2 Years playing. Not sure how well im doing

[Twincam]

Its my anniversary give or take a few days of playing bass. And then a couple of months away from being a basschat member for 2 years.

I'm really not sure how well im doing or how to rate myself. It's just in the last few months that ive made good progress, im totally self taught and i think i wasted a fair bit of time doing the wrong things, however im pleased i learnt what works and what doesn't work so well myself.

I am still a little disappointed in my ability. Although several people (guitar players so not sure if there opinion is fully valid) say i play well and that they feel im about at the right level for my time playing.
I have a good basic grasp of playing. I can learn and play pretty much all beginner level stuff, a lot of beginner/intermediate things too, but after that i struggle.
I guess i feel like a relative novice still but in the next year im hoping to make good progress. I do have fairly simple tastes in bass, favoring tone, quality playing and timing, Over say flash, fast playing .

My technical knowledge of bass guitars and instruments in general is now very good. I can now set up a bass and many other stringed instruments, work on frets and do small repair work and modifications to a good standard. Im hoping to further this by doing some courses very soon. Im proud of this just wish my playing talent matched.

[JTUK]

I've just got into trouble when I said that someone that who is quitting lessons after 3 weeks
as he doesn't feel he is progressing, was basically not going to be a guitar player if that is all
he could devote to it.
Some of us have been playing over 40 years, I'd imagine, and the trick is when you stop learning
and having that drive. Because as sure as anything, you never stop learning, you just lose the
vision or desire. The more you know, the more you know you don't know. IMO.
As long as you keep pushing, things will get better. There are very natural players and some who
have to force it and also some who are happy where they are, but 2 years is no time at all to beat
yourself up...
You need to find more things to get your inspired, to keep you fresh and make you pick up the instrument
day-in, day-out.

[Geek99]

Sounds like you're doing ok to me

[FinnDave]

I've been playing for 40 years and still don't know if I'm doing it right.

[40hz]

12 years and nowhere neaaarr as good as I should be. Don't worry!

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Nothing wrong with being self taught, and having the curiosity and motivation to push your own boundaries is a good thing BUT it can be difficult to be objective about what will benefit your playing and general musicianship most effectively.

If I could jump in a time machine and travel back in time to when I started playing I would have one main piece of advice to give myself and that would be - get a good teacher who can look at your playing/musicianship objectively and guide you towards what you need to learn to improve, and embrace the challenge when this takes you outside your comfort zone.

In hindsight I'm absolutely certain that I wasted hundreds(maybe even thousands) of hours of valuable practice time over the years doing things that were giving neglegible benefit, and with the guidance of a good teacher I could have used that time far more constructively and achieved much more if I had directed my efforts differently.

[Left Foot]

You'll plateau somewhere, its the genius amongst us who dont rest on there lorrels and keep going for better things.

[Number6]

30 years off and on and i'm in the same boat.....just keep on keeping on!

[icastle]

If you're going to do it properly then it's a lifelong exercise.

I've been playing for just over 35 years and have had to have serious words with myself on several occasions for resting on my laurels when I should have been continuing that journey.

Two years is too short a time to start judging yourself - ask the question again in 2018.

[Bilbo]

There a=is more than one direction you can go in as a player. The temptation is to get more and more technical and faster and faster but you can also go deeper. I played electric bass for about 28 years before I found the double bass and, in my late 40s, I knew I wasn't going to develop a monsterous technique so, instead, I have tried to get into thinking about the bass in a different way. As a consequence, strange things have happened. I occasionally do what Jazz bass players call 'walking bass solos', i.e. your featured solo consists solely of a walking line; straight quarter notes. When you are doing this, there is something zen-like about the space you can get into and there is no question that, by avoiding 16th notes and be-bop lines, you get deeper into the music.

i guess what I am saying is that, wherever the instrument takes you, enjoy the journey. The more you play, the more it will reward you.

