Devon

I believe that search would yield me the opposite results of bass-less backing tracks that @Baxlinwas suggesting. But yes, if I'm learning a particular song I'd look for an isolated track or at least a good bass cover.

Thanks! This is something I want to do a lot more of. Let me know of any particularly good ones you have found. Thanks for the advice. I feel like I'm in a bit chicken and egg situation. To play with others my expectation is you need to demonstrate some reasonable competency and potentially send over an audition demo to then get invited to play at an actual audition probably against some other (potentially more experienced) players. I.e. to play in a Jazz band some competency in walking bass lines would be expected along with being able to read from a real book on the fly. Similarly in a blues band understanding the various forms of blues and having a repertoire of turn arounds, intros and endings to be able to confidently jam in an audition I suspect would be a must. Equally you're not going to get far with a prog band if you can't understand and play in odd time. And from my own experiences todate not knowing a number of the standards within a giving l genre has always let me down a little. Maybe I'm over thinking it all :).

Good evening folks, I'm a 40 something bassist who's been playing for around 5 years now. I've a few small gigs under my belt from a spell playing in a local covers band but I was forced to give that up a little while ago due to some personal circumstances. Since then I've tried to keep up with my playing in situations where less commitment is required; pre-lock down I had the opportunity to play on a few occasions with a local Jazz guitarist standing in for his regular bassists and have had semi-regular jam nights with some other musical acquaintances of mine playing a random selection of rock covers. I'm fortunate enough to have a patient and understanding wife who, despite my lack of experience (and natural talent) has allowed me to invest in some good quality gear. Over the past few months during this whole lockdown situation I've barely touched my bass, however, in the past two weeks I've started to pick it up again. The problem is I'm finding myself somewhat directionless with where I want to take my playing. I wonder if any of the kind people here could offer up some thoughts or advice? I'm hoping that my personal situation has improved enough now where I can get back to something with more commitment, perhaps even a gigging band, but I can't figure out what to go after. I seem to bouncing from one thing to another For example funk, fusion jazz, traditional jazz and prog rock are all different phases I've been through recently and enjoyed them all. I also saw a post online this week from a blues band looking for a bassist that I responded too though it is likely they have already filled the position. In an ideal world I'd look to join a couple of bands of varying genres and gain a shed load of experience with them but I work full time and have a young family so I don't get to practice for more than maybe an hour a day. My son has ADHD and I'm sure I share some of the same traits which is why I'm always chasing the next shiny thing and end up not practicing anything at all. I feel like I should set some direction for myself and towards a specific target and dedicate practice time on it. I'd like to build a repertoire of "standards" in said direction and get some audition videos recorded to put me in a better position when responding to musician wanted classifieds - I just can't decide what direction to take and would appreciate some impartial guidance to help me make some decisions, I'm sure I can't be the only one who's felt like this! Anyhow, I look forward to participating in this community as my personal journey continues.