OT: I think I may have lost my inspiration to play bass...

[high mileage]

don't play to be skilled. play because you enjoy it. thats whats important.

Yeah - good point! I've taken a year off before and it did help me in the long run. In my case it wasn't the music that I was frustrated with, it was dealing with band situations and I needed a break from the babysitting stuff.

However, you've got a unique opportunity here. You're playing with some really good musicians and chances are you'll improve pretty fast. Over the years when I've been lucky enough to play with musicians that were a lot better than me (read this sentence again) I've learned a lot! Stick with it and pretty soon I think you'll have more inspiration than you know what to do with!

 

[x-ray]

Dude, consider yourself lucky. My guitarist is way better than I am (as a musician, not a bassist), and that's why when we play we can sound halfway decent. If I had to play with a guitarist who had the same skill as I do as a bassist, it would probably - make that certainly - sound like crap. It might be helpful to take the focus off your 'self', and put it on the music. Despite how hard you're being on yourself, I guarantee your band sounds better w/ you than w/out.

P.S. - I had the same feeling as you (albeit it lasted for only a day or so) after going to a Primus show this last year, and realizing the oceanic distance b/w Les' skills and my own. It definitely put things in perspective for me...

 

[Fred E.]

It is a blessing to play with folks that can teach you something.

Music is not a competition - if you enjoy playing bass you should continue playing bass. If you're over it then that's a different story.

The only person you should comparatively measure your skills against is yourself.

That pretty well sums it up, I think. Also, I want to add that you're in a much better situation than some where I have been the best musician in the band (and trust me, that's not saying much about my abilities)--that's something that can suck the enthusiasm out you in a second. Not that I have a problem with someone learning their instrument or a style--I'm talking about a situation when the guitarist thinks he knows what he is doing and doesn't have a clue that he consistently sucks & the drummer thinks he can compensate for not being able to keep time & compensates by playing louder.

It's a rare bassist who feels that he knows all that he needs to know & feels he doesn't need to improve or expand. And, that rare bassist probably does suck.

 

[Dr Stankface]

Nick, I had a similar situation to yours. I have played guitar for 9 years now and jsut a few months back I sold all my guitar equipment to start playing bass, because I was becoming uninspired with guitar. Sure enough a couple months after selling all my gear and buying a bass rig and 3 EB basses, I realized that I had made a very big mistake. I missed playing guitar, so sure enough I sold all my bass stuff, got a JP6, and a Mesa again and started playing guitar again. Maybe you just need to pick up another instrument for a couple weeks or something to get your inspiration back. Sometimes a change is all it takes, brother.

-Phil

Very good advice.

 

[bassmancb]

Just be yourself and let YOUR talent shine. Enjoy your music and don't stress yourself out.

 

[DTG]

... quit drinking?

start drinking !!!!

hey i am Irish

I play with a guitar player and a keyboard player that have been to college to syudy music/jazz,they are so much better than me....but they cant "feel" music,they need a count for everything,they just cant play off the cuff.

In an interview John Lennon was asked is Ringo star the best drummer in the world...he said "ringo,he's not even the best drummer in the band !!!"

my point is there is so many bands out there where the guitar player would play better bass than the actual bassist but it works.Dont forget your main job is to hold down the low end and keep it tight with your drummer not play fancy licks.

just dont give up.........and dont drink and play,its not big or cleaver !!!!

 

[Calaveras]

other tunings

We are all different abilities. You will never be in a band where everybody is of equal talent/ability.
Music is fun not a competition.


PS.It doesnt have to be a low B. I start mine around C actually. really light guage 5 string set and tune it a whole tone higher than normal fives. It plays nice.

 

[koogie2k]

NEVER let a musician who may be more seasoned than you intimidate you. Learn from them....I do. It makes me work that much harder to get to that next level of playing. I have seen the best of the best bass players...Dave LaRue, Tony Levin, etc.....and I have talked to them. Dave and Tony had given me such great advice and I work that much harder to be better. I try to find better players so I can learn from them. You will regret not playing anymore. You will miss it......just take a step back and be honest with yourself and figure out how you can be better. Take lessons....play a different genre of music....pick up an instructional DVD.

 

[roballanson]

Learn all you can I think when you end up in a band with someone better that you. All the jazz boys and girls used to sit in with better players to learn and appreciate.
Just soak it up and dont worry what level he is at and you are at - after all a band is a unit not just one person....

 

[stretch80]

My comment comes from my perspective of being (almost I think) as old as BP..

If you keep playing, you can be making music, and learning, and making friends for your whole life. And if you keep playing, you will get better over time. You'll hear things better, have more music under your fingers, and so on.

