Technique Falling Apart

Technique
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If you haven’t already go make a profile on bandmix. Let people know you are really new to bass and you are looking for folks to play with.

I know you are nervous about playing but think of it this way. If people reach out knowing you are just start out then they are reaching out because the value of a bass player (at any skill level) is worth their time.

Just let that sink in:

“the value of a bass player (at any skill level) is worth their time.”

I felt like I was all thumbs yesterday at practice and the outgoing bassist said at the end, “Dude you played notes on those songs that I’ve always wanted to play”.

I know I have a LOOOOONNNGGG way to go but what a great compliment.

I’m also apparently playing my first open mic this week. I only started with this band in October but getting stage experience at any cost is worth whatever potential Trainwreck might occur.

Use your uncomfortableness as an asset to push you into trying harder.

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I’m taking Mark’s Sight Reading course, and I’m also taking Chord Tones. I’m currently in the home stretch of Level 4 of SR (Module 1 = Level 1, 2, 3 Module 2 = Level 4, 5, 6 Module 3 = Level 7, 8, 9). I’m almost done with Module 2 of Chord Tones. Both courses are truly excellent and well thought out. SR is very progressive beginning with natural notes only on the first 5 frets and simple rhythm and slowly moving to key signatures and complicated rhythms. Like chord tones, which many of you have taken, you get out of SR what you put into it. I will likely never find myself in a situation where I’m presented with sheet music I’ve never seen and be expected to play if for $, but I feel the skills I’m gaining have greatly improved my bass playing in a very short timeframe. I grew up on guitar and guitar lessons and was never taught any music theory, just memorize this chord, that chord, and look at this TAB etc. Probably bad teacher selection but I didn’t know what I didn’t know and there was no internet. I actually took a run at guitar at least 3 times during my early years and can’t really play anything now. When I started bass I wanted to do it right this time around and I’m finding the combination of B2B with very practical application of a progressive set of skills combined with a more college approach is working well for me. Qualifier: I thrive on lots of structured practice and having a plethora of prepared practice material to work with.

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@jefflangford67, I couldn’t agree more about Mark Smith’s brilliant sight reading course for how to read music notation applicable specifically for bass playing.

As is his wont, each of Mark’s courses goes deep into a given topic, but they also correlate so well with his other courses. The overlap is organic inasmuch as playing technique and music theory are interrelated in practice. In other words, players play what they know. Therefore, the more they learn, the more they can play.

Kudos on your progress with Chord Tones and Sight Reading! :+1:

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It looks like he has broken down the course in to three separate parts. Any value in the first part if you can already read music?

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@howard if you plan to create the muscle memory of fretting each note on the staff while reading the sheet music (ie not looking at the fretboard) then yes. It’s less about reading the music and more about creating the finger association with the notation.

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@howard that’s tough to say because you may gain some things from Part 1, or your present knowledge may lead you straight to volume 3, bypassing 2. If you go to Volume 1, or any of the others, you’re able to click on a PDF of the content and lessons within that particular volume. I think you can best answer where you’re at and your present skill/knowlege. ****

edit: I saw @jefflangford67 posted before I could send my message and I agree strongly with him. I needed the “association” that he describes, but as I posted above, you may not. Go to the PDF.

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thanks!

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Is it just me or can bass players not take a complement?

I feel like such an A-hole when my band mates are like “dude you kicked ass on that one!” and I’m like, “well I flubbed the lead up to that first chorus, my timing was also s*** in the beginning, and I barely hit hit the last note”…

Then their faces are like I just poured cold water on them and then I’m like, “but yea man, I think it sounded great!” :joy:

I don’t count beats when I play but I do count mistakes. I call it “stacking failures” and it’s when you just build this narrative that drags your playing down. Missed a note in 3 songs… “you missed 3 notes and you’re the worst!”.

I’m trying to shut that stuff down mentally. My first thought is, “new song new mindset” but I think focusing on having fun and just playing your best is the most important thing.

Of course sometimes I’m having too much fun and I mess up because I’m too into it. :sweat_smile:

I also realized what I hear coming out of my amp/monitor isn’t what anyone else hears. it sounds horrible to me when I screw up but live everyone’s errors average out and maybe 2/30 people will really notice.

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THE CORRECT RESPONSE:

“Thanks, man! Yeah, WE really kicked ass tonight”

The point is that not everybody got their invite to your I’m-Lame Party. The guys want to be a band that sounds good and has a great time. And that’s a much funnier and better party.

