Is this normal?

[Bass-ic]

I think this must be me.
I've been playing for about a year now, teaching myself and trying do it properly with scales and a warm up routine.
How is it that recently I seem to be getting worse?

Is this normal?

[Adrenochrome]

Dunno, I never did all that.
I got told to learn some songs and come up with some basslines from day 1 so it was in at the deep end for me. Playing lots of gigs has always helped my development.

[Weird War]

Confidence is a mercurial thing so I'd have a break and, most likely, you'll return with renewed vigour.

So, don't worry.

[Stingray5]

2 steps forward, 1 step back?

[Prosebass]

Ditch the scales and practice warm up routine for a while.
Get some good backing tracks 4/4 drum beats etc and just sit and play what ever comes into your head for a few hours.
Make your own riffs and progressions up and try to be spontaneous ......
Play till your fingers hurt and your arms ache , then ask yourself...."was that fun ?"

If you answer yes , carry on we all have dips in our ability and interest, you'll get better and gain confidence with time.
If you answer no.....join a guitar forum....

[Happy Jack]

You're not getting worse ... the more you know, the more you recognise your own mistakes and realise how much further there is to go.

I've been playing for just three years, so I remember hitting the same thing.

My solution was to find some guitarists to jam (quietly) with. Nothing improves your playing like playing with someone else, and nothing boosts your confidence more than discovering that NO ONE else can hear your mistakes!

[Bass-ic]

[quote name='Prosebass' post='356325' date='Dec 16 2008, 07:58 PM']Ditch the scales and practice warm up routine for a while.
Get some good backing tracks 4/4 drum beats etc and just sit and play what ever comes into your head for a few hours.
Make your own riffs and progressions up and try to be spontaneous ......
Play till your fingers hurt and your arms ache , then ask yourself...."was that fun ?"

If you answer yes , carry on we all have dips in our ability and interest, you'll get better and gain confidence with time.
If you answer no.....join a guitar forum.... [/quote]


Hmmm, seems like a good plan. I really feel off the pace at the mo.
Cheers to everyone for the input !
Matt

[Bass-ic]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='356327' date='Dec 16 2008, 08:00 PM']You're not getting worse ... the more you know, the more you recognise your own mistakes and realise how much further there is to go.

I've been playing for just three years, so I remember hitting the same thing.

My solution was to find some guitarists to jam (quietly) with. Nothing improves your playing like playing with someone else, and nothing boosts your confidence more than discovering that NO ONE else can hear your mistakes![/quote]


It feels like Im getting worse, i cant even seem to stop notes buzzing and I keep missing the right place to put my fingers.
Grr, Its frustrating. last week I was joyfully jamming along to the Tascam no problem, now its all over the place. (me not the Tascam!)

Oh well.

[ARGH]

In the words of a great book ..DONT PANIC!

Keep at it,the magic is coming.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Well,what used to work for me were the old ''Hot licks''videos(no not tht kind) which,
Basicallyis a i hour video(dvd) of a bass player of the kind of music you like showing various techniques to learn.

Alternitavely, if you have reached a plateau and are having difficulty then perhaps seeing a teacher about once weekly
should help.

[Bass-ic]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' post='356380' date='Dec 16 2008, 09:04 PM']Well,what used to work for me were the old ''Hot licks''videos(no not tht kind) which,
Basicallyis a i hour video(dvd) of a bass player of the kind of music you like showing various techniques to learn.

Alternitavely, if you have reached a plateau and are having difficulty then perhaps seeing a teacher about once weekly
should help.[/quote]

Am seriously considering lessons after the christmas thing

[skankdelvar]

Two things here:

* It's perfectly normal (whatever skill level you're at) for your 'abilities' to vary a bit from week to week, or even day to day. Even world-class players have off days and on-days. Nothing unusual.

