How does your bass make you feel

[jonunders]

When playing your bass live, in a studio or at home, how does it make you feel. Are you lost in what you are doing or is it something that has now become repetitive, a chore?

[Cato]

I've been getting a bit of a buzz off it recently, I can really hear myself improving after being on a plateau for what felt like a long time.

[WalMan]

It rather depends who/what I'm playing with at the time, but generally something enjoyable and something I'm happy to be doing

[fretmeister]

Depends on the bass, the strings and the tone.

Flats and a deep warm tone and I'm away with the fairies in Motown!

[Conan]

I always enjoy playing bass - so much more if I can hear myself properly and like the sound. I just feel that that's what I was made to do

It's the other associated bollocks of being in a band that I increasingly find I can't be bothered with...

[paul_5]

http://youtu.be/FcerV0AO0bM

[ezbass]

By turns inspired and worthless.

[Geek99]

i love playing it, especially to a crowd. At the local church OM, they clap and cheer wildly even if youre not any good or make (to me) glaring errors. Lots of people get up and dance and it pretty much me doing that (I'm the only bass player in the village) . Bass is just totally f*(king awsome. I nearly fell over the first time I heard myself fill a room with loud precision bass; I'd do it all day if I could

My idea of me-time is picking out some sheet music or tab and playing something I havent tried before.

[Hobbayne]

[quote name='jonunders' timestamp='1476406103' post='3154082']
When playing your bass live, in a studio or at home, how does it make you feel. Are you lost in what you are doing or is it something that has now become repetitive, a chore?
[/quote]

I felt I was stuck in a rut with my bass playing, It felt like a chore.
So I looked on YouTube for some walking bass videos. I discovered a whole new approach to walking that I had not thought of before. Now I am enjoying playing again using my newly learned approach.

Edited October 14, 2016 by Hobbayne

[Coilte]

It's never a chore. I love both gigging and practicing at home. Sometimes after a practice session at home, I'll put on and play along to some CD's. I always get a buzz from this.

[Barking Spiders]

I pretty much get lost in the zone when I get close to sussing a fave bassline that I lose track of time. Mind you I feel the same when drumming or playing my acoustic guitar. Total therapy for when I'm a bit stressed.

[bonzodog]

I adore playing bass live. The enjoyment of playing to a crowd and locking in with a drummer is what i do it for.

However if you mean how does my own particular bass make me feel then that is different. I play a squier vm jazz bass and whilst i am happy with it, it was the best bass i could afford and will probably always be. I would like to be able to have the opportunity to play a bass for its playability rather than its price tag but thats never going to happen.

[mikel]

Depends on the band. If we are locked in and grooving, its wonderful. I always treat playing as the whole thing and. If the band are playing well its great. If the band are not on, its not so good, regardless of how well I may be playing. I try to play the song not the bass, that's what the audience come to hear.

Edited October 14, 2016 by mikel

[JTUK]

I like them and I like playing them... if they weren't good to play or it felt like a chore, I wouldn't play them..and there would be no point in scenario, IMO

[jonunders]

The post is intended, mainly, to express what it playing the bass does for the person. If it becomes a chore or not enjoyable how have they changed the way they feel, if at all,which may help others finding themselves in a similar position.

[AdamWoodBass]

Interesting question. I started playing when I was 13 and became completely obsessed with it. I was gigging with my dad and his blues band pretty soon after. The feeling was awesome and all I wanted to be when I grew up was to be a "pro musician" and to have that feeling all the time. I grew up in a village in Yorkshire where there wasn't much for a teenager to do so I practiced for 4-5 hours a day, as a result I got pretty good pretty quickly. I was blessed with the opportunity to play in some really good bands from a really young age. Fast-forward a few years and I'd become lazy and complacent so I barely scraped through my music degree, more interested in partying than playing bass.

The problem was the self perception of being a "good" bass player had started to chip away at my dedication to learn new things and push myself, I'd developed an attitude where I was like "I don't need to practice" otherwise known as a diva ego which I'm not proud of at all. After uni I went on to do the "pro musician" thing for a couple of years but because of my attitude it lost its charm for me. I wasn't getting that thrill anymore because I'd made it my job and I wasn't getting enough gigs to make a living. I stopped playing pretty much all together for a good 4 years and got a "proper job" as my mum always used to say lol!

After a while I realised how much I missed that feeling I had when I was a kid and started picking up my bass again after a crappy day at the office as a way of winding down. Now I'm totally addicted to it again. I'm practicing every night, pushing myself to learn things that I can't play and making sure I heed the hard learned lessons of complacency that had killed it for me in the first place. So to sum up (sorry this post was a bit more long winded than I expected!) playing bass is like coming home for me now. It calms me, inspires me, frustrates me, excites me and drives me crazy all at the same time but I wouldn't be without it and I can't wait to get out and gig again.

[SICbass]

Really locked in with the drummer is when I feel best, just lost in the moment. On very rare occasions, these are the best, it feels like I disappear altogether.

[gjones]

Playing, with the new drummer in the band, makes me feel like the rhythm section is a train powering down the track.
The old drummer was so lacking in groove,or any musical empathy, I felt like I was dragging a dead whale behind me, over a landscape littered with huge boulders.

[Conan]

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1476445333' post='3154361'] I felt like I was dragging a dead whale behind me, over a landscape littered with huge boulders.
[/quote]

What a lovely image!

[uk_lefty]

Love playing with my band,it makes me nervous, excited, happy, feeling accomplished and feeling like I have created something when we work out our own version of a cover song.
It has only ever felt stale when I had no band and learning new songs or playing old ones for no purpose.

[Ghost_Bass]

Normally it makes me feel a bit sored in my shoulder but happy with the tone. If i didn't like it i would have traded it for another and another until i find the right one a long time ago.

[bassbiscuits]

I love playing bass, and i get very caught up in the moment when playing live, especially with a good drummer when its really coasting along.

If I haven't got a great sound, i.e. using someone else's back line etc, then it does tend to distract me a bit tho.

I dabble with playing guitar, which at home is often more interesting than bass, but onstage, playing bass is far more satisfying!

[Andyjr1515]

In our old gits five-some, I play rhythm guitar, alto sax and tenor sax. But the last 5 numbers, Pete the bassist passes me his bass and plays lead (very well, too).

I LOVE it! It's my favourite bit of the gig. I'm no bassist but you get into the driving beat. Very, very satisfying

[silverfoxnik]

I love it, and would play more than I get to these days if I could.

[blue]

[quote name='jonunders' timestamp='1476406103' post='3154082']
When playing your bass live, in a studio or at home, how does it make you feel. Are you lost in what you are doing or is it something that has now become repetitive, a chore?
[/quote]

After 50 years it's always a blast. It's never been a chore and never will be.

How could gigging ever be a chore?

Blue