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Who is happy with their playing?

Lord Sausage

By Lord Sausage,
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Lord Sausage Mentor

Lord Sausage

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Recently i was speaking with a guitarist I was working with and i remarked how i wasn't happy with my playing currently. He said "Who is? Musicians will always be never happy with it. Always looking to improve."
I agreed about always looking to improve but surely you can still be happy with it. I thought back though and I haven't been happy with it for many years.

So who is?..............and who isn't?

Edited by Lord Sausage
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Conan Mentor

Conan

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Comes and goes, and depends on what I'm trying to do. In my current band the playing is mostly pretty straightforward and I feel pretty good about it.

When I was recently trying to get a prog-metal band off the ground and trying to play Dream Theater-type lines, I felt very inadequate. Likewise in a couple of jazz-funk bands I have felt unable to play what I would have liked to be able to play... But then I realised that I just don't spend much time [i]playing[/i] those kinds of music these days, so it is no surprise that I have not built up a broad repertoire in those styles. I am OK with that.

I think it [i]is[/i] a part of the musician's psyche to always feel that there are better players and to aspire to be better. Problem is, when full-time jobs and families come along - where does one find the time??

Edited by Conan
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Leen2112 Enthusiast

Leen2112

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I go through big periods where I'm all but giving up coz I think I can't play the guitards riff as I'm crap. But if I look to where I was 2 or three years ago I've grown as a player and I've been playing bass since the late 80's!!
I'll never be able to play fast though, a big problem being in a prog metal band. Overall I am pretty much not happy with my playing, but I know I'm still learning which is good.

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Bigjas Contributor

Bigjas

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I'm happy with my playing because it makes me happy when i play. I have an enourmous amount to learn and improve, but I enjoy doing that. I am happy with the fact that I am not the best Bassist, but will always try and improve and learn.

I think that if I wasn't happy with my playing, then I would probably stop.

Jas

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flyfisher Experienced

flyfisher

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Lot's of angles to that question, but I'm basically happy with being adequate enough to play minor gigs and parties that everyone seems to enjoy. I know there's a massive amount of room for improvement in my playing and theory and my limitations would prevent me from earning a living from playing music, but I'm ok with that because it's not an ambition. I can't slap or improvise fast solos up and down the neck, but that's also ok because that's not an ambition either - if it was then I'd be putting in more effort, which I don't because I'm basically happy and have loads of other things to fit into my available time on this planet.
Guess I've risen to my own level of mediocrity and am happy enough.

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gjones Veteran

gjones

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I'd like to be stretched a bit. I'm pretty comfortable with the stuff I play at the moment, but like to be dropped in the deep end now and again. I'm touring next year with a U.S. artist called James Harman, who's a bit of a blues legend. He's had some great DB and electric players in his band over the years, so I will need to get up to speed with my West Coast Swing so I don't let the side down.

In my fantasy world I'd like to get the call from [size=4][font=arial, sans-serif]Jay Kay from Jamiroquai. That would get me out of my comfort zone and that's for sure.[/font][/size]

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Lord Sausage Mentor

Lord Sausage

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  • Author
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[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1386343429' post='2299059']
Comes and goes, and depends on what I'm trying to do. In my current band the playing is mostly pretty straightforward and I feel pretty good about it.

When I was recently trying to get a prog-metal band off the ground and trying to play Dream Theater-type lines, I felt very inadequate. Likewise in a couple of jazz-funk bands I have felt unable to play what I would have liked to be able to play... But then I realised that I just don't spend much time [i]playing[/i] those kinds of music these days, so it is no surprise that I have not built up a broad repertoire in those styles. I am OK with that.

I think it [i]is[/i] a part of the musician's psyche to always feel that there are better players and to aspire to be better. Problem is, when full-time jobs and families come along - where does one find the time??
[/quote]
It's not so much about aspiring to other players for me. What it is, for example, is about 10 yrs ago if you gave me a chord sheet and a groove i could do something good instantly everytime, blaze and improvise over most things. I was happy with my playing. Now if i looked back on some of that stuff i might think it rubbish now but at the time my playing matched up with my musical mind. Nowadays though, it hasn't kept up and my mind is infront of my playing. Does that make sense!?

Edited by Lord Sausage
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Cat Burrito Grand Master

Cat Burrito

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I think I've reached a stage (a while ago) where I am relaxed in what I do and think I do it fairly well. I'm not the best player but definitely of a standard and slowly improving all the time.... bit too slowly at times but there it is. As a rule I tend not to get kicked out of bands and people like working with me which after 25yrs must say something.

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StephenYork Enthusiast

StephenYork

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I go in and out of being happy with my playing. I'm currently not very happy with my own playing but I am loving the gigging and practicing more than ever, I just feel like I'm personally stuck in a rut. But there are times when I feel on top of the world with it all. As said above there is always room for improvement and I'm desperately trying.

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Wil Rising Star

Wil

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Content as a bassist and as a guitarist. I'm now learning piano, theory, sight reading etc and feel very inadequate, but my goal is to be able to eventually sight read pieces by Rachmaninoff, Gershwin etc and improvise around jazz changes, so I have a lot of work to do. With bass and guitar my goal was to make original music in originals bands, and I felt happy with what I know for that purpose.

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Grangur Mentor

Grangur

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When it's going well I'm happy. When RL gets in the way and the day-job takes away the time to practice and the bass goes to sh1t I get fed up with it.

I've a colleague who's a guitarist, or "was as gutarist" I should say. He gave up due to lack of time. I can understand that.

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lojo Proficient

lojo

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I wish I could do more than I can, but never really do anything other than learn and practice songs I required to cover, or songs that I feel inspired to learn

I can allow myself to get unhappy with what I don't know or can't do, no more than I can wish I was a yard faster and could do Ronaldo step overs at football

Im 44 and a weekend gig player

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