn’t have much of a song catalog. Now I’ve learned over 100 songs in that time. It’s definitely expanded my horizons. It’s not a reason to put the instrument down, but if you find yourself here, maybe take the opportunity to try a different approach. You can be a beginner again because you are doing new things, and the new stuff is additive to the old stuff that eventually catches back up.

 

[J Wilson]

Since I walked away from gigging, my playing has gotten often spotty around the house with my other commitments.

So I'm rusty with a capital 'R'.

So, when I decide to take time and play, I have several CD's or turn to a favorite radio station and begin to play.

Sooner or later, my hands come in, and then just the right song will hit me, and then we have ignition and liftoff, the inspiration hits, and I'm back.

Of course, I start with fairly simple stuff, usually trad country with those simple grooves, then usually some soul and r+b, a lot of the stuff that made me want to play initially.

For me, playing was always a deeply emotional experience informing the intellectual part of it. So basically, if I can't stoke those fires in the musical DNA, I'm going nowhere fast.

So if I can play along for 20 or 30 minutes for my hands to come on and then hit that emotional spot where the fire gets kindled, I'm in business, and I can go in from there.

Inexact, a little iffy, maybe spiritual, but if I can connect, I'm up and running. When I was working and gigging constantly, this wasn't necessary.

 

[Wasnex]

I cross trained from bass to audio tech in 2008 (military band). On occasion I did gigs on bass to help people out. My awareness of time and groove was still pretty good, but my accuracy was degraded. I got through infrequent gigs with no problems or complaints....people may have been humoring me to some extent.


I still noodle around on bass most days. I could probably gig if I had too. I assume the accuracy would start to come back if I played with people on a regular basis. Not totally sure the endurance would return though.

If you want to get back into it, assess where you are and where you need to improve. Then put it the work. It's not rocket surgery .

 

[wompwomp]

Yep, know that feeling. What I had to learn was that you can’t step into the same river twice. What’s past is past … you can’t recreate it. You’re older now and everything’s different. What you can do though is find a new river and enjoy the new experience. Eternal beginner’s mind: the key to musical happiness!

I love this take.

i'm a longtime guitarist and I went through some life stuff and took some years off.

when I returned to music i realized I was a completely different player. so I bought a bass lol, it's been a total blast.

I would offer OP might try a few different instruments on to see if they haven't relocated their musical bone. it happened to me!

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Title sums it up. Played pretty much every day from 2008-2020 with lots of live experience, very inconsistently at home from 2020-2021, and not at all since. Want to get back into it, but picking up the instrument is very discouraging. I know what I want to play, but can't physically do it anymore. No groove or pocket presence either. Has anyone been through this?

Best way to get that back is to play with other musicians, preferably in person. Or with recorded music.

 

[Shenron]

I have been playing bass only a couple of years, but I experienced 2 gaps in playing guitar:

- played 5-6 years seriously at the beginning (heavy band playing and studying with teachers all this time)
- stopped for 5-6 years
- played seriously another 4-5 years (band playing but no teachers)
- stopped for 12-13 years
- played lightly in the last 2-3 years (no band)

When I say "stopped" I mean barely touching the instrument at all, no more than a couple times a year.

Both times I restarted, I was surprised by how much technique I retained. It felt a bit like riding a bike or downhill skiing, you never really forget how to do it, but of course you can't expect to jump back to the same performance level, some of my rhythm feel was out of shape, and my fastest licks had become noisy. But still, it doesn't take that long to get back to that either if you want.

What I did lose though, was the repertoire: almost all the songs I used to play were gone from my memory. I could recall the most difficult ones (probably because I spent more time practicing them) by trying to let my hands go without thinking

If you developed any bad habits previously, now would be the perfect time to correct them before moving forward.

Absolutely! After my first gap of 5 years, I really took the chance to rewire myself to play as effortlessly as possible. I had been reading Jamies Andreas articles and book about this topic, and I knew I was a very tense and aggressive player before, so I consciously worked to fix that when restarting and really changed my way playing.

I was surprised by how much came back to me pretty quickly

I just went back to familiar songs and started there, kind of re-learning/remembering them. The muscle memory was there; I just need to blow away the cobwebs a bit and oil my creaky joints.


It honestly didn't take me that long to get back into the swing of things. I don't play as aggressively as I did way back when, but that's fine. I'm much older now and would rather work on dialing back and refining my playing. Getting back into the pocket was really just a matter getting dexterity and muscle memory back into my hands.

Glad to hear your experience on bass mirrors mine on guitar!

All the theory is still in my head, and I listened to a lot of great music while I didn't play.

Good point, I forgot about theory! I also remembered it easily but honestly I always loved music theory and I had been reading some of it even during those gaps

 

[Groove Doctor]

Glass of Jack Daniel’s.
Put on a playlist of songs.
Turn it up loud.
Play along as best you can.
Keep it fun.
Repeat 1-2 times per week.

Stop thinking about it and start enjoying it. Sort out the finer details later on.

 

[jacksonev94]

Lot of great responses here. Thanks, all!

 

[lOmnivore S]

An alternative to the Groove Doctor reply just above, yet kind of similar :

- Buy yourself a new bass. A different one from the one(s) you've got. (sort of cheap but good ; perhaps some low or middle price-range from a Japanese big name..)
- Meanwhile bring your fave bass to a good luthier nearby (just finding the one will bring you fun.) Have a lengthy talk with him and then leave him (her allrite) the instrument, with no hurry.

That'll get your fingers moving I guarantee.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

Title sums it up. Played pretty much every day from 2008-2020 with lots of live experience, very inconsistently at home from 2020-2021, and not at all since. Want to get back into it, but picking up the instrument is very discouraging. I know what I want to play, but can't physically do it anymore. No groove or pocket presence either. Has anyone been through this?

So Anyway, what kind of music do you want to play?

I'd think you deserve some grace with 12 years off. If what you want to play is physically challenging, maybe find something that's not so demanding.
Good Luck to you.