Mastering your mental game

Technique
21

^^^ this.

I play the songs we have on the list, over and over again. It gets boring…so I mix up the song order and also mix up the basses I play. The current game I’m
playing with myself is to do them on the fretless. Some are easy, some, like “Ready To Go” (a Republica song) are freakin’ impossible. But playing the fretless makes me think and engages the brain.

It also xxxxes me off when people turn up unprepared, especially the singer, who half the time doesn’t know the words. My goal is not to be that person. So I end up writing down, for example, how many times we go round a particular chord sequence, say in a pre-chorus, or how many times we go around a chorus itself. We were playing Nirvana’s Lithium at the last rehearsal. The guitarist and vocalist messed up the chorus, not counting the repeats…. I have a pro-guitarist mate, he said to me to have to know the song, know it so well that you’re not even counting any more…

But, the mistakes are informative - back to making sure you know the song, it prompts the discussion regarding - so Nirvana - how many times you go round the ‘Yeah’ part of the chorus…?

I’d add that my cover cadence (two a week) is also useful in the band context and the mental game context. Ok, recording the covers takes me away from playing the set list, but I’ve probably covered 80+ songs now (should really count). This diversity means I’m getting far quicker at picking up and learning (granted) fairly simple songs, the kind of songs I think we should be playing as a band. I get comfortable with song structures and chord sequences, comfortable with just ‘busking’ it. Bashing them out also reaffirms my mental model that I am a bassist. Ok, I might be cr@p at theory as I don’t invest time in learning the fretboard, or scales, or (the list could go on), but I can can count, hold the groove and make a decent noise. I am no longer a “want to be”, but I am an “am”. This counts - no imposter syndrome, no chimp on my shoulder.

The covers also keep my interest - I would get very bored just repeating the set list and nothing else. The covers also help in that I now have no shame - putting them out there helps overcome reticence and shyness. Who cares if someone thinks I look silly playing a bass in the local woods while my daughter videos me…I’m creating and they are not (whoever “they” are, probably the people who would like to creat, but don’t), so I’m step up on them… that’s my mental process. I’m another step up on them when I enter the rehearsal room ‘cos I’m in a freakin’ band, and it another step up on a stage! So much of this is the mental game, the positive mental attitude. It’s not trying to put other people down, but more create the inner monologue where I see myself as a bassist, supporting the other band members and having a good time🤘

Rock on, brothers and sisters of the low end!

8 Likes
22

@MattyD, use the kit you’re going to use… if you’re going to use compression, is it. If you’re not, don’t use it. I mention in my post above that I swap basses, that’s ’cos I want to be able to use different basses - as in a back up bass if something goes wrong with #1, so swapping basses mustn’t phase me. Oh, I’m also a cyclist. When training and conditioning for long events (I’ve done some stupidly long ultra events in the past) the advice is to train using the equipment and nutrition strategy that you will use in the event. I think this apply to playing the bass…

3 Likes
23

I love all of this. Tonight I entered practice in a real bad mental spot like it was hard for me to pick up my bass hard. Holy **** does it affect your playing! I was playing notes my fingers felt like they couldn’t move.

I told myself, “dude you played better at the audition and you have like close to 20 hrs more of practice time now. You can play”

It took a few rounds of the song but I proved myself right I CAN play. As soon as I got over that hump it was like my skill level changed.

I’ve been think about writing lead sheets/notes on the songs. I can’t read tab fast enough when I get lost but if I can put down the song structure and the notes on each part like,

Chorus G-E-C-D-E

The. Maybe that will help. Also I was thinking of putting the lyrics below with the guitar chords and maybe if I get super lost just try to play the root until I pull my head out of my butt.

2 Likes
24

That makes sense I was just thinking compression makes my playing sound even now even though it’s not. So if I practice without it and work on technique maybe I can use it in group practice and on stage to give me a little edge while still pushing to improve at home.

I agree with you though about using what you practice with. I have to figure out how to work. both bases in.

One has flats and is warm the other is a stingray.