Not trying to be harsh here, but I’ve been in plenty of bands and that’s the vibe everyone not only likes but much, much more needs to feel righteous. Mistakes are forgivable and expected. Bum vibes are not. Just have fun and accept any fuckups you have as the price of admission into some of the most fun and best memories you’ll ever have. Things only get better after that.

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I couldn’t agree more. The whole things speaks to the perfectionist problem that invades my entire life. Playing music is such a eye opener. I’m going to just tell them I play perfectly from now on and laugh :partying_face:

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Nah, just tell them everyone sounded great together and you’re so fucking glad every one of them is there making kickass sounds. That’s a successful band.

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My version was, when I did something legitimately badass in practice, and I felt bad for making it “all about me”, even when I was totally serving the song.

If you want to serve the song, you have to stop doing this.

Wisdom from my time racing cars: you have to look forward. You can’t change what you did in the past. You can only plan for what’s coming up and make adjustments to where you are now to get there.

Your band doesn’t want you pitying yourself. No audience wants you pitying yourself. They want you to rock hard and play badass.

I’ve got a ton of experience as a social dancer. This has helped me break out of the idea the headspace of “I made a mistake.” I frequently fail to pull of moves or patterns that I had intended, but that isn’t a “mistake” just different or unintentional. Sometimes the unintentional stuff turns out to be better. The only thing I need to do is keep my sense of pulse and connection.

Keep grooving. Pay attention to what ahead of you, not behind you.

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Playing perfect is boring.

Intentionally leave room for randomness. That is where you will discover greatness.

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That’s how I played tuba as a kid, the note associated with a fingering on the instrument, I could only name about one octave of whole notes looking at the score!

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I love this, thanks! Racecar driving is such a good analogy. You turn around and boom. I also like what you said about dancing and I think I’m growing into an, “ok I missed that but it’s fine mentality”. Like if I’m trying to hit an octave on a fast song and I miss, not a huge deal, I just missed some spice in the omelette. I also like the idea of making calls on the fly and adding to the song where I can. So if I feel like playing loud is going to help the song rock more in that moment I go for it.

Good thoughts.

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Oh hawk, buddy that might be my new theme for life

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I normally warm up on my easier songs that I have down. (After like, hand stretches, and rhythm or scale exercises.)

This week I decided to do something different and just go straight into my project song that I do not have down yet. To just embrace all the mistakes I will inevitably make and plow through them regardless.

The result was… kind of awesomely punk. I’m missing or flubbing things, but as long as I keep the intention and energy up, I discover unexpected thing that are surprisingly cool.

Now, my challenge is to take these things I discovered by accident and figure out how to do them intentionally.

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Also, it’s a little insulting when you think about it.

I know you don’t mean it that way, but if I say, “You sounded awesome.”

And you say, “No I didn’t. I made mistakes X,Y, and Z” it can sound to me like you’re dissing my ear and taste, as I didn’t notice the mistakes.

Again, I know you don’t mean it that way, but that’s how it can sometimes come across.

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Here’s another thought regarding making mistakes while playing. This is more a performance thing, but something to keep in mind.

My high school band director had a saying: “Blunder boldly.” What this means is when you’re on stage/in front of an audience, and you make a mistake, sell it.

Many in the audience aren’t musicians and won’t notice a mistake. Even another musician may not notice a particular mistake. But if your face and body-language say “I just screwed up”, they will notice. So when performing, if you screw up, don’t let on. Just keep going.

Also, going back to the racecar metaphor (which is excellent, btw), when performing or practicing, when you make a mistake, it’s best to note it, but go on. I’ve found if I mess up, and then I think about or focus on that mess up, I’ll continue to make more mistakes. It’s important to stay in the moment, and as with the racecar metaphor, focus on what you’re doing now, not what you already did.

I’ve noticed something interesting with pro bass players specifically with this.

There are some key moments when the “bass face” will come out. Often it’s because they’re just really into the groove, or working to get there.

But I’ve noticed every time I’ve seen a pro bass player flub, the bass face comes out. I don’t know if it is conscious or not, but it does sell the mistake. The bass face doesn’t say, “Oh crap, I just screwed up.” It says, “This groove is awesome and I’m in the zone.” And that’s what the audience picks up on. They don’t see it as a mistake, they see it as something awesome you just did. (Unless of course they’re a fellow musician/bass player and do pick up on it, but then, like me, they’re likely more impressed by your professionalism than worried about the flub).

EDIT: Other musicians do the “bass face” too: guitarists, violinists, etc. Theirs just aren’t as cool as ours. :smiley:

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Ok it’s tilt up bassgasm bass face if I miss a note… :joy: :wink: :joy: :wink: :woozy_face:

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