I could just as easily call this lesson lesson 1-10, for it is very, very important. If you want to become a virtuoso bass player, if you want to improve your timing, technique, hearing and you're playing together with your fellow musicians: learn to relax more. A great technique is not the result of trying very hard, but of relaxation. If you try very hard, the result is tension, and you get the opposite of what you want. When I study, which I do every day, I try to discover at what moment tension arises. Next, I try to play the same thing I was playing, but now without tension. You can feel tension in your body and in your head, but the first is always a result of the latter.
When tension arises, it becomes impossible to concentrate fully on what you're doing and on what your fellow musicians are doing. You'll never learn to play perfectly if you don't do something about this tension. If you do, you'll be able to look at your playing with a new, higher level of consciousness. You'll understand better what you and the people around you are doing exactly, and if something goes wrong, you'll understand very quickly why and do something about it.
bass
Great musicians never seem to have to work hard to play anything. It seems easy for them. It is. It’s easy because they’re so relaxed. To play well, you have to be conscious of many things at the same time. It is a form of mind mastery. For this level of consciousness, it is imperial that you’re totally relaxed.
Relaxation is not something you can only attain after long hours of study. When you feel tension when you're trying to play a certain lick, just play for a short time every now and then, trying to relax while playing it. A few minutes each time is enough. This way, you'll become a virtuoso bass player very easily!
This always works. I used to experience a lot of tension, and I can still get more relaxed. This method really helps me to raise my playing to a higher level. I don't believe in boundaries anymore thanks to this method; I just keep getting better and better. You can to, it's very easy!
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