When some BCers say they're not much cop at bass.....

[Barking Spiders]

are they in fact pretty s*** hot  and are comparing themselves to Victor Wootten. Time to come clean 😁

[Dad3353]

I can't see that there's much to compare to. We all play different stuff, for different reasons, on different occasions. Victor Wooten also plays root-five when it's called for, so many players here are, in those circumstances, just as good as him (other virtuoso musicians are available...). 

[Woodinblack]

Hard to tell isn't it, there are always going to be people better than you and people worse than you.

Some people think they are great and they really aren't, but they can't hear what makes them worse than someone else. Some people can hear the subtlety of the difference between them and someone else so think they are terrible - the dunning kruger effect I guess.

 

Without people having a standard to measure themselves to, there isn't much way to compare

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I'm a perfect example of the Dunning Kruger effect. I think I'm an excellent bass player but in fact I'm somewhere between terrible and mediocre.

[Lozz196]

In the last few years I`ve discovered that I`m better than what I thought I was, this realisation came when learning some classic rock basslines from bands such as Rainbow, Led Zep, Dio, Whitesnake, Kansas etc, stuff that five years ago I would have thought was way beyond me. I`ve always thought I was good at what I did (root note punky stuff) but thought my limitations were much lower than what they actually are. 

[TheGreek]

One of my mates, Chris ( @bassface2k10) is imo a great player - never known him to miss a beat, always in time and had an excellent practice regime. 

Despite this he would never play at Bass Bashes - he held everybody else in high esteem while doubting his own ability. 

I think that this is a typical bassist characteristic - if we were shouty,  "look at me" people we'd probably have been guitards.

[meterman]

Interesting topic, this.

 

Personally I think I’m crap - I never really learned along to records (except punk ones) and I can’t understand tab, plus my left hand technique is appalling.

 

But - if I’m asked to play on a session I’ll usually get away with it. Maybe being a drummer first and foremost helps with my timing, and always aiming to be nailing lines that don’t get in the way of the song? 
 

I’m definitely not much cop! Most bassists on here would - quite rightly - laugh at my playing 😂

 

 

[DJpullchord]

I’m very average. However, I enjoy it and that really is all that matters.

[neepheid]

 

(with thanks to the GIMP and sincerest apologies to Gallien-Krueger...)

Edited October 26, 2023 by neepheid

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

8 minutes ago, neepheid said:

I think I need one of them 😂

[Happy Jack]

On more than one occasion, I haven't even been the best bass player in the band ...

[ahpook]

How long is a piece of double-ball end string ?

 

I generally think I'm worse at almost anything that someone else can do, so maybe I'm really good.

 

I doubt it though.

 

 

[No lust in Jazz]

I play to a level that I enjoy and have a laugh - how that sits on a scale of good, bad or indifferent - I don't care.

[Dad3353]

There are serious scientific methods for determining the answers to questions like this. Here is one of the more accessible ones ...

 

The-Full-Study-Model-The-mediating-effect-of-the-authentic-self-in-the-relation-between attachment and emotional intelligence and fragmented cognitive concepts. Note: * p < .05; Choice = Choicefulness; FSC = Fragmented Self Concept; FRC = Fragmented Relationship Concept; all factor loadings on each correspondent latent variable were significant at ps < .001.

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by Dad3353

[AndyTravis]

I know some very fancy tricks acquired over a period of 27 years - all of which time should’ve been spent learning theory and sight reading, stuff like that.

 

So I sound like I really know what I’m doing but in reality I haven’t a foggy Feckin clue.

 

It’s like the kid at school who could juggle a football doing keepie-uppies etc but never signed for United.

 

but the bass version 🥴🥳

[knirirr]

5 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Hard to tell isn't it, there are always going to be people better than you and people worse than you.

 

 

This is why I shouldn't go up on stage at jazz jams; the public would rather hear the people better than me, and the people worse than me need the practice more and should play instead.

[Geek99]

I read the title and thought you were talking about me, exactly me… but you lost me in the first post. not me. 

[fretmeister]

I'm amazing.

 

If you want a great slap solo in in the middle of a Leonard Cohen tune, performed with an avant garde approach to so called traditional time keeping, then I'm the best!

[Nicko]

I suppose it depends what being "good at bass" means,  I haven't got any fancy chops, can't slap even simple lines and still can't decide if I'm a fingers or pick player.  But I know my limitations and I'm pretty solid when playing with a half decent drummer and that really the job isn't it?

 

I'm pretty rubbish compared to some bass players.  I'm a pretty good addition to a band though.

[White Cloud]

I don't assess my playing at all, I let others do that 😉

[TheGreek]

1 hour ago, Dad3353 said:

There are serious scientific methods for determining the answers to questions like this. Here is one of the more accessible ones ...

 

The-Full-Study-Model-The-mediating-effect-of-the-authentic-self-in-the-relation-between attachment and emotional intelligence and fragmented cognitive concepts. Note: * p < .05; Choice = Choicefulness; FSC = Fragmented Self Concept; FRC = Fragmented Relationship Concept; all factor loadings on each correspondent latent variable were significant at ps < .001.

 

Ah, obviously...goes without saying. 🤪🤪

[tauzero]

I have only occasionally been sacked from bands for not being good enough.

 

Mrs Zero insists I'm as good as Victor Wooten. Possibly I am, right up to the moment he starts playing. I think she's got Dunning-Kruger by proxy. I'm pretty competent as long as slap isn't required, or anything at full-on doom metal speed.

[diskwave]

The concept of better is really an endless circle. Ahead of you someone is better, behind you someone who's not. Flash doesnt much interested me, but if you can play...'One' with feel and delivery then you've got my attention.

[sandy_r]

 

the last i heard, the 'Dunning Kruger Effect' has been debunked and more people are able to guage their own competence reasonably well, compared to those who might think themselves more capable than the evidence supports

 

realistic comparison will involve plenty of practice - not just in playing but in listening, and in thinking, too

 

comparison isn't compulsory, of course - so if you're playing for your own enjoyment then b*gger the 'botherers'!

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by sandy_r

[Jackroadkill]

I've only been playing for a year, and not practising as much as I should due to life being busy etc etc, and I'm not very confident in terms of technical ability, but I've finally learned how to read tabs and during the last couple of months something has "clicked" in terms of understanding what the bass is there to do.  I might not be a great bass player, but it makes me happy in a way that nothing else does, and I'm grateful for that.