Canadian Musician - January/February 2019 | Page 27

PHOTO: GEE WONG
BASS
Jason Raso is a professional bassist from Guelph, ON. His latest album, Live at The Jazz Room, is available now at
www.jasonrasomusic.com. Jason proudly endorses Fodera basses, Aguilar amplification, and D’Addario strings.
By Jason Raso
Staying Positive
I
t’s midnight. I’ve just finished recording four takes of a song I’m work-
ing on for an upcoming video and I’m watching the playback. Seeing
my reaction after each take is a revelation, and not a good one.
The first take ends. “What’s wrong with you?” I ask myself. The
second take ends. “C’mon you piece of crap.” The third take ends. “You
really suck!” The fourth take is pretty good, but there is clearly no joy in
my performance. Ashamed of what I just watched, I delete all four takes.
I have no desire to try again for a couple of days.
I can’t remember when this habit started but it’s beginning to feel
crippling. I swear to myself that things need to change, but I have the
same conversation with myself week after week, year after year.
The truth is that I really like my playing – sometimes. I like to think my
playing is a combination of my influences, experiences, and discoveries.
I’ve worked very hard to develop my skill and sound, but I’ll never be
satisfied. There is still so much to learn and so much I want to accomplish.
The constant self-reproach is becoming tiring, though. I’m now at
the point that I can’t even enjoy a good performance. “Why can’t you
play like that all time, dummy?” I can’t accept a compliment without a
self-deprecating reply. Where do I go from here?
I wondered if I was the only one struggling. I started asking my peers
about their experiences. I was not alone. I started paying more attention
to my students’ actions, and it was there, too. I introduced the topic in my
interviews with well-known players, and it was definitely an issue; in fact,
many players were very open and eager to share their own experiences.
I felt I needed to pursue this topic further.
“Although we may have an insatiable desire to expand our skills, it is not
always as easy as we would like it to be. Learning or improving is often a
battle with your ego, ignorance, and impatience, and their allies: laziness,
pressure, and fear of failure. I win this battle using the three Cs:
• Courage to begin.
• Confidence to get through the periods of doubt.
• Conviction to win based upon a sense of purpose.”
- Jerry Jemmott
“Unfortunately, I’m kind of a perfectionist, so I had to learn how to work
hard and be honest and humble about the stuff I couldn’t do yet – work
at it so I could do it. Then, to not evaluate myself all the time, but let six
months go by and see where you are compared to where you were six
months or a year ago. I try to tell my students, ‘Don’t be constantly picking
at yourself.’ Sometimes you don’t see results for a while, and then, all of
a sudden, you’ll have this big breakthrough, and you can do way more
than you did before.”
- John Patitucci
“If people get down on their playing, I just say, ‘Get to work.’ I don’t think
I have any natural talent at all; I just work at it. I know people that are
very talented, and it’s almost a liability because they don’t have to work
very hard. They get to a certain point, but they never go any further. I’m
looking much further ahead, and I’m working much harder to get better.”
- Billy Sheehan
“What I think serves as a counterweight to the feeling that your prospects
are dismal day after day is just the fun that can be had playing the instru-
ment – the joy that can be had on a minute-to-minute basis. Just touching
the thing and making a glorious sound or a somewhat glorious sound
on it. But the process of discovering how to play the instrument well is,
on the one hand, extremely frustrating. But on the other hand, it’s full of
small triumphs, and you’re entitled to savour those triumphs to the extent
you need to – to keep positive, to keep moving forward.”
- Steve Swallow
Writing my book, Bass Line Continuum, certainly helped me sort through
the reasons I was treating myself this way. As a result, I have changed my
approach to playing and have tried to stop insulting myself. I would be
ashamed of myself if I ever talked to a student that way, so I simply pretend
I am the student. It seems to be working. I still catch myself sometimes, but
I am definitely more aware. Whenever I am feeling down, I read through
some of the interviews to remind myself that I am not alone.
Although people enter the bass-playing continuum at different times,
their stories are comparable. Players study their influences, hone their
skills, and endeavour to find a style of their own. The trek can be long
and frustrating but can also be very rewarding. It is important to stay
positive and enjoy the ride!
Join Jason and many of the top bass players in the universe as they travel through the Bass Line Continuum. The
book, featuring interviews with Stanley Clarke, Michael Manring, Marcus Miller, Meshell Ndegeocello, Lee Sklar,
Rhonda Smith, and many more, is available now at: www.jasonrasomusic.com/basslinecontinuum.
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