Anyone play just for fun?

[sellisnba]

Ok probably not the best way to put, We all play for fun. What I was trying to say was does anybody just enjoy playing along to songs on there music player? I know there is a hell of a lot of people on here who are in bands.
I'm a bedroom player and will probably remain that way for the foreseeable future. I could never picture myself in a band or jamming situation. I just wondered if there are other people out there doing the same. How do you know your good or confident enough with your own ability to play in front of strangers? The thought of it scares the crap out of me.

[JTUK]

As part of my practise routine I'll often put a youtube concert on and play along, or a CD/DVD
but there is a reason why I do this... it is to be be ready to play a gig.
I have no interest in turning up and not being ready, but you need, like we all do, to test yourself
out in the real world and then you'll know how ready or off the mark you are.
Bass is a life long study for a lot of people so we all have doubts to a degree.
I don't see the point of honing a skill to quite a degree, which takes many many many hours
and not having an end use.
But you are the only person who can decide if and when you get out and play.

[Bo0tsy]

Yep, I am officially not in and will likely never be in a band. I love spending time at home (if/when I get time!) learning new grooves, playing solely the music that I want to play, and goofing around with effects. To me personally the end use is being able to completely nail a new tune, but I don't have aspirations to go out and play it to an audience. That said, I completely respect that the majority of people here on BC are going to be in a band and playing to a live audience & that I'm in the minority.

[zero9]

I spent a long time (about 17 years) in between my first band and my later bands just noodling around and playing along to tracks. Eventually you'll find likeminded individuals and start jamming, which can lead to a successful band. The fun is also in the journey. Just keep enjoying what you're doing.

[Krysbass]

[color=#000000]I’ m [size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]in a couple of covers bands, but in addition to keeping on top of the band songs, my home-practice routine includes playing along to a whole load of other songs on CDs/mp3s.

As well as being something I really enjoy doing, I’ve also found that this helps my improvisation skills. [/font][/size] [/color]

[KevB]

Nothing wrong in being a bedroom player if it gives you satisfaction and you have no real desire to do live gigs. What you don't want to be is a frustrated live player forcing yourself to just play along to stuff becaus eof lack of belief. That way lies madness. If you want to get gigging and need to 'test the waters' as to how your ability fits in with others, go to jam/open mic sessions. Chat to other players, find out who of them are in bands then see how they do on stage. If you think 'I could do that' get talking to some people there, ask to join them on stage next time they get up and have a go. Prove to yourself you really can do it after all. I messed about with 'bedroom jams' (alright it was someone's living room) with mates for years thinking I wasn't up to playing in a 'real band' and missed the thick end of 10 years of gigging time as a result.

Edited August 22, 2014 by KevB

[Annoying Twit]

I play for fun, but I prefer improvising and making up amateurish original music to playing along to or learning existing music.

[RockfordStone]

i used to play at home for fun, but i do it less and less now... i start doing it but then feel like i should write something haha

that said, we do spend a lot of time just jamming in my band, i often feel more of a buzz playing with others

Edited August 22, 2014 by RockfordStone

[Dad3353]

My initial interest in music at all was listening to the radio (Home Service..!), then school music lessons. As soon as I had the cash, I bought my first guitar and started to learn to play it. I'm still learning, 50 years on. I had no intention of gigging (didn't know that it existed...), nor playing to anyone; simply learning to play at all was enough (and still is...). I went on to playing alongside a younger brother, then with his classmates, then in groups, took up drums and had a modest career playing professionally in France. None of this made any difference to the pleasure of playing, by myself, to myself, at home, on any instrument, including bass.
Music is not necessarily for public consumption. It can also be a very private moment, either by playing a solo instrument, or (in my case...) 'composing' and recording pieces which will never be heard by anyone but the composer. Somewhat similar to a diary, or memento book, where the writing is not for publication. Even less is music exclusively for gain or profit (although that can be a worthy objective...); it can also be solely for one's own enjoyment. 'Bedroom' playing is not a 'second fiddle' pastime. It has its own merits and validity.
Just my tuppence-worth.

[flyfisher]

I often play along to music at home on my own. In fact I do that far more than I play/practice with my bass on its own, so I guess it's my main form of practice. But it's really not the same as playing with other musicians, where you can spark off each other, change the style, mood, tempo, etc., whether gigging or not.

I wouldn't say one is inherently better than the other, they're just different and we all prefer different things, so it's good to have so many options. Just playing is the first big hurdle to leap.

[Geek99]

[quote name='sellisnba' timestamp='1408705485' post='2532713']
Ok probably not the best way to put, We all play for fun. What I was trying to say was does anybody just enjoy playing along to songs on there music player? I know there is a hell of a lot of people on here who are in bands.
I'm a bedroom player and will probably remain that way for the foreseeable future. I could never picture myself in a band or jamming situation. I just wondered if there are other people out there doing the same. How do you know your good or confident enough with your own ability to play in front of strangers? The thought of it scares the crap out of me.
[/quote]

Wit'ya there

[Pukie]

[quote name='zero9' timestamp='1408707366' post='2532756']
... Eventually you'll find likeminded individuals and start jamming, which can lead to a successful band...
[/quote]

This.

