Whats happened to me...learning bass but now I'm going backwards!

[iconic]

Been teaching myself bass since March/April and thought I was progressing quite well,

But, these last few days I seem to be struggling to play songs that I was very happy with, it's hard to explain....I seem to be all [b]fingers and thumbs [/b][i][/i]...that doesn't read/sound right but I'm sure you know what I mean

Nothing I play sounds clean, bum notes, I can hear my fingers 'walking' around the frets and I'm getting stroppy with myself....and now my bass seems to have said [b]enough[/b][i][/i] and started hissing at me, see other thread!

Any recomendations, I knew learning bass was never going to be easy but I seem to be going backwards

The central heatings gone down and it's cold in the office where I play but surely it can't all be down to that...if temperaure=skill I would suffer 40c when it's fixed!

[Dubs]

I wouldn't be too hard on yourself mate - everyone has good and bad days, and the temperature issue can cause real problems if you don't spend time warming up. There's so many things that can affect how well you can play. I always find that my state of mind is a big one for me. Learning an instrument is a gradual process that takes a long time, so just stick with it and you will undoubtably improve with time. Try and play everyday and set yourself small achievable goals such as learning a new song a week. This will keep things fresh and with time should definitely help you find your way around the fretboard. I guess patience is the key.

[oldslapper]

[quote name='Dubs' post='697276' date='Dec 31 2009, 03:48 PM']Try and play everyday and set yourself small achievable goals[/quote]

+1
Keep going

[gary mac]

This will probably seem like a strange thing to say, but a new set of strings can work wonders (if yours are in need of changing of course).

The bass just seems to come alive again with a fresh set, it just seems to inspire me and everything in my bass world seems fine again.

[GonzoBass]

Sounds like you need to run right out and buy yourself a new bass.

[iconic]

[quote name='GonzoBass' post='697523' date='Dec 31 2009, 07:49 PM']Sounds like you need to run right out and buy yourself a new bass.
[/quote]


[size=7][b]It's obvious now and ya sooooo right, I will show your knowledgable reply to my wife as proof of the solution, what I need is a jazz, have a new one arriving tomorrow hopefully![/b][size=5][/size][/size]

on the string front good point, things do sound a bit flat 'n lacklustre almost like the strings are 'dead', I tried to fit my Rotosounds but had a drama with buzzing E string so went back to my Yamaha OE's, I think I'll slap my flatwounds on again

I bit of UB-40 'rat in ma kitchen' cheered me up before I went out last night....maybe a couple of days off will help me get my mojo back?

thanks for the tips guys, happy new year

[Doddy]

Lessons?

Seriously, it will allow you to progress better and without going backwards.
Also a good teacher will point out where you are going wrong,and why
things aren't sounding right.

[jakenewmanbass]

I think it more likely that your perceptions of what is good is catching up with reality. When you first do things your analysis of their competency is relatively low as your attention is drawn to the task rather than the quality of the task (therefore it's easy to think you did it well). As muscle memory and familiarity come into focus then more of your analytical skills are available for use, so it seems you are playing things worse but often the opposite is true.
The answer is to continue to provide yourself with challenges and goals that are slightly beyond your reach whilst at the same time learning to nail the consistency elements of what you already know.

Edited January 1, 2010 by jakesbass

[thisnameistaken]

Good analysis from Jake I think, and good advice too. I've felt like I was going 'backwards' like that on a couple of occasions, only to find that a short time later I made a big leap forwards - I think it was just that my expectations of myself had got beyond my ability, and subsequently I brought them back into parity somehow (either by getting better or lowering my expectations! ).

[Marvin]

I is currently going through a crappy stage. In part due to not playing for about 8 weeks. So from this week on I've decided to work out a sort of practice schedule. Nothing overly rigid, just some goals to achieve, learning a bit of theory go back over stuff and maybe learning a few songs that I like not necessarily anything that might get played in public. (which is unlikely at the moment as I'm not in a band!).
Everyone gets to a plateau where they are unsatisfied with their playing. Mine is usually down to trying to play material that I'm not up to yet.

[deathpanda]

I experience this quite often... I end up getting ahead of myself and playing really sloppy, and then feeling down about it. I find the best thing to do, is just to take it really slow, I mean real slow. Start off doing an exercise or a part you're trying to learn to a metronome at, say, 60bpm. Work your way up to a speed that's comfortable and just keep looping it, playing it again and again until you're basically hypnotised... Do it until your hands hurt. I usually find that when I play the next day, my hand is perfectly in tune with my brain and I can play accurately and cleanly. I'm no expert, but that's the best advise I can give.

[iconic]

thanks for the kind help guys,


.....some great advice there....getting ahead of myself, knowing more about how a bass [u]should[/u] sound, expectations v ability etc all very good points.


..........I reckon I need to take some lessons....playing with myself (!) is not the way to go