Same here @howard. If I could offer any advice to N00bs based on my huge life experience, I would say try not to look at your development on the bass (or any instrument) as a linear progression - people don’t all follow the same path through to bassitude (is that a word?) and “getting good” at bass involves developing a mix of intangible skills that are hard to quantify.
So get to the point already, Ed! Youtube bassists are trying to earn money though a platform that is based on providing short, entertaining fragments. Charles Berthold and the like may be great guys but IMO they present an oversimplified image of what it takes to be a good bassist - e.g. someone who can flash through a scale quickly or slap the national anthem in under 5 seconds.
So, I try to avoid these channels too as they don’t offer me anything. Although davie504 can be a laugh and my wife thinks he’s funny.
PS Personally I feel we should be free to criticise an artist’s work, either positively or negatively. If they put work out there, they should expect feedback. As long as we attack the work and not the man, it’s fair.
Just to put this out there… the intent of this thread wasn’t to “throw shade” at Berthoud, or Davey etc… but to gently remind new players that ‘good’ comes long before you get to these levels.
I respect the hard work put in to get where the folks are. Someone just picking up an instrument for the first time can be off-put by that kind of content, if not viewed in a realistic way.
Our National Anthem has 15 Stanzas, what about yours? Who is great now, he?
EDIT I just noticed the map, that includes Belgium and Luxemburg.
WTF?
No worries, my southern friends - we don’t want you back, no matter how much you beg for it
EDIT Just learned that Greece has the longest national anthem in the world. It has 158 stanzas!!!
They must be overcompensating something, as I have seen their sculptures
The only bass players I watch on YouTube are you guys and gals. I watch gear videos, but not people playing. Berthoud etc don’t really do stuff I’m into, so I’d rather watch bands that inspire me, and see if there are any songs I am capable of learning.
As much as I want to learn and improve, I don’t compare myself to others, and I am in this for the funsies.
Of course I get frustrated when I mess up over and over, it comes with the territory. But I am enjoying the process, and improvements will happen.
Coming up on 8 months since I bought my first bass, and I can follow a few tunes, and even almost remember a couple!
I see all these great players, slapping da bass, tapping, using chords etc.
The more I play with other people and learn myself, I start to appreciate how good a bass player Gene Simmons really is.
Take from that what you will.
I dont get out and play with folks much anymore but when I do there are some simple things that I always do…
be on time
stay in time
smile (you’re supposed to be enjoying it)
compliment the other players
offer to help them pack up/clean up
there will always be a better player in town, on the street, maybe in the same room…don’t let comparisons take away from what you have accomplished.
I once heard someone comparing guitarists, Vai this, Van Halen that and someone said, “everyone is amazing at what they do, Beck technically plays circles around Chuck Berry but could he have come up with Johnnie B Goode?” …that stuck.
true dat
