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Why “just keep playing” is not working… And what is

Why “just keep playing” is not working… And what is

playing

At a recent bass camp I co-taught at, a student shared her frustration with me. She had been playing for a while but felt that she was not really making progress. She told me how inspired she was hearing all this amazing playing at the clinic and how she wanted to feel measurable improvement. After a while she said a sentence that I have heard so many times in various variations: “If I just keep playing I will get better somehow, right? I hope I have at least a little bit of talent!”

The hope is prevalent that, if we just keep playing and practicing and keep doing what we are doing, things will somehow get better.

This view is understandable – after all, some of our heroes seemed to skip all schools and “just played” and miraculously ended up being so good. So if we just do more, more, and even more playing, we, too, will eventually get better!

  • Hopefully.
  • If we play a lot.
  • If we got talent.
  • Right?
  • Do we have talent? 

This thought process sets you up for unnecessary frustration and disappointment.

  • It does not work like this: have talent -> play a ton -> get better.

  • Playing for years does not necessarily guarantee success. I have seen literally hundreds of students who have played for decades lingering on a plateau that enables them to play songs in a band. But they are unsatisfied with their performance and just playing more and more did not make things better, clarify how the bass worked nor improve their technique; nor their reading, music theory, improv nor timing. Not their groove. Nor their fills…

  • So if just playing more does not work, then it must mean there is something inherently wrong with them or they tell themselves: “I suck. I don’t have any talent”.

It breaks my heart to encounter glimpses of such heart-wrenching internal dialogues over and over.

Instead, I propose a different way:

I was incredibly lucky to have had the education I had had early on. It focused on the basics – technique, timing, knowing the instrument, theory, reading. 

All of these need targeted practice. Not a ton, just regular drills.

  • It does work like this: wherever you are -> practice short, focused bursts according to a systematic plan -> get better!

A good, solid program does the trick, maybe feedback from an experienced person here and there. A bit of patience.

Knowing modes, scales, arpeggios or what an eighth note is will – by itself – not make you sound any better on the bandstand. You need to know how this all connects. You need to have it under your fingers. As Victor Wooten says, Music is a language, and when learning a new word, it is only yours when you can use it in a sentence. Translated into music, this means, take that scale or interval or whatever it may be and create a groove with it over a chord progression. In all areas of the bass. From any string.

After a bit of this, you will feel at home on the fretboard.

And most importantly – you will know what a note or rhythm will sound like before you play it. That is knowing versus trial and error.

Imagine this:

Someone shows you a major scale from the root to the root an octave up somewhere on the bass. You keep playing exactly this until it feels like you got it. You now know one way of playing this scale in one position. Nice, but that’s just the start before things get really interesting.

Now imagine this:

you take that same scale, but now:

  • We play it from the lowest to the highest note in every area of the bass (there are six areas and five basic shapes that repeat over and over, it is a neat system).
  • We do this with the same fingering each time (yes there are best fingerings for this).
  • Then we do it in all keys.
  • We change certain notes and watch what happens.
  • Let’s improvise with it playing a bar of groove and a bar of fill.
  • We break it down in targeted interval studies.
  • How about a bit of arpeggiating over changes using this scale?
  • Today some technical drills like virtuoso sounding pedaling.
  • We use this over a song in ever bar, just to practice it (and the song, too, while we are at it!)

Do just a little bit of  that for a few weeks. Not all of it every day. A few minutes with focus every day, according to a well thought out program…

Boom!

It is beginning to make sense. It is beginning to feel familiar. All of this stuff will now start to come out in your playing when you jam with your buddies. Or when you search for a cool fill for your bass line. Or when someone yells “bass solo”!

I have never not seen this work! You do the exercises -> you get results!

Possible Obstacles:

There are a few obstacles that may sometimes (not always!) raise their heads. If you expect them they are easy to nib in the bud. They are:

Boredom

A good program will keep things varied, applicable, and moving. Music is vast and big and after all we are sleuthing out who we are as musicians, discover our own musical voice by building our tool kit. If you bore yourself as you do that, take responsibility! Adapt the program to your style of music. But don’t skimp on mastering all the basics.

Negativity

I get it, it is scary. We are afraid to fail, old voices may become awake in our heads and we have doubts. It’s cool. And part of the journey. Also, it’s normal, most of us have judgmental negative voices inside. Keep your eyes on the prize and keep going. If you are very hard on yourself, get a sensible and encouraging teacher who is on your side. Whether you think you can or you think you can’t… Yes. That! 

Also beware of negativity coming from the outside. Learn to distinguish between good feedback, which can contain critique, and somebody just trashing what you do.

Here is a simple remedy: instead of looking at your immediate outcome (knowing a song or playing a passage at a certain tempo, for example), focus on the fact that you set out to practice a certain amount of time and you did it. Warrants a pat on the back. Do it. It creates a positive feedback loop! 

Comparing

When it comes to music, every single one of us has their own pace of learning. It depends on our back ground and preferences.
For some, rhythm is easy, but technique is hard.
For others, hearing notes is easy, but theory is a mystery.
And then yet others, reading music is a piece of pie, but improvising seems impossible.

It is all good. Wherever you are in your journey, there you are. First figure out where you are. Then know where you want to go. Get a map and plan a route – no need to get this perfectly right. You will keep adjusting and refining. Be on the path. Don’t lose too much time looking left or right, which means comparing yourself to others or looking for the perfect method rather than getting the most out of your current one. All that matters is that you sense you are moving forward. So give yourself some credit and make it a practice to feel good about being on the path!

Unrealistic Expectations

Okay, so it will take a bit of practice, time, and dedication. Nothing outrageous, say, 45 minutes five times a week practiced in the way I am talking about here; this will get you consistent progress. If you got more time, go for it, sure. The important bit is to trust the process!

