seashell

I'd forgotten all about this! But I used to love it back in the 70's.

[quote name='DrBike' timestamp='1325370118' post='1482678'] Based in the general vicinity of what is allegedly about to become Staines Upon Thames. [/quote] No kidding! Staines was my old stamping ground. I'm still getting used to it being in Surrey, never mind Upon Thames! But as you can see from my info, I have managed to escape! Welcome to the Forum

I bought a lovely little book in an Oxfam shop, called 'The Self Instructor for Bass Guitar' by Dick Sadleir. It was dated 1962. It has a page devoted to 5 string bass guitars. I showed it to my bass teacher, and he was really surprised and intrigued to see 5 strings mentioned that far back! So they were obviously in existance then - but not in common use exactly. Edit: Just had another look, and realised that page is about 6 strings, not 5 strings!

I thought this was going to be some dubious recent collaboration, like the Lou Reed/Metallica thing. But this is great, thanks for posting.

I think I will probably pop down for this. Will combine it with a visit to the Aged Parent. It would be great to meet up with some of you. I'll keep checking for details of time, place and secret handshake

Happy New Year everyone! It's my resolution to get into a band. But it's a kind of deferred resolution. I'm going to delay 'actively seeking' until April as I'll be too busy with play rehearsals up until then.

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1324464751' post='1474415'] I don't have a knob [/quote] Neither do I - except for the one on me bass

Many years ago our musical theatre group was hired by a local Vauxhall showroom to put on a cabaret for the launch of thier new model - the Vauxhall Chevette. I have to stress I was only 16 at the time - I'm not *that* old. Anyway, we did a number to 'Everythings Coming Up Roses', and we had to sing 'Everythings coming up Vauxhalls!' Really cringey. Also, we had to learn and sing the Vauxhall Chevette song. I still remember how it goes: Whatever you do, wherever you are Go anywhere 'cos it's your kind of car The Vauxhall Chevette is whatever you want it to be! A sporty coupe, a family saloon Whatever you want, because you call the tune The Vauxhall Chevette is whatever you want it to BEEEE!!! Really cheesy stuff. But we did get to wear fishnet tights and shiny waistcoats and pose on the bonnets of the cars. (And that was just the fellas, lol )

I have sometimes paid to see a man fiddle with his knob on stage.

[quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1324386031' post='1473645'] ...and while the teams are doing that, Samantha's going to pop out to the local Museum of Door Furniture to have her own small collection valued. Apparently the curator has promised her that she can try out a selection of knobs while he evaluates her knockers... [/quote] Classic

Discreet, Discreet .. where are you??

Hi and welcome from a fellow learner. I've been learning since the beginning of this year and am *amazed* at how much I can play now. Stick with it, you will love it. Are you having lessons?

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1324300558' post='1472692'] anyways we went down well. Asked to do an Encore but had ran out of suitable songs so ended up doing Enter sandman and wrecking some of the dish ware as it fell of the shelves. [/quote] Brilliant choice for a Church outreach thing! It's even got a prayer in it and everything

It was in June this year, 5 months after I first started learning to play. My mate Diki Guru does comedy songs with acoustic guitar and asked me if I wanted to play bass with him for a charity gig at a local pub. He had 2 other mates joining in on banjo and jews harp. All I had to do was stand there and play root/fifths or sometimes just root notes when I occasionally froze with fear. Plus had to shout out carefully rehearsed obscenities at various points in the songs (they are all fairly offensive). it went really well and the punters loved it, but I think that's becuase they weren't paying any attention to me. It's all in the lyrics with Dik. But afterwards he send me a text saying 'Bloody well done last night, how does it feel to be a musician?' I felt dead chuffed as he can be quite critical and we had lost patience with me a couple of times during rehearsals! We did another one in September (without the banjo and jews harp). And he's asked me to do another one at end of January. Hopefully the nerves won't paralyse me so much this time.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1324295722' post='1472583'] Excellent choice. May it never get dusty again... [/quote] I've especially enjoyed listening to the bass lines and trying to pick out a couple. But they're not that easy, are they?

Steeleye Span 'The Early Years'. Compilation CD, mainly of stuff from 'Please to See the King' and 'Ten Man Mop'. Haven't listened to any folk in ages. Really enjoying dusting this off and rediscovering it.

Brilliant post, Bilbo.

And another thing... There will always be people telliing you that having a degree in pretty well anything other than Business Studies is a waste of time. They were telling us that when I was at Uni back in 1976, only then they were accusing us of wasting tax payers money rather than our own! Plus ca change.

[quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1323887951' post='1468341'] The day of the session musician is long gone, especially for high profile players like Anthony Jackson etc etc. They're lucky to have proved themselves and can ride out their days based on their name playing jazz gigs as they see fit. I say this all the time, but studying music at University has to be one of the silliest ideas going these days. It's a lovely thing to do if you have no aspirations to own a house or get a job, but in the real world, a music degree is as much use to an employer as as a wad of used toilet paper. You might enjoy indulging your hobby for a couple of years but beyond university and the meagre pickings of the music world you'll not have much to show for the colossal debt you've accrued. [/quote] You could say this about any non vocational degree. (By vocational I mean anything that carries a professional qualification with it eg medicine, physiotherapy etc). People still do non-vocational degrees because they will give you transferable skills that employers appreciate. And because they have a love for the subject, of course. @ the OP - If you manage to scrape a living out of music - a bit ot teaching, a bit of gigging etc, you're is unlikey to earn enough to have to pay back the loan anyway! I say that only partly in jest. It's a lifestyle choice really. You may never get rich but at least you'll be doing what you love. And if you have to re-think your plans and go in another direction eventually, at least you'll know you've tried. You won't be sitting there in 20 years time thinking 'I could have been a contender'. Good luck with it.

Well, I don't buy and sell stuff here, but I got some cool beginners bass books off our own Ian Savage for free! BC'ers are great!

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1323861770' post='1467824'] From last night, rehearsing a work-in-progress original. Much confusion over the sequence of sections (instrumental chorus, "the bit where it goes to D", etc etc). After the third attempt where all five us seem to think something different is supposed to happen, I suggest that we get a piece of paper and write it down. The guitarist says, "Don't write it down... I won't read it." [/quote] Reminds me of a useless actress I once worked with, who mocked another (good) actor with the words: 'Roy's so funny with his little pencil. He writes down everything the director tells him to do'. Well, duh!

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1323188607' post='1460322'] With a user name like 'Seashell' I was rather hoping for the bikini and flower-in-hair look...maybe nexttime? [/quote] Depends on the weather really, It's not the best look for a darkened, unheated room in the middle of winter

Inspired by all the Slade love on BC recently, I sat down on Saturday and tried to work out the bass line to Everyday. OK, so it's quite slow and simple, but then so am I!! Took me about an hour to get it. Then I wrote it all down on a stave with proper notes and everything. Going to show it to my teacher on Sat and ask him to check that I have got it right. Have to make sure I maintain my position as top girly swot!

Thanks for starting this thread, Redlawman. Sums up pretty much how I feel at times. It has been great to read all these helpful and encouraging replies. The more I read the more I think I will just have to try and get in a band somehow. Not sure how many bands would accept a middle aged woman who can't bloody play. But I guess I just have to get out there and start looking. They're not going to beat a path to my door! I sense a New Year Resolution brewing....

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1322763182' post='1455626'] Old Noddy has a go on bass for this one! [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pPL9PPy1MI[/media] [/quote] 'Everyday' is such a bloody wonderful song. Always makes me cry.