1 Like
25

I’d use the compressor. It’s a tool and is there to use. Crutch or not. Hell, there are covers I’ve done with a compressor on both ends of my signal chain.

4 Likes
26

Our drummer has an iPad and an iPhone in front of him. In the iPhone is an app that tells him his bpm and bpm stability - he’s pretty rock solid - and on the iPad are the song lyrics. He doesn’t sing, but I think he uses them to make sure he knows where he is. Oh, he’s also the arbiter regarding song structure - back tj Lithium, when the guitarist and I were disagreeing regarding the number of times we went round the chorus, we turned to Alex :rofl:

One song I am writing out before the next rehearsal on Sunday is White Wedding, and specifically the entry into the ‘c’ section as that always catches me. I just need to white down the chords, as a crutch, and have them on the floor.

Regarding the compressor, I use a multi-effects pedal. The other thing I need to do is write out the set list, then write next to each song which pre-set I’m using. That’s another thing that can phase you, starting a song and realising that you don’t have the right sound. A great example is Dakota, where I want a bit of chorus and a phaser on the bass, or She Sells Sanctuary, where I want chorus and a touch of delay. Compression is always the first virtual pedal in the effects chain though.

Oh, and by the way, I suffer from insomnia. I was typing my response to you at 4am. I then got up and played 12 songs, straight through. Some mistakes, but practice makes perfect! :rofl:

5 Likes
27

Can I add a couple more things that I do? For the most part, I practice (and rehearse) standing up. I also practice my ‘moves’. What I mean by that, is I’m adopting the pose, nodding my head, moving the bass around, pulling the ‘bass face’. I know I don’t always do this in my cover videos - although I do at the start of the one I’m posting today - but I figure we’re there to put on a show, so practice putting on a show in the home practice space. I think I need to encourage our singer to also do this a bit more…:rofl:

Oh, and when you do make a mistake - it will happen - style it out and play on. I think this is one area where my cover obsession doesn’t help, in that with the covers, I will replay and replay a track to get as good a version as I can. Live, you can’t stop, you just have to style it out and keep playing :facepunch:

4 Likes
28

There’s no reading when you perform. If you don’t know the song(s) by heart you are not ready. Can you sight read the sheet on stage? Sure but those are not for mere mortals like us. You know when you are ready to read on stage. I read sheet music like I read a book, and I don’t consider myself good enough to sight read on stage.

There’s no short cut. You have to commit to memory with a little cheat sheet to remind you the set list, and keys. If you don’t know the music you are playing reading is the fastest to get uninvited. You do all of your reading and tricks to memorize your music at your home practice.

If you are new to this you just have to keep your head down and work hard at it. Learn and know one song, then move on to the next and so on. There’s no short cut. You don’t know your Sh!t and you step on the stage not knowing what your don’t know, when the click started your world just got so cloudy and very narrow and you’d get tunnel vision like you won’t believe. While I can tell you that nobody cares but I’ve been there trying to fake out the song and that was the last time I was unprepared. It’s not fun believe me.

If you are not ready just either keep it simple and play root notes and keep the time. When you are well prepared you are confident and having fun. Your playing is on autopilot and you’d be able to enjoy the experience nothing will come at you so fast.

4 Likes
29

That’s why my covers are live playing style and everything is recorded at once and not separately. I was thinking about doing the music on Logic then sync it to the video but I’m trying to avoid the bad habits of “redo”. I don’t mind mistakes on my covers. I think it’s a good thing. Covers are a lot harder than live because live performances the entire experience happen one time through your audience listen and interpret your performance as you are performing. Covers get analyzed over and over, :joy:

4 Likes
30

Some of mine are ‘live’, @Al1885, generally where I’m wearing headphones, although I have done a couple where I’m using room monitoring to hear things. Obviously, when I go and stand in a wood or the sea, I’m miming for the video, to a bass track that I’ve pre-recorded.

Agreed re: the analysis and reanalyse of covers, I do tend to listed to them over and over: is the tone right, is that note slightly mis-timed, could I have played it slightly differently…?!?!? :exploding_head:

2 Likes
31

I am in total awe of everything you have written so far about this!