  • Imagine this: you plant a seed into the ground and dig it up every few hours to look if it has sprouted yet. What happens? No sprouting and you’ll eventually kill the plant to be.
  • Instead: plant it, give it water, sunshine, patience… trust nature and behold the miracle of life.

While you are in the learning process, you might not see the big progress you are making quite yet. Record yourself, make a video. I find it really motivating to look at “before” and “afters” after a few months!

Distraction

  • What if there is a better program out there?
  • If I studied Jazz, then I could really impress everyone!
  • What is a triple tritone backwards flip? (Surely I need that right now).
  • This program over there is on sale, I better grab that before it ends.
  • This thing promises to play bebop tonight, I better not miss out.
  • This guy over there plays with a flying thumb/does triple flips with a pick/solos with their teeth, I need that right now!
  • Or, my “favorite”: Where is that magic sauce that makes it all easy? It’s gotta be out there somewhere!

This sort of thinking can keep you trapped a lifetime. Stop. Break out of it. Decide on a program or regimen, stick to it for three or four months, then evaluate. (Yes, I offer programs, but that is not what this post is about.) In those four months, give whatever method you decide on YOUR ALL. Then evaluate and tweak.

And yes, the magic sauce you are looking for exists:

  • it is called practicing.
  • Step-by-step.
  • Comprehensive.
  • Systematic.
  • Focused.
  • Short frequent bursts.
  • => Results!

To summarize

Myths to bust:

  •  “Just playing” will make you better with time.
  • If you don’t get better by “just playing more” this means you don’t have talent.

Rather

  • Talent is overrated. Consistency and short focused practice sessions are underrated. Change your routine and win.
  • Quantity of practice is overrated, quality is underrated. Change how you practice and succeed.

Wish you a great bass adventure!

Ari

PS: If you are interested, I have created my 20 unit Music Theory course with all the above in mind. Find info on it here. 

Music THeory for the Bass Player The Course

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22 Replies to “Why “just keep playing” is not working… And what is”

  1. Herzlichen Dank fuer Deine Erinnerung!!! Bei mir dauert es halt doppelt so lange fuer die kleinen Fortschritte, aber sie sind immerhin hoerbar in unserer Band. Mein Groove wird immer besser, DANK DEINER MOTIVATION und meinem “bescheidenen” konzentrierten Ueben, welches leider nicht so schoen regelmaessig ist wie es sein sollte…:-( Habe Dich leider verpasst im SBL Seminar Horizontal Movement. LG

  2. Happy Thanksgiving and Thanks for Giving so much! I’m going to print and frame this. I need to have those words ingrained in my mind.

  3. Fantastic Ariane! I loved every bit of this article. Very timely as another comment just said … and so positive. I love your teaching style. Your book and course are amazing. The best $$$ I’ve ever spent on music to be sure.

  4. Great article Ariane. I can certainly relate to everything you said here, for someone like me who is not infused with musical talent direction is needed otherwise I’d be all over the place, accomplishing nothing.

    1. Thank you, Jack! I am super happy about your particular achievements over the last few months! If it is okay to say that in a public forum – you have certainly taken the direction to really awesome results for yourself. Big congrats!

  5. Great post Ariane!!!
    Motivation and a planned path with systematic and diverse learning is something I strive for with my students. But it all comes down to motivation. I always try to inspire my students to hopefully spark their motivation…sometimes it’s easy, and sometime very hard…

    1. Hi Magnus, thank you for your comment. Putting these plans together is a lot of work and takes time and experience, but, as you know, is so worth it! I have posts on motivation coming soon as well. Research shows that there is a way around a lot of motivation being necessary. That said, being a motivating teacher is of course very powerful! Stay tuned. I will be looking forward to your insights.

  6. Ari,

    I am struggling finding the 6 areas and 5 shapes, what the heck am I missing?

    The entire blog entry was directed EXACTLY at me it seems….thanks so much!

    1. Hey Mike, the comment about the five patterns and the six areas has to do with my way of organizing the fretboard. This book and course combo will be published next year, called The Pattern System. I teach it to my private students and it is also – in its basics and as it pertains to pentatonic scales – described in my Pentatonix course with TrueFire.

  7. Excellent post. In my 40 years of teaching I’ve found that the concepts you are talking about are totally true.
    The Kubler-Ross stages of death (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) are the same in the learning process. And in truth, learning often is the letting go of ignorance. -It’s difficult for so many people.

  8. With short bursts comes muscle memory. It is like learning to ride a bike, Hard at first, failing at first, getting up and doing it again. And along with that comes the realization that if I could do a (fill in the blank-riff, arpeggio,run, whatever) once, I can do it again, and better. And with THAT comes the realization that I can do that, only better. And I DO! Thank you, Ari for all you do!

    1. Thank you, Gil. Great analogy about riding a bike. We don’t fight the falling down, we focus on attaining balance; something else to ponder!

  9. Ari-Wan,

    Thanks, I have the Pentatonic playground, so this just expands on that for the entire scale, makes perfect sense!

    Can’t wait for the new course….

  10. It’s important to give yourself time to adapt and for your technique to evolve. My playing did not improve much for the first eight years until I started practicing on a regular basis. Once that happened, my technique started to evolve almost by itself. It is amazing what consistent practice will do.

    1. ” It is amazing what consistent practice will do.” Yes. COuld not agree more. It is easy to get wrapped up in learnig songs only and never watch one’s technique or take the time to learn the fretboard, technique and theory properly. And reading, too. Really, it is not that much, if it’s done in a smart way. But, boy does it ever pay off! Thanks for your comment!

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