uh...for steve and everybody

[SOLUS]

hello all,

i wanna ask all the bassists here: what is the ONE problem that you run into most often when you're practising or learning new stuffs?

p.s. i need some 3 finger exercizes involving string-skipping to increase my "fluency" (not speed) of plucking

 

[HippieOfDoom]

One problem? I wish!
If I had to sum it up, I'd say my problem is with everyone in the band but the bassist.
Wait...even then, sometimes I hate that prick.

 

[Erik Tiwaz]

I've found that if one is to overcome one's shortcomings , one needs to view them as temporary. Music , atleast for me (I'm sure most musicians feels the same way), with all aspects involved , is a learning process , and I find it more difficult to learn something when I have a negative wibe towards what I am trying to master , that goes for anything.
I have only serious affection for my instrument , and I feel I can't allow myself to have any negativeness involved with that.
When I feel I get frustrated over some part or technique I'm trying to learn , I just sit down and analyze what I am doing , and I go through what I'm doing at a slow pace , learn to walk before you run.
The basic ingredients in my way of learning is patience , focus , discipline and fun , these four ingredients are closely knitted together.
I am my own teacher , I've never had any instruction or classes , what I learn , I learn by myself. Teach yourself as you would teach your most promising pupil.
Though I am perfectly aware of my shortcomings , I still feel happy and secure about it because of their relative short 'life'.
Problems? Negativeness is only selfinflicted punishment , it will get you nowhere.

 

[The Wanderer]

It totally depends on what i'm learning. sometimes figuring out how to finger it, the timing, a drumbeat, a transition. I have to get teh feel of the riff and everything else to really nail my part and if i can't get that i'm screwed. i can count it all out and know it back and forth but without the feel i have trouble playing it. lately i'm kinda stuck and having a hard time coming up; with cool stuff. we're writing our next album and its sort of important. oh well. i think it will pass in time.

 

[Necrobobsledder]

usually when i try to learn bass lines from a cd.... its tough to hear the bass so you dont know i it is following the guitar or not. i wish the bass more noticeable in metal. much like newer death,control denied, and spiral architect. oh and figuring out how to play it correctly is tough. another problem i used to encounter when i first started was the cadence of the part i was trying to pick up. but i have a feel for rythym so that isnt a problem anymore at all. i would say just play what you are trying to learn slowly and pick up speed as you know the part better. as tyr said, "learn to walk before you run" and you will have greater ease later on.

 

[xenophobe]

The toughest thing is when the guitarist says, I want you to play (this)... watching the other guitarist grimmace when trying to play it, and they want me to harmonize, or even a ghost line that just can't be physically played on bass... or at least can't be played by ME...

The struggles of uber-technical DM bass.

 

[SOLUS]

today i had an improvisational jam with bunch of buddies and my teacher. the hardest thing as a better player is to present yourself, whether when you're trying to satisfy yourself or convince other people that you're a good player. the stuff we improvised were simple on the bass, but as a group of people come together, we have to present ourselves and communicate to each others in order to create good music. like tyr said, it's about overcoming yourself, not over coming the techniques.

 

[xenophobe]

You need to have proficency and soul. As long as you have both, you can tackle most any obstacle.

TYR said he can't deal with negativity in playing something he's not quite into. The way I've always handled it in the past, if there's some song or part that you need to play that you don't like, create something that makes that song or part memorable, and make it enjoyable to play. It's very difficult, but having to do it is a very valuable learning experinece.

It's still not as difficult as memorizing some of the stuff I'm having to learn right now. I'm totally enjoying it, but it's the fastest and most complex music I've ever had to play.

I'm not really sure what you mean about presenting yourself.... I know as long as I'm focusing on learning, excecuting and then preforming to the standards I've set for myself, I don't need to worry about that.... especially outside of the band. I could care less how many people I impress if I don't impress myself...