When is good, good enough??

[AdamWoodBass]

Really interesting question that. I've been playing for 10 years now, I was gigging at the age of 15 and I now teach bass at a private academy but I can tell you without even thinking about it that I'm no where near as good as I want to be. Thing is for me music and not just the bass is my whole life, I honestly wouldn't know where I'd be without it. I know that somehow I have to at least try to make a career out of it cos its such a massive part of my life.

I'm a firm believer in the fact that you never stop learning at any age. Even Victor Wooten who most people would ragard as one of the most accomplished bass players thats ever lived is trying out new stuff. Lets face it, the bass has only been around for about 60 years so its still a relatively new instrument. Why stop learning something thats in its infancy?

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[Shaggy]

There’s some great and honest stuff here, but my attitude towards higher musical aspirations on bass has always been mixed. As a kid I trained intensively on violin, probably got pretty reasonable, but because I soon realised I wasn’t going to be Yehudi Menuin I chucked it in, and regret it to this day. At around 16 I took up bass, punk was just starting, and I thought “yeah……this is for me”, loved the energy and the band camerarderie, and avoided scales and any formal teaching like the plague. 30 years on that’s still as true as ever – although my bass heroes are highly individual virtuosos like Mick Karn and Percy Jones I don’t really aspire to play like them. In the context of the bands I play with I increasingly find that “less is more” – like others have said here hitting the right note with the right sound on the timing nail counts for so much more than flashy solo runs or “busy” playing.
So maybe I’ve been selling myself short, but it’s been a whole lot of fun. And that’s why I play bass. (just bought myself a violin, mind …… where did I put those scales?…..)

[DaBassMonsta]

At the moment I'd settle for getting the right note best two out of three.

I'm nearly there... YouTube vids to follow on completion.

[grandad]

Good thread. 👍

 

For me, I'm afraid I play for myself, for my pleasure. I do care that my contribution to the music is good & fits. Therefore my pleasure is a shared pleasure with the band. 

 

It's a bonus when the audience enjoy such, I think they usually do. 

 

Many have stated that they are comfortable with whatever level they have reached & that is good thing. For those that feel the need to strive forever onward & upward - good luck & enjoy. 

[Machines]

In the time since this was originally posted, I have moved house 7 times, got married, had a child, divorced and remarried again.

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by Machines

[Dr.Dave]

Wow - at least 5 names on this old thread that I met up with but they don't seem to be on here anymore. Hope yuz are all good , folks 

[Daz39]

“When is good, good enough?”

Have you seen Whiplash?!

[JapanAxe]

14 years and 10 months - is that a zombie thread resurrection record?

[ubit]

I agree with the o.p. If you are wanting to go on to much better things you will strive to become better but if you are just playing weekend gigs for a few extra quid why bother going through all of that time consuming rehearsal if you don't need to? I take notions now and again to sit and practice but I don't do it as much as I did years ago when we had real aspirations of making it. When that dream died we fell into the routine of being good enough without being incredible musicians. I know I am usually better than I am at the moment because I haven't kept my hand in for a while but I am not worried about that as a few hours practising and muscle memory comes back.

Mrs Ubits younger brother is one of those annoying people who can just play anything and excell at it. Only this weekend he was playing in London supporting Robert Plant. He can't read music but can outplay most people on the guitar and is well sought after. The musicians he plays with learn all of their parts by sheet music but he just turns up and plays the thing by ear. I guess he just spent more bedroom practice time as a teenager than I did.

[SumOne]

I guess it's a timeless discussion!

 

You don't need to be the best to have fun and make music that others enjoy listening to. People don't stop playing Sunday leage football and trying to win when they realise they aren't ever going to be on the National team that'll win the world cup.

 

It's easy to watch videos of the top 0.001% and compare to them and get disheartened. And there's the youtube players that play some amazing intricate show-stopping piece at home, then you realise they might've spent months and 100s of takes to record that quick 2 minute show-off routine and it doesn't necesserily translate to a live performance.

 

It's good to remember that Punk happened for a reason, amazing virtuoso musicianship isn't everyone's cuppa.

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by SumOne

[Newfoundfreedom]

I'm cr@p. I play because I enjoy it, not because I'm particularly good at it. 

 

I don't even aspire to be great. I have no desire to put in the massive amount of time and effort it would take. That's far too much like work and would totally suck all the fun out of it for me. 

 

I'm perfectly happy to be adequate. 

[Bassassin]

Interesting to read my own comments 15 years on.

 

Back to not playing in a band, never say never but right now I don't really anticipate returning to gigging. So as a consequence bass has taken much more of a back-seat again (although I'm quite enjoying messing around with fretless) and music's once more a composing/recording affair. Not really too focused on improving technique as a result, but 'good enough' is good enough to be able to compose & play what I think the song requires.

 

Which is still typically too many notes in too short a space...

[mikel]

When is good good enough? When you enjoy what you play and it fits the music.

[Bilbo]

Not read the whole thread but saw the OP's original video.

