SpondonBassed

Stop with the relentless enlightenment already.

It's one way of cutting down on finger callouses I suppose.

That's a bit of knowledge that I feel much better off knowing. Thank you for that.

Don't tempt me to search the dark web Silvia. I am quite sure that someone somewhere has mastered that technique already. Still and all, I take your point.

I'm just grateful that TV doesn't get taken over by the Scots on NYE any more. I mean, just because the English can't hold their drink and run a TV station, we had such weirdness when I was little. Although years had passed since the trauma, I was still afraid that Donald would turn up without troosers at any minute last night. Happy New Year to you all!

Angelique Kidjo maims it: Angelique Kidjo nails it:

Oh yes. Have you never bought one of those compilations that used to be commonplace where all of the songs were covers? They'd get the instrumentation, arrangement and overall delivery as the original but it would never quite work. They were playing to a score, I'm sure. They'd have to have heard the originals but they never seemed to actually get them. Maybe you are too young to remember all those cassette albums that claimed to be by original artists but weren't.

Sorry to pick up on this Marco but I have to ask @Christine; is that your fretting or plucking hand? I can't work out which or even if all four fingers in that image are from the same hand. It looks like the index and ring fingers from both hands to me. Thanks for the warning both.

Well said. You could say that musicians loosely fall into two categories; Those who have an inbuilt meter which allows them to play swings and roundabouts with an otherwise geometrically regular rhythm and those who adhere strictly to that rhythm because, after all, it is written there in black and white. Both sorts are employable. Both have their merits. Relatively few folk fall into both camps until they've gained many years experience but with personal growth, there is a convergence of the two schools of playing over time. That's just how it strikes me as an amateur. I've probably got it completely wrong.

Nice. Have you an authentic restoration in mind or some current tech in a classic body? The Build Diaries may be of help in either case.

Welcome Starbass.

Welcome Sezles.

Joe's secret is that he had a pioneering operation during his youth to swap the the skin from each of his fingertips with the skin from each toe. Initially, he did this to help with his early career as a cat burgler. Having found that there was little money to be earned by just stealing cats, he tried selling them as well. While waiting for responses to his classified ads for affordable pedigree moggies, he took up bass and realised that he had something that no-one else had. He's not looked back since and cat theft has been at a record low since records began.

Isn't that the elusive part though? You can learn the meter of the song and measure your notes precisely against the bar and yet that does not guarantee you a groove. I believe in the words of the title of Deee-Lite's song; Groove is in the Heart... ain't it the truth?

Shame. I still think it sounds like fun though. Good on yer. Shan't. I'm one of those who can't stand authority figures who are sure they are right and everything else is somehow not valid. I have no need to suffer the righteousness of zealous teachers any more - so there. While I respect Scott's expertise as a teacher, I can't conform. Having the highest IQ in most of the schools that I attended, I never could. The handicap to it was that teachers saw me as a vehicle to advance their own careers. I realised that when one of my secondary school teachers tried to earn geek points from the fact that I had learned the first three years worth of the Vocational School syllabus for tech drawing, metalwork and art in a single year. I passed with good grades while maintaining the grades in my established subjects. I mean to say; who had to do the work? Her or me? Sorry. There is nothing wrong with what you say. It just doesn't work for me.

By who's definition though? Hmmm.

Splendid! I was right about the red being a more subtle effect overall with the hardware in place. It glows nicely behind the pick-ups. Congratulations and I wish you many years enjoyment with it.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds this. My sympathy for your restrictions. I never felt free to practice properly in the terraced house but I am now fortunate enough to be detached and with a practice space that is separated from the main living space by another room. Trouble is; now I can practice but I can't do anything with it because I am housebound and no-one wants to come and play. Actually, my step-grandson and I butchered played Dancing in the Moonlight with him on uke yesterday so it's not all that bad. He's getting a moped soon so he reckons he'll come to practice and visit his grandad more often. Cool.

Got any YT clips Fleabag? I like the sound of that.

Yes. There are stretching exercises like Patitucci's Spider that can help you. Sorry if this has already been mentioned. I really ought try and TAB it out for you but I am sure someone else can do that for you if you can't find the video clip online. At this time I am unable to find an image of the notation. When you do lots of reps of this sort of exercise, it is quite acceptable to continue up to the pain barrier. The important thing is to stop there and then and play something less strenuous for a good while. You might feel an occasional bit of pain as you approach the barrier but you should not be in pain. The danger there is that you work through it and your body numbs the pain putting you at risk of an RSI.

Nasty. It'll be the bottle brush and disinfectant for you then... heeheehee Seriously though, I wonder if there is an addictive aspect to playing as you describe. I mean, you are talking about withdrawal symptoms after all. Respect. I float in and out of playing (for myself in practice mostly) daily with breaks of weeks at a time in between. That said, I get the strong urge to pluck out some beats after about three weeks or so and if I am in a position to practice daily, I'll go for another few weeks of daily sessions. I suppose you'd call it binge bassing. Often I find that something I was struggling with in the last series of sessions has somehow fallen into place in the long interval between without further practice. Funny that.

I've been to a couple of OMs run by a chap who does his own set of Sinatra covers, just him and his acoustic guitar. I have to hand it to him for breaking tradition but he usually only gets up to fill in on quiet nights and, of course, the dreaded TBB takes over with plodding inevitability. Boring. I haven't done an open mic for nearly a year because the local one that I thought might offer some variety just turned out the same.

Okay, Chic right? Not your hard core funk I know but an example that serves; The late Bernard Edwards and the current bassist, Jerry Barnes, play very different lines to each other. There are many polar opinions about this. Me? I like each bassist for what they bring to the song rather than being a stickler for nostalgia. I loved Bernard Edwards' lines. I practice a couple of them regularly. I sometimes flip to Barnes' lines and back, despite learning the original music from a reputable score. I am not an accomplished player but it strikes me that you need to be comfortable with what you are playing in order to be on it consistently. It is therefore your call.

Mmmm crinkly. @Jimothey, I have to agree with Norris, it's my preference too. I love a nicely spalted timber but the one shown is a bit fussy with the other figuring. Six string bass now eh? Geeky. Heeheehee