* As with any long-term learning process, you'll go through 4 stages:

1 Unconscious incompetence - you're not doing as well you could, but you don't even realise
2 Conscious incompetence - you realise you could be doing better than you are
3 Unconscious competence - you're doing better but you don't know why
4 Conscious competence - you're happy with your playing and you know what you have to do to keep improving

You're probably on the cusp of stages 2 > 3. It's just a matter of time. (FWIW, I'm just about at the same stage as you - after 33 yrs)

And if it makes you feel any better (or worse) - the more years you're playing, the more there is to learn...

Edited December 16, 2008 by skankdelvar

[Clarky]

After a brief spell in bands in my late teens I only played bedroom bass for 20 years. I was rubbish. I have made leaps and bounds since joining a band three years ago. Its the only way to develop your musicality, timing and confidence IMHO. I still struggle with scales (apart from major, I mean whats the difference between melodic minor and minor????!) but doesn't really hold me back.

[wateroftyne]

+1 to what has already been said.

Sitting in the house warming up and playing scales is nowhere near as useful as playing with real people.

[Bass-ic]

I hear what youre all saying, but I just dont know enough to play in a band right now. My knowledge is pretty limited.

Matt

[Clarky]

[quote name='Absolute-beginner' post='356491' date='Dec 16 2008, 10:56 PM']I just dont know enough to play in a band right now. My knowledge is pretty limited.[/quote]
So was mine, believe me. Learn a few riffs to blag your way through an audition (exactly what I did) and take it from there

[wateroftyne]

Who said anything about joining a band? Find a bunch of folks with similar abilities and jam with them. Work out a few tunes, play them at open mics.

You don't learn to drive by sitting on the sofa for a year reading the car's manual and the highway code. You get in a car and tentatively drive it around the streets.

Sometimes you'll stall, you might even drive over a pedestrian's toes, but you'll get better.

[Bass-ic]

Thanks to everyone for their input on this.
Cheers
Matt

[leschirons]

[quote name='Absolute-beginner' post='356491' date='Dec 16 2008, 11:56 PM']I hear what youre all saying, but I just dont know enough to play in a band right now. My knowledge is pretty limited.

Matt[/quote]

All depends on what music you like as to whether you know enough or not.

Example 1. Red house by Jimi Hendrix. You can get away with 3 notes
Example 2. All the small things by Greenday. You can get away with another 3 notes. (the same 3 if you play them both in the same key)
Example 3. Achey breakey heart by Billy Ray Cyrus. 2 notes if you want.

Three very different genres of music but equally easy. I imagine you're not into Blues or Country but it's just an example.

I think confidence is your only problem. You need to get out there with a few mates and play. There's no substitute for playing with others. Find others that you feel are of the same level as yourself. Pick 3 or 4 numbers and go for it. Everyone cocks up now and then. I've even seen Gary Moore lose it in a solo because he didn't have his mind on the job in hand.

[Bass-ic]

BILLY RAY WHO? OH MY SURELY NOT!

[Bass-ic]

Am going to loook up the Hendricks tho. Muse, I seem to getting around on. I can sort of play Starlight. I just keep forgetting where I am.
I get teh point. I actually try to play stuff that I dont normally listen to, as i am trying to be somewhat encompasing in the stuff that i learn. Its good for me, right?

Yikes

Matt

[Bass-ic]

I did just manage to get through 'Peaches' without making any errors!

[Delberthot]

I began playing when I was 11. That was 22 years ago.

I didn't know [i][b]any[/b][/i] of the notes on the fretboard until I was about 17.

I found out about major and minor scales when i was 15 and I still got mixed up between major and minor until recently when I actually bothered to find out what was what.

I bluffed my way through 3 years in a big band and a dixieland jazz band with minimal knowledge of reading when I was 17 (remember I didn't know where the notes were, until this point when I had to know them).

