How do you get out of a musical rut?

C

Casey

Guest
I'm stuck in a musicial rut... Wondering how you guys find new inspirtation to quit playing the same old thing over and over again.

I was at GC the other day and noticed I play the same stuff over and over again. I was embarassed to sit there and play... Had to pack up my bass and head home :P It was pretty sad...
 
Get some Mozart, Bach, Dvorak (or someone else's) sheet music and go nuts! I've been working on Dvorak's "From the New World" and it's great to learn something that brilliant and being able to use the figures in other settings.
But if you don't read music, I'd suggest getting into that. Or just play a genre you've never played before!

Good luck!
 
Casey,take some lessons mate,nothing like stealing someone elses ideas when your own become redundant. :wink:
 
Or even listening to something that you havent listened to for a while - even years to gather ideas or stuff you normally wouldnt listen too - Something out of left field, Ive got a secret obsessions with Rockabilly, Guitar Shreddly Shreddly and some Pop music.. keeps me sane when my normal list gets a bit repeative... Even different group of the styles you listen too. Even finding who your favourite players players were back in the day - if you dont already know and listen to them - and get some of their stuff.
Having a good listening routine (Having big, vaired playlists help) can help give you more ideas than you normally wouldnt get.
I think having fresh and open ears can keep you as fresh as practicing odd things.

I have a few Paul Jackson lines that I always rattle through at Music stores to give me an idea of the differences in gear but I try and vary my practice as much as I can. Some days I'll sight read, most of the time I'll play along to song I know and songs that i'll play along to on the fly, transcribe tunes occasionally (Not as much as I should) and then do the basics - Scales, Arpegios, Rhythm work occasionally too. Its just finding things that make you want to play more and improve yourself.

Lessons with a GOOD teacher can really help too in a big way - you'll get more out of them if you have a good idea of what you want to achieve.
Lessons with bad teachers can drag you down even further.. I came close to quitting playing because of one particular teacher I had.

Sorry, its pretty vague but might give an idea or two.
 
i'd just listen to as many different styles and genres that you can bear :)

and yeah lessons sound like a good idea, i've just started getting some and im getting looaaadds better (and i've only had three)
 
If you can read music (you don´t have to) you can write down a new pattern every day. To learn somethin new with different fingering every day really improve your skills. It doesn't have to be complicated though, just needs structure and focus. Also agree with everyone who says that listening and playing different kind of music and use of a good teacher is swell / mats
 
Lessons are sorta outta the question for me... I'm so poor :P

I'll go back to how I began learning. Some Bach I guess... And possibly some new excersies/techniques... I'm working on the double thump with an added pop in there at the end... Posibbly some double thump Bach :P

I dunno thought, I just need to get some new stuff so I dont sound so boring all the time :P
 
Hey check this out! I find it very good material, and it is in our yard :-)
 
the one about the animal programs is really interesting
 
Any of the above will be helpful. Lessons are great if you can afford them. (My bass instuctor was a Funky Dawg but unfortunately passed away a few years back.) Some of the bass videos out there can give you new musical ideas too.

The idea is to keep sharp on the things that you know, but try to devote a good amount of your practice time to learning new things, and that will help keep it fresh.

At the same time, keep in mind that everyone has their favorite grooves, licks and fills and even if you think yours are getting a little stale, it is all totally new for someone who is hearing you for the first time. (As long as you don't make one song sound like the last one you just finished playing.)
 
I find listening to unusual music inspiring... even music that I don't like.

Sometimes it is a feeling I get from a movie or reading a book.

Everything can be of help to a certain degree.

But I bet that even Wooten or other big names get a feeling of their music being the same old thing over and over again after a while, that is probably the reason why they are always pursuing new sounds, techniques etc...
 
You are right TBS. The best of players go into a rut every now and then.

And like you had said, there are many ways to work your way out. Listening to smooth jazz or world music is helpful for me. Or as you said even seeing a movie, or somthing like that.

Anything that might make you look at things or hear things a little differently has some value here. Sometimes the strangest things can evoke a feeling, and that's where it starts.
 
I've found the most dramatic improvements and enjoyment of playing after I spend a couple months out on the road somewhere working where I don't have a bass at all. I'll play the steering wheel or even the seam of my jeans or whatever and simply practice rhythms and timing, imaging the sounds along with whatever's on the radio at the time. After a few months of that, when I finally get home and can play, I find I've gotten cleaner technically and more imaginative with original material too. ~M~
 
Florin said:
+1 Except that I never had such a long pause :-)
Click to expand...

It isn't so bad really. I appreciate them much more when I get home than if they were within arm's reach all the time. There is quite a lot of polishing frets and waxing when I get home but I also take a few weeks in between contracts and play for hours on end - mostly the stuff I thought up while I was out. ~M~
 
When I feel like a challenge I plug in my drum machine & play the same line to as many different drum patterns as I can,if that makes sense.
 
When I'm sitting in front of the TV I usually have my amp turned on and try to play along to the music. It's such variety of music so you get new ideas all the time. Cheers / mats
 
If I drive to the job I'll usually take at least one with me but most times I fly somewhere and have to take all my other work stuff and don't have any room for a bass unfortunately. Of course, this does mean that my first mission after a shower and some dinner is to find the nearest Warwick dealer and see what they have... :D ~M~
 
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