inspiration and the little things

hey all!...well i just got done watching the tanacious D movie:the pick of destiny.....and after watching it and laughing about all the musical parody i picked up my bass and began to play...and the musical juices i guess just started to flow...i cranked out a whole 2 pages worth of notes for a song i wrote on the spot!...so...have you guys ever had this happen?...something that just totally makes you want to play after not playing for a day or so...and just...boom!...total .. ...i have had it happen a few times...and its just awsome....and also i noticed to keep my practice going...having fun and what not i just appreciate the little things about my bass,amp,and accsesories...like the fact my amp has an overdrive function...which i enjoy using...because it sounds heavier..and my thick guitar pick its a clayton usa brand 1.52 mm...i love the meaty tone it gives my bass...but anyways ...before i get rambling...has the whole spontaneus playing thing happened to you guys?

A song I wrote a while ago evolves every few weeks..

Its called "The Untitled Track About Loving Sarah"

It came from the first.. 4 or 5 notes in a song I cant even remember, It started as an excercise I made for playing octaves. Then I would transpose the riff, After a few weeks I added another note, so the riff was Note A - Note B[A's Octave] - A again - Note C[Note B - 2 semitones higher] then B again

like

Code:


G-------7-----9---7------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------
A----5-----5-------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------


And every few weeks it changes suddenly, every time I have a similar feeling to what you described, Ill write another song, and then change that one.

So now the main riff is basically

Code:


G-------7-----7/9---7---5---------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------
A----5-----5-------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------


So it gets played based from opening note 7, then 5, then 3. then playing 2 octaves and another 2 octaves, and after that it leaves a perfect spot for a fill

Theres more riffs involved, obviously, being a song and all.

I have a thing with it going that has basically a lead and rhythm bass, I like to call it

When I can, Ill record it, sometime.

yea I can relate to that. Every friday night when I come in late drunk I sit down with my bass and just jam away for an hour. At first I'm pretty sloppy cause I am drunk lol but then I get into it and all sorts of progressions come out, its weird, I just totally let loose on the thing. It happens when I'm sober to, but it seems to happen more after I've had a few lol. Not that I'd recommend drinking and bassing or anything.

I love it when I get into that groove zone and just not think about what I'm doing and just go with the flow, ultimate meditation in my opinion. Because I compose a lot of music on the computer, a lot of the ideas come from playing bass, when I come up with something that I can use I'm playing bass with the laptop in front of me stopping to draw in notes every few mins. Sometimes I just record myself playing for an half an hour or so and play back and pick out ideas I like and then develop them into songs.

Well this has happened to me 2-3 times.And it's just great,because when you think you're in a rut you just pick up a bass and start writing!The only song i've written that way is one that has actuallly three different parts,it's about 5 minutes long.It called "Iced tears"The thing is that my camera actually records like shit so i cannot record it.

Pastichio wrote:yea I can relate to that. Every friday night when I come in late drunk I sit down with my bass and just jam away for an hour. At first I'm pretty sloppy cause I am drunk lol but then I get into it and all sorts of progressions come out, its weird, I just totally let loose on the thing. It happens when I'm sober to, but it seems to happen more after I've had a few lol. Not that I'd recommend drinking and bassing or anything.

I love it when I get into that groove zone and just not think about what I'm doing and just go with the flow, ultimate meditation in my opinion. Because I compose a lot of music on the computer, a lot of the ideas come from playing bass, when I come up with something that I can use I'm playing bass with the laptop in front of me stopping to draw in notes every few mins. Sometimes I just record myself playing for an half an hour or so and play back and pick out ideas I like and then develop them into songs.

I think what you said about meditation here is a great point, bud.

I just zone out sometimes, and I "wake" only to find i've been playing for hours. I love that.

When you put the bass down, it feels like you've been asleep. Nice and refreshed!

Nothing better than going out & watching some live blues, listening to & watching the bass player to get new ideas, then practicing (what I can remember!) them ready for the local blues jam the week or so after...

Dmanlamius wrote:

Pastichio wrote:yea I can relate to that. Every friday night when I come in late drunk I sit down with my bass and just jam away for an hour. At first I'm pretty sloppy cause I am drunk lol but then I get into it and all sorts of progressions come out, its weird, I just totally let loose on the thing. It happens when I'm sober to, but it seems to happen more after I've had a few lol. Not that I'd recommend drinking and bassing or anything.

I love it when I get into that groove zone and just not think about what I'm doing and just go with the flow, ultimate meditation in my opinion. Because I compose a lot of music on the computer, a lot of the ideas come from playing bass, when I come up with something that I can use I'm playing bass with the laptop in front of me stopping to draw in notes every few mins. Sometimes I just record myself playing for an half an hour or so and play back and pick out ideas I like and then develop them into songs.

I think what you said about meditation here is a great point, bud.

I just zone out sometimes, and I "wake" only to find i've been playing for hours. I love that.

When you put the bass down, it feels like you've been asleep. Nice and refreshed!

Yea because meditation is about the absence of thought, non thinking, and when I just jam with the bass I'm not thinking about anything. Little Buddhas we all are lol

I find that "drinks" can really help with creativty. Im not sure why, but i always come up with much more strange riffs while im drunk. And for the less straight edge bassists out there, i think that Rasta herb is great for any creative block you man be experience.

Note: Dont take drugs kids

I agree with that^ The meditation aspect of it only happens when I'm alone or with VERY skilled musicians. It seems like we're in our separate worlds playing the same song. Religious experience, that.

Sometimes I have this when playing bass late at night. I feel like I'm all alone at that point and come up with the best stuff I can manage (at least I think so).
Piano is a different story. I write when what I feel, my emotions.

When I put the bass on and practice it seems like the rest of the outside world fades away. It's just me, my bass and and one hell of a good time!