Lots of great suggestions here on cool ways to practice and enjoy it, I'm just here to say to stick with it -- and don't worry too much about how "good" you are.

Bert

 

[oli@bass]

Two questions that came to my mind while driving to work this morning (yes, I thought your situation over):
1.) Do you want to play with that guitar player at all?
2.) Do you want to become a better bass player at all?

Answer these honestly out of your gut feeling, without thinking about consequences first.

 

[Calaveras]

another thing I wanted to add is that you are often your own worse judge of your skill level. I think I am a pretty mundane bass player, but people, bassists even, always come up to me after shows saying I'm a badass. I think often we start to feel that our playing is very ho-hum and boring when we are actually at the height of our powers. The reason is because we are so familiar with our playing and music that it is even boring. This also means we can toss off things musically that are pretty impressive without even straining. Without even realizing it!
Thats what cracks me up about guitarists with their "solo-faces". As ifit takes some extra physical effort to play a solo. The real amazing jazz guys I have seen can make the hairs on the back of your neck standup without even moving a muscle ontheir faces. But I digress.
If you really want to quit bass, please start on drums. Not enough drumers out here!

 

[nicjimbass]

Two questions that came to my mind while driving to work this morning (yes, I thought your situation over):
1.) Do you want to play with that guitar player at all?
2.) Do you want to become a better bass player at all?

Answer these honestly out of your gut feeling, without thinking about consequences first.

1. Definitely. He's far and away the best guitar player I've ever played with, and may be one of the best I've heard. His ego is non-existant, and he's one cool cat. I want to get better so I can play with him for a long time!
2. I definitely want to get better. I think I was overwhelming myself trying to get better quickly, as opposed to taking baby steps and doing one thing at a time. The past couple days, I've been taking it easy, just having fun with it, and it's all coming back to me.

 

[AnthonyD]

Based on your response above it seems to me you have FOUND your inspiration to play bass...

 

[strummer]

Wow, here's a perfect example of the greatness of this forum!
Damn good advice from everyone, and I'm just typing here cause I need to show how much I like you all!

I play with people waaay better than me, but they want to play with me so I guess I'm doing something right (besides owning the PA )
I've never felt intimidated or anything, and as someone said eariler: Overdoing it can be a good way to get fired!

Glad to see you seem to be on track again, and you are right, baby steps is what counts. I've done this one stupid little practice thing for almost a year now, and I'm finally able to pull it off somewhat good. And it's not even a technical bit of playing, it's a dexterity thing
Also, I am still working on Alvas eruption for bass, though I can't say I think I'll ever master it like he does

 

[KennethB]

Great stuff, Nick!!

Didn't take that long either. The only thing you have to remember now is your own words:

I was trying to get better quickly, as opposed to taking baby steps

Since you've figured this out, you're more than halfway there! Great job!!!

 

[tkarter]

Why not ask him to help you to get better? Sounds like he would be honest and helpful.

tk

 

[oli@bass]

The past couple days, I've been taking it easy, just having fun with it, and it's all coming back to me.

Way cool, and great to hear! Enjoy!

 

[torgeot]

He's a quick word. I played bass for 15 years, then switched to guitar. When I was a bass player I was highly technical, played a lot of notes, not like Billy Sheehan but my bass lines were prominant in the music (Harris, Lee etc..). A fried of mine was a bass player in a band and they needed a guitar player and asked if I would play for them, he was a great friend and I said sure. So for the next 15 years I played guitar, I took a few bass gigs once in a while and played bass in a studio sessions a few times but I was predominantly a guitar player. My friend the bass player was a much simpler player, but man did he hold down a groove. I am now in a band where I play bass again, and guess what. I've learned to hold the bottom end down and play just steady bass lines without getting too technical. Don't get too caught up trying to be too technical. If you can play a solid bass line you will always have work. Most guitar players would much rather have a guy holding it down solid with them rather than competing for the spotlight. Look at it this way, with my simpler bass lines now I am much more reactive with the audience since I can think less of what I'm playing and just groove with it. Relax it's just rock and roll....

 

[nicjimbass]

Why not ask him to help you to get better? Sounds like he would be honest and helpful.

tk

I've sat down with him a couple times, trying to get him to teach me something. A great guitarist he is, a great teacher, he is not. He tends to skip around from subject to subject alot. No problem, it's just who he is, I can't fault him for that.

He did write down a list of scale patterns he learned, but he's of the mindset that theory and knowledge is good, but if something sounds good, yet breaks the 'rules', then who cares? I've always been of the mindset that I want the music coming from me to be as organic as possible, so I never learned scales or how to read etc. He's showing me there's a happy medium between someone directed by theory and someone who plays what sounds cool.