Playing in the Dark..

[bubinga5]

I mentioned this in another thread and was wondering if anyone does it..although many do....i had an idea for great ear training and your mind/hand positioning, so for the last 5 years everytime i practice which is every day nearly, for an hour i put the head phones on and switch off the lights...

its great for getting to know the intervals and hand positions you apply to your instrument... i can imagine its great training for a fretless...if i was into fretless..

anyone do this?

[risingson]

I used to have competitions with Stuart Zender to see who could nail the most correct intervals in the dark, but he always used to win for some reason.

[Lozz196]

Never thought of doing that, but it really makes so much sense for improving your stage performance skills. If you`re used to not having to look at the fretboard, you can concentrate on performing. Plus, this must make your playing more accurate. Definately something I`m going to try, great tip.

Did do something similar though. The band I was in in the 80s - well lets say we liked a pint, and knew we wouldn`t be able to play gigs without a beer or six, so we used to rehearse drunk, so we would get used to playing in that state, so when we gigged, having that beer or six wouldn`t affect the performance.

I`m sure there was some kind of logic there.

[sprocketflup]

oh the memories,......

playing at the old tic Toc club in Cov in almost total bloody darkness, the track had a section where all the other members of the band shut off except for me.........hit the wrong note first off and totally spurged the rest of my 5 second 'solo'....... i swear everyone was pointing at the hapless waste of atoms on the bass......

[bubinga5]

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1028467' date='Nov 18 2010, 09:21 PM']Never thought of doing that, but it really makes so much sense for improving your stage performance skills. If you`re used to not having to look at the fretboard, you can concentrate on performing. Plus, this must make your playing more accurate. Definately something I`m going to try, great tip.

Did do something similar though. The band I was in in the 80s - well lets say we liked a pint, and knew we wouldn`t be able to play gigs without a beer or six, so we used to rehearse drunk, so we would get used to playing in that state, so when we gigged, having that beer or six wouldn`t affect the performance.

I`m sure there was some kind of logic there.[/quote]
Ha! fantastic... not really the same thing but i get the logic... its not really on stage performance, more the relationship between your hands and your ears with out your eyes to guide you...... i dont really care about looking at the fret board but what your ear learns is what notes are important in certain musical situations..

[Doddy]

The idea of playing in the dark has been floating around for a few years,but to be honest I would never recommend it. I don't see why you would limit one of your senses. I don't want the Stevie Wonder was blind argument,because I don't think it's relevant.
If you spend enough time with your instrument you will get used to the positions on the neck naturally,and be able to look away from the neck.
Let's be honest,everyone looks at the neck of their bass or guitar when they play.

[Stingray5]

I close my eyes!

[EssentialTension]

The only time I've played in the dark is at a gig.

[bubinga5]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1028524' date='Nov 18 2010, 09:46 PM']The idea of playing in the dark has been floating around for a few years,but to be honest I would never recommend it. I don't see why you would limit one of your senses. I don't want the Stevie Wonder was blind argument,because I don't think it's relevant.
If you spend enough time with your instrument you will get used to the positions on the neck naturally,and be able to look away from the neck.
Let's be honest,everyone looks at the neck of their bass or guitar when they play.[/quote]
Doddy do you not think it may enhance your abilty to recognise notes through your ears and connect this into your fingers....and make a better connection in that way... i think its wrong to say you wouldnt recommend it...its not going to do any harm.., and certainly wouldnt hinder you in any way...enhance your ability to recognise notes and interverlas maybe..

this has got nothing to do with doing it for the ability to not look while your playing...im saying it isolates the middle man.(being the eyes) from the aquation....being the closer connection from your ears to your brain...

you dont hear through your eyes...im aware that this is a sense we have, but in music we dont really need it... no Stevie Wonder here..but its true... i dont need ears to draw..

Suffocate one sense and another tends to flourish..

Edited November 18, 2010 by bubinga5

[Doddy]

I don't think it's wrong to say that I wouldn't recommend it.
As far as improving your ears goes... If you play enough normally you will develop the skill anyway.I don't think that doing it in the dark will make it happen any quicker. I've worked with a lot of great musicians and all of them use their eyes as well as their ears. It is necessary to look at the neck,especially if you are making big jumps.

[Cat Burrito]

I practice not looking at the fretboard sometimes. It'd be a nightmare if I tried with my upright... certainly showing up my shortcomings!

[jakenewmanbass]

I learned DB whilst staring at the page so have never really looked at my hands much, I do for reference sometimes, but more on BG. And on the Alembic I have the LEDs so that does away with the stage conditions issue.

Edited November 18, 2010 by jakesbass

[bubinga5]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1028681' date='Nov 18 2010, 11:29 PM']I don't think it's wrong to say that I wouldn't recommend it.
As far as improving your ears goes... If you play enough normally you will develop the skill anyway.I don't think that doing it in the dark will make it happen any quicker. I've worked with a lot of great musicians and all of them use their eyes as well as their ears. It is necessary to look at the neck,especially if you are making big jumps.[/quote]

its nothing to do with learning quicker....more affectively maybe...

you dont need your eyes to hear music.. i think practicing bass in this way is something maybe i do...and know one else..i still think its great for your ear, and im a better bassist for it... i guess everyone is different, and learn in different ways... i still think there is a different connection when you take away the eyes and learn an instrument from touch and sounds.... nothing wrong with using every sense you have,

but i think we are closer to our emotions when there are no eyes to see the maths involved...

