Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: StefanieJones on May 05, 2019, 10:09:08 AM
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How do you all stay motivated? I'm going through a "I feel like a robot" stage. I know I should be experimenting and playing around with new sounds and stuff. But, I'm seriously not motivated.
The band is playing 3 times a month, it's all the same stuff. Oldies, country, rock and a few contemporary songs. It's just robotic playing. Don't get me wrong, I love most of the songs. The options are limited here at the shore.
It's just I need more? or something else to be creative with? I don't know.. there's more questions than answers.
Edit: I should add, I still play every day but that's just practice.
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There's nothing wrong with not feeling "motivated". Rather, let go of the word "motivation" and the pressure to force something to happen that it entails, and instead allow space for the mystery of musical expression to show up naturally in whatever form it unfolds into next.
... as cryptic as that may sound. :)
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I wish I could be more help, Stefanie. All I can do is tell you what my experience was...
Last Fall, after I woke up from a cervical fusion surgery and felt my hands for the first time in 6 months, and felt the relief of knowing I could play bass again, for some strange reason... I lost every bit of appetite to play. Didn't even want to try. It was the first, and only time that's ever happened. Even when I was on the road back when, I never felt that burnout people said I would. But for about 10 terrible weeks, I had no motivation to even pick an instrument up. I couldn't tell you why, or how it finally went away, but it did.
I think in my case, I was just too distracted by other more pressing things to hear that 'music in my head', that constant soundtrack of life that keeps me wanting to play along. It took time for all that interference to subside, and when it did, the music came roaring back. I think the hiatus may even have forced me into stretching out. I can play things today that I wouldn't have even thought of last year.
You're probably just at a learning plateau... don't sweat it too much. Focus on being the best you can at your gigs, but remember to have some fun! :)
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Thanks David and Gregory.
Maybe it is a learning plateau, and a bit of frustration. Life, work, band...
I do like the idea of letting go and think I'm just going to try that. And be the best me that I can be!
(and try to have some fun along the way.)
Gregory, I can't imagine what that experience was like but I'm glad you made it through. That's great and quite an accomplishment.
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How about adding some new material? Maybe something quite difficult and challenging. Or try something from a completely different genre and give it your own spin - an unexpected surprise to throw at the audience. Like The Toyes doing a reggae version of Freebird.
Bill, tgo
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I play in a reggae band and since ive been playing bass for them the set is pretty much the same as when i joined in 2012. Because its a named band with a list of hit records they want them played as close to the originals as possible because thats what their fans want. Many reggae records the bassline effectively is the song and if you move too far from it you lose the song. But over the years i have managed to make subtle changes along the way that allow me to spread my wings a bit without losing the vibe of the original also if i want to change something more dramatic i drop it in at rehearsal and if no one mentions it i put it in on the gig. If they do notice i discuss it with them and usually its ok. Now that ive been with the band for a while they are used to me making subtle changes and generally trust my ideas.
If i were just playing any one genre id be less motivated so i learn other things that i may never get to play live but pushes my learning and technique. At the moment im learning some steely dan bass lines as they have a nice habit of going places my ears wouldnt expect. Id suggest just learn new stuff and you may find some of those ideas will flow when the right vibe happens on stage.
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I bought an electric upright a few months ago so I can keep learning new things. That helps motivate me. It also makes me a much better electric bass played too!
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Just keep practicing, whether you are motivated or not. It's just what we do and even when not motivated, inspiration can strike when you least expect it. And at least your chops stay fresh.
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I have a cheap Soundcraft mixer that I can plug an instrument into and also CD player/computer/etc. and I play along with different music. Playing off my computer is good because I can make "playalong" playlists, I upload stuff from CDs mostly, I still have a huge CD collection.
I've been in a slump too - people I've been playing with haven't been available for a couple of months or more, so haven't been playing much at all - busy with work too. Sometimes picking up a different bass can be fun and even motivating - I've just started playing my Alembicized Guild again after a 8-10 month break - fun!
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Stefanie,
I am perhaps the last person to give advice on this topic.
