I should be smacked...

phlemmy · Post by **phlemmy** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:31 am

my 1980 4003 hasn't been out of its case in over a month now. i just moved and it took the whole month of June. this week i am supposed to start playing with a few new guys...time is a real commodity in my life these days.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:38 am

we are shocked ...

foolycooly · Post by **foolycooly** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:43 am

*Slap slap slap slap slap slap slap slap slap*

Go directly to jail! Do Not Collect $200!

basshawk · Post by **basshawk** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:46 am

Time is a funny thing. If you let go of 15 minutes playing time to allocate to a project or whatever,you've lost that 15 minutes for good. The next thing you know - 22 hours of your day are no longer yours and you find yourself running late to practise, gigs or anything you 'want' to do.

foolycooly · Post by **foolycooly** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:11 am

I totally agree with what Randy is saying. Even when time is tight I manage to grab my bass for a few minutes and play it. i usually do that 5 or 6 times a day, or if its late at night I just plug the head phones in and play for an hour. Life feels weird without playing a day.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:45 am

I leave at least one out in a stand all the time.

edski · Post by **edski** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 11:37 am

I'd like to say that I practice everyday, or that it doesn't feel right if I don't pick up the bass...sad truth is the band rehearsal once a week is often the only time I play the bass each week. Lord knows I can use some chops time running up and down some scale patterns in F# or G...

I do try to do something musical each day. A lot of my "practice" for the band is playing the tunes on the acoustic guitar. Keeps the details of the harmonies fresh that way. I'm trying to get back into the trumpet after years away from it, so I'm more inclined (right now) to try and get a few minutes each day in on that rather than the bass.

By this time next week I should have my baby grand reunited with me...and I hope to do a month or so of strictly scales and arpeggios before I give into the temptation to play some old jazz standards or Genesis tunes on the ivories...but I can hear a cool improv on Stella By Starlight in my head right now.

Not sure I will be able to repress those thoughts when sitting in front of my 5 by 5 with the hood open.

Sure, I'll play bass everyday under those circumstances!

Sean, if you should be smacked, I guess I deserve a shovel upside the head. My 4001 didn't see the light of day for YEARS at some points. Currently I'm letting the guitarist in my band borrow it. I should'nt think about that...but I know it's wrong. At least the guy treats equipment well.

incubus2432 · Post by **incubus2432** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:10 pm

While I think frequent practice does wonders for playing ability I also think that getting a break from playing can help as well. It seems to break me from a rut if I step away sometimes (intentionally or due to other circumstances). I get a new perspective when I pick up my bass again. The physical dexterity and speed comes back quickly so, for me, breaking a mental block and getting free of my routine helps my playing overall. It is nice to forget what I used to play and try something fresh.

I'm not saying that I ever "need a break" from playing just that at times other aspects of my life have taken priority and when I get back to playing I find myself refreshed and enthused.

I imagine that if I had any talent it would all come easy but alas.......

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:15 pm

Oh yeah I've taken breaks too, especially after a bad band experience, but even then I'll leave one out so I just move my fingers around a little bit and soon I'm playing again for the sheer joy of playing which is sometimes easy to lose when you're playing a lot.

edski · Post by **edski** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:27 pm

One thing about starting an instrument up again after a long layoff, you get a chance to "unlearn" all the bad habits you were in previously. If you can identify them.

That's why, on the piano, I want to try and do a lot of boring technique work getting back into...jamming out on some standard, while a lot of fun, is just going to encourage all the bad habits I had fallen into previously.

A little discipline will go a long way...might even get me to the where I can finally play all of Debussy's "L'Isle Joyeux" quasi-correctly...

Might not happen, but it's a goal.

greg_mitchell · Post by **greg_mitchell** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 5:20 pm

I've taken breaks but generally start feeling guilty and within a couple of weeks have an axe in hand again. I guess after playing one fairly regularly for about 25 years, old habits DO die hard.
Speaking of which........gotta go practice.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:35 pm

A break for me is a week or two also.

dean712 · Post by **dean712** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:27 pm

I have a semi-soundproofed 'Band Room' in my basement. Nothing special, just an 11'x14' (approx) little room with 2 layers of 5/8" sheetrock for walls and a drum kit, small PA, and all our stuff set up. Gets pretty cramped with the whole band there, but it beats the alternatives. It's nice to host band practice, because that means I can go down there any other time of the week and spend a couple of hours jamming.

If I don't play bass for a couple of days in a row, I get cranky. I'm not a virtuoso, though, so the repetition is as good for my playing as it is for my callouses.

When I'm songwriting, sometimes my very first idea prooves out to be best. Sometimes it is a lot of work and rewriting. Depends on the song.

Sean, I've had some house moves and other life events interrupt my playing for weeks on end a few times. You just have to jump right back in.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:35 pm

After a long weekend of gigging, I can't wait to put 'em in the closet. But by Wednesday, I am picking 'em up again and getting back in the groove.

sabbath_of_bass · Post by **sabbath_of_bass** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:24 pm

Any more im lucky if i put it down for more then a couple hours. But then again i have all day to play

. YAY for summer!

I dont wana grow up i wana be a rickenbacker kid.