Anyone got good after 50?

[roblpm]

Love to hear any stories of people getting good at an older age..

 

I playe trumpet to a good standard up to 20. Grade 6. Failed grade 8 due to being more interested in girls and beer. Was the worst player in a good quality Orchestra at university.

 

Now grade 5 bass. Mediocre. But interested in getting better. Anyone done it later in life??

[Downunderwonder]

I am over 50 and I get better every year. I think I would be ok staying the same but if I deteriorated I would have a hard time of it.

 

I am still pretty mediocre though so it's no miracle of anti aging or anything like that.

 

My main areas of improvement have been in my ability to hold time while drummers and others take diabolical liberties, even throw in my own diabolical liberties, and my abilty to draw expressive tone with fingers. I get way more compliments now than I did 20 years ago.

 

I reckons the bigger part of those improvements would have come since age 50.

Edited May 13, 2023 by Downunderwonder

[neepheid]

I'll get back to you in about 2 and a half years

[fleabag]

I got stunning at 50 years 1 month.

[Ricky 4000]

26 minutes ago, fleabag said:

I got stunning at 50 years 1 month.

 

Go on, I bet you were stunning at 49.

[wintoid]

The number of options for learning and improving is so great now that I think it's easier to learn.  I was teaching myself in the 80s, and the one lesson I had from a teacher was fairly useless (he was convinced the machines were coming, and all bassists were out of a job, so why would I even want to learn?).

 

I've done a few SBL courses, and watched so much Youtube to pinpoint things I want to focus on.  I definitely play better now at 55 than I did at 18 (which was probably my first peak).

[Fishfacefour]

I've half remembered a story of a famous cello player who when he was asked why he still practiced every day at age 90 answered "well I'm just starting to get good" 

 

[dmccombe7]

Depends what you mean by better or improved.

Personally i played faster when i was 20 and i was able to improvise better.

Now 63 i feel that i fit better in bands. My attitude to playing has improved, I'm more acceptable to others and the needs of the band and not just my own needs plus i don't have work to worry about now. 

My accuracy has improved, my technique has improved in past 5 yrs where i'm not hitting the strings so hard and getting blisters on my plucking hand.

I'm holding both my hands at "better" angles to reduce aches.

I'm playing more and better gigs these days so that's an improvement.

Modern amps with hi-fi tones have meant you hear every noise of your technique forcing you to play better so i guess i've improved there too.

 All in all i would say yes i got better after 50.

Dave

[Lozz196]

Not so sure about playing but I’ve certainly got better at understanding what the bass should be doing in a song, and can usually bring up about 3 different bass lines/ways of playing the song, try them and hear which is right. This maybe due to having been in originals bands since late 40s and taken a more active role in songwriting since 50ish.

[Dom in Dorset]

Not necessarily "good" but I think I've become the best version of me. 

An accidental involvement in country rock taught me to keep it simple and tight leading me to develop a playing style akin to a Johnny Cash/ Lemmy hybrid and becoming sole vocalist developed my voice to a point where I would actually describe myself as a singer.

I found my niche.

[stewblack]

It's difficult to quantify for me. When I was young the sheer energy and single minded determination I brought to bear were mind boggling to my elderly self. 

I would write and learn my bass lines for hours and, honestly, I listen to some of them now and I'm not sure I could even play them.

Nowadays I play with a calmness, and an understanding I lacked then. Nowadays I can read music and gig songs I don't know from a chord chart. Nowadays I can gig in multiple bands across multiple genres. 

Nowadays I'm grateful to still be playing but envious of the crazy young thing that played his insane bass lines while leaping across the stage like a gazelle. A slim, young gazelle. With hair. 

[Waddo Soqable]

6 hours ago, fleabag said:

I got stunning at 50 years 1 month.

Those tazers are quite painful I imagine, tho I'm sure you deserved it.... 

[nekomatic]

1 hour ago, Fishfacefour said:

I've half remembered a story of a famous cello player who when he was asked why he still practiced every day at age 90 answered "well I'm just starting to get good" 

 

Sounds like Pablo Casals 

I’m 51 and don’t claim to be good, but I think I have a much better understanding now of why not than I did in my twenties - having not played much in the intervening time - so with a bit of practice, who knows?

[Old Horse Murphy]

I've always thought that bass players are like spin bowlers or prop forwards, in that they mature later than other team members and learn their craft, the subtle nuances and read the game better as they go along. 

[Fishfacefour]

18 minutes ago, nekomatic said:

Sounds like Pablo Casals 

 

Ah yes that's the one!

[ezbass]

Due to lockdown and the purchase of a new bass, I practised so much I gave myself a mild case of tendinitis. However, the nett result was that my chops were and are better than ever. 60+ here.

[roblpm]

Wow lots of replies! I wish I had done it at 20 but should be gigging by the time I'm 60! Encouraging stuff!!

[dmccombe7]

I restarted at 50 and by 51 i was in a deep purple tribute band and since then i've been in several different bands.

Once you get back into it you will be out gigging within a shorter time than you think especially if you can be flexible with the style of music you play.

All the very best with your new journey.

Dave

[ezbass]

2 minutes ago, roblpm said:

Wow lots of replies! I wish I had done it at 20 but should be gigging by the time I'm 60! Encouraging stuff!!

Just joined a band this year after a 3 year lay off. It’s about attitude, not decrepitude.*

 

 

 

 

 

*Except where ailments cause issues to playing, but that’s not necessarily an age thing.

[roblpm]

2 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Just joined a band this year after a 3 year lay off. It’s about attitude, not decrepitude.*

 

 

 

 

 

*Except where ailments cause issues to playing, but that’s not necessarily an age thing.

 

Wow great stuff!

[NancyJohnson]

I think most of my better work came post-50.  You slow down a bit; you realise that it's not all about playing everything at 100mph.

[Happy Jack]

I picked up a bass for the first time on my 49th birthday so yes, I guess I have improved since I was 50.

[gjones]

When I started playing bass, at 16, I learned a few Rock classics, then pretty soon after joined a band writing and playing original stuff for the next ten years. Then joined my brother in laws Blues band and for the next 30 years played nothing but Blues (in various bands). But since I've turned 50 I've branched out. I still play in a Blues band but have been in a ska band, a country band, a heavy Rock band, and a covers band (playing everything from Blondie to Queen).

 

So I've definitely become a more versatile player since my 50th birthday.  

[snorkie635]

I can't even remember being 50. 
 

I'll ask my carer if I have done anything of interest since then.

 

 

 

 

Now, where did I leave my carer?

 

Bass? Is it a type of fish?

[wateroftyne]

I hit 50 last August, and I've been gradually falling apart ever since. It's like someone flicked a switch 😄