sarah thomas

A brave and humbling story. Well done you.

And the caribou are nibbling the croquet hoops.

What Joe said. Peter Tyler's book is a gem.

For clear, easy to hear/distinguish excellent walking bass, try Leroy Walks, by the Leroy Vinnegar Sextet.

Bilbo - have you tried wireless headphones? That way you could listen whilst cooking, cleaning etc. Unless the jazz police insist on talking to you. Maybe your wife could get you a pair for Christmas - then you will be showing great appreciation for her gift when you use them.

Hooray! Welcome back to the bull fiddle world.

As a fledgling jazz bassist, I'm lucky to have 2 regular jazz open mics a month nearby. I get to play on a couple of tunes each night, sometimes more. One of the nights runs a workshop for the first half hour, so you get to practice a new tune and then play on it later in the evening. Quite often there are a few bassists there and we take turns to sit in. Sometimes local stars turn up and sometimes they don't. At the other, the house band kicks things off, then people who want to play call a tune and invite others to join them. I go round collecting horn players to join in. In the interval, a call goes out to invite people who haven't played yet to make themselves known. I've made loads of friends, got invited to join the band I'm currently in, have played with excellent players and must have learned something because now I'm finding out how to cope with people who have got completely lost - exactly what I was doing a couple of years ago when I started going along.There's also a folky one nearby that I'm gathering the courage to go along to. On the flip side, there's a pub open mic down the road that is a crime against humanity, especially in the summer when they leave the windows open ... I reckon it's best to go along to have a listen at first, then take the plunge. And I'm going to follow my own advice soon for the folky one, honest, I am ...

Play on beat 1 and beat 3. If you want to propel the sound forward, play a short beat 1, then come in on the + of beat two. Let the others know what you're doing, or they'll all start treating your + as beat two and it'll get draggy. You can't go wrong with roots and fifths.

I was told to apply rosin until the bow hairs squeak. Seems to work! I bow for about an hour most days and re-apply about once a week. You develop a feel for it.

Just tried the hearing test Phil Starr put a link to [url="http://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/your-hearing/look-after-your-hearing/check-your-hearing/take-the-check.aspx"]http://www.actiononh...-the-check.aspx[/url] and thought my headphones were broken at first. The test checks one ear and then the other. Despite my idiocy, my hearing seems to be okay for my age. Thanks Phil.

I agree with Marc, because I owned that bass before he did. I was sorry to see her go. A lovely bass.

Another plug for Spirocore Lights - I play arco and pizz. Plus, I've just had amazing service from The String Zone - yesterday, my bass fell forward and landed on the rim of my drummer's floor tom, denting the fingerboard lightly and smashing the G string. I ordered a replacement yesterday and it was here by 11 o'clock this morning. I paid the extra £2 for fast delivery as the price was good anyway - string, postage, VAT = £37.52. It came in a padded bag with a piece of cardboard to keep it tidy. (That's a Welsh tidy - means good, sorted, everything as it should be.) For any drummers wondering, the tom rim has a tiny mark which you have to look for.

Good choice!

I'd be inclined towards the black one Mr Bassman posted a link to. And as ever, Bilbo is quite right. Whatever you get, it's not going to be her 'forever' bass. Lord, I wish I'd started when I was ten!

Spending £450 on a double bass is a waste of money. Could other family members/friends chip in to buy a combined present? Also, your daughter's double bass teacher may know of other basses going and be able to recommend one. Maybe talk to the teacher and find out what to look for in the second hand market. My first (2nd hand) bass cost £1,000 and my next cost over twice as much.Sadly, it's not really that much, for a large musical instrument. Renting sounds like a good idea, too.

Hope the cat enjoyed the massive box.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1433838289' post='2794318'] One problem though, if I commandeered a small table, for a metronome & various bits n pieces Mrs S would be plonking ornaments, cosmetics and a hairdryer on it! [/quote] My small table right now has several CDs, a small football and a set of headphones on it as well as bass stuff!

Hello from a fellow would-be classicist. I'm about a year in. I find practising in front of a full length mirror useful - if I'm getting horrible scratchy squeaks, then I can look in the mirror to see what I'm doing. Usually the bow has travelled too close to the end of the fingerboard or I'm holding it at some weird angle. I find a timer useful too - one of those kitchen timer things - I set it to however long I've got, then I can play without worrying about the time. And have everything to hand, so that you can get straight into your practice without having to look for things. I have a small table with metronome, timer, tuner, notebook and pencil ready and waiting. That way, if I've only got ten minutes, at least it's ten minutes practice instead of ten minutes looking for whatever I need. Carve yourself a corner dedicated to the bass and practice every day! Hopefully we can encourage each other along this road.