Disclosure; in the last 4 years I have picked up my Distillate maybe a half dozen times... life has gotten in the way. There are many reasons, some good, some just excuses... I digress.
Maybe try (as others have inferred) tweaking your tone a bit, add treble when you normally are keeping it smooth or throw a different style of strings on. If you normally play round wounds switch to flats or visa versa. Try playing the songs a little bit different without going off the rails... add a note here or there, or REALLY mix it up by adding space. Maybe start working with your drummer and find places in songs where you can do some fun little synchronized, ba, bah, babaaas that don’t disrupt the song(s) but adds some excitement to them.
With all due respect I contradict Edwin’s comment. If you don’t feel like practicing but force yourself to practice, you could be inviting more frustration into your craft. (Ask me how I know :o )
Go see some other live performances and watch them with the knowledge that many of them are faced with a similar “stuck playing the same list time after time” and see if you can tell what they do to not feel as if they are in a rut.
Keep us updated on how things go.
Paul (who should probably unplug his Distillate’s battery before it oozes goo in the control cavity)
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Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the replies. I keep practicing for sure. I dont want to go backwards, lol. Last weekend I only played what I felt like playing and a little at a time. No marathons. We'll see when lightning strikes. I"ll post about it, haha! ;) thank you all again! You're all awesome and so helpful. There isn't a better corner to stop by that I know of.
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How do you all stay motivated? I'm going through a "I feel like a robot" stage. I know I should be experimenting and playing around with new sounds and stuff. But, I'm seriously not motivated.
The band is playing 3 times a month, it's all the same stuff. Oldies, country, rock and a few contemporary songs. It's just robotic playing. Don't get me wrong, I love most of the songs. The options are limited here at the shore.
It's just I need more? or something else to be creative with? I don't know.. there's more questions than answers.
Edit: I should add, I still play every day but that's just practice.
Work on another genre ?
I've been studying jazz the past 6-8 months, and started taking lessons again as well.
It's caused me to take a new approach to the G. Dead songs I've been playing these past 2-3 decades, and has also caused me to go back and listen to them again. Im finding things in the music I never heard before and am incorporating everything I've been learning into my playing. Its refreshing.
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Do you play another instrument? Maybe set the bass aside for a week or more, play something else and see if it brings fresh ideas.
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That's a good idea Mark. I'll pick up the guitar for a bit and see how that does. Thanks and thank you to everyone, as well :)
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Lessons are always a good option. You never get to a point where they aren't helpful because getting an outside perspective is the best way to honestly assess where you are and what needs work. I took guitar lessons from Dale Bruning (Bill Frisell's old teacher who played in Dizzy's band for quite some time. Colorado's answer to Jim Hall) for about 5 months and that really opened up a lot of stuff.
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Lessons are always a good option. You never get to a point where they aren't helpful because getting an outside perspective is the best way to honestly assess where you are and what needs work.
I saw Benny Goodman on The Tonight Show toward the end of his life; he mentioned that he still took a lesson every week.
Quoth Johnny: "Why would you take lessons?? You're Benny Goodman!"
Benny: "Well, I feel like I'm finally starting to make some progress."
Peter
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Johnny: "Why would you take lessons?? You're Benny Goodman!"
Benny: "Well, I feel like I'm finally starting to make some progress."
:)
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Lessons are always a good option. You never get to a point where they aren't helpful because getting an outside perspective is the best way to honestly assess where you are and what needs work.
I saw Benny Goodman on The Tonight Show toward the end of his life; he mentioned that he still took a lesson every week.
Quoth Johnny: "Why would you take lessons?? You're Benny Goodman!"
Benny: "Well, I feel like I'm finally starting to make some progress."
Peter
Most can benefit from lessons (unless your name is Marcus or Stanley) from someone who has a deeper lever of understanding of their instrument and music in general . I started jazz bass lessons a month ago with the intention of becoming a better soloist. Since I’ve been playing forever I figured the teacher would have me start in “advanced mode”. Nope. Pretty much starting at the beginning. Major scales in “first position” using double bass lingo since the guy is a double player.