 

I call these guys 'jugglers' and 'acrobats'. It is interesting to note that all of these guys (and girls) are presenting videos that they have recorded in their home studios/bedrooms etc and never on a gig. That's because most of this stuff is party pieces. An awful lot of work to impress other bass players. I can't say I ever actually get to the end of one of these videos. I remember spending time on these techniques many moons ago but quickly realised that, whilst progress is evident and it is perfectly possible to get the chops together, I just didn't like the noise very much. It's great that these things are out there but I am not going to invest any time in learning how to make sounds I don't like until I have mastered those that I do (which will likely be never).

[Bassassin]

29 minutes ago, Bilbo said:

Not read the whole thread but saw the OP's original video.

 

I call these guys 'jugglers' and 'acrobats'. It is interesting to note that all of these guys (and girls) are presenting videos that they have recorded in their home studios/bedrooms etc and never on a gig. That's because most of this stuff is party pieces. An awful lot of work to impress other bass players. I can't say I ever actually get to the end of one of these videos. I remember spending time on these techniques many moons ago but quickly realised that, whilst progress is evident and it is perfectly possible to get the chops together, I just didn't like the noise very much. It's great that these things are out there but I am not going to invest any time in learning how to make sounds I don't like until I have mastered those that I do (which will likely be never).

 

Forgot that this thread started as an early discussion of YT stunt bassists. While new & different techniques are always interesting & worth investigating as an exercise, I think not liking what it actually sounds like is very much the point. For all the clever technique in the world, the electric bass guitar is, in my view, not naturally suited to being a solo instrument.

 

Someone on here (OK, it was me) once observed that bass solos tend to fall broadly into two areas of either frenzied, frenetic clattering or insipid, anaemic blooping.

[chris_b]

Al is asking, where do you stop?

 

Good enough is when you can't be bothered to put in any more effort to be better than you are. When it takes a lot of extra effort to be just a little bit better, and no one else notices or cares, except you.

 

I haven't reached my "Good enough" place yet, but it seems I've been in my "Am I bovvered" phase for a long time.

 

I don't do solos.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Must've missed this one! 🤣

 

I'll probably never be good enough. 

I expect to continue improving, even after 30 years,  but as bass playing is a leisure activity for me, I'm not going to force the pace of that progression.

 

I find it much more worthwhile when I happen upon something (be it techinique, theory,  technical) for myself than when I'm introduced to it by other means. 

 

I had lessons briefly, and really didn't like being just shown what to do, although I acknowledge that it probably has stopped me developing some bad habits.

I then reflect upon all the things that my tutor didn't really cover that well/ at all that I've learned subsequently (mainly technique related), and find more value in them as a result. 

 

 

[Bilbo]

I would love to be able to execute material that is way in excess of my existing capabilities but slapping, popping and tapping are things that don't hold my attention as a listener so I cannot see the point in exploring them as a player (also bearing in mind that they are never called for on a gig).

[miles'tone]

I bet the OP is an amazing player by now! 😆

[leschirons]

Yes, this is a good post.

I'm inherently lazy, and now at 70, not playing much bass since moving back to the UK so, can't really see myself putting in a couple of hours a day to improve.  I'm  a fairly sparse player that thinks more about space and gaps than loads of notes. 

 

I was good enough for the last 8 years in the french band for us to be the busiest in the whole department so, I sort of felt that there was no need to spend time improving my playing. As I said, I'm lazy.

 

There was always going to be a hoard of 10 year olds on You tube doing what I do, 50 times better than me, and heading towards world class status.  I'm good with that.😆

 

So, get on stage on Saturday night, enjoy the music and your mates, stick your £60 in your pocket, and if you're enjoying that, you've made it.

Edited April 14, 2022 by leschirons

[Nail Soup]

Around about the time I say "F*** it" usually.

[Dood]

12 hours ago, Dr.Dave said:

Wow - at least 5 names on this old thread that I met up with but they don't seem to be on here anymore. Hope yuz are all good , folks 

 

I've just been for a scroll through too and similarly reminded of some names I've not seen in there 'ere parts more recently! 

[Lozz196]

I’m comfortable in the knowledge now that I could be better than I currently am. A few years back I thought I was as good as I’d ever get - which wasn’t all that to be honest - but over the last couple of years I’ve learned to play stuff I would have thought beyond me. And I’m now sure I could still do better. But am I good enough for what I need to do, yes.

[T-Bay]

Can I play everything I want to? Yes

Do I still have the desire to improve? Yes

Am I a bass God? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 No, but I enjoy it immensely.

[ambient]

In some ways I’m not as good as I was 7 or 8 years ago when I was at uni. Then I was doing 12 to 14 hours a day practice.

 

Now, my technique needs to allow me to express whatever I’m hearing in my head. I’m one of those strange bassists that likes to play solo, I’ve recently started incorporating extended techniques into my playing.

 

It’s about control, control of my technique, control of the harmonic aspects, control of the notes: dynamic, rhythm, timing etc.

 

If there’s anything uncontrolled it’s through choice, not through lack of technique.