How Can I Set Goals (And Follow Through) As A Bassist?
Goal setting is tough.
There have been times where I’ve looked back on the past year and felt disappointed at how little I’d grown as a bass player… playing the same runs and practicing the same techniques. I often don’t even bother setting goals at the new year fearing that I won’t follow through.
So how can we overcome this? Let’s take a look at some tips for setting and achieving our musical goals in the new year.
How Can I Set Goals (And Follow Through) As A Bassist?
- Pinpoint Your Weaknesses
- Evaluate Your Time Commitment
- Give Yourself Deadlines
- Track Your Progress
- Push Yourself
Pinpoint Your Weaknesses
Saying you want to “get better at bass” is way too generic.
Get better at what? Tapping? Playing in time? Playing by ear?
Pinpoint those specific areas and decide what you want to change. Not sure what your musical weaknesses are? Don’t hesitate to ask a friend or a significant other who’s not afraid to be brutally honest with you.
Example: “Playing by ear has always been a struggle for me, so my goal is to be able to learn ‘Kismet’ by The Omnific from start to finish by ear.”
Evaluate Your Time Commitment
Think about your current level of playing and time commitment to playing and practicing. If you want to learn to play a song in two weeks when you have a full time job and other obligations, this may not be realistic for you.
Give Yourself Deadlines
Having the mindset of “sometime this year” is a recipe for procrastination. Lock down a deadline and stick with it.
Example: “I want to master ‘Kismet’ by ear in three months.”
If you’ve set a goal and think you’ve bitten off more than you can chew, don’t be afraid to give yourself mini deadlines. This can help reduce stress and let you see progression in small chunks.
Example: “I want to master ‘Kismet’ by ear in three months, but I want to start by learning the chorus within the next two weeks.”
Track Your Progress
Try this: record yourself playing and come back to it later to see how much you’ve improved. To look back and be able to say “I can’t believe I used to struggle so much with that technique!” is incredibly rewarding.
If you’re looking to build your speed, you can use beats per minute (BPM) as a benchmark. If you’re learning a difficult phrase in a tune, slow it down and slowly speed it back up.
Example: “The song ‘Kismet’ is played at 160 BPM- if I start learning it at 100 BPM, I want to be able to play it 10 BPM faster each week.”
Push Yourself
Years ago I attempted to learn the song ‘Make Total Destroy’ by Periphery. If you haven’t heard it… it’s a doozy, and although I thought I was ready to learn this song note-for-note my skill level just wasn’t there yet. The result? Frustration and desertion.
Set goals that are difficult but not impossible to achieve. In the examples above, the song ‘Kismet’ may be too advanced for you if you’re a beginner bassist. Consider learning another tune that’s less advanced, yet still challenging.
I don’t know about you, but I’m excited for the new year. I hope these tips help you be the bassist you want to be. Best of luck!