I was irritated at first and was thinking “but I know this stuff already”, Long story short he’s right and I’ve alresdy noticed small improvements in my playing as a result.
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Lessons are always a good option. You never get to a point where they aren't helpful because getting an outside perspective is the best way to honestly assess where you are and what needs work.
I saw Benny Goodman on The Tonight Show toward the end of his life; he mentioned that he still took a lesson every week.
Quoth Johnny: "Why would you take lessons?? You're Benny Goodman!"
Benny: "Well, I feel like I'm finally starting to make some progress."
Peter
Most can benefit from lessons (unless your name is Marcus or Stanley) from someone who has a deeper lever of understanding of their instrument and music in general . I started jazz bass lessons a month ago with the intention of becoming a better soloist. Since I’ve been playing forever I figured the teacher would have me start in “advanced mode”. Nope. Pretty much starting at the beginning. Major scales in “first position” using double bass lingo since the guy is a double player.
I was irritated at first and was thinking “but I know this stuff already”, Long story short he’s right and I’ve alresdy noticed small improvements in my playing as a result.
A few years ago I was doing sound for a band who was unhappy with their bass player. The lead player asked me to consider taking it up to repalce him, so I looked around online & found a site that teaches bass from the beginning. Sent the link to a friend who has been a pro bassist for about 50 years, asking him if he thought it was worth my time.
He told me "I hadn't thought about bass in those terms in years; I'm going through all his lessons myself'"
Peter (who, alas, let that idea slide when they found an actual bass player)
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Lessons are always a good option. You never get to a point where they aren't helpful because getting an outside perspective is the best way to honestly assess where you are and what needs work.
I saw Benny Goodman on The Tonight Show toward the end of his life; he mentioned that he still took a lesson every week.
Quoth Johnny: "Why would you take lessons?? You're Benny Goodman!"
Benny: "Well, I feel like I'm finally starting to make some progress."
Peter
Most can benefit from lessons (unless your name is Marcus or Stanley) from someone who has a deeper lever of understanding of their instrument and music in general . I started jazz bass lessons a month ago with the intention of becoming a better soloist. Since I’ve been playing forever I figured the teacher would have me start in “advanced mode”. Nope. Pretty much starting at the beginning. Major scales in “first position” using double bass lingo since the guy is a double player.
I was irritated at first and was thinking “but I know this stuff already”, Long story short he’s right and I’ve alresdy noticed small improvements in my playing as a result.
Exactly what I do with my students because I teach a process, not licks. My students who practice notice improvements very quickly and the method integrates theory, ear training, and the physical issues of playing the instrument.
I need to take some more lessons, but my day job keeps getting in my way. Why did I ever do that?
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Since having double bass lessons im starting to think more about where the notes are that have the sound i want instead of what fret l’m aiming for. The difference is subtle but its helping me find my way round the fretboard on my electric bass too.
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Exactly what I do with my students because I teach a process, not licks. My students who practice notice improvements very quickly and the method integrates theory, ear training, and the physical issues of playing the instrument.
I need to take some more lessons, but my day job keeps getting in my way. Why did I ever do that?
Yeah, i started noticing improvements after about two weeks..small, mainly in terms of note position choices, but also in my ability to keep tempo and feel the subdivisions better. Teacher is Joe Solomon...he's got a good article out there titled "Doing it the slow way"...basically involves lots of drills and playing tunes at 60 BPM.
As far as the time thing/day job getting in the way goes. Same deal here, and I used that excuse for not getting back into studying bass for years...finally just ended up doing it..its effort..train rides from my home in Bucks County PA to Manhattan on Saturdays but it's worth it.
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Getting back to Stephanie's original question about motivation of the lack thereof reminds me of some work I did many years ago with young children as a graduate student in child psychology. I was supporting a study in which the researcher was interested in what would happen if one identified an aspect of play that a child was passionate about and then provided the child with tangible reinforcement for engaging in that mode of play. As expected the amount of that type of play increased. Of course that wasn't the real research question that was being studied. What we really wanted to know is what would happen after external reinforcement was removed. When that occurred, the amount of time children spent "playing" at what they had initially been passionate about decreased significantly to a point far below what it had been before they received any external rewards for it. Providing an external incentive led children to experience a decrease in the intrinsic enjoyment (i.e., the motivation) they reported getting out of the activity. They were now doing it not for fun and their sheer enjoyment but rather to obtain an external reward.
