[EVOLghost]

It helps sometimes to play more and more until you're completely sick of the instrument. Once you reach total hatred upon your instrument you can abuse it and get it to scream for its life which will then create themost beautiful sound ever.

[jon boy]

Originally Posted by swa(y)

if yr not having fun playing yr instrument..DONT! sometimes it happens.
most musicians find themselves in this rut from time to time.

sometimes picking up another instrument can help, but its not guaranteed. im the sort that will play anything someone puts in front of me (even if its an instrument i have little/no skill with)..but if im just not enjoying the act of creating music, this wont matter.

i think its always a good idea to occassionally take breaks from the things we love.


read a book
research some topic yav always had an interest in but have never explored
go on long walks


find inspiration in something non-music related, and most likely from that youll want to pick yr instrument up again.

...at least, this is what works for me.

yes some people should just stop shouldnt they.

[jon boy]

you could write a terrible song about that and post it on the internet to impress girls.

[jon boy]

wow! you can win for sure, your the only one playing anyway.

[atsonicpark]

Bass is interesting to me because I can pick it up and come up with a great bass line in about 3 seconds, with no effort put into it. I think it's simultaneously the easiest instrument to learn but one of the most difficult to master. While you can play pretty much anything on it and it'll sound cool, it takes a lot of skill to really "get" the instrument, I think. Because bass is a bit beyond riffs.. look at a band like The Fall, I remember their bass lines a lot but what really sticks out in my mind are the fills (if that's the proper word to use... the bassists will occasionally insert little speedy 2-note parts in the silences connecting the riff together or what have you). Basically, I'm saying that playing bass isn't too hard -- but GROOVING to bass is kinda difficult.

That being said, I think it's also a pretty limited instrument, though it kinda depends on what you're doing with it. Most bands aren't bass-centered, for example, so playing lead bass isn't going to get you anywhere unless you're in Primus or something. Haha. I find that discovering a great bass riff isn't very fulfilling to me versus an electric or acoustic guitar riff. I don't think they are as fun to play either.

I dunno man. I've went through this with my electric a thousand times. I'd master a certain style and then get sick of playing that way. I went 2 years without ever playing a power chord. You know, it's all just... you're going to get sick of yourself. You're going to wish you were playing something else. But eventually you will. Haha.

[nicfit]

Originally Posted by Genteel Death

try different things out. If it feels like you're limping in your approach, and your doomed with only "experimenting" with it because you feel unable to play in a way that confidently makes you think that you can fall back to "technical'' playing, you might want to consider giving up altogether.

When I "experiment" with it it doesn't feel like I'm forcing myself to do so in order to get a bit of satisfaction.. I've been playing bass for like 11 years (damn I'm old) and I had no formal training, and I still irrationally love that instrument, the present problem is that I don't enjoy playing, but I still "love it" as my instrument of choice. I can't express much better this thing...hope you'll get what I mean.
Basically I seriously think I'm never gonna give up on it.
Perhaps change model/brand etc but never give up on bass playing altogether.Too much love.

Originally Posted by FreshChops

Not to be funny, but why did you go for bass in the first place? What drew you to it?

As I said before, i'm not sure I can rationally explain this...I've always been fascinated with the bass, even if it's not much "prominent" in the music I used to listen to back then, so it was not a "let's try to emulate my heros" kind of thing...I saved some money, decided to go in a few shops, pick up and try out some basses, and then bought one. I really feel like it's "my" instrument still today, even considering the "difficult period" I'm in in our relationship .

That's why I'm also asking suggestions, coz deep inside me I feel I still need it and can't wait to get back to fully enjoying playing it, no matter what.
Damn, sounds like I'm in love hah a.

Originally Posted by hypertonic

I'd go for new effects maybe... Bass MuRF or something weird...

*Been listening to LB- Earthly Delights and it makes me want a bass.... Good shit.

Yep, that's another thing that I'm considering (I opened a thread a while ago asking for decent low cost-effects, but didn't have much success), basically lately I'm more obsessed with "sounds" rather than music (hope you guys get it) and probably I have too much of a limited array of effects to get totally new sounds out of my bass..keep in mind I've been "experimenting" quite a lot with it in theese years, and I used to prefer very basic setups, so I kinda "exploited" the bare instrument quite a lot.