Edited November 19, 2010 by bubinga5

[charic]

I find playing in the dark makes me more creative

I learnt using powertab so I could never look at the fretboard anyway so I know my way up to around fret 15ish without having to look...

[thisnameistaken]

Funnily enough I look at my left hand less when playing DB than I do on bass guitar. I think the longer scale actually makes it easier to know where you are, because obviously there's a bigger difference between one position and the next.

When I used to play fretless I think I used my ears more than my eyes too. All my fretlesses were unlined so there wasn't much worth looking at anyway.

[beardybass]

I used to practise in the dark a lot when I was at college, especially when I first started playing fretless. I used to really enjoy it, I couldn't say whether it directly did me any good, but I'm pretty sure it didn't do me any harm.

Without wanting to sound too arty farty, I used to find it let me get more immersed in what I was playing, I used to turn off the lights, close my eyes and quite often lay on the bed... sorry, went a bit Lionel Richie there.

But in all seriousness, I think itz gud.

[daz]

[quote name='risingson' post='1028408' date='Nov 18 2010, 08:48 PM']I used to have competitions with Stuart Zender to see who could nail the most correct intervals in the dark, but he always used to win for some reason.

[/quote]

Why Zender thinks he looks cool in those 30 inch flares I just cant fathom. He will be wearing 3 stared jumpers next.

ps: I was gonna put up a pic of three star jumpers for those under 30, in case they didnt know what the refference was. Howewver i could not find a single picture when i googled it!!! : Except for a tiny pic and somebody else bemoaning exactly the same thing!! see below

[quote]Star Jumpers:
A V-necked sweater in one colour (often brown or black but, occasionally blue or white) with three stars knitted in the centre in a different colour. All the Northern Soul kids with their massive flares used to wear them down the youth club thinking there were as cool as milk. And, briefly, around 1975, it was something that pretty much all the kids wanted. To have on when you were riding your chopper bike and wearing big cheap shades that made you look like Elton John. But, actually, Star Jumpers were rather trampy and after a while, they even found their way into an infamous football chant in which one team's fans would taunt the opposition for having "a three-star jumper halfway up his back." Unlike most of the things on this list, finding a photo example of one proved to be really difficult. Doesn't nobody still have a star jumper in their attic?[/quote]

ps: I have a hard enough job puting my fingers in the correct place in the light, never mind the dark

[retroman]

Funny enough, had the same conversation last night...Having recently gone over to 5 string, which has taken me a little out of my comfort zone, having been playing 4 string bass the maybe 20 years, I have found myself struggling a little on dark stages...

The bass I am using is an Alembic Orion, which has no dot markers on the fret board face, and the side dots are tiny, which in the dark are next to useless. Going to start practicing in the dark, or make sure that I don't look at the fret board when I am practicing, so hopefully this will help.......

Probably gonna sound like Les Dawson on bass for a while!!

[ThomBassmonkey]

I don't know about practising alone in the dark, but in dark band practices, shutting off your sight can help you be aware of what other people are doing a little more. Not something I've done regularly since I've been in fairly aware bands anyway, but I could imagine that helping.

[Jam]

We sometimes turn off all the lights at practice. It's quite fun, stops me looking at the fretboard as much and it's also funny to sneak up behind the drummer.

[cheddatom]

I'm going to give it a go and see what happens. To rule it out would be irrational wouldn't it? I don't understand why you wouldn't give it a go Doddy?

[Doddy]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1029133' date='Nov 19 2010, 12:12 PM']I'm going to give it a go and see what happens. To rule it out would be irrational wouldn't it? I don't understand why you wouldn't give it a go Doddy?[/quote]

I don't need to give it a go. I have played many gigs where I can't look at the neck-due to either darkness or reading charts or whatever-and it's not a problem to me. I've spent long enough with the instrument that it becomes almost second nature anyway.

[bubinga5]

You got it all covered then...

Edited November 19, 2010 by bubinga5

[Wil]

I spend a fair bit of time singing while playing, almost every song we do in fact. You quickly get used to moving around the neck with minimal visual cues, although I still find a quick glance at the neck helpful for big shifts.

I used to play cello and found the volute (I think thats the term) on the back of the neck invaluable for feeling where my hand was meant to be while sight reading. No such helpful indicators on most electric basses though, besides the nut and the neck body join. That's a lot of space in which to get lost!

[cheddatom]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1029187' date='Nov 19 2010, 12:39 PM']I don't need to give it a go. I have played many gigs where I can't look at the neck-due to either darkness or reading charts or whatever-and it's not a problem to me. I've spent long enough with the instrument that it becomes almost second nature anyway.[/quote]

What if there's a deep and mystical bond you can develop with your bass that only happens if you play in the dark?

It's not about being able to play without looking at the fret-board.