mikel

No argument, you are probably right. I never learned "The basics" as back in the day I was not aware there was such a thing, music was just music. My basics was learning to play a walking blues bass line by listening to records (remember them?) and trial and error, but mainly error. But it was fun and never a chore, that is why I did it. It is simply my personality and the way I do/did things. Not right or wrong just my way. No doubt the OP will do it his way and good luck to him.

Nice one. If thats what floats your boat then it will work for you. I am just an old luddite from the distant past where learning was all about listening to stuff you liked and trying to work out by trial and error what was being played. By happy mistakes we came up with different styles and bass lines simply through errors. Your way is probably quicker.

Apologies but that sounds like a chore to me.

Talk about karma. I have "Framed" on the sound system as we speak, closely followed by "Delilah". I love a bit of SAHB. Alex version of "Tomorrow belongs to me" still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. (Well the place where the hair used to be.)

Agreed . If I have to force myself to do something that I consider is a pastime and a pleasure, then I get little out of it. I get much more out of half an hour practicing when I feel the urge than 2 hours spent forcing myself to sit and play. For me if something becomes a chore then I don't do it, that's what work/career is for.

I was a drummer, but i'm all right now. No, I mean I come from a drumming background and playing the bass was a real eye opener for me. It makes my understanding of drumming and bass playing, with regard to the rhythm section, so much better. Playing bass has improved my drumming.

I love it. It looks like Moriuka to me or Mohuka. Anyway its not another P bass copy.so its good.

+1. Being in a band at all is golden. I spent 2 years trying to find a band or even a start up where I live, NE. To be in a band takes commitment. To practice, learn the songs, rehearse and for most of us, to travel. In the last band I was in the keys player had a 1.5 hour commute each way for rehearsals whereas I was lucky, I lived half a mile from the rehearsal room. The other two members had a 45 minute drive each way. You are lucky with regard to public transport

I have been drumming for over 50 years and have tinnitus quite badly, not just from drumming but from listening to loud music and playing in even louder bands back in the day. I now wear hearing protection when playing but as I said, in my current drumming band we practice and gig at a volume I could easily not use it. We rehearse at a volume you can talk over and gig so we can hear each other clearly without in ears. The guitarist gets the tone he wants from a 1 x 12 20 watt valve combo. I learned to play quietly over the last three years and its a revelation. The different tones and sounds available from a single drum or cymbal are obvious when you play lightly.

Then he is a poor drummer. You play for the music. If the music demands a light touch then a good drummer can play everything they would play flat out at a volume you can talk over. Its part of the art of drumming, control.

It just not professional. Even though most of us are not pro's you should still be professional about the sound you produce. We practice at a volume that allows us to hear every instrument and any mistakes, so we can sort them out at once. I drum in a band that can easily rehears in the singers living room, its a semi detached house and next door have never complained about the noise. When it comes to a gig we keep the volume so I dont even need ear plugs. For a lot of bands the volume is simply there to hide the poor playing.

That is priceless. Subtle yet deadly.

One often leveled at vocalists in the North East back in the day "You couldn't shout COAL"

Learn the song inside out, back to front and in the dark. Other than that dont overplay, be nice and LISTEN to the other musicians. Oh, and make sure you get close to the drummer, visually and audibly.

Agreed. My "If you could only have ONE album" Album. Sheer musical genius, and prog to boot.

It was strange but true that back in the 70s all sorts of bands were booked to play in CIU clubs in the North East. We pitched up at a club in Ashington one Saturday night ready to play out set of original songs. The place was concrete and up on pillars with car parking underneath. We set up and watched in desperation as the function room filled up with miners and there wives, all dressed up for a night out. They seemed, as did the club steward, less than impressed with our waist length hair and "Odd" stage attire. After the first two songs two women came up to the stage and uttered the immortal line "Your rubbish, why dont you play something we know." Feeling vulnerable proceeded to introduce the rest of the songs with "This is the new single by" Insert popular pop act name, and it seemed to work. After witnessing a fight between two middle aged women at the bar we decided to make the next song our last. Just before I announced the fact another two ladies approached the stage and said "You are much better than the band last week, they stopped playing about now and got a good kicking". We hastily repeated 4 previous number from the set and got out quickly. The next Saturday night a Police officer was knifed in the car park.

I have nothing against the guy, he works incredibly hard and is very generous with his money, I just dont find his songs inspiring.

Nobody is saying modern music is rubbish, I think the drift is that some music becomes almost timeless while most is very much of the era. If some kids are asking to learn some old 70s stuff then it must have something going for it. Each to their own. Liking something from the past or recorded even before you were born does not make you an old duffer, or mean kids have something wrong with them.

Just my take but playing with others, making music on the fly, Is what it has always been about. Nothing gives me the buzz like playing with other musicians when that "Magic" happens and you float. Almost anyone can play along to recorded tracks in the bedroom, or practice for decades to play at 200 MPH, but without the context of doing it in a live music situation it is fairly meaningless to me. Anyway, currently most pro acts or artists make the vast majority of their money from playing live, only the biggest make money from recorded music.

Not really to do with age though. Would you Say Ed Sheeran has invented a new form or genre of music, or even pushed the genre of solo singer song writer to new areas of creativity? He is simply very popular with lots of people, and who knows if he will still be played in 20 years time. Lots of kids and young musicians find Zep relevant and enjoyable, or why ask to play it. I was in a music shop a few years ago and a kid who was about 12 years old, at most, was drooling over the Gibsons and Fenders on the wall whilst humming Voodoo Chile. Music has nowt to do with age, my playlist has stuff from 1940 and from this year. If it moves you its good. And If I remember correctly KT Tunstall did the looper pedal thing a number of years ago, so its hardly new or groundbreaking. Songs are what its about and I don't find Ed's songs to be very good. Led Zep also did a lot of stuff that was meh, but at their best they gave me shivers up the spine. Its not the age or the genre, its the quality of the song.

That could be what puts a lot of people off Jazz, that some players and audience members consider it to be "Sophisticated" ergo more "Relevant" and grown up than other musical forms. Its not, its just music, even though I like it and I am obviously sophisticated, like.

I like quite a lot of Jazz, but live it does my head in. I love a good tasteful solo that interprets the theme, but clapping a player after a solo, while the song is still going on, just riles me. Its a song, a piece of music, If the whole piece goes well and you enjoyed it show appreciation at the end, like you would with any other performance. Its a stupid and distracting ritual.

/\ Agreed. What a tone he got from his Gibson playing live with Cream.

During 20s? Playing music in bands, drinking/smoking and women. Now in my 60s? Playing music, family, riding my bike, keeping and staying fit.

Show it to the engineer in the studio, that is the only way to get that sound on your recording. The sound you hear was processed in a studio and will also be influenced by the headphones or speakers you are listening to it through. Don't expect it to be easy, and don't expect the sound you hear through the studio monitors to be the same as the sound you will hear on your headphones or home system.