One thought though: in my opinion, a compressor hides quite a lot of mistakes in dynamics (and possibly even rhythm).
So, when practicing I often play “dry”, to notice my mistakes better and correct those. And switch to playing with compressor to pretend I play good and enjoy my playing.

Maybe it’s a good idea to keep being motivated by playing with a compressor, but play dry to improve?

4 Likes
32

As I previously mentioned, I try to play what I would play in a ‘live’ situation. With compression, you don’t have to have it dialled up to the max, as you intimate, that can rob what you’re doing of all feeling, if you want some dynamism, but I think little bit is fine. I tend to mess around with different pre-sets to see how things sound, then fiddle with the pre-sets themselves, as you can change the individual parameters.

1 Like
33

Lots of great advice here. Taking cues from the vocals or any other individual except the drummer is fraught with risk. Josh talks about drum cues in his lessons. With covers, if you have been practicing along to the original or someone else’s cover on you tube etc when you play with the band it sounds different and your cue may not be high enough in the mix. As dull as it may seem you need to practice enough so you at least have feel for the count if you aren’t actually counting bars.

2 Likes
34

Oh man brother I feel ya. I woke up 3hrs early today. I try to keep a mental discipline of building a firewall in my brain at bed time. NOPE, STOP this bed is for 2 things and right now it’s sleep. No work thoughts, no play thoughts. Sleep is the #1 best thing that you can do for all areas of your life.

I haven’t really gotten too far into effects and tone but I know I need to start with that too.

2 Likes
35

I need to work on my “resting bass face” :joy:
I’m concentrating so hard I probably look like cyclops burning Lazer beams into the neck of my bass.

I like how you are counting that as practice. We are there to put on a show and bring joy.

Man with those songs from your setlist I’m sure it’s a great show!

2 Likes
36

The thing that kills me is I really know music. I’m a name it in 2 notes kinda guy but when I get ready to play it’s like poof. Songs where I come in a little late are fine but when it starts with me :exploding_head:

I love the feeling of just jamming and being in the groove. It really is a drug.

In the rest of my life I use my genius to do as little work as possible. Not bragging, that’s just how life is. On stage that sh*t doesn’t matter. It’s, did you put the work in, is your head on right? Are you focused? Is everyone else on point?

I chase the bass because if I can figure out these things with a board and a few wires, maybe it’ll help me fix the rest of my life. :sweat_smile:

2 Likes
37

That’s the trap too for beginners I think when I do covers I want to leave them as is. It’s not a contest to see who is the best at editing audio and video.

Now if I were publicly posting it on YT maybe. But I feel like here we should keep it real and get ugly feedback.

38

I think that’s something I really need to work on, where the heck are we in the song. For instance on I hate myself for loving you there is a part where the bass drops out and it’s all claps. It’s really easy to steamroll half way into that sucker thinking, oh the clas seem louder :sweat_smile:

But if I’m cueing off of claps and no one claps… Then I’m really screwed. I need to know oh, this is the x time through that’s when the claps start.

It’s hard too because some of the songs we play have the bass drop out for a while and our band leader is listening for when I get lost. He’s even told me to play over some of those spots when I shouldn’t. I’m thinking of giving him a signal like holding a hand up at these times so he knows it’s a long rest rather than me being lost.
I guess that would fit better with praise music but there has to be a good way to communicate.

39

:joy: That’s what live playing is about, collections of Horror stories, :rofl:

3 Likes
40

My earliest music training stressed counting during rests. It was an essential skill that I used throughout college music school.

Outside of large ensemble performances, I jammed playing my guitars and saxes. Jamming is where so much unchained fun happens. All fundamentals of music come into play as familiar tunes are celebrated with personal interpretations and improv skills are honed.

Then, when I played bass in rock bands, all my past music experience came together. There is absolutely no substitute for keeping a stone groove, but keeping track of time, whether you’re playing or laying out, is essential and should be engrained in your bones.

5 Likes