I think it's time to change that approach and start buying a bunch of effects to "refresh" its sound to my ears. Problem is, I have very little money to invest in this period, thus why I opened that rather unsuccessful "cheap-ish effects worth buying" thread

Damn, feels like a therapy session guys, it's been really useful up till now.

[nicfit]

And yes sway, I'm keeping my mind busy with other stuff, in order not to "poison" my relationship with da bass obsessing over it .
long walks, photography, exhibitions, etc.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by nicfit

Basically I seriously think I'm never gonna give up on it.
Perhaps change model/brand etc but never give up on bass playing altogether.Too much love.

good man!

Originally Posted by nicfit

invest

ha ha, it's called SPENDING. yes. S-P-E-N-D-I-N-G.

[nicfit]

nouh! it's an investment for my future!
see 2. a.
n·vest play_w2("I0215500") (

 

n-v

 

st

 

)v. in·vest·ed, in·vest·ing, in·vests
v.tr.1. To commit (money or capital) in order to gain a financial return
2. a. To spend or devote for future advantage or benefit
b. To devote morally or psychologically, as to a purpose; commit

[Glice]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

I went 2 years without ever playing a power chord.

I wish more guitarists would do this, and also spend time arpeggiating chords (and not just in the doo-wop/ early Radiohead style). I struggle with power chords now, which is a good thing, I think.

[Jeremy]

All I can suggest really is to give it time. Sometimes your inspiration to play takes a break, but don't worry about it; That happens to 95% of us I'd imagine. Just wait it out, listen to more music, do something creative, etc and when ideas and inspiration come back to you, your bass will be there, ready to rock the fuck out all over again.

~Jeremy~

[atsonicpark]

I just found out that god is actually a floating rock.

[gmku]

Originally Posted by nicfit

..Any of you guys experienced "problems" with their instrument of choice?

Lately (last couple months, but I don't play every day) I don't enjoy playing it, I get distracted too easily and can't come up with decent stuff..
I think my "musical side" is a bit caught up in other "genres" I couldn't replicate/emulate with a bass, but it's not like I'm trying to do so while I play, there's no frustration involved...dunno, perhaps I just need some time off, try and play with other instruments for a while, etc...

Just curious about your stories on similar situations.

Possible parody thread: "I don't feel at ease fishing for bass" Yay/nay?

[nicfit]

Whoops, I missed a bunch of posts, but just wanted to let you all know, because I know you care, that I fell in love again with my bass, in an almost sturmundrangish way.
Feels good.
Reeeeeally good.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by nicfit

nouh! it's an investment for my future!
see 2. a.
n·vest play_w2("I0215500") (

 

n-v

 

st

 

)v. in·vest·ed, in·vest·ing, in·vests
v.tr.1. To commit (money or capital) in order to gain a financial return
2. a. To spend or devote for future advantage or benefit
b. To devote morally or psychologically, as to a purpose; commit

the dictionary deceives you-- a sly bastard it is...

Originally Posted by nicfit

Whoops, I missed a bunch of posts, but just wanted to let you all know, because I know you care, that I fell in love again with my bass, in an almost sturmundrangish way.
Feels good.
Reeeeeally good.

but anyway, congrats!

[DeadDiscoDildo]

Either take a break from it, or try to learn a new style...I remember when I got into surf I wanted to learn triplets and etc. but thought they were so hard and it was intimidating....now it's basically become part of my style and i've gotten more inspired and better at my instrument...

or try to learn songs that intimidate you...I forced myself to sit down and learn new chords so I could finally learn how to play brian wilson songs and since then I've written so many new songs with what I learned.

Hope that helps!

[pbradley]

I've been kicking out the jams, recently.

[DeadDiscoDildo]

hells bells

[wellcharge]

i got nylon flatwound strings and they've been making me want to play 24/7

[Rob Instigator]

Originally Posted by terminal pharmacy

alot more than im guessing you can possibly afford, beginners ones start around the $1200au mark, and that doesnt mean decent

yes, beginner ones are 1200 to 1500 'merican dollars

to get a decent one, on ethat a good high school student would use for performances, would run $3,000+
to get a quality cello that a university student would perform on would be $8,000-12,000

lotsa lotsa

I want one

I played the cello for 7 years in school, and my junior and senior year school-loaned cello was one of the $6,000 level and I love dit and it sounded amazing to me.