[blue]

This is how I make a living, so playing for fun is not an option for me. But plenty of guys play for fun, a lot less stress.

blue

[gub]

Yep fun factor for me, I used to play full time years ago to earn my crust ( a very small loaf) well more like a finger roll really !
Anyway I now find I am enjoying playing more than I ever did, and it's just a pub cover band, great fun though!

[blue]

I should add the fact that while I don't play for fun, I always have fun when I'm performing.

Blue

[Thunderpaws]

I played along to stuff for years, recorded some stuff with a friend for years which we distributed amongst our friends. Then we both joined a band and are about to play our first live gig I'm something like 25 years!

[GrammeFriday]

TBH you're not missing all that much - more often than not, being in a band is just a massive pain in the arse. If it's someone else's band you will soon begin to feel frustrated at having to make endless compromises in what you play, how you dress, even what bass you are allowed to play, and if it is your own band you will soon tire of herding cats and generally being the only one who can be arsed to do any of the nitty gritty stuff (bookings, organising rehearsals, promo, etc.).

Of course, if you get lucky you will suffer neither of these fates. There will be a marriage of true minds and a fair and harmonious division of labour. But it's a big if, so prepare to be underwhelmed by the experience if you do decide to venture out of your bedroom.

Personally I can totally understand why some people prefer to do their own thing using software. I remember reading an interview with Christian Fennesz, in which he said he was in various MBV-style shoegaze bands in the 90s and then one day thought 'sod it, I've had enough with all this band crap'. And never looked back.

Having said that, I must admit it's not exactly thrilling live entertainment watching geezers press the space bar on their laptops all evening either, so I dunno ...

[blue]

[quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1408728624' post='2533051']
TBH you're not missing all that much - more often than not, being in a band is just a massive pain in the arse. If it's someone else's band you will soon begin to feel frustrated at having to make endless compromises in what you play, how you dress, even what bass you are allowed to play, and if it is your own band you will soon tire of herding cats and generally being the only one who can be arsed to do any of the nitty gritty stuff (bookings, organising rehearsals, promo, etc.).

Of course, if you get lucky you will suffer neither of these fates. There will be a marriage of true minds and a fair and harmonious division of labour. But it's a big if, so prepare to be underwhelmed by the experience if you do decide to venture out of your bedroom.

Personally I can totally understand why some people prefer to do their own thing using software. I remember reading an interview with Christian Fennesz, in which he said he was in various MBV-style shoegaze bands in the 90s and then one day thought 'sod it, I've had enough with all this band crap'. And never looked back.

Having said that, I must admit it's not exactly thrilling live entertainment watching geezers press the space bar on their laptops all evening either, so I dunno ...
[/quote]

It's why it's so important to put a lot of thought into joining a band. I was in a band with great material and great musicianship but these guys were jerks to work with.

For the past 3 years I have been in a band with all around good fair people. A much nicer situation.

Blue

Edited August 22, 2014 by blue

[icastle]

Regardless of where someone is in the 'performance scale', they would have started out playing in their bedroom for fun when you dig back through the years.
People don't start from 'zero' and immediately go to playing live.

Some people make the transition to playing live quite quickly, some take a while and some never take that final step.

If you remove those musicians who have to play if they want to eat, the correct answer is 'do what makes you happy'.

[Marvin]

I have very little motivation to play if I'm not in a band. It gives me a goal and focus, also it's more dynamic which I find more fun.

However, bands tend to attract a disproportionate number of pains in the arse which takes the shine off them more often than not.

Catch22

[mrtcat]

If I wasn't playing live regularly I doubt I'd be playing at all. I love the bass and practicing and working on technique but it's all in order to make gigging enjoyable for me and punters. I totally get the bedroom bassist thing too tho as we are all different and enjoy different parts of playing.

[Horizontalste]

I didn't play in a band for year's due to working odd shifts but since finding a bunch of geezers who are happy to put up with it I haven't looked back. I have fun playing with the band & I have fun learning & playing stuff just for me. I've started recording for a local guy on some house tracks too so things are looking good.
One thing I did notice was that as soon as I started playing with other muso's I had to raise my game and my playing improved ten fold.

[thisnameistaken]

Being a bass player in a band is - in most scenarios - the least stressful job. So if you're avoiding it because you think it's beyond your abilities, I really wouldn't worry about it.

As for doing it 'for fun', apart from a few years in my early 20s where I made a living from playing bass, I've spent the majority of my bass-playing life making no money from it, and that cash-deficit period has been by far the most enjoyable. I now endeavour to make no money from playing bass, and indeed expect to lose money. And I've never been happier with the music I'm playing.

[Painy]

I think this highlights one of the best things about music in general as a 'performance art'. Making music can be an enjoyable pastime whether your playing to 100000 people at a huge festival or just to yourself at home. I can't imagine there's too many actors out there who can just enjoy acting to themselves at home in their bedroom!
Personally though I love playing live to a pub full of happy punters. So far I've got well over 1000 gigs under my belt over the years and I'd guess it'll be several times that by the time I'm done. Just never get tired of it!

Edited August 23, 2014 by Painy

[mrtcat]

[quote name='Painy' timestamp='1408780096' post='2533356']
I think this highlights one of the best things about music in general as a 'performance art'. Making music can be an enjoyable pastime whether your playing to 100000 people at a huge festival or just to yourself at home.
[/quote]
This pretty much nails it.