[FuNkShUi]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1428494588' post='2741752']
The more you know, the more you know you don't know. IMO.
[/quote]

This is so true.
I thought i was at quite a good level 12 years or so ago when i was only self taught.
I had a lesson, and i then realised how little i actually knew, and how much better i could/should be.
"Get inspired" is good advice. A excellent teacher did this for me

[discreet]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1428495751' post='2741771']
I've been playing for 40 years and still don't know if I'm doing it right.
[/quote]

Same here. But I'm not in the least bit bothered about box-ticking or target-achieving - nor do I have 'goals' or ever think about where I'm going to be in five years' time or any of that piddling crap.

I'm not in competition with anyone - in my opinion music is art and therefore entirely subjective. You only have to read a couple of random threads on this forum to understand that one man's Mark King is another man's, er... Adam Clayton, or something.

I enjoy bass playing far too much to be worried about how 'well' I'm doing, or if someone else is 'better' than me at it. Feck 'em!

Edited April 8, 2015 by discreet

[thebassist]

[quote name='Left Foot' timestamp='1428496500' post='2741787']
You'll plateau somewhere, its the genius amongst us who dont rest on there lorrels and keep going for better things.
[/quote]

I agree dude.

[FinnDave]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1428497949' post='2741815']
Same here. But I'm not in the least bit bothered about box-ticking or target-achieving - nor do I have 'goals' or ever think about where I'm going to be in five years' time or any of that piddling crap.
[/quote]

Me nether, whenever people publish lists of names of 'bass greats' I rarely recognize any of them. I just play what I play and if people like it, great. If they don't, then tough.

[Dad3353]

You can get some inkling of the progress you've already achieved if you turn the bass the other way round (play 'lefty' if you're 'righty' and [i]vice versa[/i]...). It will probably feel very strange; try to play any simple lick or song that you already know. That's how it felt when you began, all that time ago (less than 100 weeks, it would seem...). Be pleased (but not complacent...) with your present level of attainment, and be inspired to get to whatever level you wish. You may even already be there..!
(Next time you're in a music shop, see if you can obtain a pretty large bucket of patience. It will help a lot; we all need large doses in the space of a lifetime. Don't go wasting it on other activities, however. It's a precious commodity... )

[throwoff]

The best thing that ever happened to me was when I completely stopped caring what other people thought of my playing.

I honestly don't care how good or bad I am. I just like plodding along playing.

[BigRedX]

Why don't you just join a band and get on with it?

[discreet]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1428499008' post='2741830']
Why don't you just join a band and get on with it?
[/quote]

[Twincam]

Thanks for the replies all taken on board.

I don't have any huge expectations but i would within a reasonable length of time be able to pick up a bass play as well as im capable of constantly and i would like other players to think i can actually play and not think im rubbish.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1428499008' post='2741830']
Why don't you just join a band and get on with it?
[/quote]

That's something im working on and do have on my mind.

[discreet]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1428500927' post='2741853']
That's something im working on and do have on my mind.
[/quote]

That's good, because in my experience nothing improves your playing quicker than being in a band, especially if everyone else is better than you - you tend to play up to their level pretty damn quick, in a way you just don't do by noodling at home.

[neepheid]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1428501242' post='2741856']
That's good, because in my experience nothing improves your playing quicker than being in a band, especially if everyone else is better than you - you tend to play up to their level pretty damn quick, in a way you just don't do by noodling at home.
[/quote]

I'd agree with that.

[ezbass]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1428493782' post='2741742'] several people (guitar players so not sure if there opinion is fully valid) say i play well and that they feel im about at the right level for my time playing.
[/quote]If other musos, of whatever ilk, like what you're doing then you're doing something right. However, you'll know what you want to be better at and will keep on trying to improve; an unending road for everyone.

[icastle]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1428498403' post='2741824']
Me nether, whenever people publish lists of names of 'bass greats' I rarely recognize any of them.
[/quote]

+1

And on the odd occasion I've gone off to YouTube to have a listen to them, I struggle to see what all the fuss is about.

[throwoff]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1428503454' post='2741899']
+1

And on the odd occasion I've gone off to YouTube to have a listen to them, I struggle to see what all the fuss is about.
[/quote]

You're talking about that Japanese fellow again aren't you....

[icastle]

[quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1428503508' post='2741903']
You're talking about that Japanese fellow again aren't you....
[/quote]