I learned from listening to records: as I got better the stuff I played got more complicated. My first song was 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen. By the time I was 15 I really wanted to be able to have the stamina to play 'sussudio' by Phil Collins but it took me another couple of years before I could. I now find it pretty straight forward. The songs I now listen to to keep the stamina up are: 'Phantom of the Opera' by Iron Maiden and 'Parallel Universe' by the Chilis (After I had mastered it I found out Flea used a plectrum and there's me using me fingers)

In the first couple of years of learning its also a matter of tuning your ear to hear the bass in a song. Sometimes its not very clear but once you get the hang of it it makes following it easier.

It all depends on what you want to do. If you want to join a band, have a laugh and play some stuff that you all like then maybe just trying to play along to as much music as you can might suit you better. If you want to be able to adapt to different situations, maybe see yourself doing session work or any other situation where you may have to read, then it might be better to look for a good teacher.

I teach now. If I had a teacher when I was younger then I may have become a better player. I consider myself to be a very good player, I used to be reserved about my abilities but if you want the gig you need to tell it how you see it. In my wedding band I may have to play a song that I either haven't played before or haven't even heard of. In this situation you have no sheet music so you have to be able to work out what will come next.

If you get lessons you'll learn about scales, modes and how to read music. You'll also learn different styles of music, muting strings, slapping, using a plectrum & improvising.

You'll also learn how to set up your bass properly which is one of the best things you can do. I played away until I was 15 on a P bass copy with rusty strings, the frets had been pulled out and the body had been very roughly sanded down. It was amazing the difference a good set up made (& new strings).

I'm assuming you'll learn all this. Its what I teach.

When looking for a teacher, ask if they follow any kind of learning plan or teach according to what you want to learn. Sure, its good finding out how to play what your favourite bass player does but I find the best way to teach is follow a plan but add in something that interests the student such as learning a favourite song in between.



I have played gigs with basses that cost me £20 but the difference was the set up. In fact this time last year while i was waiting for my gold Warmoth to come I used one that cost me that amount. I had already sold my '51 reissue precision so it was all I had.


If anyone tells you that they have learned everything then they're either lying or stupid. You never stop learning, there's always something new just around the corner.

I don't practice at all now out of pure laziness. I remember being 15 years old and reading an issue of Guitarist and the bass player being interviewed stated that they played maybe a couple of hours a week. At that time I thought how horrible it must be to only do that as i was playing in the house every free minute I had. I thought that if you loved something like this you would want to play it all the time.

I still love playing and always will, I just don't feel the need now to practice at home. I've developed my own style of playing now so there isn't really anything else I want to learn.

The main thing to remember is that this is something you do because you enjoy it. When you stop enjoying it, put your bass down and then come back later. I have resisted the urge to become a pro because it ceases to be a hobby and becomes your job and more serious and a way to pay the bills than something you do purely for fun.

I have had the priveledge to play with some fantastic musicians over the years and look forward to every gig.

I'm starting to ramble now but hopefully you have the gist.

[Bass-ic]

That, my friend , is brilliant.

thanks very much fir taking the time to get all that down.

Cheers

matt.

I think Im going to read all that again.

[HeavyJay]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='356327' date='Dec 16 2008, 08:00 PM']You're not getting worse ... the more you know, the more you recognise your own mistakes and realise how much further there is to go.

I've been playing for just three years, so I remember hitting the same thing.

My solution was to find some guitarists to jam (quietly) with. Nothing improves your playing like playing with someone else, and nothing boosts your confidence more than discovering that NO ONE else can hear your mistakes![/quote]

Couldn't agree more. I reckon that pattern comes with learning anything, you learn something really simple that to your inexperienced mind seems great but as you become more ambitious more groundwork is required to progress. As an example, nearly everyone can play chopsticks on the piano but anything further requires deeper fundamental knowledge. In my opinion this is the point which makes most people quit learning something, if you can push through it, it's onwards and upwards from there.

It might even be where the term "beginners luck" comes from[b]*[/b]

There's nothing like playing in a band or even just with some other people, it gives you all sorts of skills like keeping rhythm and having to improvise to catch up if you make a mistake.
[b]
*This is almost certainly untrue[/b]