Have you played in bands before not as a bass player? If not, auditioning is its own thing that takes more than 2 tries to fully grasp. Did they give you feedback that was helpful? If you lack experience playing with other people, look for no pressure jam opportunities, even if it’s just one other person.
I was a college music major. Played in plenty of large and small organized groups both classical, big band, and smaller ensembles—all readers; all had a clear leader and clear expectations. I have very little ability to improvise or just learn shit on the fly. --I am an analytical and “technical” player, not a “feel” player.
The first audition they liked my playing and enthusiasm (they sent me a set list in advance) but I was “not the image they were looking for”–i.e. too old for a pop punk band. The other group started throwing out key changes mid audition (not just “lets do a 12-bar blues in F”), started adding in songs I didn’t know, and it turned into a disaster. It became clear they had just fired their bass player and there was inter group conflict and the guitar player was being a dick and intentionally trying to make me look bad. – I was very upfront with my playing ability and got super embarrassed and self-conscious. I just stopped mid-audition and said “this is not what I was looking for; thanks” and walked out.
Not many “no pressure jam opportunities” near me–mostly younger jazz musicians with chops or older folks convinced their next “project” is going to be the one that “makes it big.” Not a whole lot of 40-50 yr old dads just looking to hang out and play some tunes.
Sounds like you need to jam with yourself. No pressure to learn songs if you don’t want, but jamming to backing tracks. You might use Moises or lalal to knock out the bass line and just play what you feel, because feel is where it’s at: it’s the heart and soul of groove.
I hear you about the college music major thing. I was one, too. But I came at it from teaching myself guitar, jamming with my buds, and writing a ton of songs, music and lyrics, before jumping into serious musical studies. So feel was baked in before I went to music school.
I have known many classically trained musicians who couldn’t play a note if it wasn’t on a page in front of them. While I understand that is how they were trained, there is a huge benefit to feeling the chord progression and playing to it by instinct. All the technique practice and theory knowledge you’ve accumulated then kicks in.
It might seem unnatural, counter-intuitive or even impossible for a classically trained player to play by feel, but it’s not. It just takes the same desire and dedication that is ingrained in you already. It’s a different, liberating way of playing, born of what you’ve learned from B2B and other lessons - except the music is coming from you.
i can feel a groove; but i at least need a sheet with chord changes/time/transitions/cues. I’ve played off of fake books before fine…but unless its memorized, playing without a sheet feels like playing naked with intense anxiety. In jazz combos i would always write out solos before hand. i just can’t invent stuff from whole cloth on the fly. by the time my brain figures out what to play, the moment has passed
A 12-bar blues is excellent practice/training for improvising. The I-IV-V basic structure is butt-simple, and the bass line can be, too. But playing along to a blues track allows you a chance to venture into improvising without pressure. As you know, great blues lines are full of nuance, dynamics and structural variety - the exact opposite of what some might think.
Just a suggestion, man. Blues might not be your bag. But there are tons of songs out there with relatively simple chord progressions that you might consider practicing feel and improv with. One foot in front of the other.
Unlike you and @MikeC I don’t have any musical background. But I’d echo what he says about jam tracks. I tend to find pretty easy chord progressions and then just mess about over the top. Even if it’s just 15 minutes, I feel like it’s quality time listening for the chord changes / beat and playing about.
It frees me from the strict dogma of learning a song for the ‘post your covers’ thread and after a while I find I just ease into it. I’m a similar age and this isn’t paying any bills but I want to have fun. Jam tracks allow me to have low pressure fun whilst developing skills that at some point will allow me to jam with others.
I’ll often go into my HX Stomp and add effects like phazer or massive reverb just to goof about. I hope you find the love for it again.
I also use jam tracks with the bass removed completely
Kind of an Oasis feel to it. I mean it is the golden age @MikeC if you want a Jazz track with no bass then that’s an easy find. It’s an almost endless well of decent content out there.
I don’t regret not learning earlier because that’s a pointless sentiment. But I’m happy for the free resources we have at our fingertips in 2023.
Here you go, something for all you Jazz Bassbuzzers I’ll secretly admit I play along with this track as well!
If you (secretly) want more of those jazz tracks, download a program/app called ‘iRealPro’ - no melodies, only comping and it has a little ‘mixer’ to turn the bass down/off
Do you need other people for that? Do you not want to be a feel player? To my mind, analytical and technical exist to provide the foundation for feel. You chose an instrument invented for rock and roll. Your subconscious is trying to kick you in the ass.
Have you tried learning a song using just a Nashville number system chart? Play just the roots of the chords first time, then start building a bass part. Now you’re improvising but still have something to look at. Or, you could go into prog metal, like Animals as Leaders or Polyphia - lot’s of technical, not much feel.
The only way to work through a block is to chip away at it.
I played sax in college: alto in private lessons; tenor in symphonic band and jazz bands. I know that the clarinet players were always under intense scrutiny to play usually intricate sections in tune, in time, and flawlessly. The clarinet section was routinely called out by the conductor, making them play their hardest score parts over and over, in front of the rest of the large ensemble. It was brutal to witness, but I sure was glad it was them and not us.
Anyway, I can see why there is musical PTSD from being a clarinet player. But a bass player ain’t that.
While the bass player and drummer shoulder the responsibility of grounding the rest of the band in a stone groove, it’s feeling the groove and delivering it that is the order of the day.
That’s where preparatory technique practice combined with fun jamming (with others or alone) are key to playing and having fun doing so.
Take deep breaths and try to chill. There are no conductors around to yell about bass. And do consider just messing around/playing to simple backing tracks.
Give yourself permission to suck, because that is virtually every human’s default when they do something new for the first several times. But keep at it and your suckitude will diminish as you do it more. Good luck.
That is pretty accurate as to how playing was for me in orchestra and symphonic wind ensemble. Playing clarinet was like mastering a very complicated video-game…just a matter of pressing the right buttons in the right order (with the correct dynamics).
Worst memory was being handed a C-clarinet at the start of practice and being made to stand up and transpose the part on the spot in front of the entire group.
…
Most “fun” I had playing music in college was the 1 yr I played trumpet in a ska-band. Trumpet was my suckiest instrument, as I basically taught myself using my younger brother’s old method books and was just good enough to do pep band and marching band.
The nice thing about it is the controls are simple and the technique is mostly in the mouth. I literally never practiced and still somehow ended up second chair.
And then promptly forgot it all, haven’t touched one since band.
I’ll secretly admit I play along with this track as well!