So how does all of this relate to Stephanie's question? I think it brings out the difference between what we consider work and play. Work is typically thought to involve non-immediate/long-term/indirect return of gratification or satisfaction for oneself or others (e.g. wealth and health in long term, etc ). Play focuses much more on immediate/direct gratification that one gets from engaging in the activity itself (excitement, thrill, etc). Viewing work and play as entirely different activities is probably not terribly accurate as what is work for some can be play for others (whether or not one is being paid for the activity). A close friend of mine's work, for example, is as a pediatric surgeon. What does he do for "play?" He trims healthy trees and cuts down dead/diseased for his neighbors, friends, or anyone in the area who is aware of his form of play. Not what I would consider "play" but for Dr. Bob it brings about immense gratification. If an activity offers you both happiness while doing it (direct gratification) and also gratification in long term (indirect gratification) it can be both work and play at different times and in different contexts.
It's interesting that when people talk or write about what they do with their instruments some refer to "practicing" while others indicate that they are going to "play" their bass/guitar, etc. Personally, I find "practice" boring and have needed to train myself to view it as "playing" or "playing with" my bass. Thinking about it that way I look forward to engaging in the activity rather than dreading it. So to make a long story a little bit shorter, find the "play" in what you are doing whether that's moving into new musical genres, playing in a new band, playing with a new instrument, or taking lessons.
P.S. My son has, over the years, become an exceptional blues guitarist. Never took a lesson, never formally studied the craft (other than taking a course in the physics of music while in college which culminated with his building himself a mandolin), and of course he "never practices." Every time he picks up his guitar he just "plays it," "plays with it," or in GD terms "let's it play him." I think it's one of the reasons why whenever I see him outside of his job as a carpenter he's got a guitar in his hands.
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Brian, thanks for sharing that perspective. The difference between “practice” and “play”, makes perfect sense.
My current career is one that finds me in a new realm that allows me to “play” with older engine lathes, milling machines, flat bed grinders and the likes. We fabricate items to relatively tight tolerances but for me it feels creative and fun. The non-circadian work hours are a different story. :o
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Thanks for that thought provoking reply!
It made me think about when I play versus practice. If I just play it is a much more rewarding feeling. But I feel like I can't play until I practice. Like learning new songs. The learning part is more like work but it's necessary and precedes the play part. I guess?
I think the idea of letting go still really appeals to me. Over the last week and at the last show, I just tried to have fun and let go. It was different for sure, in a nice way.
Maybe some of it is a learning plateau. But I don't know where to go with that. There's nothing locally. I'd have to travel to NYC I guess... Maybe I'll try to play through the plateau...
Sorry about the train of thought reply. It's a lot to think about. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to share with me. Much love.
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Complicated stuff! Like pre-destination versus free will, or which came first; the chicken or the egg.
One of mans greatest abilities is the ability to concentrate and achieve amazing things, and then to get bored with it and move on to something (or someone) else. Restless spirits reside in most of us.
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aybe some of it is a learning plateau. But I don't know where to go with that. There's nothing locally. I'd have to travel to NYC I guess... Maybe I'll try to play through the plateau...
best way to get through a learning plateau is to challenge yourself with something new or something you know you don't do well. Thats what Im doing with the jazz stuff. It's a painful and humbling process but is paying off. While I still can't play jazz very well, the process Im going through in learning to play that stuff is making me a better player in the non-jazz stuff.
I'd say if you're able to get to NYC without a great deal of effort, do it. Tons of great teachers up there as well as various workshops to attend. Also down in the Philly area, Gerald Veasley has a bass boot camp which is a great way of picking up new ideas and skills. I attended my first bass bootcamp this year, and regret not going to these before now.
You could also consider taking lessons from a non-bass player. There's a sax player up there I'm considering taking some lessons in improv from at some point.