this one is going to be a rant, for sure. possibly without a definitive point and certainly will meander a fair amount. i'm likely just going to complain to the void just to get it out of my head. you've been warned and i can't be bothered with learning how to write more goodly. recently i've been feeling somewhat stuck in my playing. in particular, i'm feeling limited when it comes to creating bass lines. whether it be developing a bass line for someone else's music or creating one from scratch for my own pieces, something just isn't clicking.
it's frustrating because i have all the pieces but am unable to connect them in a way i find pleasing. i have the theory together. if presented with chord progression i'm able to understand the arpeggios associated with the chords. i understand the intervals of those chords and how they function. i understand the non-chord tones and how they rub when played against the chord. i have a good understanding of the fretboard and the movable shape of a key. i also have a good understanding of rhythm and am confident in my ability to lock in and groove. yet, the ability to generate bass lines seems elusive.
this is the more nebulous aspect of music that shares a lot of commonality with language. fluency seems to be just out of reach. i suppose it's the language equivalent of knowing how to ask "donde esta el baño" and "me gusta voy ir a la discoteca" but not being able to describe why you like going to el discoteca... or the baño. either way, it's something i feel is right in front of me but have not been able to tap into yet. i've worked at in in different ways and nothing seems to have really helped so far so i did what everyone else does these days... i asked the internet.
*begin rant* i know, i know... forums and the like are the worst and i rarely use them, but honestly, right now i though that maybe i could learn something. so i put it out there, i basically stated the issue and asked, "how have you dealt with it in your own playing?" i felt like it was a better way than saying "what should i do?"
so the replies started coming in and, i will say everyone is very good-intentioned, which is not always the case. but the replies were a lot of stuff like "use your ears!", "you need to practice every day", and even "just play what's in your head". okay, so... they're not wrong, for the most part. but none of it approaches answering the questions. i don't know what i was really expecting. no, wait, i do. a response i would have really appreciated would look something like, "yeah, that was difficult for me too. i used to do X, Y, and Z. here's an interview with Some Guy and he talks about it and what he did. hope this helps." am i an ass for hoping for something like this? likely. and i know it's a complicated question to answer, especially in less than a paragraph.
